Famous Francomes

World famous leaders, military masterminds, top-rank movers and shakers; none of these descriptions will ever be used about our family and that's the way we want to keep it, to be honest. We have, however, made our own contributions and you would be surprised to find out just how many members of the family have made a big impact in their chosen fields. But when it comes to genuine 'fame' there can be only one contender.

John Francome

It's fairly certain that most Francomes have, upon giving their names, been confronted with the response "Oh, you must be related to that jockey bloke." This is usually quickly followed by an enquiry as to whether you have any tips for the horses (which is never a good conversation to get into in the first place). The man responsible for this is, of course, John Francome. John was born in Swindon in 1952 and initially made his mark on the equestrian world as a member of British show-jumping team that won the European Championship. Making the move to National Hunt proved to be no problem and he struck up a famous partnership with trainer Fred Winter. He won the National Hunt jockeys championship 7 times in total (from 1975 onwards). After retiring he became a trainer and, later on, moved into broadcasting and writing (his autobiography, 'Born Lucky', was published in 1985). A noted after dinner speaker and keen golfer, he was awarded an MBE in 1986. Not only is he the most famous Francome, he is Swindon's most famous son and a man of many and varied talents.

There is no point in repeating biographical details better provided by the original sources, I will simply list the locations where you can find more information about John and his exploits. A good start is Channel Four Racing, who include a quick interview with John in their profile; some details on his racing successes can be found on his agent's website and publishers Hodder Headline include a short profile of their best-selling author along with excerpts from his latest book. All of these titles are listed at Amazon - but if you are planning to purchase something then try to use the link at the bottom of this page (and this website will receive a 10p Woolly's voucher for every £1,000 worth of books purchased, hey! nobody said the internet was a quick way to get rich). And just to prove how popular his books are, he has made it onto the top 100 list of most borrowed authors from UK libraries. And finally he is given pride of place on Swindon's own Swindonweb, with a glowing biography. Incidentally, while trawling the Internet I did manage to find several entries on Polish and Italian racing websites that gave details of horses named 'Francome' - apparently in honour of the man himself. Not bad for a lad from Mulberry Grove.

Professor Colin Francome

If your interests lie in more academic areas then the name Francome might not conjure up images of Beecher's Brook at all. Dr Colin Francome is professor of "the sociology of health" at Middlesex University, London. He is the author of many books and papers on matters of family health and the NHS. A recent book on male health will have you signing up at you nearest gym without delay. Stepping back from such serious matters, Dr Francome has found time to write books on how to master juggling and, also, how to be the clown at children's parties. Help us at www.francome.com to move up to a 50p Woolly's voucher by using the Amazon link below to order some of these books, I will leave the choice between juggling and studies on caesarean births up to you. Speaking of caesarean births, and to prove the 'small world' theory, my daughter was delivered by Dr Wendy Savage, consultant at the Royal London Hospital and a regular co-author of Dr Francome's.

Carla Francome

A second generation "Famous Francome"! Daughter of juggler/sociologist Colin, Carla Francome is a television producer and director and is based in London. If you have any great ideas for TV programmes then we here at www.francome.com will be happy to pass these on. I keep having great ideas, but then I turn the TV on and find that they have done it already. Thanks to Tom Francome for this information (Tom will be appearing in the Famous Francome list at some time in the future).

Update (Aug-2006): Carla's latest production is Driving Mum and Dad Mad on ITV1.

Mark Francombe (Updated 24-Feb-2004)

Unfortunately it turns out that this Mark is actually a Francombe (as opposed to a Francome). However it would be rather petty to let one letter come between us and, given that some webpages refer to him as "Mark Francome", we are happy to include him in our Famous Francom(b)es listing. Mark Francombe is a guitarist and sometime member of leading 'indie' band The Cranes. This band formed in the late 1980s in Portsmouth and Mark was soon called in to provide his brand of guitar virtuosity (apparently he was keen on ending shows by beating the guitar with a wrench, which must be expensive if you are called back for an encore). You can view his personal page on the band website or get further info on the band's current activities at their fan site. Not content to limit himself to one instrument, Mark has taken to synthesizers and his personal website includes samples from his latest solo album (entitled "last vestiges of taste"). Mark's website is a great example of multimedia design, but it does require Flash to view (and a working knowledge of Norwegian would be handy too).

John Francome

Another John Francome, but this one was lead guitarist with early 1980s punk band, The Zellots. The band were based in London (London, Ontario, Canada that is). Again, the website finds various ways to spell the name (what is it with our name, 8 letters, 3 vowels and 2 syllables, surely it's not that hard?) but given the number of Francomes in this part of the world I am confident that John is a bona fide Francome. It seems that John has remained involved in the local music scene as there are several credits given to him by Ontario based bands.

Private R. R. Francome

Not famous, so far as I'm aware, but rather enigmatic all the same. Private R. R. Francome (6012) fought for the 37th Battalion (Companies E and F) of the Australian Infantry in the Great War. This battalion served with great distinction at the Somme, Ypres and Passchendale, to name but a few. Most of the men in this battalion came from the rural town of Wangaratta, Victoria. Other than Private Francome's entry on the battalion roll, I have no information relating to him (although he did survive the War) and would be grateful if any Australian correspondents could shed some light on this. Contact me via the .

Dr Pierre Francome (Franchomme)

Aromatherapy is a branch of alternative medicine that has been gaining a widespread following in the last few decades. A leading pioneer in this field is the French chemist, Dr Pierre Francome. Now I really cannot be sure how he spells his name, the majority of sites refer to him as Franchomme (and there is an aromatherapy society named after him - "ESIPF - English Société de l'Institute Pierre Franchomme") but several sites list him as Pierre Francome. Given that Franchomme is reputedly the original source of our family name then I feel we can consider him a Francome whichever way it is spelt. Dr Francome's work and scientific research has contributed greatly to the current body of knowledge regarding the therapeutic value of aromatherapy. Together with another leading exponent of aromatherapy (Dr. Penoel) Dr Francome published "L'aromatherapie exactement" which is the basic textbook and encyclopaedia of modern aromatherapy. You can read more about Dr Francome's work here and browse the Aromatherapy Directory for further information.

Aunty Beryl

Aunty Beryl is no longer, strictly speaking, a Francome. She has (for some 50 years now) been a Slater. But if you really must read about her then you can find her (brief) biography here.