Francis Walter Oaten (1853-1911)

Biography
Francis Walter OATEN was born 16 March 1853 at Paul Street, Taunton. On 16th June 1873 he married Elizabeth Rebecca GRIFFITHS (on her birthday) at St. James’ Church, Bristol.

Francis and Elizabeth had six children - Ernest, Horace, Alice, Percy, Augustus and Beatrice. Ernest Walter OATEN was the most famous child and achieved recognition through his industrious efforts for Spiritualism. In 1916, he led a Parliamentary campaign for the legal recognition of Spiritualism and made the first Spiritualist broadcast on the BBC. In 1919 he became editor of “The Two Worlds”. His organisational skills and understanding of Spiritualism stood him in good stead when he became tour organiser and right-hand man to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Contributors
Nathanville