Francis Egerton Parker was born in London near Epping Forest (possibly Forest Hill or Woodford) around 1886. In c>1900 he left home and moved to central London. He married Minnie Brooke on 17th April 1911. They had one daughter Daphne Patricia. On Minnie's death in 1954 Francis married his housekeeper Rosalie (). He died in 1961. According to his daughter's recollections F E Parker was a successful entrepreneur, building up a substantial fortune between the wars through his advertising business. Unfortunately he invested a great deal of this in Nazi Germany and lost a great deal, but nevertheless was still a wealthy man when he died. He included rifle shooting among his hobbies and volunteered for service in the First World War, but was rejected because of poor eyesight (he used glasses). Other leisure pursuits included radio and photography, and he owned a motor car by the 1930s.