Frank Henry Mason

As a very young boy he lived with his grandfather who was a lighthouse keeper under the Tees Conservatory. The young Mason grew up surrounded by all things nautical and was enlisted as a cadet on HMS Conway in 1888, a Naval training ship moored at Birkenhead. On leaving HMS Conway, Frank spent some time at sea before training as a marine engineer and working at Hartlepool, Leeds and Scarborough. He eventually settled in Scarborough with his parents about 1890. There was a strong artistic community in Scarborough at that time centered on the harbor area where Mason watched marine artists at work. By about 1895 Mason's work had advanced to the point where he received regular commissions from art dealers and chose to become a professional artist. By the time of the interruption of the Great War he had regularly exhibited his work at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of British Artists.

During World War I Mason volunteered as a lieutenant in the RNVR in command of motor launches in the North Sea, Egypt and Malta. He was later recalled by the Navy to work on dazzle camouflage and then became an official War artist attending the signing of the Turkish Armistice.