Frank Johnstone senior spent 21years in the Royal Navy. On leaving the Navy, he and his family planned to emigrate to Canada but were persuaded by a family friend to come to Wales instead. He obtained a job as an engineer at Era quarry Ceinws Esgairgeiliog. He lived at Mount Pleasant, Ceinws with his wife Isabella, daughter Dorothy and son Nelson. They also had another son called Frank (junior) who had been in the Royal Air Force. Not long after, Era quarry ran into difficulty and closed. Frank senior then went to work at the Braich Goch quarry in Corris until he died in 1929.