(Frank seated right)
Photo Courtesy of Charlene Sickinger Snyder

Francis Sickinger was the son of Catherine Tinneny of Greenock, Scotland and Philadelphia and Michael Sickinger.  He was born and raised in Philadelphia.  By the time he was 14 years old Frank was working on racing cars owned by the wealthy Bergdal family who lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia. This experience with vehicles served him well when he enlisted in the United States Army at 16 years of age during World War I.  He served as a driver in Europe during the war and frequently drove a motorcycle with a side car, like the one he was driving in the photograph above.  He drove many of the senior officers and celebrities who visited the troops along the front lines, including the famous songwriter Irving Berlin.