He was born in Johnsonville, in Wellington, the fifth of eight children (five sons and three daughters) of Kathleen (née Gaffney) and George Charles Douglas, an Australian-born railway worker. His mother was a devout Catholic from County Sligo, Ireland, and his father became a Catholic in 1926.Hugh Laracy. 'Douglas, Francis Vernon', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand; updated 7 June 2013.
