Frank Cable’s Son – Frank Harry Cable

CHAPTER VII

Frank Harry Cable entertains and later the death of his Mother 

1921 – NOVEMBER: FRANK CABLE THE MAGICIAN !!
Frank Cable‘s name appears in a local paper again but on this occasion, it is not due to an appearance before the local magistrates!

Bexhill on Sea Observer, Saturday, November 19, 1921

Town Talk

CHRISTCHURCH WANDERERS
SOCIAL.

A social was held in the Christ Church (p.m.) Schoolroom on Monday evening in either of the funds of the Christ Church Wanderers FC. Mr. S. Carney presided, and there were about 150 people present.

A full musical program was presented. Songs were sung by Mrs. F. Sergent, Mrs. E. Baber, Mr. J. Norris and Mr. W.C. Priddy, while clever recitations were given by masters Eddie and Ernest Baber. Mr Spray‘s party of hand ringers gave several items which were much appreciated.

Mr. W. Barker played the mandolin and Mr. Langmaid, the violin, both performers being more than once recalled.

Mr Frank Cable performed several conjuring chicks which completely mystified the audience.

The accompaniments were provided by Mr. H. King.

Refreshments, which were generally given by the wives of many friends of the members of the football team, were dispensed and competition was held, the competitors required to guess the number of grains of rice in a bottle.

The winner of the first prize, a live cockerel, given by Mr. E. Baber, was Mr. S. Carey,  jun., who guessed the exact number – 1,525.

Christchurch Methodist Church
Christchurch Methodist Church was, and still is, located on the corner of Springfield Road and Holliers Hill. The land was on which the church was built was presented to the Primitive Methodist Connection, and with generous financial backing from s local businessman, plus gifts and labour from members and friends. Christ Church, Springfield Road, was dedicated and opened on 20th March 1907. The photograph on the left was taken in 1909 as consequently was contemporary to the time Frank performed his conjuring tricks in the schoolroom.

To this date they continued to put on annual concerts, such as the one in which Frank Cable took part, with ‘comedy, song, skits, music as well as a supper’!

The ‘P.M.’ mentioned in the press article refers to Primitive Methodists. Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English and Welsh Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. Primitive meant “simple” or “relating to an original stage”; the Primitive Methodists saw themselves as practising a purer form of Christianity, closer to the earliest Methodists.

1933 – DECEMBER: FRANK CABLE’S MOTHER DIES
Just prior to Christmas 1933, on 19th December of that year, Frank Cable’s mother, Catherine Sarah Cable dies. Her address is given as 57, King Henry Road, New Malden. New Malden is a suburban area in southwest London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Most of the houses in that road are relatively modern, number 57 does not appear have survived.

She has reached the age of 98 years, and her cause of death is recorded as ‘Senile Decay‘. The death was registered by her daughter-in-law Alice Cable. Alice was the wife Frank Nevill Cable, Frank Harry Cable’s eldest son. Alice is living at 259, Fleet Road, Fleet. Hants (Hants is the common abbreviation for the country of Hampshire). She is buried in Kingston where a gravestone bears her name – I understand with the name ‘Catherine Cable’.

One falsehood on the record is the comment that Catherine Sarah Cable is the ‘Widow of Frank Cable Dairyman’. This is not true as Frank is alive and well and living with his ‘wife’ Polly Shellaker, under the name ‘Frank Brown’. He lives on for a further 19 years until his death in 1952.

The record of the death of Frank Harry Cable’s mother at the age of 98 years.

1934 – FEBRUARY – A WEDDING TAKES PLACE
A little over 70 days pass after Catherine Cable’s death and a marriage takes place on 27th February 1934 in Kingston in south-west London, England. FRANK BROWN (FRANCIS CABLE), at the aged of 73 years, and after raising six children together; May, John Richard, Elizabeth, Edith, Daisy and Francis Joseph, all of whom were officially born out of wedlock as it appears was Frank himself, marries MARY JANE SHELLAKER (POLLY), aged 69 years, legally for the first, and only occasion.

It is said, within the family, that Frank desired to ‘make an honest woman of Polly’ as soon as he could but had to wait after Catherine’s death, after 42 years as living as ‘man and wife’, their marriage is now legal.

1939 REGISTER
On Friday, September 29th, there was a requirement for all households to provide details of those living therein. This day was known as National Registration Day. This Register is a snapshot of England and Wales at the outbreak of World War II, providing details such as addresses, birth dates, occupations, and household members.  It is a useful resource as the census records for 1931 for England and Wales were destroyed in a fire in December 1942 and the 1941 census was cancelled.

This record show Frank Harry Cable, at the age 58 years old, living with his wife Alice Lousia Cable (née Smith).

Alice’s birth date is shown as 30th September 1869, this makes her 69 years old at this time. Her 70th birthday was actually the day after this record was completed. This birth year of 1869 contradicts the age of the record of her wedding, on which her age is recorded as 32 years old. Based on a birth date of 30th September 1869, she would have been 35 years old on her wedding day on 7th June 1905, wth her 36th birthday being in September of that year.

Likewise, the age of Frank Harry Cable, as shown on the record of the wedding, was 28 years. However, as his birth date was 1st January 1881, his age on his wedding day was 24 years

With Frank and Louisa are two of their children; Alice Kate Cable, who would have recently turned 28 years old, and her brother Herbert Cable, aged 24 years. As you can see, the surname of the daughter, Alice Kate, has been changed to ‘FROST‘. This is a stroung indication she subsequently married, as the National Register was intended to be a dynamic document, with updates made for births, deaths, and marriages until 1952. Accordingly, sometime between 1939 and 1952 she became Alice Kate Frost.

Their other two sons; Frank Nevill Cable and Horace Cable are now both married and living elsewhere with their respective wives.

Frank Nevill Cable is now 33 years old and is a Shopkeeper and Proprietor of a Grocery shop and is married to Mable E. Cable, aged 30 years, who is recorded as being a ”Assistant Paid’, possibly in the Grocery shop. They, like Frank Nevill’s parents, also live in Boundary Road, at No. 57. It is possible they had two childen, as the two entries directly below that are Frank Nevill and Mable Cable are redacted. This is to protect the privacy of individuals who were still alive and under 100 years old when the register was released.

Horace Cable is now 31 years old and is recorded as being a ‘Skilled Motor Driver / Commercial Traveller‘. He is married to Marjorie J. Cable, who was also 31 years old. They do not live locally as their address is shown as ‘Santa Rosa, Rowan Crescent. Letchworth, Hertfordshire‘. This location is around 90 miles from the home of Horace’s parents. On the record this is no indication, in 1939, of children of this marriage.

The Family of Frank Harry Cable – c.1939

Click on the image to view a larger image.

Where is 98, Boundary Road, Hove?
Boundary Road, located in Portslade, now a suburb of Brighton and Hove, has been a nightmare to locate due to various change of names over the years, some of which I will ignore to avoid additional confusion.

By the 1890s it was called Station Road, Hove. In 1903 it was apparently decided, by Hove council, to rename the problematic highway ‘Boundary Road‘ but they did not inform their Portslade colleagues were going to rename their portion of the road, but Portslade were content to leave it as ‘Station Road’. The boundary between Hove and Portslade ran down the centre of the road. In summary: Station Road and Boundary Road in Hove are one and the same (I think) !!

However, the section of Station Road and Boundary Road in which 98, Boundary Road, Hove is situtated was/is called Carlton Terrace (and still is on some maps and addresses). 98, Boundary Road, Hove, is now an office for ‘Bluebird Care. (see below right)

On the left the location of Boundary Road in Hove. Centre – Station Road / Boundary Road. On the right – No. 98 Boundary Road

Click on the images to view a larger view.

1953 – FRANK HARRY CABLE’S FATHER DIES
Frank Brown (Francis James Cable) died on the 5th December 1952 at the age of 92 years. The Cause of Death was recorded as ‘Coronary embolism and myocardial degeneration’.

‘Coronary embolism’ occurs when a traveling blood clot or other substance blocks a coronary artery, causing a heart attack. ‘Myocardial degeneration’ is the deterioration or damage to heart muscle tissue, it can arise from other heart conditions.

The record of the death of Frank Harry Cable’s father at the age of 92 years.

Frank Harry Cable’s Father – Frank James Brown / Frank James Cable in his latter years

FRANK’S ‘FRIEND’ HARRY – CONTACT WITH HIS FATHER?
On a number of occasions Elizabeth Brown (Bertha) mentioned that ‘Dad’, (Francis Cable/Brown) had a friend ‘Harry’ with whom he spent a lot of time.  She thought he might be related but wasn’t sure (or wasn’t telling). We now have not one but two likely candidates for this ‘friend’ Harry; firstly his younger brother Henry was known as ‘Harry’ but also his son, Francis Henry Cable, was also known as ‘Harry’. If the latter, then Frank Harry Cable remained in contact with his father, Frank James Cable /Brown.

Frank James Brown (Frank James Cable) wife, Polly Shellaker, died around two years later on the 8th of July 1854.

Next Page: An Unfinished Story….!