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Brentford Councillors - Thomas William Stockley

Introduction

Thomas William Stockley (1872 – 1943)

Mr Stockley stood again in March 1923.
There were 7 men standing for 4 seats and he came top of the poll with 1085 votes.
He had been given the support of the Labour Party who had no candidate of their own and this was a case of ‘third time lucky’ wrote the local paper.
His address is given as 29, Kenley Road and he was a crane driver.
His name is on the houses built by the Urban District Council at 217, Ealing Road as a member of the Housing Committee (1920) and on the stone commemorating the opening of Boston Manor Park by Lady Cooper in 1924.
At that time Housing Committee co-opted some members from outside the Council.

All Councillors served on the Works and General Purposes Committee and 1923/4 he was on the Housing & Town Planning, Maternity and Child Welfare Committees and was one of the County Council School Managers.
In 1924/5 he was on the Sanitary, Allotments, Maternity & Child Welfare and the Amalgamation (presumably to organise the amalgamation with Chiswick) Committees and was one of the County Schools Managers.
In March 1925 it was reported that he had attended 75 out of a possible 81 meetings.
1925/6 it was the Sanitary, Allotments, Housing & Town Planning, Maternity and Child Welfare, Parks &Open Spaces & Street Trees Committees and one of the County School Managers.

He was required to stand down in 1926 but put himself forward for re-election.
His address was still 29, Kenley Road and he was a crane driver.
He was nominated by T Stallabrass, Harry F Davis, TE Bridgeman, TA Spicer, Harry Newman, Kenneth Walker, Alice J Burden (later the first Lady Mayor of the Borough), W J Foulkes, G E King, Ernest E Castle and seconded by AE Moore, William Flewitt, John Commins, Henry Stamp, F W Steele, G P Clinton, Mary Ashley, J J Cowley, F A Sargeant and William Rowe.

The Middlesex Independent reported ‘The Labour campaign was not in any way organised, and Mr Stockley, the retiring member, and Mr Hill who championed the Labour cause, fought independently’.
It also reported that there was a very apathetic turn out of voters (2,040 people voted out of an electorate of 7,813) which it considered surprising with the amalgamation with Chiswick coming up and the question of the widening of Brentford High Street.

In 1926/7 he was on the Public Health, Allotments, Housing & Town Planning, Maternity and Child Welfare Committees, was one of the County School Managers and Manager of St Georges Schools.

He is on the photograph taken of the last District Council and Officials before the amalgamation with Chiswick and continued to serve as a Brentford Ward Councillor in 1928 and Brentford East Ward from 1929/30 to 1931/32.

There are 2 photographs of him provided by a great, great granddaughter.

From census forms it seems he was born in Clerkenwell in 1872, (possibly registered Holborn 1b 681 in the September quarter) and by the 1881 census was living with his grandparents at 1, New Road (next to the New Inn). The household consisted of Edward Richardson (78) butcher, his wife Emma (71) and daughter Emma Stockley (35) all were born in Brentford and his grand children Thomas William (8) born Clerkenwell, Emma (7) and Alice Louise (4) both born Russell Square and James (3) born in Clerkenwell.
Thomas, Emma and Alice were scholars.
They also had a lodger, Mary Crouch who was a Widow and a Laundress aged 57 born in Iver, Bucks.

In 1891 the family’s address was9, Netley Road.
The Head of Household was Emma Richardson (86) Widow and also resident were Emma Stockley (45) shown as ‘wife and M’, Thomas (18) a painter, Alice (14) scholar, Jas …..(13) stable boy, Ethel (6) scholar born in Brentford.

Thomas marries on June 7th 1891 at St James Church Gunnersbury.
He was a painter aged 20 giving the address 533, High Road Gunnersbury (now Chiswick High Road). His father was Thomas William Stockley (jeweller).
His wife was Ellen Emily Hare (20) of 49, Windmill Road, Turnham Green. Her father was Charles Edward Hare, carman. The witnesses were Charles Edward Hare and Cora Hare.
This was registered in the June quarter 1891 Brentford 3a 113.

I can’t find any of the family in the 1901 census but by 1911 they were living at 29, Kenley Road.
The household was Thomas W Stockley (39) a crane driver at the Gas Works, Ellen E (39) born in Chiswick. They had been married for 19years and had had 7 children of whom 5 were still living. Resident were Daughter Alice E (17), a domestic servant, Alfred J (14) an errand boy to a Tailor, George R (12) and John H (5). All the children had been born in Brentford and the 2 youngest sons were at school.

Thomas William Stockley died on August 8th 1943.
His obituary in the Middlesex Independent says that he died in Brentford Hospital after a short illness and shortly after celebrating his golden wedding. It mentions that he had been a Brentford Councillor and had been on the Committee of the Brentford Gas Works, was a member of the Brotherhood and a member of the Allotment Committee. He had worked at the Gas works for 45 years and had returned from retirement 2 years before, (Presumably because of the War being fought at the time). He left a widow, six children, 23 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
His third son had gone to Australia eight years before.

Stockley Thomas William of 29, Kenley Road Brentford died August 8th 1943 at Brentford Hospital. Administration Llandudno 9th November to Ellen Emily Stockley widow. Effects £283.7.6d.

Registered aged 72 Brentford 3a 304.

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Page published May 2013