Henry W

H. W. Tubb - Hove & Portslade

Henry W. Tubb - Photographer in Hove and Portslade

Henry William Tubb (1867-1952)

Henry William Tubb was born at Climping, West Sussex in 1867. [Birth registered in the district of Worthing during the 4th Qtr of 1867] (1). Climping, also spelt Clymping, is a small parish, located 3 miles west of Littlehampton and 4 miles south-east from Arundel. At the time of Henry Tubb's birth, Climping had a population of around 250.

Henry William Tubb was the second eldest son of Jane and Charles Tubb, a coachman in domestic service. Charles Tubb was born in 1845 in the Hampshire village of Farley Chamberlayne, near Winchester. Sometime in the 1860s, Charles Tubb married Jane (born c1844), a young woman from Otterbourne, a village 4 miles south of Winchester. After their marriage Charles and his wife moved to West Sussex. After a short time at Barnham, Charles and Jane Tubb settled in Climping. Around 1875, Charles Tubb and his family found a home in Littlehampton. During their long marriage, Charles and Jane Tubb produced at least nine children - Walter James (born 1865 Barnham, West Sussex), Henry William (born 1867, Climping,West Sussex), Emily Jane (born 1867, Climping,West Sussex), Frederick Charles (born 1871, Climping,West Sussex), George Edwin (born 1873, Climping,West Sussex), Anne Ellen (born 1876, Littlehampton, West Sussex), Albert (born 1879 - died 1880 Littlehampton, West Sussex), Agnes Lucy (born 1881 Littlehampton, West Sussex) and Clarence Herbert Tubb (born 1883 Littlehampton, West Sussex). (2) (3)

At the time of the 1881 census, Charles and Jane Tubb and their children were living at 4 St Martin's Lane, Littlehampton. The two eldest Tubb boys were in employment when the census was taken - fifteen year old Walter James Tubb was working as a "Draper's Errand Boy", while Henry William Tubb had just started an apprenticeship, possibly with a local photographer. (Littlehampton had two resident professional photographers in 1881 - John White at 32 High Street, Littlehampton and Alfred King, who had recently taken over the Russell & Sons' branch studio in Terminus Road, Littlehampton). Henry Tubb later found employment in a Brighton photographic studio and was working as a "photographic assistant" in Brighton when he married in 1890.(4)

On 21st July 1890, Henry William Tubb married Sarah Hopkins, the twenty-five year old daughter of Ann and Granby Hopkins, a shipwright (ship's carpenter) of Littlehampton. (5) Originally from Studland, Dorset, Granby Hopkins had married Ann Denyer at Littlehampton in 1858. Sarah Hopkins, the couple's third child, was born in 1864 and baptised at St Mary's Church, Littlehampton, on 16th October 1864. (6)

When the census was taken on 5th April 1891, Henry Tubb was working as a "Photographer's Assistant" in Dorking, Surrey (7). It was while living in Dorking, Surrey, that Henry Tubb's wife Sarah gave birth to their first child, Matilda Agnes Tubb. [The birth of Matilda Agnes Tubb was registered in the district of Dorking during the 3rd Quarter of 1892 - Matilda was the name of Sarah's younger sister and Henry Tubb's youngest sister was named Agnes]. (8)

Henry W. Tubb's Photographic Studio in Hove

After a period working as a photographer's assistant in Dorking, Surrey, Henry William Tubb returned to Sussex to establish his own photographic portrait business. Around 1899, Henry Tubb set up a photographic studio in Portland Road, Hove, opposite Portslade Railway Station (9). Describing himself as an "Artist Photographer", Henry Tubb took studio portraits at his Portland Road Studio, but he was also an "outdoor photographer", offering to bring his camera along to "Garden Parties, Wedding groups, etc., ..by appointment". Henry Tubb was also keen to advertise his expertise in making photographic enlargements. Tubb's advertisements proclaimed "Photographs in all Styles - Enlargements of all Description" and the publicity on the reverse of his cabinet and carte-de-visite portraits, under the heading "ENLARGEMENTS TO ALL STYLES", assured his customers that "the negative of this photograph is preserved from which enlargements or further copies can always be obtained." To supplement his photography business, Henry Tubb also made picture frames at his Portland Road premises. (10)

[ABOVE] An advertisement for H. W. Tubb's Portland Road Studio which appeared in the Hove Gazette on 16th September 1899.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of photographer H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove, taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1900)

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a Young Man by Henry William Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (c1905)

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a family group by Henry William Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (c1900)

Henry W. Tubb's Family and Home

When the 1901 census was taken on 31st March, Henry and Sarah Tubb and their eight year old daughter Matilda were recorded at (2) Portland Road, Aldrington, Hove. As the Head of Household, Henry W. Tubb is described on the census return as a "Photographer (own account)", aged 34. (11)

Henry William Tubb's home in Portland Road served as his studio and business premises. Henry Tubb was keen to point out in his advertisements that his Portland Road Studio was located opposite Portslade Railway Station. Tubb's house at in Portland Road was situated at the far western end of Portland Road, next to a Dairy managed by a thirty-six year old widow named Kate Schofield. Portland Road had very few buildings at the western end and Tubb's studio and the Dairy were some distance from the residential area which had been built at the other end of Portland Road to the west of Sackville Road. In fact, although Tubb's address on the 1901 census is given as 2 Portland Road, Aldrington, Hove, strictly speaking it was simply being identified as the second house in Portland Road from the junction with Station Road - No. 2 Portland Road, Hove, was actually a house on the southern side of Portland Road, near Grange Road belonging to a physician named Charles Shackleton Simpson (12). At the time of the 1901 census there were few houses between Tubb's studio at the Station Road end of Portland Road and Samuel Steer's Portland Road Bakery at the junction with Titian Road. Portland Road was developed over the next few years and after a number of terraced houses were built along the length of Portland Road, the original buildings were re-numbered. In 1905, Samuel Steer's Bakery, Tubb's nearest neighbour in 1901, was numbered 124 Portland Road. Henry Tubb's studio and the Dairy were situated beyond the Aldrington Estate Office and were not assigned a house number.

During the 3rd Quarter of 1903, Sara Tubb gave birth to a second child ; a daughter named Olive Una Tubb. Around 1907, Henry Tubb opened a second photographic studio at 39 Station Road, Portslade-by-Sea. For a short time, Henry Tubb worked from both studios, but by the end of 1908 the photographer had shifted his home and business to 39 Station Road. (13)

Henry Tubb's new business premises at 39 Station Road, Portslade-by-Sea was situated in a parade of shops that stretched between St Andrew's Road and Franklin Road on the western side of Station Road. In the 1890s, Station Road, which ran from Portslade Railway Station to the seafront, marked the boundary between Aldrington and Hove in the east and Portslade in the west. In 1903, the eastern side of Station Road, marking the start of Hove, was re-named Boundary Road. The western side of the dividing road, on the Portslade side, retained the name of Station Road. (14)

Mrs Sarah Tubb, Henry Tubb's wife of nearly 30 years, died in Portslade in 1919 at the age of fifty-four. The following year, Henry Tubb's eldest daughter, Matilda Agnes Tubb married Albert Candy (born 1892, Portslade, Sussex), the son of Annie and Albert George Candy, an engine fitter of Portslade-by-Sea. [The marriage of Matilda Tubb and Albert Candy was registered in the Steyning District during the First Quarter of 1920]. Albert and Matilda Tubb produced at least two children - Derek Candy (born 1922) and Bryan Candy (born 1926). (15)

Henry William Tubb was still listed as a photographer at 39 Station Road, Portslade-by-Sea in Kelly's Trade Directory of Sussex published in 1930. When the 1930 edition of Kelly's Directory was issued, Henry Tubb would have been 63 years of age and close to retirement. The name Henry W. Tubb did not appear under the heading of "Photographers" in the Trade Section of the 1934 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex.(16)

When Henry William Tubb retired he returned to West Sussex. Henry William Tubb died in 1952 at the age of 84. [Death registered in the District of Worthing during the 1st Quarter of 1952].

SOURCES : (1) FreeBMD website; (2) 1881 & 1891 Census; (3) FreeBMD website; (4) Rendell Williams of "Sussex Postcards Info" website; (5) Rendell Williams of "Sussex Postcards Info" website; (6) IGI of Births & Baptisms on FamilySearch website; (7) 1891 Census; ((8) FreeBMD website; (9) Dated cdvs and cabinet photographs; (10) Hove Gazette, 16th September 1899; (11) 1901 Census; (12) Kelly's Directories of Sussex 1899-1915 on "Historical Directories" website; (13) Kelly's Directory of Sussex 1905, 1907 & 1909 , Towner's Directory of Brighton & Hove, 1906 & 1907 and Pike's Directory of Brighton, 1908 & 1909; (14) "Past Times : Station Road, Portslade" on MMHistory website; (15) FreeBMD website; (16) Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1930 & 1934.

Carte-de-visite Portraits by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove


[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a child standing on a chair by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (c1900)	[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a girl wearing a hat by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (c1905)	[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young man standing by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (c1905)

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a Young Woman by Henry William Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (c1905)

Studio Portraits by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove

In 1899, Henry Tubb publicized the fact that he could produce "Photographs in All Styles", yet during the period he was based in Portland Road, Hove, the bulk of Tubb's output appears to have been studio portraits in the popular carte-de-visite and cabinet card formats. Judging by surviving examples of his portrait work, Tubb employed a range of studio props and painted backdrops.

Outdoor Group Portraits by H. W. Tubb of Hove

In addition to his studio portrait work, Henry W. Tubb worked as an outdoor photographer, travelling to locations with his camera ("by appointment") to record wedding parties, sports teams and other organised groups. One of Henry Tubb's better known pictures shows members of the Portslade Gas Works Cycle Club, photographed around 1907 during one of their outings. Tubb's photograph, marked "H. W. Tubb, Hove", portrays twenty-five men and one woman posing with their bicycles on a sloping grass bank, with a row of trees and a wooden fence in the background.

[ABOVE] Outdoor group portrait of members of the Portslade Gas Works Cycle Club photographed by Henry William Tubb of Portland Road, Hove (c1907).

The Gadd Family Portraits by H. W. Tubb

The six photographic portraits in this section shows members of the Gadd Family who had connections with Portslade and Hove between 1880 and 1915. Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd, who is featured in four of the photographs, was born Rebecca Wall Wratten at Uckfield in 1853. Rebecca was the daughter of Sarah Wall and John Gurnett Wratten (died 1858), a leather worker. Rebecca Wratten had married George Adames Gadd, a Brighton linen draper, in London in 1880, but by this date George Gadd had fathered three children - Agnes Gadd (born 1876, Brighton), Thomas Herbert Gadd (born 1877, Brighton) and Henry Ernest Gadd (born 1878, Brighton). Rebecca gave birth to George's fourth child, Florence Valentine Gadd, in Brighton in 1880, probably on 14th February.

Rebecca's husband, George Adames Gadd, was born Fishbourne, West Sussex, in 1842, the son of Dinah Adames and George Gadd senior (1812-1902), a farmer from West Sussex. George Adames Gadd was the proprietor of linen drapery business at 14 Lewes Road, Brighton. When the 1881 census was taken on 3rd April, George and Rebecca Gadd and their four children were living in Beaconsfield Terrace, Portslade.

Over the next ten years, Rebecca Wall Gadd gave birth to several more children including Frank Adames Gadd (born 1882), Mabel Dinah Gadd (born 1884), Jessie Maud Gadd (born 1885), Ethel Gertrude Gadd (born 1889), Daisy Hilda Gadd (born 1889), George Reginald Gadd (born 1893), Queenie Dorothy Gadd (born 1895), Violet Edna Gadd (born 1897) and Beatrice Irene Gadd (born 1901). The Gadd family divided their time between Brighton & Hove, where George Adames Gadd owned property and business interests, and the family home in Worthing, where five of Rebecca's children were born. By 1901, Mrs Rebecca Gadd and her family were living at New Fishbourne, where the youngest child Beatrice Irene Gadd was born during the 2nd Quarter of 1901. By this time, George Adames Gadd was working as a Secretary to his 89 year old father, George Gadd senior, who was then living in Aldingbourne, a parish five miles east of Chichester.

When the 1911 census was taken Rebecca Wall Gadd was living with her husband, George Adames Gadd, in the district of Westhampnett, while her three youngest daughters were staying with relatives in Midhurst, West Sussex.

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite vignette portrait of Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (1899). On the reverse of the carte is the name "Mrs Gadd" and a date of 1899. Rubber-stamped on the back of the portrait is the address of a boarding house in Hove - "Priory House, (111) Sackville Road, Hove". Mrs Gadd's husband, George Adames (Adams) Gadd is listed as the proprietor of 111 Sackville Road between 1911 and 1915.

[ABOVE] Another carte-de-visite vignette portrait of Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd photographed by H. W. Tubb at the same session as the portrait on the left. Inscribed on the reverse of the carte are the words "My darling Mother" and a date of 1899. The sitter was born Rebecca Wall Wratten in 1853 and married George Adames Gadd in 1880.

Portraits of Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd and her daughter Mabel Dinah Gadd by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove showing Mabel Dinah Gadd (born 1884, Sompting, ) and her mother Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd. (born 1853, Uckfield). The sitters have been identified by inscriptions written in ink underneath the photograph. Inscribed on the reverse of the cabinet card are the words "Mother is Rebecca Wall Gadd". Presumably the portrait was taken around 1902, when Mabel Dinah Gadd was in her late teens.

[ABOVE] A cabinet vignette portrait of Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (c1900). Inscribed on the reverse of the cabinet card are the words "Mother - Rebecca Wall Gadd". Mrs Gadd, the subject of this portrait, was born Rebecca Wall Wratten at Uckfield in 1853. Rebecca Wall Wratten married George Adames Gadd a linen draper of 14 Lewes Road, Brighton at St Pancras, London, in 1880.

Cabinet Portraits of Beatrice Irene Gadd, the youngest daughter of Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of Beatrice Irene Gadd (born 1901, New Fishbourne) by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove. (1901). Inscribed on the reverse of the cabinet card are the words "Beatrice June (sic) Gadd, 6 months". Beatrice Irene Gadd was the youngest daughter of Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd and George Adames Gadd.

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of Beatrice Irene Gadd in an enamelled bath by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove (1901). The name of the young child is inscribed in ink on below the photographer's trade plate. Beatrice Irene Gadd (born 1901) was the youngest daughter of Mrs Rebecca Wall Gadd and George Adames Gadd of New Fishbourne.

Map of Portslade and the Aldrington district of Hove showing the Location of H. W. Tubb's Studios

[ABOVE] A map drawn around 1910, showing the location of H. W. Tubb's Portland Road Studio ( marked with a red dot) and Henry Tubb's second studio at 39 Station Road, Portslade-by-Sea ( marked with a purple dot) , which he opened around 1907. Notice that there were few buildings between Henry Tubb's at the far western end of Portland road and the built-up residential area which began at the Grange Road junction at the eastern end of Portland road. Pike's 1908 Directory of Brighton lists H. W. Tubb as a photographer at Portland Road and 39 Station Road, Portslade, but Kelly's 1907 Directory of Sussex lists Henry W. Tubb only at 39 Station Road, Portslade-by-Sea.

H. W. Tubb - Photographer of Portslade

No.	Station Road	Business
42	Alfred E. Hardwick	Provision Dealer
41	F. E. Kessell	Tobacconist
40	Ernest W. Kippin	Fruiterer
39	Henry W. Tubb	Photographer
38	Edward Clark	Draper
37	George Harwood	Chemist

[ABOVE] A picture postcard showing The Parade, a row of shops in Station Road, Portslade (c1907). This photograph shows the shops in Station Road which were numbered 37 to 42 and ran between Franklin Road and St Aubyn's Road. Henry William Tubb had a shop and photographic studio at 39 Station Road. This view shows a group of people studying the photographs and picture frames displayed in Henry Tubb's shop window.

Henry W. Tubb's Shop and Photographic Studio at 39 Station Road, Portslade-by-Sea

Henry William Tubb acquired business premises at 39 Station Road, Portslade-by-Sea around 1907. For a short time, Henry Tubb retained his photographic studio in Portland Road, Hove, but by 1908 Portland Road studio was closed and the shop at 39 Station Road became the base for Henry Tubb's photographic activities. It appears that Henry Tubb was the only professional photographer with a photographic portrait studio in Portslade between 1908 and 1930.

In the twenty-odd years that Henry Tubb was based in Station Road, Henry Tubb spent much of his time taking family portraits in his well-equipped portrait studio. Although Henry Tubb occasionally worked as an outdoor photographer, taking pictures of wedding groups, sports teams and members of clubs and societies, many of his group portraits were taken inside his studio in Station Road. His group photographs of sports teams, such as the Portslade Swifts Football Club Team (1919) and the St Nicolas' Girls' School Stoolball Team (1928), show the participants arranged neatly on the carpeted floor of his studio, rather than outdoors on the playing field. However, Henry Tubb was prepared to take his camera outdoors when the occasion and the circumstances demanded it. Trooper David John Morris was posed in a field when he chose to be photographed astride his military horse. [See the equestrian portrait of David John Morris at the foot of the webpage]. I assume it was Henry William Tubb who was asked to bring his photographic equipment along to record the family gathering of the March Family of Portslade, who had possibly assembled outdoors to celebrate the wedding anniversary of Albert March senior and his wife Maria. [See the outdoor group portrait of Albert and Maria March and their twelve children, below].

[RIGHT] A detail from a picture postcard of the shopping parade in Station Road, Portslade, showing a group of people studying the photographs and picture frames displayed in the window of H. W. Tubb's shop at No. 39 Station Road (c1907). To the left of Henry Tubb's premises is the shop of Ernest William Kipper, a fruiterer and greengrocer at No. 40 Station Road.

[ABOVE] A view of Church Road, Portslade, issued as a picture postcard by Henry W. Tubb around 1907. The photographer's mark, which reads "Photo H. W. Tubb PORTSLADE", appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the postcard. This view was taken at the southern end of Church Road, near the site of the Brittania Flour Mills. The "Crown Inn" in Wellington Road can be seen in the centre-background of the photograph.

Postcards by H. W. Tubb of Portslade

Between 1899 and 1907, when he was based in Portland Road, Hove, Henry Tubb mainly produced studio portraits in the popular carte-de-visite and cabinet card formats. From around 1907, the year Tubb moved his photography business to 39 Station Road, Portslade, Henry Tubb began to produce his studio portraits in picture postcard format.

Henry Tubb had already issued some "real photograph" picture postcards from his Hove address, possibly as early as 1905. Tubb had photographed some notable events in the Portslade area ( for instance, a steam roller accident which took place in the High Street, near Portslade's well-known iron footbridge, photographed by Tubb around 1905) which he later published as picture postcards. In 1911, Tubb took pictures of the procession which passed down Station Road-Boundary Road to celebrate the Coronation of King George V. Tubbs photographs of the Coronation Procession were also issued as picture postcards. A number of the sports team photographs taken by H. W. Tubb between the two world wars also made an appearance on picture postcards.

Rendell Williams on the "Sussex Postcards Info" website, notes that H. W. Tubb produced up to a hundred different real photographic postcard views of Portslade and Southwick between 1906 and 1925.

To read about H. W. Tubb's activities as a producer of picture postcards, click on the link below :

SUSSEX POSTCARDS INFO

Photographs of the March Family of Portslade

Photographs and Family History Information courtesy of Terry Morris

[ABOVE] An outdoor portrait of Albert March (1847-1921) and his wife Mrs Maria March (born c1855), photographed in Portslade around 1910, possibly by local photographer H. W. Tubb. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Terry Morris]

[ABOVE] An early photograph of Portslade Power Station, which was constructed in 1906. Albert March senior, a steeplejack and bricklayer, helped build one of the two large brick chimneys.

[ABOVE] A photograph of Trafalgar Road taken around 1905, showing the junction with Bampfield Street on the left. The March family lived in Bampfield Street for over 30 years.

Albert March was born in 1847 at Thakeham, a small village in West Sussex, about 4 miles from Pulborough and 3 miles north of Storrington. In 1873, at the age of twenty-six, Albert March married an eighteen year old Spanish girl. Albert's bride was Maria Delores De Jesus Cabello Hurtado, who was born in Malaga in Southern Spain around 1855. When Albert March met Maria he was working as a bricklayer in Spain, taking part in the construction of a villa for her father. The family story is that Maria had to flee Spain with Albert after one of the many violent uprisings in Malaga resulted in the death of some members of her family (*).

Albert March and his young wife settled in Worthing, where their first two children were born - Albert March junior born in 1874 and Marie (Maria) Mary March who arrived during the First Quarter of 1876. After the birth of their daughter, Albert and Maria moved with their two young children to Portslade. The couple's third child, Arthur William March, was born in Portslade towards the end of 1877. A girl named Eva Alice March arrived two years later, during the 4th Quarter of 1879.

When the census was taken on 3rd April 1881, Albert March was living with his wife and four children at a house in Petersfield Terrace, Portslade. Albert March gave his occupation as "Bricklayer" and he might well have been engaged in the building work that was being carried out in Portslade at this time. Living next door to Albert March was a carpenter and a joiner and, in the house beyond them, was another young bricklayer with his family. The 1881 census records that, apart from one grocery shop, the seven other houses in Petersfield Terrace were uninhabited, presumably newly built and awaiting occupation. At the time of the 1881 census, Albert's wife Maria was pregnant with their fifth child. A daughter, christened Harriet Amelia March, but later known as Hilda, was born in Portslade during the final quarter of 1881. It is possible that other children were born to Alfred and Maria March during this period, but they did not survive infancy.

Over a period of twelve years, between 1884 and 1896, Mrs Maria March gave birth to seven more children - Josefa Antonia March (born 1884), Rose Frances March (born 1886), Charles William March (born 1888), Emily Gertrude March (born 1889), Sidney (Sydney) Robert March (born 1891), Constance March (born 1893) and, finally, Dorothy Bertha March (born 1896).

In 1881, Albert March and his family were living in Petersfield Terrace, a row of a dozen or so recently built terraced houses near The Battle of Trafalgar public house in the Southern Cross area of Portslade. In the 1880s, the main road which ran south from The Battle of Trafalgar towards the railway line became known as Trafalgar Road and Petersfield Terrace, which ran into Trafalgar Road, opposite Victoria Road, was absorbed into the newly-named Bampfield Street. When the 1891 census was taken, Albert March's original house was taken to be part of Bampfield Street. By this date, Albert March and his wife Maria were running a small shop in Bamfield Street. Albert March is listed as a shopkeeper in Bamfield Street in a street directory of 1890 and Kelly's 1899 Directory of Sussex lists Albert March as a shopkeeper at 4 Bampfield Street, Southern Cross, Portslade. However, Albert March senior was still earning his living as a bricklayer and steeplejack in the early 1900s. The 1901 census records Albert March as a fifty-three year old bricklayer and a story has been passed down through the family that Albert was employed as a "steeplejack bricklayer" on the construction of one of the tall chimneys at Portslade Power Station, which was completed in June 1906. It appears that other members of the March family staffed the shop in Bamfield Street. It is reported that Mrs Maria March, Alfred's Spanish wife, made special continental ice cream which was sold in her husband's shop. Apparently, Maria never mastered the English language and it is likely that her eldest daughters, Eva and Marie, assisted their mother in the family shop. The small store also sold tobacco and fruit and vegetables from the family's market garden.

When the 1901 census was taken, Albert and Maria March and eight of their children were living at No.7 Bampfield Street, Portslade-by-Sea. Albert and Maria March's fifteen year old daughter Rose March was in domestic service and at the time of the 1901 census she was living away from home and working as a housemaid in Hove. In 1896, Albert March junior, Albert's eldest son, had married Priscilla Jane Richardson, the eldest daughter of Mrs Priscilla Richardson, a widowed confectioner who ran a sweet shop in Portslade. By 1899 Albert March junior, had set up two greengrocer's shops, one at 65 North Street, Portslade and another in the High Street of Shoreham. Within a few years, Albert March junior had opened a second greengrocer's shop at Shoreham in Brunswick Road. The 1901 census records Albert March junior as a "Fruiterer & Greengrocer" in New Shoreham. At this time, twenty-three year old Arthur March, Albert March senior's second eldest son, was employed as a labourer in Old Shoreham. Later that year, Arthur William March married twenty year old Annie Louisa Minter, the daughter of Louise and George Minter, a mariner of New Shoreham.

By the time Alfred March senior's family gathered together to have their portrait taken in Portslade, three of his daughters had husbands. Marie Mary March married widower Richard Alfred Russell in 1902 and the following year her younger sister Eva Alice March wed Frederick John Miller. Eva later opened a hat shop in Brighon, close to the Railway Station. In 1906, at the age of twenty-one, Josefa Antonia March married Arthur Allen Smith. Josefa's younger brother, Charles William March married Lydia Smith in 1908. Charles March later worked as a furniture dealer in Portslade.

Cabinet Portraits of Members of the March Family of Portslade photographed by H. W. Tubb

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of Charles William March, a Bell Boy at Brighton's Grand Hotel, photographed by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove (c1903). Charles March, served on the Western Front during the First World War and returned home badly wounded. Charles died of his wounds and pneumonia at his parents' home in Portslade on 7th April 1918 at the age of 31.

[ABOVE] A studio portrait of Sidney Robert March, photographed by H. W. Tubb of Portland Road, Hove (c1909). Sidney March, Albert and Maria March's youngest son, served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during the First World War and died of his wounds in Rouen, France, on 1st September 1918 at the age of 26. [ PHOTOS: Courtesy of Terry Morris]

An Outdoor Group Portrait of Albert and Maria March and their sons and daughters, photographed at Portslade (c1909)

A) Albert March senior (1847-1921)

B) Mrs Maria March (nee Maria Delores DeJesus Cabello Hurtado) ( c1855-1933)

CHILDREN

1) Albert March junior (1874-1920) - married Priscilla Jane Richardson in 1896.

2) Marie Mary March (born 1876 ) - married Richard Alfred Russell in 1902.

3) Arthur William March (1877-1954) - married Annie Louisa Minter in 1901.

4) Eva Alice March (1879-1954) - married Frederick John Miller in 1903.

5) Harriet Amelia (aka Hilda) March (born 1881) - eloped to Australia around 1910.

6) Josefa Antonia March (1884-1968) - married Arthur Allen Smith in 1906.

7) Rose Frances March (1886-1968) - married Stanley E. Garner in 1916.

8) Charles William March (1888-1918) - married Lydia Wills Smith in 1908.

9) Emily Gertrude March (1889-1957) - married William Robert Pierce in 1916.

10) Sidney (Sydney) Robert March (1891-1918)

11) Constance March (1893-1985) - married David John Morris in 1919.

12) Dorothy Bertha March (1896-1950) married Walter Samuel George Sargent

Back Row (left to right): Sidney March (1891-1918), Rose March (1886-1968), Charles March (1888-1918), Mrs Marie Russell [nee March] (born 1876 ), Albert March (1874-1920), Mrs Eva Alice Miller [nee March] (1879-1954), Arthur March (1877-1954)

Middle Row (left to right): Harriet March [aka Hilda/Amelia] (born 1881), Albert March senior (1847-1921), Mrs Maria March (born c1856, Spain), Mrs Josefa Antonia Smith [nee March] (1884-1968).

Front Row (left to right): Constance March (1893-1985), Dorothy Bertha March (1896-1950); Emily Gertrude March 1889-1957. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Terry Morris]

Group Portrait of Albert and Maria March and their sons and daughters, photographed at Portslade around 1909 : This outdoor group portrait of the March Family of Portslade is believed to be the only photograph taken of Albert and Maria March with all their twelve children. It was almost certainly the last time that the family gathered together for a family portrait. Within months of the picture being taken, two of the daughters had taken their leave of England. Marie March (born 1876), who had married Richard Alfred Russell in 1902, is believed to have emigrated to the United States and later settled in Kansas City. [ Marie can be seen standing in the middle of the back row]. Around the same time, Harriet "Hilda" March (born 1881) set sail for Australia after eloping with a man who did not meet her family's approval. [ Harriet, who preferred to be known as Hilda, is seated in the middle row, on the left]. It is likely that the March Family had assembled for the photographer to mark Albert and Maria March's wedding anniversary. The men in the picture are wearing the customary celebratory flowers in the button-holes of their jackets.

Albert March senior died in Portslade during the 1st Quarter of 1921 at the age of 73. In the decade between the taking of the outdoor family portrait and his death in 1921, Albert March had lost a number of his children. Albert's two youngest sons, Charles and Sidney March had died of their wounds in 1918 after becoming casualties of the First World War. (SEE RIGHT). Albert's eldest son, Albert March junior died in 1920. Two daughters, Marie and Harriet (Hilda) had emigrated. Albert March senior's four youngest daughters all married during this ten year period. Rose March and Emily March married their husbands in 1916. Constance March married Welshman David John Morris at Portslade's St Nicolas Church in 1919. Albert March senior did not live to witness the birth of Muriel Sargent (born 1st Qtr 1922), the child of his youngest daughter Dorothy and her husband Walter Sargent.

Sidney Robert March, Albert and Maria's youngest son, served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during the First World War and died of his wounds in Rouen, France, on 1st September 1918 at the age of 26.

[PHOTO: Courtesy of Terry Morris]

Charles William March, served in the Royal Sussex Regiment on the Western Front during the First World War and returned home badly wounded. Charles died of his wounds and pneumonia at his parents' home in Portslade on 7th April 1918 at the age of 31.

[PHOTO: Courtesy of Terry Morris]

Equestrian Portrait of David John Morris, photographed by Henry W. Tubb of Portslade

[ABOVE] A portrait of David John Morris on horseback, photographed around 1918 by Henry William Tubb of Portslade. David John Morris married Constance March, the second youngest daughter of Alfred and Maria March, at St Nicolas Church, Portslade, during the second quarter of 1919. Terry Morris, the grandson of David and Constance Morris, notes that the Welsh soldier got to know Constance when he was stationed at Portslade. The March family ran a shop in Portslade selling tobacco and cigarettes. Terry Morris recounts the story of how troops would call in at the shop to purchase tobacco, providing Constance the opportunity to flirt with the young Welshman. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Terry Morris]

[ABOVE] A portrait of an unknown soldier from the First World War , photographed around 1917 by Henry William Tubb of Portslade.

[PHOTO: Courtesy of Jamie Anderson]

First World War Portraits photographed by Henry W. Tubb of Portslade

Acknowledgements & Sources

Thanks to Terry Morris, the grandson of David and Constance Morris, for supplying family photographs and biographical details relating to the March Family of Portslade. Terry's grandmother was Constance March (1893-1985), the second youngest child of Maria and Alfred March senior of Portslade. Thanks to Jamie Anderson for supplying the photograph of the First World War soldier taken by Henry William Tubb of Portslade.

Thanks also to Rendell Williams for supplying information on the photographer Henry William Tubb, one of the many postcard publishers featured on Mr Williams's excellent website "Sussex Postcards Info". Other Sources include TRADE & STREET DIRECTORIES : Kelly's Directory of Sussex (1899, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1915, 1930, 1934), Towner's Directory of Brighton & Hove (1906, 1907); Pike's Directory of Brighton (1908, 1909); CENSUS RETURNS : 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911 ; WEBSITES: FreeBMD website; IGI of Births & Baptisms on FamilySearch website; Sussex Postcards Info website; Sussex Directories on "Historical Directories" website; Portslade Memorial on Roll of Honour website; Commonwealth War Graves Commission website; "Past Times : Station Road, Portslade" on MMHistory website; PHOTOGRAPHS : cartes-de-visite, cabinet photographs, card mounted photographs and picture postcards by H. W. Tubb; NEWSPAPERS : Hove Gazette, 16th September 1899. BOOKS: Portslade - a Pictorial History by Claire Green (Phillimore, 1994) ; Portslade & Hove Memories by Judy Middleton (Sutton Publishing, 2004).

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