Cecil Dengate
Cecil Dengate
KEY DATES:
Birth: 22 July 1890, Hastings, East Sussex
Marriage: 27 December 1912, Emmanuel Church, Hastings, East Sussex
Death: 7 September 1958, Hastings, East Sussex
Cremation: Hastings Crematorium, East Sussex
BIOGRAPHY:
Cecil Dengate was born 22 July 1890 in Hastings, East Sussex to Ernest Alfred and Agnes Lucy Dengate.
The 1891 census shows Cecil as an eight month old baby, living with his parents and sisters at 55 St George's Road, Hastings.
By 1901 the family have moved to 69 Manor Road where Cecil is living with his parents and brothers and sisters. Cecil, like his parents and brothers and sisters, was a keen supporter of the Salvation Army, attending the Iron Fort in Hastings, and, when it was replaced, the Citadel.
Leslie Dengate (left), Cecil Dengate (centre) and Stanley Dengate (right), outside the Iron Fort
Cecil Dengate married Gladys Dorothy Williams on the 27 December 1912 in Emmanuel Church, Hastings, East Sussex - the same church in which his mother and father married 31 years before.
Emmanuel Church, Hastings 2002
Cecil Dengate and Gladys Dorothy William's marriage, 27th December 1912
Cecil and Gladys had one child, Joan Cecile Dengate born in 1920 in Hastings.
Cecil, Gladys Dorothy and Joan Cecile Dengate
Cecil went to work for his father in the mid 1920s, helping him as a furniture remover. Later Cecil's brothers Leslie and Stanley also joined their father. The Dengate shop in Cornwallis Street opened in the 1930s, selling second hand furniture. It was such a success that larger premises were sought, so they bought a shop in Queen's Road, Hastings from Messrs Staite and Co. Ltd for the sum of £3,700 on the 17 February 1930. The cost of the premises was £3,000 for the shop and depository in Waterworks Road and £700 for 'the goodwill of the business of furniture storers carried on therein', signed by Ernest Alfred and his sons Cecil, Stan and Leslie Dengate. The three brothers divided responsibilities; Cecil was in charge of shop trading, Leslie was in charge of the removal side and Stanley was in charge of the furniture side.
Dengate's Furniture Shop, Queen's Road, Hastings. Waterworks Road Depository (left), original shop (left) and the rebuilt shop after the 1938 fire (right)
The Queen's Road shop was gutted by a mysterious fire in 1938, but was later rebuilt and refurbished.
Cecil Dengate's daughter Joan went to work for the company in the 1930s at her father's request where she worked until being conscripted with the WAAF in 1943. Leslie's daughter Maisie Dengate then took over Joan's job.
Cecil Dengate died 7 September 1958 in Hastings, East Sussex, aged 68. His funeral took place at the Salvation Army Citadel, Hastings, followed by cremation at Hastings Crematorium.
Gladys Dorothy Dengate died 11 September 1971 in Hastings, East Sussex. Her funeral took place at the Salvation Army Citadel in Hastings, followed by cremation at Hastings Crematorium.
Garden of remembrance, Hastings Cemetery, 2003
Cecil and Gladys Dorothy Dengate's plaque, Hastings Cemetery, 2003
CENSUS:
Grateful thanks to Joan Cecile and Christopher Rider for their help and memories in writing this page.
© Copyright N. Goodwin MMII