The Oliver Whales Story

[terry]

Stuart, as Arrgee rightly noticed, all the Whales machines have topflashes which must have been outmoded by the mid fifties so a very early fifties date would probably be about right. I've even tried to find out how much ice creams were around that time to try and date it! If you look at the lighting in the photo, it looks very old fashioned, almost gas lamp era! The photo is a bit tatty and creased but there is a photographer's stamp on the reverse: "something" Lee, Comyn Road, SW11 Tel. Battersea 5850.
An invaluable artefact though!

[slotalot]

The photo is a bit tatty and creased but there is a photographer's stamp on the reverse: "something" Lee, Comyn Road, SW11 Tel. Battersea 5850.
An invaluable artefact though!

Hi Terry, I have done a quick search on your photographer. His full name was Walter A. Lee, and he worked from home, and the full address was No.73, Comyn Road, SW11.
I wonder if the family still have the negatives????

[terry]

Blimey Stuart, they could do with you down at MI5!! That really is a long shot but possible I suppose? How would we trace them? My mum has an account on ancestry.com. If the negs survive somewhere then they could have loads taken that day.

Keep in touch!

Terry.

[terry]

Well, well... looks like somebody else was looking for our photographer....1920s to 40s eh? I've emailed the lady to see if she managed to find out any details but it will probably turn out to be a wild goose chase!

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... lmvTt6ptlA

[arrgee]

Our intrepid Stuart does it again!

I wonder if the family still have the negatives????

Probably not. My brother was a professional photographer until he died in 2005, there were so many negatives in storage (1000s) that sadly, lack of space dictated they were destroyed. However, it is a long shot and I have made enquiries regarding Walter Lee to the three professional associations that my brother was a member of, if anything comes up, I will post it on here straight away.

[slotalot]

Hi, as some of you will know I wrote a story about the life and times of Oliver Whales, and it was published last year in the Mechanical Memories Magazine. And now with the kind permission of Oliver’s Granddaughter, I am able to post the photos from the story in the Arena of the Pennymachines site. There are also a couple of extra photos that were never published in the Magazine.
So please enjoy, and thanks again to the Whales family for this wonderful contribution to our hobby.

[slotalot]

Well I have done a little digging into the history of your photo of Whales & White and this is what I have found so far:
I spoke with Oliver Whale’s Granddaughter about the photo, and I also gave her a copy for her own collection, for which I am to pass on her thanks for finding it. Unfortunately, the people in the photo and the Whales & White “partnership” rang no bells with her or her mother, but in those days the women folk usually didn’t get involved in the men’s business.

So I did some more digging. I know from my previous research into Oliver's life, he had lots of informal partnerships and dealings, call them what you will, with lots of people over the years , and I am 99% certain that this was a partnership between The White advertising company, of Midland Bank Chambers, Warwick Road, Birmingham 27, and Whales of Redcar, and if you study the photo you will see that they are selling slot machines & advertising boards etc. White Advertising was run by Harry Bertram White and his brother. Sorry, can’t find the brother's name, so I think it is safe to say that one of the men in the photo will be H.B.White. I have also found out that the White brothers split up a few years after this photo was taken, and Harry went on to run the Master Vending Machine Company, which subsequently went into receivership in 1959 .

But as always, I could be wrong!
Can anyone expand on this story and prove or disprove my findings? I would love to know more.

[badpenny]

Stuart .....

At some point in the early 90s I sent one of my wives into the Chester branch of Saucy La Flounce with strict instructions regarding durability and shiny man made materials.
I waited for over two hours for her to reappear but have never seen her since.

Have you any ideas or can you throw any light on this strange occurrence?

This is the last picture I have of her .........

[slotalot]

Hi Jeremy,
Unfortunately tracking wild animals is not within my remit;
However you could try the R.S.P.C.A. but prepare yourself for the worst, as after all this time she may have been re-homed or even put down...

[slotalot]

Those of you who regularly subscribe to the Mechanical Memories Magazine will no doubt remember reading the Oliver Whales story in issue No.52. I made mention of Oliver’s earlier life as a draper and the fact that one of his shops was at 14/15 Electric Parade Clacton-on–Sea in the early 1930s. This was before he became involved in slot machines.

Well look what has just come up for sale in Australia! Nice to see this bit of history has survived and its made from polished oak, just like his machines