Cable staff at Commercial Cable, Weston

Thanks to Bob Abrams for much of the information on this page. Thanks to Martyn Roebuck for the information on John Moores and his associates who founded Littlewoods Pools.

Bob	Abrams	Served with CCC for 33 years between 1956/1988. Joined in Liverpool station as a probationer and, after 5 years, transferred to Manchester as a cable operator. Then onto Bradford as station Superintendent for two years followed by Superintendent of Birmingham for approx 10 years and then on to London as Operations Director until the Company was sold to Western Union in 1988.
Charles C	Adams	Vice-President under Clarence Mackay in 1920s
Alfred	Ashley	Worked at the Cable office in Canso from1893 until 1901.
George	Ashley	Started with the Company in Canso. Later moved to Bay Roberts,Newfoundland & then to North Sydney. He was the last of two to close that station.
Colin	Askham	Worked at Waterville where he shared a room with John Moores. Also associated with Bill Hughes. They had originally worked together before the War as Post Office messengers in Manchester. The three of them when moved to the Liverpool CCC office after Waterville and were responsible for setting up Littlewoods Pools (so named because Colin Askham was born as Colin Henry Littlewood). Colin Askham became a well known radio ham (G6TT) but more significantly was a founder of the British Interplanetary Society, and the BIS Journal in 1933/34. He was the first Vice President. The BIS Journal continues to exist as a major international journal. He worked in the Littlewoods organisation until he retired.
Charles	Bellamy	Superintendent at Hazel Hill in 1927 and the author of this article. [Bellamy]
J Gordon	Bennett	Co-founder of Commercial Cable with J W Mackay. A newspaper baron who saw the importance of transatlantic cable, and control over it, to newspapers. Yes he was the "Gordon Bennett".
Charles P	Bruch	Vice-President under Clarence Mackay in 1920s
F	Chevallier	Superintendent at Fayal, Azores, between 1911 (or earlier) and 1914. He was "Mechanician" at Waterville in 1888.
Oliver	Cooper	Sometime Plant Manager UK
Alan	Cockerill	Weston born and began his CCC career there. He eventually became head of Lease Engineering with CCC for the UK. He then moved on for many years as Sprint USA's main executive for Europe based in London.[BA] (And Sprint is involved with the modern cable at Brean - JRC.)
Frederick	Creed	1871 - 1957. Went to Canso at an early age with his parents. Invented the "Teletype" and his name, if not his history, is familiar to computer programmers of my vintage. (I am 55!)	More information on Creed from the Canso website.
Bertram R	Davis	Superintendent of Bristol CCC branch office around 1960. His brother, Alexander Millar Davis, served at Canso, as did two of his nephews, Francis Cook Davis and A. M. Davis, Jr. [ON]
S S	Dickenson	First superintendent of Commercial Cable Company at Hazel Hill (1884 to 1904). Planned and laid out the station.
Ted	Duff	Engineering Supervisor at Weston. (There in 1961.)
Dick	Dunn	Worked in at Waterville in 1912 and reportedly also worked in many states of South America for the company. Originally from Kent.
Freddy	Dunn	Worked in Mechanician's shop at Waterville up until the closure in 1962. His father, Dick, also worked at the station.
F E	England	Senior Office Electrician, served 46 out of 52 years with CC at Weston. Nickname "Merry".
Cyrus West	Field	1819 -1892 The "father" of transatlantic cable. Persisted from 1858 to 1866 to establish a reliable cable from Newfoundland to Ireland. A wealthy New York merchant, he was introduced to the cable idea by his brother Matthew, a civil engineer.
John P	Gorton	Superintendent at Weston in 1923 (Kelly's directory)
Vic	Haley	"Mechanician" / Office Engineer. Weston.
Chris	Hancock	Joined the staff at Weston-super-Mare about 1959. He says: "The starting wage for learner-probationers at that time was three pounds, ten shillings per week. We did however have a wonderful view of Weston bay from our work desks on the first floor."
Forest Lee	Henderson	Executive Vice President - Europe.
J	Hewison	Worked at Waterville from at least 1912 to the 1940s.
?	Heurtley	Invented the "magnifier" named after him. This was an early amplifier as we would call it now.
F H	Hogbin	From Maidstone in Kent. Settled in Waterville where he worked at the Station.
Herb	Hogbin	The last General Manager and Executive Vice President of CCC in the UK. Worked at Waterville station initially, where his father also worked.
Charles	Holness	Last superintendent of Commercial Cable Company at Hazel Hill (1956 to 1962). Sent final message from Hazel Hill in 1962.
R (Percy)	Hopkinson	Born Tisbury near Salisbury Waterville 1911 - 1929 Superintendent 1934 - 1958 Weston Retired 1958 Died 1960 Signed pass for Mullholland 1941 (museum)
Archie	Howatson	Took over as Superintendent at Waterville in the mid-1930s.
Bill	Hughes	Worked at Waterville together with John Moores and Colin Askham. They had originally worked together before the War as Post Office messengers in Manchester. The three of them when moved to the Liverpool CCC office after Waterville and were responsible for setting up Littlewoods Pools (so named because Colin Askham was born as Colin Henry Littlewood).
Ginger	Jones	Supervisor. Weston. Is this "E G Jones" who served with CCC for 50 years [AC&R] ?
Paul	Knight	Worked in Weston office, 1950s. His father was manager of the Bristol C.C.C. office.
Chris	Knight	Worked in London from 1963 until 1974 as a telegraph operator. (Just after the original deep sea cables went out of use.) At this time telegraph messages used "telephone" cables at low bandwidth. Chris says: "I ended up as one of the overseas telegraph operators (as far as I recall I was the youngest one to ever hold that position at the time) so I still remember the old 5 unit hole punch tape which we used to read - I must admit I came across some many, many years later somewhere and I could still read it!" Chris' title was Automatic Cable Printer Operator (ACPO).
Wally	Knight	Worked at Bristol CCC branch office and eventually manager. Father of Paul Knight.
Chris	Lewton	Worked at Weston from July 1958 through to April 1962, when it closed down. he then transferred to the London office in Mackay House, Wormwood St, but only stayed with CCC there until July 1962 when he left the company. He was the only Weston staffer who went to London when Weston closed. Emigrated to New Zealand in December 1967.
Clarence H	Mackay	President of the Commercial Cable Company in 1923. The son of J W.
J W	Mackay	Co-founder of Commercial Cable with J Gordon Bennett. He was an entrepreneur who invested in Postal Telegraph stock and became president of that company.
Lieutenant Matthew F	Maury	Lead of the National Observatory in Washington, consulted by Field on sea floor conditions.
Sir John	Moores	(Founder of Littlewoods Pools, together with Colin Askham and Bill Hughes) started his working life at Waterville and then transferred to the Liverpool CCC office.
Samuel Finley	Morse	1891 - 1872. Developed the first successful electric telegraph and the "Morse" code for communicating by telegraph.
Edward	Mullholland	Born Birkenhead. Joined Commercial Cable Company 1920. Transferred to Weston (from Waterville?) 1931 Superintendent at Weston 1958 replacing Percy Hopkinson. Married to Mavis Bryant Roe "from a well known WSM family"[M].
Archibald	Norval	Superintendent at Waterville Cable Station Ireland in the 1920s. "A strong domineering figure and a first class administrator." In the mid 1930's he transferred to London as Plant Manager.
(Robert) Eric	Owen	Born 24th July 1903 in Menai Bridge North Wales. After training was posted to the Azores in 1922. Colleagues in AZ included P E C Wilkins, Jerry Wilson, H G Smith, George White and Harry Houghton. Always known to work colleagues as "Bud". Returned to the UK in 1925 and was posted to Weston. Colleagues included Jack Gorton, Teddy Mulholland and Fred Simmons. The office caretaker was Gill Ackroyd. Married Dorothy Margaret Burke from a well known Liverpool Irish family who manufactured Venetian blinds in 1928. Served in Weston until his death in March 1955 at the age of 51.
Doug	Robertson	Office Engineer, Weston-super-Mare
David	Sarnoff	Started his working life as an office boy at the Commercial Cable Company. He founded the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America(RCA) in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his retirement in 1970. One of the telegraph operators who received messages from the doomed Titanic.
Fred	Simmons	Office Engineer, Weston-super-Mare
Admiral Ellery	Stone	President. AC&R (American Cable & Radio), a subsidiary of ITT, who became the owners of Commercial Cable Company
E S	Stradley	Chairman of Weston-super-Mare UDC. In 1923 sent "first message" on the 1923 cable from Weston to C E Mackay in New York.
William	Walsh	Born in Canso. Pilot aboard the Cable Ship Faraday.
*First generation Ward Family*
George Gray	Ward	Vice President and General Manager of the original Mackay-Bennett Cable Company under John W. Mackay and continued this role under Clarence Mackay in the early 20th century. Was born in 1844 and died 1922. He had three sons (below) and one daughter, Flaurence Oliphant Hough. More on George Gray Ward
Fred G	Ward	Superintendent at Weston 1889 and a member of the original Weston staff. Became company manager in England. Uncle to another F G Ward (below) who served in the Azores.
Harry	Ward	Brother to George and Frederick.
*Second generation Wards*
George Gray	Ward	Son of the George Gray above. Inherited a third of his father's estate.
Sydney Freeman	Ward	Son of the first George Gray Ward. Inherited a third of his father's estate. He was a Wall Street Broker and Chairman of Keen-Ward.
Albert	Ward	Third son of the first George Gray Ward, who died young. He was a Wall Street Broker.
Frederick George	Ward	Nephew of George and Fred (the son of their brother Harry), he was at Fayal, Azores, in 1911 and took over as acting Superintendent there in August 1914.
Sir Charles	Wheatstone	Credited by many as the inventor of the telegraph - and much more, including the button accordion.
Tony	Whitcombe	Joined the staff at Weston-super-Mare about 1959
George	White	1904-2006. George started his career with CCC in Liverpool and moved around the world with the company, serving in Waterville, the Azores and New York. He served in Horta, Azores before the War and transferred to to Waterville in 1939 before moving to Dartmouth with his wife Ruth in c. 1941. He moved to the London headquarters, Mackay House, Wormwood Street, EC2 at the beginning of 1947 and was made Plant Manager. Eventually he progressed to become the General Manager of the Commercial Cable Company in England. This site is indebted to the resources from his archive put at my disposal. Click here for the White Family Archive.
S J	Wilde	Architect for Weston Offices
S J	Wilmot	Superintendent at Waterville in 1888. Probably was in this role from the start in 1884.
Bill	Windler	The first operator at Canso to hear of the Titanic's distress.
Mr	Yeates	Worked in Weston office, 1950/60s. Janitor.