In 1925 Mr Rubick bought the Theatre Royal. Mr. Willie Rubick had always been an astute business man trading in all manners of goods, but the Theatre Royal was too much of a worry and in 1926 he died aged fifty seven .

I have a large photo' of Willie taken just before his death see over mantlepiece in Museum and I allow school Children to come round when they are learning about the Victorian era .On one visit by a school, having already spoken to two groups of children , I asked the third group how old did they think Mr Rubick was " 70,80,90". they all shouted except one little lad as quick as lightning "57 sir"! which of course was correct. Tackling him as to how he knew this he admitted the last group had told him as he came up the stairs. I think he'll go far!

In 1927 my grandfather bought the freehold from Miss Chiddell for £2900. Whilst he had the shop in Aldershot his brother Archie moved to Crook in Northumberland where he had a menswear shop, which could have been taken as a double of Mr Sumpster's shop.

My wife and I went in search of his shop a couple of years ago. We found the oldest menswear shop in Crook and asked if it had belonged to a Jerome. It was not Archie's shop but the owner did remember Archie's shop when he had been a boy and he took us around to where it once had been. It is now a hairdressers. Archie died suddenly in 1937 leaving no children.

Frederick and Eunice continued to run the shop and were later joined by their son Fred in 1938 after he had been apprenticed to Gammons Store in North street Guildford, in 1936.


Photo's are of of Fred's first day at Gammons

and

Fred with his Parents