Harry Stables (b.1901, Tickhill, d. 1947, Ollerton)
Harry was born in Tickhill in 1901 and was a colliery fitter.
He married Dorothy Keeble at Tickhill Parish Church and they had four children: Winnie, Dennis, Kenneth and Eileen.
Harry was sadly killed in a motor-cycle accident in 1947.
The picture on the above is of Harry Stables and his wife, Dorothy Keeble.
The picture on the right is of his son, Kenneth Stables, and his wife, Betty, who are mentioned in the article, but weren't married at the time of Harry's death.
The picture on the left is of Harry's eldest daughter, Winnie.
All of the photos and news-cutting on this page were very kindly supplied by Margaret White of Chesterfield, who is Harry's grand-daughter, and it is with her permission that I include them here.
Harry Stables's Inquest - 1947
The transcript that follows was taken from a newspaper article that was published in The Worksop Guardian on Friday September 5th, 1947 detailing the inquest into the death.
Road Fatality Near Ollerton
TICKHILL MOTOR-CYCLIST KILLED
The death in a road accident near Ollerton on Saturday of Harry Stables (46), colliery fitter, 108 Doncaster Road, Tickhill, was shown, at the inquest at Worksop on Tuesday, to have been due to injuries caused when the motor-cycle combination of which he was rider, struck the rear of a stationary car a glancing blow. This caused the rider and other occupants of the combination to be thrown off.
The son, Kenneth Stables, colliery fitter, 108 Doncaster Road, Tickhill, gave evidence of identification. Witness said that on Saturday he and his father left home to go for a motor-cycle run, his father riding a combination with witness’s mother and two sisters as passengers and witness riding a solo machine with his fiancé on the pillion. About two miles past Ollerton round-a-bout, on the road towards Doncaster, witness saw his father’s machine catch the rear mudguard of a car stationary on the nearside of the road. The collision was not severe, but all the passengers were thrown off the machine, his father falling on to the road. Witness’s father had 10 to 13 years’ experience of motor-cycling and had never previously had an accident. Witness could not account for the accident. His father was a careful rider and was teetotal. It was about 8-30 p.m. and was just becoming dusk.
Winifred Stables, sister of last witness, and a passenger on the combination gave similar evidence.
Arthur Willis, draughtsman, 137 Wensley Drive, Leeds, said he was in charge of the car with which the combination collided. He had been slowing up for some considerable distance and was about to halt when he saw the combination some 60 or 70 yards behind. He waved for the driver to overtake. As he halted he felt a fairly heavy bump and saw the people on the combination thrown into the air and fall on the road.
P.C. Cope said he reached the scene about 9 p.m. and found the car, which had not been moved, with its nearside rear wheel one foot from the verge. The road was perfectly straight. There was a tyre-mark, apparently made by the motor-cycle. The rear mudguard and bumper of the car were bent and the rear light smashed.
Dr. J. Cuddigan, Ollerton, said he was called to the scene of the accident. He found that Stables was dead, the cause being shock and laceration of the brain. There was a laceration at the back of the head and a fracture of the upper part of the spine. Death would have been almost instantaneous.
The Coroner said the man was apparently an experienced and competent driver. For some reason which could not be explained, however, he struck the stationary car a glancing blow, but one which, unfortunately, was sufficient to have fatal consequences.
The Jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death” and sympathy was expressed with the bereaved family by the Coroner, the foreman of the Jury (Mr. A. Bearman), and the father of the car driver, who was a passenger in his son’s vehicle.
The Wedding of Eileen Stables to John Talbot
The picture above was taken at the wedding of Eileen Stables and John Talbot, which took place at Tickhill Parish Church on March 15th, 1955. The people shown in the photograph are as follows (Left-to-Right): Unknown Bridesmaid, Unknown Gent, Margaret Marilyn Stables (child bridesmaid), John Talbot (Groom), Eileen Stables (Bride), Dennis Stables and Unknown Bridesmaid.
Eileen and Dennis are Harry Stables's children and Margaret Marilyn is the daughter of Harry's son Kenneth.