John Francis Arthur Dimes

   Another name for John was Jack.

  General Notes:

1901 Census living in St. Mary Stratford Bow.
John Francis Arthur OBE was a Post Office employee from 1920 - 1952. He moved from the poplar district of London to Kingston Surrey in the 1920's.
In 1961 living at 48 Blakes Avenue, New Malden. He also owned 27 Driffield Road, Bow, London, E3.

When rembering her grandfather, Anne Dimes writes ..
Only child of Frank and Annie Dimes, born in Mile End, London in 1892, known as Jack. At the age of 18 he became a Post Office Clerk. He married Elizabeth Larkey in Poplar Registry Office. When the First World War started he became a driver in the Royal Field Artillery. My father, Norman John, was born on 24th April 1916 when they were living at 2 Bruce Road, Poplar, Bromley, London. In 1917 John was stationed at Ypres in Belgium and survived the Battle of Passchendaele. He returned home and resumed working for the Post Office. In June 1920 Francis Gordon was born, then the family moved to New Malden, Surrey, and in 1922 Sylvia Elizabeth completed the family. John commenced work in the telecommunications department as a staff officer in 1927, became a principal, then in 1944 controller, first for the south-west, then for the Home Counties region, the largest in the country. He was in the Home Guard during the war, and was awarded an O.B.E. in 1952. He bought 48 Blakes Avenue, New Malden, before WW2. During the war, he and Elizabeth left their house, and lived in Bristol for a while. When my father returned from the war, my parents lived in the house, sharing it with Frank and Ellen. In 1949 they returned and we had to leave. John was a very keen photographer and had turned their smallest bedroom into a dark room to print his own photos. He belonged to Malden Camera Club and won prizes in their competitions. He was also a good chess player, and taught me the game. John and Elizabeth were quite well-off for those times, and had new cars and holidays abroad. When he retired he worked part-time as a consultant with Rediffusion for about eight years, then gave up work due to ill-health about three years before his death. He smoked about 80 cigarettes a day all his life, and developed chronic bronchitis - he had to have oxygen beside his bed. He died in Tolworth Hospital on 8th December 1965.

John married Elizabeth Larkey, daughter of Thomas Larkey and Margaret Henderson, in Jul 1915 in Poplar, London, England. (Elizabeth Larkey was born on 18 Nov 1894 in Bromley, Kent, England and died on 27 Oct 1993 in Horsham, Sussex, England.)