Albert Edward Life (15 Dec 1887 – 10 Dec 1971)
By Martin A. Life
7 June 2025
Albert Edward Life (right) with fellow ex-pats in Singapore around 1915
Albert Edward Life was born on the 15th of December 1887 to Richard Henry and Annie Life, both of whom were drapers. They had opened a drapery and grocery shop in the High Street in Wheatley, near the outskirts of Oxford. Although his father called him Bert throughout his life, most referred to him by his second name Edward, usually abbreviated to Ted.
He went to primary school in Wheatley – I currently know nothing of his secondary education. After finishing school, he joined Webbers – a department store in Oxford – where he worked as an apprentice draper. He subsequently moved to Afflek and Brown – a large drapery and furnishing store in Manchester – where he was located in the 1911 national census, then working as a salesman.
This was a stepping stone to a dramatic move to Whiteaway Laidlaw, a leading department store chain that operated throughout British colonial southern Asia. In1913, Ted joined the flagship Singapore branch, where he evidently came to enjoy the somewhat privileged ex-pat lifestyle! He had been hoping to settle there permanently until the plan was derailed by his developing romance with Emilie Cruickshank (see Emilie Life (1890 – 1982) ), who he had come to know when living in Wheatley. Unfortunately, her family opposed her moving abroad, so Ted pragmatically decided to move back to Wheatley, where he and Emilie were married on 4 September 1920.
An entrepreneurial spirit was awakened in Ted on his return, when he broadened his career interests from drapery and direct retailing to the organisation of commercial exhibitions. In 1921 he was employed by Kinematograph International Exhibitions Ltd, but subsequently he was part of a partnership – British Organizers Ltd. – that was responsible for the establishment of the National Schoolboys Own Exhibition in 1924 and the Photo-Cine Fair: large annual events that became well-known and very successful.
Ted and Emilie’s son, Andrew (see Andrew Life (1921 – 2010)) had been born in 1921, when the couple was living in West Hampstead. But in 1926, an opportunity for Emilie to take over as Head Mistress at Chenies School resulted in the decision to move out of London to the School House in Chenies.
Ted’s work life remained centred in London, so the move to the country inevitably meant commuting. However, in the 1920s the Metropolitan railway from Little Chalfont to Great Portland Street was making this straightforward, and he continued to do it until his eventual retirement in the mid-1960s.
Ted Life introducing Field Marshall Montgomery to a ventriloquist’s puppet (could it be Archie Andrews?) at a Schoolboys Exhibition around 1952
Ted’s very active role at the Schoolboys Exhibition was described in a local newspaper article – I think the Bucks Examiner – probably in early 1952:
The “Schoolboys’ Own” Exhibition at the Horticultural Hall, Westminster, had such a successful first week that it is estimated that 100,000 boys will pass through the turnstiles before the show is finished. Most of the boys have been welcomed or “spotted” daily by the senior organising director, Mr. A. E. Life, of “The Pightle,” Chenies.
Mr. Life, now in his sixty second year, has been associated with this famous exhibition since its inception in 1924, and was originally general manager to the founder-director, Ernest William Schofield, formerly a master at Cheltenham School, who abandoned teaching in favour of running public exhibitions. Mr. Life is principally concerned with the financial and administrative side of the “Schoolboys’” Exhibition, and controls the organised visits of boys from schools in every part of the country…
…..Mrs. Life, who recently retired from her position as headmistress at a local school, has become known in the district as “Mrs. Chips,” so it obviously follows that her husband—especially in connection with the “Schoolboys’” Exhibition—is known also as “Mr. Chips.” But to thousands of boys all over the country who go each year to this exhibition at Westminster he is affectionately known as “Uncle Life.”
Emilie Life Opening Chenies and Latimer Cricket Club’s new Pavilion in 1962 (Photo by Bucks Examiner)
With Emilie assuming a central role in village life – at least from the point of view of those families with school-age children – the Lifes became increasingly socially active. In the case of Ted, he had always had a broad interest in sport – winning tennis trophies while living in Singapore, but extending to football and cricket when he was back in the UK. In Chenies he became very active in the cricket club (see Chenies & Latimer Cricket Club), and was captain of the team for 15 years, remaining secretary and treasurer at least into the 1950s. He played an important role in re-establishing the club after WWII, during which its future was in some doubt; and his enthusiasm inspired Andrew, his son, to play for Chenies as well. After the war, the club moved its ground from a field near the Manor to its current location opposite the Red Lion; Emilie became honorary President, and she and Ted were active in the development of a new Pavilion, opened by Emilie 1962.
Ted was a member of Chenies Parish Council for over 20 years, and was also active as a Freemason. He was admitted to the United Grand Lodge on 9 November 1949, and Emilie also became a mason. The nature of Freemasonry was such that neither talked about their activities as members, even within the family!
Ted reached retirement age in 1952, and with Emilie having to retire due to health issues in 1951, it became urgent to find a new home to follow their departure from the school house, which was tied to the role of the school’s head teacher. With retirement in mind, Ted commissioned the building of a new house on Claypits Lane, and The Pightle was the result. In addition to unusual features that you can learn about here (The Pightle), Ted and Emilie were forward-thinking for their time, as they incorporated details such as low steps on the stairs – designed to accommodate elderly users – and a downstairs toilet which proved invaluable to members of the household as they grew older.
Although I have not been able to pin down a specific date on which Ted stopped working in the promotion of exhibitions, he continued to do so into the 1960s. The nature of the business was such that he did not have to work in the office every day, and it would appear that, as the rights to the exhibitions were sold, his visits to London became more sporadic and finally stopped. At home he followed the news and sports avidly, but became less involved as a participant; however, he was a regular face at the Bedford Arms and Red Lion and loyal spectator at the cricket club! He seems to have kept up socially with business colleagues both in the local area and in London – probably, at least in part, through the Freemasons.
Ted’s health declined considerably towards the end of the 1960s, with cardiovascular problems that began to limit his activities. Despite the care of Emilie and regular nursing attention of his daughter-in-law, Joan – who cycled from Chesham a couple of times a week to help Emilie – Ted died of a stroke at The Pightle on 10 December 1971. He is commemorated in St. Michael’s churchyard on a stone next to that of Emilie.