Comments on: Tom Fellows, London’s Oldest Cabby https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/10/10/tom-fellows-londons-oldest-cabby/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Sun, 11 Oct 2015 19:39:14 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 By: the gentle author https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/10/10/tom-fellows-londons-oldest-cabby/#comment-1036039 Sun, 11 Oct 2015 19:39:14 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=139420#comment-1036039 In reply to Sean Farrell.

Surely you are not suggesting Old Tom was embroidering his story for the Rev?

]]> By: Sean Farrell https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/10/10/tom-fellows-londons-oldest-cabby/#comment-1035813 Sun, 11 Oct 2015 13:05:44 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=139420#comment-1035813 Just noticed that the book was published in 1951 so either he was in error about how old he was then, or he could have gave a false age on the census in 1891.

]]> By: Sean Farrell https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/10/10/tom-fellows-londons-oldest-cabby/#comment-1035810 Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:55:41 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=139420#comment-1035810 In 1891 Thomas Fellows was a cab driver living at 54 Aston Street, Limehouse. He was aged 23, so this puts the picture at around 1954. The last cab licence for a horse drawn cab in London was issued in 1943 and lasted four years [Trevor May, Gondolas & Growlers]. Either Fellows was working as a cab driver on the Essex side of the river Lea or he was not as old as he was making out which would date the photograph earlier.

]]> By: Nicholas Sack https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/10/10/tom-fellows-londons-oldest-cabby/#comment-1035409 Sat, 10 Oct 2015 21:47:13 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=139420#comment-1035409 The cabbie was photographed by William Whiffin. I much enjoyed the show of 40 of his prints at Tower Hamlets Local History Library, hard by Queen Mary University in Mile End. He was a jobbing photographer based in the Commercial Road and active from the 1920s to the 50s.

His regular subjects included streets and shop-fronts, markets and fairs, war damage and civil defence, and East End ceremonies, celebrations and demonstrations. The exhibition prompted me to read up about the Poplar rent strike of 1921, and popular local MP George Lansbury.

]]> By: Valerie-Jael https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/10/10/tom-fellows-londons-oldest-cabby/#comment-1035333 Sat, 10 Oct 2015 18:56:28 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=139420#comment-1035333 Great story! Valerie

]]> By: Hilda Kean https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/10/10/tom-fellows-londons-oldest-cabby/#comment-1035141 Sat, 10 Oct 2015 09:10:56 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=139420#comment-1035141 I am not sure the Methodist minister’s concern about whether Old Tom was half-cut was just the usual Methodist obsession with temperance. Horse cab drivers were a particular target of temperance workers – hence the green cab shelters of which only 13 exist now (and are listed.) They provided food and non alcoholic drinks as a way of luring drivers away from pubs. This approach was also developed to ensure benign (and non drunk!) treatment of the horses.

]]> By: John Simlett https://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/10/10/tom-fellows-londons-oldest-cabby/#comment-1035131 Sat, 10 Oct 2015 08:45:10 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=139420#comment-1035131 Another gem. I liked the photo of the tug as well.

Have a nice weekend.

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