Dunhill: Difference between revisions

Alfred was born on September 30, 1872 in the Haringey neighborhood, part of the suburban district of Hornsey, north of London. Alfred was the third of five children born to Henry Dunhill (1842-1901) and Jane Styles (1843-1922), his first cousin.

<blockquote><q>Grandma always contended that he couldn't go to school until he was about eight because he couldn't talk properly. As she also said that he was too far troublesome a child to be left in anyone care, I conclude that his restless temperament asserted itself at an early age. At any rate, by the time he was fifteen, Father was a tall, thin boy with a quick intelligence, though poor sight (and a late start) prevented him from achieving any distinction at school and from being much of a reader for the rest of his life. Henry spent all his spare money on the education of his younger sons. The truth is that Father, at fifteen, was itching to get down to a practical job of work. The school classroom, he often contended, was simply not for him.</q> Dunhill, Mary, Our Family Business (The Bodley Head - Great Britain, 1979).</blockquote>     

Sadly there is a little information on Alfred's early life predating his entrance to the family business. There is sparse information and no reliable references. One, in particular, quoted a column called  "Mr. A. Dunhill " In the Times, published on January 5, 1959, and mentioning:

With great energy and creativity, Alfred was also involved in building construction in mid-1902, concurrently with the motor business, and in 1905, after he sold his interest in Dunhill's Motorities, he opens a patent office. At the end of 1906 he was forced to leave this project to direct his energies to the growing demands of the tobacconary.  

Alfred was fascinated by architecture and design and submitted his houses (in the city and in the countryside) to frequent changes during his retirement. He also looked into the possibility of investing in the sweets and toys businesses but did not have a chance to pursue them.

<blockquote><q>(...) my father having moved from London in order to build houses in what was then a small Buckinghamshire village. Although he knew little about the building trade, this was one of several commercial ventures he packed into the first thirty years of his life. The point behind this one was that the new railway line from Marylebone to Aylesbury had already passed through the village, its hourly trains making it possible for more prosperous commuters to move into deeper country. As they were likely to need better houses than Great Missenden could provide, my father bought a few acres of land close to the station, made a deal with a local builder to put up half a dozen fairly conventional houses to his design, took the first of them for himself and, over the next couple of years, sold the lot.