Montague Sydney Sims
Montague Sydney Sims was born in Woolwich on May 17th, 1880. He was the son of Ebenezer Edwin and Mary Ann Sims, the fifth of eight children. As a youth, he was an active sportsman, playing Rugby for Blackheath. He was also an avid reader and an excellent chess player. He later became a lifetime member of the Kent County Cricket Club.
Monty Sims - Taken at Chatham.
Training as a Marine Engineer
Monty took his training as a Marine Engineer. For several years he went to sea in that capacity. He told his sons tails of his travels all over the world. Over one winter his ship was icebound at Murmansk for the entire Russian winter.
Fascination with Motors
Whether because of his training, or just as a hobby, Monty was clearly fascinated with motors. Living in the Hastings area at the time, he was in the centre of the very early motor sports world. Bexhill-on-Sea still proclaims itself the Birthplace of British Motor Racing. Racing, originally on the beach, began in 1902. It attracted all the major enthusiasts including Lord Northcliffe, the founder of the Daily Mail and sponsor of many of the early competitions and prizes. Monty, with his brilliant ability to tune engines met many of the early racers.
Monty Sims Driving the First Motorbus in the Kingdom, in Hastings.
Many of these same enthusiasts went on to become early pioneers in aviation. Among those Monty worked with were the early aviators Alcock and Brown. At home, he kept a photograph of them on the mantlepiece signed by each of them "To Monty" along with letters of appreciation for his assistance.
Monty Sims sitting in a plane he built himself
Marriage to Emma Lucy Cullen
It was in the Hastings - Bexhill area that Monty met Emma Lucy Cullen. They were the same age. They married on September 27th, 1905 at The Parish Church of St. Peter, Bexhill, Sussex. At the time, Monty was living at 62 Southwater Road, St. Leonard. Emma Lucy was still living with her parents at Churtings, Buckhurst Road, Bexhill. The Rev. R. Buchanan-Dunlop officiated and many of the family were present. It was reputed to be the first motorized wedding in Hastings. The wedding photograph, unfortunately suffering from its age, still shows many identifiable members of the Cullen and Sims families.
Emma Cullen and Monty Sims' Wedding Photograph.
Garage in Rochester
By 1908, the couple had moved to Rochester, on the Medway, in Kent. Monty, in partnership with another, ran a motor car repair business. The firm, Watson and Sims Ltd., was incorporated in November, 1912. In 1916, with Monty away working for the war effort, the company went into receivership. Monty returned to business after the War, but soon after he left and started a similar garage in Southboro.
War Time Service
Due to his training, at the outset of the First World War, Monty joined the Vickers organization for their war effort. Before long, he was working for the firm in Barrrow in Furness working on defences against the new German submarines. He is said to have been involved in the invention of a device, called the Otter, to deflect mines from ships. One night, as he returned home by train to Rochester, he broke a leg when he got off, in the dark of the blackout, where there was no platform. This left him rather lame for the rest of his life.
Four Boys
Emma Lucy Sims with sons Donald, Leonard, Sydney, and Jack circa 1925
Emma Lucy and Monty had four boys. Leonard, the oldest, was born on February 10th, 1909. Donald was born on September 26th, 1914. Jack was born on February 6th, 1916 and the youngest son, Sydney, followed on February 21st, 1918.
Move to Southboro
Late in 1918, just before the end of the war, the family moved to 11 Church Road, Southboro, Kent, located between Tunbridge and Tunbridge Wells. The house faced Southboro Common, with the Hand and Sceptre Hotel just across the road.
The family home at 11 Church Road, Southboro
Monty and the boys played cricket on the common. By 1928 they had moved to a second house in Southboro, at "Southview", Powder Mill Lane.
The Disasters of 1928 and 1929
The Sims Family at Leonard's Funeral in September, 1928
Two events changed the course of family life; one personal and the other financial. In 1928, after a long illness, Leonard passed away. He had been the apple of his father's eye, and Monty was never the same after this loss.
A year later, the 1929 stock market crash (The Hatry Crash) wiped out the family's assets. They had to sell the house, the garage business and the car and move into rented accommodation. Monty was out of work for a while and then took a job as a delivery driver. During hop season, he worked for two years in the hop fields as a manager.
Move to Hildenborough
In 1931 Monty was able to get a job as a garage manager in Hildenborough. The family moved into a house there and stayed for several years. He then went to work in Stanbridge, Buckinghamshire for a while, where son Jack married. After that, when Monty began to suffer from lung cancer, he had to give up his position in Stanbridge and the family moved back to Kent, to Sidcup. The younger boys were enrolled in Judd School, Sidcup. By then, the war had started and Sidcup was being bombed.
Monty's Death
Monty Sims later in life
Monty died, at 60 years of age, on September 22nd, 1940, a few months after Dunkirk. At the time the family lived at 118 Main Road Sidcup, Kent and was working as an Engineer with the Air Ministry. The bombing and other aspects of the war made it difficult for some of the family to get back to Sidcup to be with him. His death certificate reveals that he died of lung cancer. In a simple will, he left everything to his wife. His estate, clearly diminished over his later years, amounted to £193 3/10.
Census Records
1881 Census
- Monty, just born, is living with his parents Ebanezer and Mary Anne and five
children at 6. Tavistock Place, Plumstead, Kent.
| Ebanezer Sims |
Head |
Married |
37 |
Clerk Foreman of
Writers War Dept. (C S Off) |
Kent, Woolwich |
Mary A Sims |
Wife |
Married |
34 |
| Kent, Woolwich |
Emily C Sims |
Daughter |
Single |
13 |
Scholar |
Kent, Welling |
George T A Sims |
Son |
Single |
10 |
Scholar |
Kent, Woolwich |
Fred L M Sims |
Son |
Single |
6 |
Scholar |
Kent, Plumstead |
Amy A M Sims |
Daughter |
Single |
3 |
|
Kent, Greenwich |
Montague S
Sims |
Son |
|
0 |
|
Kent, Greenwich |
Jessy Hussey |
Servant |
Single |
17 |
General Servant
(Domestic) |
Kent New Charlton |
|
1891 Census -
Monty, aged 10, is living with his entire family at 105 Herbert Road,
Plumstead, Kent. |
Ebanezer E Sims |
Head |
Married |
47 |
Principal Foreman Royal Ordinance Factories |
Kent Woolwich |
Mary Ann Sims |
Wife |
Married |
43 |
|
Kent Woolwich |
Emily C Sims |
Daughter |
Single |
23 |
|
Kent East Wickham |
George T Sims |
Son |
Single |
20 |
|
Kent Woolwich |
Fred L M Sims |
Son |
Single |
16 |
|
Kent Plumstead |
Amy A M Sims |
Daughter |
|
13 |
|
Kent Greenwich |
Montague S Sims |
Son |
|
10 |
|
Kent Greenwich |
Nellie M Sims |
Daughter |
|
5 |
|
Kent Plumstead |
Winifred M Sims |
Daughter |
|
3 |
|
Kent Plumstead |
Elanor Sams |
Servant |
|
16 |
|
Kent Blackheath |
|
1901 Census -
Monty is living on his own 64 Brewer Street,
Woolwich, Kent |
Montagu S Sims |
Single |
| 24 |
Marine Engineer |
London Greenwich |
| 1911 Census - Monty and his wife Emma Lucy are
living with their two year old son Leonard at 25 Ridley Road,
Rochester, Kent. |
Montague Sims |
Head |
|
|
30 |
Kent Greenwich |
Lucy Sims |
Wife |
|
|
30 |
Kent Newington |
Leonard Sims |
Son |
|
| 2 |
Kent Rochester |
|
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