Cheltenham man who carved the Speaker’s Chair celebrates 100th birthday

A Cheltenham craftsman, who has contributed to the country’s rich interior design heritage at the House of Commons, Buckingham Palace and the Old Bailey courthouse, celebrated his 100th birthday on Thursday (January 12).

Austin Davis trained as a carpenter and joiner in the 1930s and counts carving the right-hand section of the famous Speaker’s Chair in the House of Commons among his many achievements.

Starting his career as an apprentice at a cabinet maker in Walsall in the West Midlands, Austin’s early roles took him to Glasgow where he worked on the lavish interiors of the Queen Elizabeth cruise liner before moving to Cheltenham and signing up with HH Martyn at their Sunningend Works in Lansdown.

During the Second World War, Austin was engaged in essential war work, building wooden nose cones for glider planes and working with the auxiliary fire service.

In the 1950s, Austin worked on the Queen Mary ship and panelling in the Old Bailey and Guidhall in London plus a lift in Buckingham Palace.

Closer to home, Austin used his craftmanship on a memorial table in Tewkesbury Abbey, the entrance hall at the former Dowty building and a desk at Cheltenham Grammar School, for which he was paid the princely sum of £15.

Austin married Dorothy in 1942 after the couple met when she was working as a hairdresser in Cheltenham. The couple had two children, Keith born in 1947 and Derek in 1950. The family spent their early life in a prefab house at Haweswater Road in Hatherley, latterly moving to Brookfield Road in St Mark’s, where Austin lived for many years until moving into Wentworth Court.

Son Keith and his wife Diane joined with residents and staff at the dementia specialist nursing home on Arle Road, to help Austin celebrate his special day. Friends and family enjoyed vintage classics from the 1940s and 1950s with singer Ruby Lamont and joined in a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ before enjoying afternoon tea and birthday cake.

Keith Davies said: “We found dad’s notebooks with detailed notes about all the projects he had worked on, sadly he now suffers with Alzheimer’s so can’t always remember. But we always bring in family photographs for him to see and pictures from his working life to help stimulate memories.

“He has lived a full life and enjoyed dancing, photography, tennis, cycling and bowling, which kept him active and was living independently until he was 98.”

Wentworth Court, acting home manager, Gez Ossai said: “We had a wonderful afternoon, with singing, dancing and lots of cake. Austin is our first resident to reach a century, since we opened in 2015 so it was a really special occasion for us all.”

Grandchildren Barry, Ian, Adrian, Charlotte and Eleanor and great-grandchildren Noah and Isaac will be among the family who will join Austin this weekend for further celebrations.

Wentworth Court opened in May 2015 and is home to more than 60 residents living with dementia, who receive highly-individualised care. The home received a ‘good’ rating in all categories from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2017.

For more information please call 01242 263334 or visit www.wentworthct.com

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