William Tate was born in 1848 and was the fourth of 10 children. The Tate family was a well established family in the town at that time. His grandfather founded a furniture business in the town, which was eventually taken over and carried

In 1900 he was involved in numerous other major constructions in the town, such as the Princess Mary Memorial Home. This was opened on the 9th July, the same day as another of his constructions, The Victoria Convalescent Home, on the promenade.

He eventually moved his business to No. 7 High Street, where for approximately 30 years he carried out his trade of cabinetmaker and provided complete house furnishings in the town. Eventually this proved not to be sufficient for him and he decided to branch out into the building trade.

As the town continued to expand he was primarily involved in two of the largest constructions of their time, that of the Arcade which was opened during August 1902, and also he built the Kursaal, which contained a skating rink, balconied tea room, Pierrotland, a theatre and shops. This seafront building opened in 1910; whilst it changed its name to The Rex it remained a major construction on the seafront until it was finally demolished in 1977 to make way for the Regis Centre. On the completion of this impressive building on the seafront, one of the Councillors remarked, this 'will serve as a lasting monument of his enterprise.'

William Tate also became involved in the expansion of streets especially around the area originally known as Canada Gardens for the Poor, which then became known as Canada Grove, Ockley Road and Gainsboro Road, where houses were first recorded in 1904 in the Trade Directories. When I lived in Gainsboro Road, approx. 20 years ago, we had a manhole cover

near the house designated to William Tate.

In 1911 he was elected Chairman of the Urban District Council and within 12 months was involved in the erection of shops opposite the Police Station in London Road. In the early days the three shops concerned had their rent fixed at £105 p.a. It was reported that these shops 'added greatly to the appearance of the area.' A newspaper report at this time provides us with an insight into this man as it told that, 'he is prominent in a double sense - in business life he has done much for the development and progress of the town, while as a member of the Urban Council, his experience of that body extends over a period of some twenty years. His life has been a life of energy and progress, and his succession to the chief public office of the town, by the unanimous vote of his colleagues, may be looked upon as an acknowledgment and tribute to his private enterprise, which has done so much for the advancement and progress of the town.'

He eventually retired from work only six months before he died in December 1931 aged 83 years; 3 sons and five daughters survived him from his marriages. His place in the history of Bognor can never be doubted based on the number of areas with which he was involved. In 1985 a letter was sent to the town from a person in Australia tracing their family history. These people were trying to find out why the family emigrated to Australia, as the writer could not understand why a person with a substantial business in England should close it down and move their complete family to the other

side of the world - especially in the mid 1800's. Today the town has developed, and Companies move into an area to build large developments, as requested by Architects. Therefore it is difficult for us to imagine the drive and enthusiasm that must have been used by William Tate. A singular man with a motto - Progress - of which there is no doubt he achieved great things here in Bognor. I am sure that there are more tales of his escapades in the town, with further developments and his involvements in building projects that have not been documented.

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