William Stokes Snr b.1846 Dover appears to have been the son of George and Sarah Stokes. He is listed with them in Dover in both the 1851 and 1861 census but by 1871 William aged 25 is an Outdoor Customs Officer in Dover. (Outdoor Officers are concerned with checking that the cargo of an incoming vessel is as listed on the bills of lading and other documentation. They are known familiarly as Landing Officers.) William was recently married to Mary Chapman and his first son William Henry was five months old. By 1881 William and family (now with five sons) have moved to Folkestone and they are living on the East Cliff. William is listed as HM Customs Officer and by 1891 he is still a Customs Officer. There were then six sons. The oldest a gardener and the next, George, a greengrocer. Again in 1901 William Snr is an Outdoor Officer with HM Customs, son George is a Market Gardener and Greengrocer and an employer and his brothers Robert and Benjamin are grengrocer′s assistants. The three other sons were already married. William Stokes of 10 East Cliff Road died on 25 April 1908 he left a Will and Probate was grated to William Henry, greengrocer and Frederick Charles, Post Office Clerk in the sum of £1039. William Henry Stokes married Jane Dixon in 1895. She was a young widow of Charles Dixon who she had married in 1886 but who had died in 1888. She already had one daughter Edith May b.1888. In 1911 William and Jane were living in Harvey St. They had six surviving children together. Jane Dixon was in fact Jane Cook b.18 Nov 1862, the daughter of Stephen Cook, mariner, and Eleanor Baker of Folkestone. She was my grandmother′s aunt. Frederick Charles married Albina Warner in 1889 and was a Post Office Telegraphist. John Freeman married Margaret Milton 1898 and was a Blacksmith. Robert James married Edith M Cook in 1901. Surprisingly she was the niece of Jane Cook (above) being the daughter of Jane′s older brother Stephen Cook, mariner, and Sarah Ann Hughes. Edith was my grandmother′s oldest sister. The yougest son Benjamin Victor married Annie Muddle in 1910. He was also a fruiterer and shop keeper.
So Stokes Brothers was very much a family business started in 1904 by William and George Stokes. The shop was destroyed in the Tontine Street Air Raid on 25 May 1917 when sadly both William Henry Stokes and his 14 year old son Arthur Ernest were killed and Frederick Charles Stokes was seriously injured. The shop was rebuilt after the raid and continued until 1976 when the premises were let. In 1985 the building was destroyed by fire and never reopened.
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