South Yorkshire Times, April 28th, 1939.

When Wath people are asked to define The typical Yorkshire businessman they need only point to Mr Thomas Wade. He has all the distinctive qualities – shrewdness, acute judgement, and foresight. He shows them in his office, on the golf course. Particularly he showed them 50 years ago when he married Miss Lucy Butterfield at Wath Parish Church. This weekend Mr Wade will be looking back on his career and will remember many successes, for with all his family about him he will be celebrating the anniversary of his golden wedding.

Thirteenth Child.

The marriage took place at Wath Parish Church on April 30, 1889. The bridegroom was the 13th child of Mr and Mrs Edwin Wade, the father being a cabinet maker who later turned to building. The bride was the eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs John Butterfield: older residents will remember that her father was a well-known clockmaker and jeweller with a shopping high Street, Wath.

At this time Mr Wade’s eldest brother, John, was carrying on the father’s building connection, and young Thomas served his apprenticeship under him. 40 years ago, and his brothers death, Mr Wade assumed entire control of the business and thanks to his enterprising commercial flair it has developed by now into one of the largest building firms in South Yorkshire (it is, of course, also one of the oldest).

Mr Wade quickly brought his peculiar qualities to bear on the extensions of the firm’s activities and soon the name of Thomas Wade was appended to important contracts of many kinds. Among the considerable housing contracts he has undertaken wear the first schemes carried out by Wath and Swinton Urban councils. The houses he built at Piccadilly (Swinton’s first council houses) have been referred to as models of their kind, and perhaps it was this contract which laid the foundations for the rapid expansion of the firm that immediately followed.

School interior work.

Messrs, Wade and sons were responsible for the woodwork of Mexborough secondary school, the complete Catholic Church at Goldthorpe, many schools in the West Riding, and the series of cinemas including the ‘ Roxy’, Swinton, the ‘Regal’, Rotherham, the’ Majestic’, Wath, And could with cinema. This former workmanship, rapidity, and distinction with which these and many other contracts were discharged gained for the firm a wide reputation.

Rapidity is rather an inadequate understatement for some of their work. Rotherham’Regal’ is a good example. The shapely building took exactly 20 weeks to construct; and it is believed to be a record for cinema building. The Roxy at Swinton provides an excellent illustration of Mr Wade’s acumen. When the cinema was opened about 1931 he needed an organist. He heard by chance of a gifted 19 year old pianos. Mr Wade gave him an audition and the contract for a two years engagement at the Roxy followed at 4 pounds a week. The pianist was Reginald Peter Brown who is now known to every radio listener and he was regarded as being at the head of his profession.

Incidentally Mr way does not now own the Roxy; he sold out some time ago; and the were from Regal he leases to a cinema chain. He is still a director of Wath Majestic and of from cinemas.

Among his other directorships are those of the West Melton brick company and of Thos. Wade estates (London), of which he is chairman. All the companies are private.

Property interests.

Mr Wade is of course a considerable property owner. Indeed it is probable That he controls more property than any other person in Wath. He has bought property with skill and foresight; readers may remember his purchase of high Melton woods about 10 years ago Mr Wade recalls that his days work did not finish with that deal the moment high mountain woods had become his he went and clinched the negotiations for the buying of the Roxy site, he is president of the Wath property owners Association and for 10 years has been on the London executive of the property owners Association of Great Britain.

In view of his immense building schemes and the diversity of his interest, it is interesting to note that Mr Waite lives where he was born. Not in the same house, that was burned down, but no but the siting erected on it the pleasant house, five, Sandgate, Mr Wade has a keen (if not practising) interest in gardening and he is proud of the well-kept grounds of his home.

This energetic, industrious man has never sought public office, councils do not particularly interesting. He has preferred to pass benefits on to the community in other ways. But always he has spent much time for his preoccupying business to devote to the church. As a boy he was in the choir and he continued in the choir stall for nearly 50 years. (The waves are one of the Wath families with a choir tradition; there are two in the present choir at the Parish Church.)

He has been a member of the parochial church council since its formation and has been a sidesman at the Parish Church for nearly 50 years.

Just as he had always worked hard, so he has played, he played cricket and football for Wath before the days of the athletic club, and at one time he was secretary of the football club. His membership of the athletic club goes back to its foundations and for many years he has been a member of the Yorkshire County Cricket club.

His game is now golf, and he has been out on the links plain atypical eight shrewd game this week. He had one term as captain of the Wath Golf club, and the honour has this year fallen to his son, Mr Reginald Wade.

Music has always been one of his principal interests (perhaps this factor helped in the discovery and making of Porter Brown).

Mr Waite has certainly spent a useful and industrious life, and it is satisfying for him to look back and reflect that he has left to waste none of his native talent. He has had the adventure of vigourous, lively mind, which at once made him successful in business and gave him the chance to find peaceful relaxation in his limited leisure time.

Mrs Wade’s part.

Behind all such men stand the figure of a Conscientious and alert wife, and although Mrs Wade has preferred a position away from the limelight she has played her wifely part well.

They have a family of four sons and one daughter. All the sons have taken their place in the family business, and the daughter married the son of another familiar Wath personage, Mr. A. J. Thompson. The immediate family is completed by 12 grandchildren. All will be present at the golden wedding celebrations.

There will be to guess not of the family. Their names will be very familiar, indeed, last week their own golden wedding was reported in these columns. They are Mr and Mrs A. J. Lineham Smith for two couples were married within a week and Mr and Mrs Wade had a photograph of the Smith wedding group upon which all four appear.