Mechanical Memories Magazine

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It was during his time at Clacton-On-Sea that he became acquainted with the amusement
trade and Oliver's life was to change forever after meeting William Thompson.
Thompson lived in the Midlands and had been involved with coin operated machines for
a good number of years, and just like Oliver he had been hit hard by the crash of 1929.
Thompson had not been as lucky as Oliver and did end up being declared bankrupt and
was struggling hard to try and restart his company. In 1936 Oliver, on seeing the
potential, invested some of the money he had left into Thompson's new venture. Oliver
was now back in business. Thompson's untimely death in 1939 left Oliver in control of
the company. Once again, Oliver decided to relocate to a more suitable area. For this
type of business, he made the move to the seaside town of Redcar in Cleveland, taking
his son Peter, and his newly acquired amusement machine business with him.
Unfortunately, the stress and pressures in the business appeared to have spilled over into
Oliver and Helen's home life, as Helen and their daughter Pauline didn't make the move
to Redcar. They went to live in High Wycombe where they set up home at 27 Rectory
Avenue. Later, with a little help from Oliver, they opened up a dress shop of their own
at 18 the High Street, High Wycombe. The shop went by the name of H. Whales Ltd,
which they ran together until 1955, when Pauline emigrated to Sydney Australia, where
she married Dameter Horbach. Helen, at the age of 64, decided to follow Pauline to
Australia where she set up home and lived out her days in the Lane Cove area of
Sydney. Pauline and Dameter also lived in the same area. Helen passed away there on
the 15 th July 1978, and despite the marital split, Helen and Oliver were never divorced.
Helen Whales' shop in High Wycombe, c. early 1950s.
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