Address: 458 Cecelia Road
Built: 1909
1912 householder: Frederick Tubbs, letter carrierThis house is gone! A demolition permit was issued by the City of Victoria in December 2019 and the structure was demolished in early 2020. The property is now used as a forecourt for a truck and automobile tire shop. But here is a description of the house from 2012 for the record:
This modest Edwardian cottage was built in 1909 at a cost of just $800. The building permit was issued to Frederick Howard Tubbs. Born in the East End of London, he immigrated to Canada in 1886, when he was eighteen years old. He came to Victoria in 1891 and joined the Post Office as a letter carrier. At the time, there were only five letter carriers for the city. In 1901, he earned $600 for his work. He married Viola Myrtle McCabe in Victoria in 1903. She had been married previously and had a son from her first marriage. Possibly her marriage to Mr. Tubbs was unsettled, because in 1915 she was living on Henry Street in Vic West while he was living here.
In 1916, Tubbs volunteered for military service. He was forty-seven years old when he enlisted in the army, much older than most recruits. But he fudged his date of birth on his attestation papers; and, since he had some prior military experience – as a young man, he had served in the 7th Fusiliers, City of London Volunteers, in England – he was accepted into the Canadian army and sent overseas with the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Fortunately – and unlike his former neighbour, William Hole, who had resided next door at 468 Cecelia – Frederick Tubbs survived the Great War. He returned to his home at this address, 458 Cecelia Road, and was back on the job with the Victoria City Post Office in 1919. He retired from the Post Office in May 1929 at the age of 60. (Presumably, he didn't misrepresent his age when he was eligible for superannuation!) He died in Duncan in August 1943 at the age of 74. Mrs. Viola Tubbs died in Victoria five years later, in 1948. She was 82 years old.