Address: 468 Cecelia Road
Built: 1908
1912 householder: William Hole, house painterThis building is gone! It was demolished in February 2014, about 2 years after this photograph was taken. But here is a description of the building as it was in 2012, for the record:
This Edwardian Arts & Crafts style home was built in 1908 and was formerly known as 486 Cecelia Road. It has a prominent bay window, a pent roof over a recessed porch and a high, wide front gable.
In 1912, this was the home of William and Sylvia Hole and their daughters: 8 year old Alice, 4 year old Doris and 2 year old Laura. William Hole was thirty-two years old. He was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, and was the son of a stonemason. Sylvia (neé Hart) Hole was also from the West Riding of Yorkshire and was the same age as her husband. She was the daughter of a plasterer. She and William were married in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1902. Their eldest daughter, Alice, was born there in 1903. They came to Canada in 1905 and apparently lived Ontario and Alberta before settling in Victoria. (Doris was born in Ontario, while Laura was born in Alberta).
William had worked as a house painter before immigrating to Canada and continued to follow that trade in Victoria. He was employed by the Melrose Company, a firm that had connections to several households in the neighbourhood. The company manager lived across the Cecelia Ravine on 3071 Washington Avenue. William Hole may have been related to Thomas Hole, a fellow Englishman who lived nearby at 537 Burnside Road East.
In 1913, William Hole and his family moved to Esquimalt. In 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, Hole drilled with the Business Men's Reserve unit at Work Point Barracks. He subsequently enlisted with the 143rd Battalion (B.C. Bantams), a military unit comprised of volunteers who were under 5' 5” in height. After he was sent overseas to England, he redeployed to the 47th Battalion, British Columbia Regiment. He was killed in action during the Battle of Amiens in France on 11 August 1918, just three months before the war ended.