Mexborough and Swinton Times, January 14,  1938

Obituary.

Pioneer of Motor Trade
Mr. Thomas Lee, of Wombwell
Diamond Wedding in Sight

A domestic partnership of 57 years was dissolved by the death on Saturday night of Mr. Thomas Lee (76), of 38 Barnsley Road, Wombwell.

Mr. and, Mrs. Lee were married at Barnsley in 1880 and Mrs. Lee survives though in a delicate state of health. It is believed that Mrs. Lee’s illness preyed upon Mr. Lee’s mind and hastened his death, which occurred following, a seizure. Becoming ill in Wombwell Conservative Club on Friday evening, he was taken home and lived only about twenty-four hours.

Married at the age of 19 and 17 respectively, Mr. and Mrs. Lee celebrated their Golden Wedding at Christmas seven years ago. Mr Lee started working life in the mines and subsequently went into the motor business. He was a pioneer of motor transport in the Dearne Valley.

A native of Hindley, Lancashire, Mr. Lee was brought to Wombwell when was aged 3 three, his father coming to Darfield Main Colliery as a boiler fireman. When the colliery was set down through an underground fire in 1870 the family moved into the Durham coalfield where they remained for five years. In that period Mr. Lee’s only brother, Mr. Ralph Lee, who is employed in the sanitary department of the Wombwell U.D.C. was born at Shotton. Mr. Lee had clear recollections of seeing the ponies brought out of the Colliery, where, two years later, there was another disastrous fire.

At 11 years of age Mr. Lee started work in the mines of Durham and when his parents returned to Wombwell he was set on at Darfield Main where he remained except for short periods at Mitchell Main and Hoyland Silkstone until he retired from colliery work just before the Great War.

First Motor Cyclist.

It is in connection with the motor trade that Mr. Lee’s biography is interwoven into the life of Wombwell. In Wombwell he owned the first pneumatic tyred cycle, the first motor cycle, the first motor car and the first motor omnibus.             He established himself in the “trade” in a very humble way, selling cycles from premises in York Street. At that time (1892) the safety machine had just come into vogue but most of the models were on cushion tyres. His first model on pneumatic tyres, aroused much interest in the town.

When motor vehicles came Mr. Lee was one of the first in the district to fall in with the new fashion. The fore-runner of all motor cycles in Wombwell was his “Quadrant”. His machine was fitted with a trailer.

Following Mr. Lee the first car owners in Wombwell were Dr. J. N. Millar, Mr. John Parkin, Mr. H. Radford and Mr. J. T. Lambert, all of whom bought their models from him.