Russell and Son 100 years old
Family business started in 1921 still serving the community
❝ the funeral parlour idea came to light and has grown from strength to strength
As the pioneers of funeral services in Komani, Russell and Son celebrates its centenary this week and the senior member of the family, Polly Russell, reminisces about how the business started and events that led to the fourth generation “son” to be at the helm.
Polly recalled how Russell and Son came to be, from a carpentry and building business called the Mutual Joinery Works that expanded to offering funeral services.
The business was started by William “Willy” Russell, born in 1884, who came from Cornwall, England, where he used to work as a farmer and then looked for work on the tin mines that subsequently collapsed, leading him to leave his place of birth for SA to look for work.
“After the mines collapsed, a lot of people there were without work.
“Willy, as a young man, wanted to find work elsewhere.
“He had a choice of either going to America or SA and he obviously chose the latter because the United States was very dangerous at the time,” Polly recalls.
Willy arrived in Komani (formerly Queenstown) and formed a partnership with two Cornish friends that led to the establishment of the Mutual Joinery Works.
Out of that, the funeral parlour idea came to light and has grown from strength to strength over the years.
“Willy sent word back to Cornwall for his two sisters to come to SA and help out in the business.
“He married Emily in 1914, with whom he had four children, and they moved into their newly built home and called it Broome Park.
“We still live in the same house today, with minor renovations having been made over the years.
“Broome Park is the name of the field he worked at in Cornwall. His bedroom window overlooked the field and that is why it was important for him to name his house after it,” said Polly.
The three partners eventually separated and Willy started Russell and Son in 1921, and his eldest son, Hilton, who was an electrician, later joined the business and became the first generation of Russell and Son.
Polly said Hilton joined the business in his
early youth and was an auto-electrician who drove electrical trucks for troops during World War 2.
She said Willy and Hilton had contrasting characters. The father was always jovial and cracking