 Cyril was born on 13th
February 1907 at 21 Hawthorn Road, Willesden and was registered on 26th
March 1907 at Hendon District. Cyril was the eldest of three children. Vera
Frances Watters was born in 1910 and Joan Edna Watters in 1922.
Census 1911 shows Cyril
aged 4 living at 22 Villiers Road, Willesden.
1919 - Age of 12 sought to produce an operetta.
Composing the words and music and played with the aid of his sister Vera’s
dolls and household props played to an audience of family and friends.
1919 – 1923 Secondary education
Educated at William Ellis
Endowed School, Gospell Oak, N W London. The school motto was ‘Rather use than
fame’. The school is still in existence but has moved. Cyril is included in the
schools’ World War II roll as a leading Aircraftsman, Royal Air Force.
History of William Ellis Endowed School
William
Ellis was a public-spirited businessman who, in the mid-nineteenth century,
founded a number of schools and inspired many teachers with his ideas on
education. He wanted children to be taught ‘useful’ subjects such as science
(including ‘Social Science’) and to develop the faculty of reason; his approach
differed from many other schools of the time that focused on religious tracts,
ancient languages and history. William Ellis School, the only one of his
schools that still exists, was established at Gospel Oak in 1862 and
reorganized in 1889 as a boys’ secondary school.
School prize books given to him by the school
from the Age of 13
Xmas 1920 prize – Honour The Odyssy of Homer
translated by William Cowper
Xmas 1920 Honour The
Iliad of Homer translated by Edward Derby
December 1921 Honour Gullivers
Travels
December 1921 Honour The
Tower of London, A Historical Romance by W Ainsworth.
December 1922 Merit The
History of England by T Macaulay Vol 1
December 1923 Honour The
History of England by T Macaulay Vol 2
I remember him saying that he
matriculated.
When he left school in
1923 aged 16, I believe that he must have begun to earn his living as a Ledger
Clerk whilst developing his skills in composing music and playing in local
bands. (Jill Coward)
He was a keen cyclist and went on many tours at this time on
his own all over England collecting postcards. He was also a keen tennis
player. Another hobby was football and he supported Chelsea along with
his father for the rest of his life.
In 1935 he joined the Almora Table Tennis Club and played most weeks. He
was presented with a silver tray in 1976 for his good work with the
club.
1937 At about this time Cyril owned an old Austin 7. | 
