Rupert Stanley Ives

Rupert Ives owned and ran a shoe shop in Furtherwick Parade on Canvey Island throughout the war. He had been born and brought up in Hackney, London to Frederick and Georgina Ives. He ran his shoe shop from the early 1930s until long after the war. He was a keen local cricketer and was said to have been a good fielder and quite good as a batsman. He was one of only two Canvey players ever to hit the ball out of the ground and into nearby Chamber’s farm.

During the disastrous floods of 1953 when scores were killed on Canvey Island as the sea walls were breached, Rupert Ives opened his shop to hand out shoes to those who had lost them.

After the war, Rupert Ives and his wife Winifred were keen members of the amateur dramatic group. One play involved him dressing up as a German Officer.