Local Folk
Bill Axcell: 'The Glass Animal Man'
By Jennifer Drury
This wonderful photo of Bill Axcell at work in his shop was sent in by Ron Charlton. It possibly was taken in the early 1960s when Bill came to Brighton. This is what his daughter Pearl Axcell wrote in response to another photo of her father which is here.
'He was born in Leigh-on-sea Essex and moved to Brighton in the mid 50'. His original shop was down by the Aquarium and when I was born in 1956 he put an announcement in his shop window. He moved to 28 Queens Road in the early 60s and remained there until his death in 1991 aged 63.
He always maintained that he never did a days work in his life as his job was his hobby and life long love. Through the years the he developed different interests which he ran alongside the Glass animals and one of these was as Geobright. He sold rocks and minerals as well as jewellery.
It was a fascinating shop to visit and as children we all worked there at various times to earn our pocket money. My sister Carol and myself were taught how to work the glass, something that I loved and would dearly love to do again.'
Bill Axcell: The Glass Animal Man
From the private collection of Ron Charlton
This page was added on 28/06/2009.