Founder of Kebbell Homes
An Amazing Life
The 89 years of Thomas Kebbell’s life were full of fearless adventure and wide ranging experiences which encompassed a rugged childhood farming on the North Island of New Zealand, courageous service as a Spitfire pilot in World War II, and an extraordinary career as a property developer right to the time of his death.
The Kebbell family in New Zealand dates back three generations to 1841 when his great, great grandfather, Thomas arrived in Wellington, New Zealand with his brother John. The family grew and prospered and by the time Thomas (affectionately known since his time in the Air Force as Charles) was born in 1920, they had established themselves as successful farmers. At the age of 17 he anticipated carrying on in the family tradition embarking on a career in farming. But war clouds were already gathering over Europe and like his father before him who had served in the army in France in the 1914–18 war, Charles resolved that if war broke out, he would be a pilot. He read all the fighter pilot books he could lay his hands on and applied to join the New Zealand Air Force in the volunteer reserve.
It was not until 1941 that he was called to report to an Initial Training Centre near Wellington and learned to fly a Tiger Moth in just over 8 hours! He eventually joined No 610 Spitfire Squadron (where fellow pilots nick named him Charles) and subsequently served in Malta which although is just a small island its location enabled it to hold strategic control over supplies to Rommell in North Africa . He displayed an eagerness to participate in dangerous missions and had total disregard for his own personal safety despite severe losses amongst fellow pilots. When reminiscing about his war experiences, he was asked whether he had ever dwelt upon his own mortality amongst such destruction. He simply replied, ‘I knew I may not survive the war, but it was not going to be today and I dismissed it from my thoughts’.
He survived the war but not without mishap and after convalescing, he was on leave when he met Meryl Absalom who shortly after became his wife. Her father was a residential developer with a highly enlightened philosophy of providing good quality affordable family homes in a healthy and pleasant ‘smoke free’ environment, outside London .
As if surviving the war wasn’t enough he then volunteered as a test pilot based at Lasham in Hampshire. Soon after he joined his father in law and with his customary enthusiasm and energy, Thomas embraced the Absalom tenets and over the ensuing years, as the new owner, shaped and moulded it into the business we know today.
Charles Kebbell started Kebbell Homes based in Watford , in 1952. From the outset he was innovative and inspired in his approach to design and construction issues. Even in the 1950s, for example, he was a passionate exponent of central heating which today is taken for granted but then represented a radical improvement to comfort levels within the home. He fought planners to achieve designs which brought a new look into the community and was committed to creative landscaping so that projects matured gracefully over the years.
Perhaps most forward thinking was his desire to create communities which is why so many of the Kebbell estates built in the 1960s and 70s included a leisure centre with hall, swimming pool and squash court.
His spirit of adventure saw him undertaking developments as far north as Teesside and Yorkshire , down to Hampshire and even to France and Texas . With his enduring passion for flying, he travelled to many of these destinations piloting his own aircraft.
A great joy for him was his blissful marriage, his four daughters and his son Nicolas Kebbell who has for many years been Managing Director.
The legacy for Kebbell Homes is profound. He was a dynamic and adventurous risk taker and yet a very gentle, kind and thoughtful man who dispensed both discipline and good humour. He knew all his staff individually and cared about their health and happiness. He is sorely missed by all who had the privilege to know and to work with him.