Very little is known of his early years but Charles Llewellyn Ernest Elbert Dando was a dentist who married in Saffron Walden, Essex, in 1900. After a brief time in Newmarket, Cambridgeshire, he can be found in Plymouth in Devon in 1910 where he remained until his death in 1959. Charles is listed in various Plymouth street directories and I also have copies of some of his correspondence to the Dental Board over the years. He tended to use two initials and went by C E Dando.
One recent discovery is that Charles worked in Bedford Street, one of the main streets in Plymouth before the Blitz destroyed most of the city centre. He can be found at No 34 in the 1923 Kelly’s Directory, probably above the main shop which belonged to Webb & Son Ltd who made suitcases. The 1910 and 1914 Kelly’s Directories don’t mention Charles but instead, located there with Webb & Son is a firm called McDonalds Ltd who made artificial teeth. It’s not known whether Charles had any associations with McDonalds or whether two dental firms being located in the same building at different times is simply a co-incidence. Of course, there’s always the possibility that the building was already kitted out, making it the ideal premises for Charles Dando to move his business into.
Bedford Street, Plymouth, showing No 34 on the right (click to view a larger version in my Picture Gallery)
