A C Mole

Albert Charles Mole was born on 20 May 1874. After working briefly in Exeter and Edinburgh he travelled to Clifton, Arizona, to join the Arizona Copper Company where he found a very different world. His diary for 13 October 1897 records "My first real Wild West experience…Tonight a cowboy shot the town up. He rode through shooting for all he was worth….the Sheriff says he felt the wind pass as one of the shots passed by."

In October 1902 he returned to establish his accountancy practice in Taunton. He was elected Mayor of Taunton in 1915 and served on Somerset County Council for 43 years. He was a Justice of the Peace, serving on the County Bench from 1927 until he retired as Chairman in 1950. He was an Income Tax Commissioner from 1943 to 1957 and was secretary of the Bath and Wells Diocesan Board of Finance from its formation in 1913 until 1944.

In 1908 he even found time to write a book, The Students' Epitome of Accountancy & Bookkeeping.In the Introduction to the book, A C says "No Accountant or Book-keeper is worth much salary who attempts to do his work merely by routine…It is an Accountant's duty to deal with transactions in a practical manner".

A C retired from the partnership in 1940. He died on 21 May 1960, the day after his 86th birthday.