St. Ables was born in Ulverston in England and emigrated to Winnipeg in Canada when he was 13, preceded by his father and older brother.
During World War II, he worked as a painter and sign writer for the shipbuilding industry in Victoria, British Columbia.
[1] Shortly after his marriage in 1942 he was hired by Maple Leaf Publishing, where worked as the artist for the Piltdown Pete, Brok Windsor, and Bill Speed cartoon strips, which he signed with the pen name "St. Ables".
After unsuccessful approaches to The Walt Disney Company, the family moved to Seattle, where St. Ables worked in the art department at Boeing.
[3] In 2006 was St. Ables was inducted into the Joe Shuster Awards Hall of Fame for his contributions to Canadian comics.