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Wey People : Over one hundred movers and shakers who were born, lived or worked in the Wey Valley. |
Wey WEY LIFE |
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Sir William More Built Loseley House near Guildford and developed this prosperous agricultural estate from 1562 - 1568. The More-Molyneux family continue to live at the house today. Edmund Spenser
A contemporary of William Shakespeare, Spenser was a poet of some repute. Whilst resident in Alton he wrote many of his works including The Faerie Queen (1596). As mark of his literary contribution he is buried at Westminster Abbey alongside Chaucer. John Pitts The Catholic scholar and writer was born in Alton and was educated at Winchester College. Having graduated from New College Oxford in 1580 Pitts went on to be ordained as a priest eight years later and was appointed Professor at the English College in Reims, France in the same year. He was to spend most of his life living in France and Germany and had a number of scholarly works published including his best known work Relationum Historicarum de rebus Angliæ which was published posthumously in 1619, although three additional parts remained unpublished and were held in manuscript. Pitts was also appointed confessor and almoner to the Duchess of Cleves, a position he held for 12 years, before becoming dean of Liverdun, France. George Abbot
The son of a poor cloth worker in Guildford, Abbot was to become one of the most powerful figures of his time. Having been sponsored through his schooling by a local benefactor he was appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1610. Abbot was a proponent of the Authorised Version of the Bible. His tomb is in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Guildford.
The poet and lyricist, whilst working at Pyrford Place near Woking as private secretary to Francis Wolly, eloped with Elizabeth More of the Loseley dynasty and was imprisoned for his impudence. Eventually released and pardoned he was at last allowed to marry. A portrait of Donne, reputed to have been commissioned by the poet to woo an unresponsive lover, has been saved for the nation partly through public subscription (May 2006). The British public have donated almost £300,000 towards the fund promoted by the National Portrait Gallery who have all but secured the £1.4m needed to buy the painting from the family of Tory MP Michael Ancram. The Ancram's have had possession of the painting since 1631. The campaign has been the the most successful public appeal the National Portrait Gallery has ever run in its 150 years. Public donations ranged from £2 up to an individual anonymous donation of £100,000. £750,000 was granted by the National Heritage Fund and £200,000 by The Art Fund charity. The portrait is regarded as one of the most important and charismatic paintings ever produced of of a British poet. It was painted in 1595 by an unknown artist. Donne was 23 when the portrait was painted and is depicted with a suggestively unlaced collar. At the time he was penning his now famous love poems which included To His Mistress Going To Bed and The Flea. The painting was bequeathed to Donne's friend, Robert Kerr, the 1st Marquess of Lothian and stayed with the family after Donne's death until Michael Ancram, the 13th Marquess of Lothian decided to put the painting up for sale in order to settle an inheritance tax bill following the death of his father two years ago. The family executors agreed to reduce the original gross asking price from £2.36m to £2m to aid the Portrait Gallery's purchase. Tax concessions meant that the gallery had to raise £1.4m. Source:
SEE THE PAINTING AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY SITE Sir Richard Weston The founder of the Wey Navigation, Weston was an agricultural reformer who introduced revolutionary new land management practices that were to transform British farming. Owner of Sutton Place near Guildford, Weston was to build the canal after his experimentation with controlled flooding of pastures to boost hay yields. Weston is credited with introducing white clover and turnips into Britain. White clover is a protein rich fodder crop for cattle that has the added benefit of replacing nitrogen into the soil. Sir William Temple Diplomat, statesman and essayist who bought Compton Hall near Farnham and began to expand and develop the estate that he renamed Moor Park after the house where he and his wife had spent their honeymoon. Temple created a garden of some note in the new Dutch style and made a canal its centre piece. He died at the house. He was noted as being the diplomat that successfully negotiated the marriage between William of Orange and Princess Mary of England, a deal which was formalised under the Triple Alliance of 1668. The author Jonathan Swift (qv) worked for Sir William for a period as his secretary. Arthur Herbert Herbert, who was bestowed as Earl of Torrington, lived at Oatlands Park in Weybridge. He was court-martialled whilst a naval Admiral for retreating his Anglo-Dutch fleet during the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690. He was acquitted. Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe A professional soldier and staunch supporter of the Stuart dynasty he owned Westbrook House (now the Meath Home) in Godalming. Historians have suggested that the son born to William and Mary died at birth, and Sir Oglethorpe smuggled his own recently born son into the royal bedchamber in a warming pan to replace the dead baby and hence ensure the royal lineage was preserved. John Balchen
Admiral Sir John Balchen was born in Godalming and served with the Royal Navy in a long and distinguished career. In his 60 years of service he fought numerous battles against the French and Spanish navies and was twice captured by the French. Balchen died in the shipwreck of the 100-gun HMS Victory off the Channel Islands during operations to prevent the French from blockading Spanish and Portugeuse ports in the War of the Austrain Succession (1740 - 1748). He was knighted shortly before his death. Sir Thomas Hopson Admiral Hopson became a national hero when during the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702 he manoeuvred his ship The Torbay to break through a nine foot (2.7 m) boom laid across the bay to defeat the Spanish. His family home was in Weybridge. David Colyear Career soldier Colyear was made an Earl in recognition of his service by William III. As Earl of Portmore he was to start a one hundred year financial interest for the Portmore family in the Wey Navigation by investing £3,000 in shares in the canal. The family pile was at Portmore Park near Weybridge. Daniel Defoe
Military strategist to William III and author, Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe (1719) whilst a resident in the Wey Valley. Other works included Moll Flanders (1722) and Roxana (1724). Defoe was a prolific writer having produced over 500 books, pamphlets and journals on a wide variety of topics. He is accredited with having been the first English writer using the novel format.
Secretary to the Whig statesman Sir William Temple at Moor Park near Farnham at the beginning of his career Swift, who later was to become famous for writing Gulliver's Travels, had demonstrated in person by the king, William of Orange during his visit to the house, how to cut and prepare asparagus, the king's favourite. Swift wrote Tale of a Tub (1704) and Battle of the Books (1704) whilst living at Moor Park. Swift was born in Ireland and returned to Ireland after the death of Sir William. It was at Moor Park that he met Stella to whom he dedicated his Journal to Stella (1710-11). Surprisingly Gulliver's Travels, a blistering satire on what he saw as a corrupt English Establishment, was the only work for which he was paid having received £200. Swift was extremely generous during his lifetime donating a third of his salary to charitable causes and another third to fund the foundation of St Patrick's Hospital for Imbeciles (1757). Towards the end of his life Swift slowly lost his mind and his last years were looked after by a trust. He is buried alongside his beloved Stella in St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. James Oglethorpe
One-time member of parliament for Haslemere, Oglethorpe went on to emigrate to America in 1732 where he founded the State of Georgia. He was born the son of Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe in Westbrook Place, Godalming. His home now as Meath Home provides people suffering from epilepsy with residential treatment. Stephen Elmer The son of a Farnham maltster as an artist Elemer continued to work in the family business throughout his painting career. He gained a high reputation for his works depicting animals, birds, still life and rural scenes. His game bird pictures were true to life, accurately drawn and captured the characteristic pose specific to each species. He was made a member of the Society of Artists in 1763 and in 1772 after sending paintings of fish, animals and birds to the Royal Academy, he was elected an Associate member of that body. He gained a reputation as the most successful British painter of still life and dead game of that generation. Elmer once owned Willmer House, now housing Farnham Museum in West Street. Gilbert White
The reverend Gilbert White was a renowned naturalist who closely studied nature around his home in Selborne near Alton. He gathered all of his knowledge into his Natural History of Selborne (1788). Augustus Toplady
Born in Farnham, the Christian minister and hymnwriter campaigned bitterly against Calvinism throughout his life. Toplady composed the ever-popular hymn Rock of Ages (1775) apparently whilst sheltering from a violent thunderstorm. John Murray Regarded as being instrumental in the founding of the Universalist denomination in America, Murray was born into a strict Calvinist family in Alton. At the age of 20 he was to be excommunicated from the Methodist Church after he embraced Universalism (1) and fled to America where he preached as a Universalist minister. (1) Universalism is a religion and theology that holds that all persons and creatures are related to God and will be reconciled to God. John Russell Artist to George III and a member of the Royal Academy, Guildford born John Russell was a celebrated portrait artist of royalty and received many commissions to paint the most influential figures of his time. He was also a respected astronomer and many of his lunar sketches and engravings are held by the Museum of the History of Science. The Guildford House Gallery in his home town houses a collection of his portraits. There is a plaque marking his birthplace in High Street Guildford. William Curtis An Altonian who devoted his life to the study of British plants. His lavishly illustrated magazine The Flower Garden Displayed was launched in 1787, and continues today as Kew Magazine published by Kew Gardens. The Curtis Museum in Alton commemorates his life. Sir Home Riggs Popham A British admiral who l ived in Weybridge and devised the Semaphore Telegraph Stations system of passing naval messages from the coast to London. At the time the stations were referred to as Popham's Semaphore. William Cobbett
Born in Farnham, William Cobbett's name became synonymous with fair play and social justice, not just along the valley but throughout Britain, and even in the fledgling American states. Cobbett signed up for the army at the age of 21 and quickly discovered just how corrupt and unjust the military system was. In trying to expose what he saw as shocking, he became a victim and fled for his life fearing that his court martial was certain to lead to severe punishment, if not execution. Cobbett chose America as his new home in 1791, but stumbled headlong into the immense corruption of the politicians and government there. Irked by what he saw Cobbett started publishing his views under the pseudonym Peter Porcupine. Sued for libel in 1800 Cobbett had to flee back to England in order to escape the punitive judgement which drove him into bankruptcy. Two years later he founded the radical Political Register which campaigned for social and political reform. He later also founded a journal, Parliamentary Debate, in which he gave accounts of debates in the house to overcome what he saw as misreporting and misrepresentation. This publication still appears today in the form of The Hansard. Never one to rest from his tireless quest to expose corruption and injustice at every level Cobbett was hounded and threatened at every turn. He finally achieved his ambition of a seat in Parliament three years before his death. Throughout this web site are excerpts from Cobbetts highly illuminating Rural Lives. Published in 1830 it provided detailed accounts of his many travels around the country and at the time managed to expose the plight of the poor. BBC2 broadcast (September 2007) an hour long programme, presented by Nicholas Crane, as part of their Great British Journeys series investigating Cobbett's political campaigns and followed some of his 19th century Rural Rides. William 'Silver' Beldam Legendary cricketer who after his retirement became the landlord of the Barley Mow overlooking the cricket green in Tilford by the River Wey. Is accredited with laying the foundations of modern batting techniques. Jane Austen
The Georgian novelist, Austen lived at Chawton just outside Alton from 1809 until her death. It was here that she wrote and revised many of her novels including Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Sense and Sensibility (1811). She is buried at Winchester Cathedral. John Austin A Weybridge resident who was attributed with being a leading political philosopher of his time. A noted British Jurist (1) Austin devoted his time to the study of law as a science and became Professor of Jurisprudence in the University of London (now University College London) 1826 - 32. (1) Jurist. Professional who studies, develops, applies or otherwise deals with the law. Cardinal Newman
John Henry Newman was an English Catholic and radical theologian lived in Alton before becoming the first rector of the Catholic University of Ireland. Originally christened into the Church of England Newman was a major figure in the Oxford Movement, a group dedicated to trying to bring the Church of England back to its Catholic roots. He later converted to Roman Catholicism. Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, the Poet Laureate and dramatist, who was the fourth of twelve children, spent the last years of his life at Aldworth House, which he built in 1868 at the foot of Black Down in West Sussex close to the source of the River Wey's south branch. Tennyson often used to climb the hill to the Temple of the Wind at its summit to seek inspiration. His life was as colourful as his career as he developed a reputation as being something of a bohemian and fuelled by an addiction to port and tobacco held latitudinarian religious views flying in the face of his religious upbringing by his Anglican minister father. Tennyson was also to suffer ill health, financial failure and developed a nervous instability. He was proclaimed the national poet after his 1852 ode on the death of Wellington, further endorsed by his much vaunted The Idylls of the King in 1859. Tennyson was made a peer in 1884. He is buried at Westminster Abbey and a memorial stands in his honour in Haslemere. Fanny Kemble
A famous theatrical actress who lived in Weybridge, Kemble went on to publish her Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation which was widely distributed by slavery abolitionists in 1863. Her campaign to raise awareness as to the plight of slaves in America came about when she married a wealthy planter and having joined him at his plantation was horrified at what she found. James Wilde James Plaisted Wilde, 1st Baron of Penzance, was a British judge who presided over the Court of Probate and Divorce from 1863 until his retirement in 1872. He lived at Eashing Park near Godalming and as a keen amateur gardener he produced two new roses named Lady Penzance and Lord Penzance. From his Godalming gardens he also went on to produce a further 14 roses named after characters in the novels of Sir Walter Scott. Wilde was also vociferous in his proponent that the works of William Shakespeare were in fact authored by Francis Bacon based on the legal expertise employed in the plays. G. F. Watts
The Victorian artist and sculptor settled in Compton near Godalming to help with his deteriorating health. Watts become renowned for his allegorical pictures of great strengthy and mystery. His works can be seen in many important British galleries and also at the Watts Gallery in Compton. His wife Mary built a chapel in his name near to the gallery which with its unique architectural art nouveau has come to be an important local attraction. George Eliot
The novelist Mary Ann Evans used this pseudonym to overcome the sexism of publishers who were against the idea of women writing for a career. Her novel Middlemarch (1871) broke new ground with social observations of the time. Other works included The Mill on the Floss(1860), Silas Mariner (1861) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Evans lived for a time in Haslemere and was a regular visitor at the Crosses, home of her future husband in Weybridge. Sir John Rose
Scottish-born Rose emigrated with his parents when he was 16 to Canada and there he achieved political high office which included Solicitor General and a member of the commission (1864) to settle claims under the Oregon Treaty with the United States. In 1869 he settled in England to practice law and became an influential advisor to the Canadian Government. Rose rented Loseley Park near Guildford for some years and was interred there after his death. George MacDonald
One time resident at Great Tangley Manor near Guildford and at St George's Wood at Haslemere, Scottish born MacDonald was a novelist, poet and preacher who was cited by Lewis Carroll as being an inspiration and mentor. MacDonald had been enthusiastic in his reception for Carroll's ideas for the adventures of Alice especially after seeing the excited reaction of his three daughters. As a writer of fantasy which he used to explore the human condition his works including Phantastes, the Princess and the Goblin (1872), and At the Back of the North Wind (1871) he was also to influence C. S. Lewis (who featured MacDonald as a character in The Great Divorce), J. R. R. Tolkien and the American children's novelist Madeleine L'Engle. Myles Birkett Foster The popular Victorian watercolour artist started his career as an apprentice to a wood engraver producing printing blocks for magazines including Punch and the Illustrated London News. Whilst later working as a book illustrator he trained himself to paint in watercolours and quickly became a sought after artist. He was appointed an Associate to the Royal Watercolour Society in 1860 and over a twenty year period exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy. After a succession of successful publications of his work including English Landscapes (1863) he moved in 1899 to Witley near Godalming where he had built The Hill. The house, which no longer exists, was furnished in contemporary style by the renowned furnishers Morris & Co and decorated with paintings by his friend Edward Burne-Jones, the pre-Raphaelite artist. Foster is credited with producing his best known works of idealised and sentimentalised views of the English countryside whilst living in Witley. Falling ill he moved to Weybridge in 1893 where he died. His funeral was held at All Saints Church in Witley where he is buried. Julius Caesar
The Surrey cricketer Julius Caesar, who played in 194 first-class cricket matches in a sporting career covering 18 years, was brought up in Godalming. He first played at The Oval for Godalming Cricket Club against Surrey in their winning match (Caesar scored 113 runs) in 1848 and very quickly gained a reputation for his devastating batting, which resulted him in being signed up to play for his country in 1853. He scored 4,879 runs in his career with a top score of 132 runs.
Professional cricketers were not well paid, £4 a match for a draw or loss and £5 for a win, and Caesar who was a carpenter and joiner by trade, also supplemented his earnings by working at The Cricketers pub in Nightingale Road, Farncombe in what was then a new pub. After he retired from professional cricket (1867) he became the cricket coach and groundsman at Charterhouse School in Godalming. Caesar died 11 years after retiring from professional cricket whilst lodging at the Railway Tavern (the Wey Inn today) in Godalming. Caesar was a long-standing family name, but whether his parents wanted a little amusement with the name of their last of seven children is not recorded. Lewis Carroll
A famous Guildford resident. Carroll is best known for his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through The Looking Glass (1872) and is commemorated on the banks of the River Wey near his home with a unique sculpture of Alice and her sister. Carroll lived in the town during his later years in The Chestnuts near the Castle, dying there on the 14th January 1898 to be buried in The Mount Cemetery, Guildford. There is a plaque outside his home that incorporates many of his characters and that was designed by local children. Sadly the plaque has been removed following a theft attempt in 2005. The town is immensely proud of its association with Carroll and provides a high profile for the author at regular events and permanent displays, including the Guildford Museum and the Surrey History Centre in Woking. Carroll as a name was a pseudonym, with the author's real name being Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under which he published many books on mathematics. He was a lecturer in the subject at Christ Church college, Oxford until 1881. Henry Peak The son of a carver and gilder, Peak began his career as an articled clerk to an architect in London. By 1858 he had established his own practice as an architect and surveyor in Commercial Road Guildford, and six years later he was appointed Guildford Borough Surveyor. In the 27 years he was to hold this important and influential post Peak was to instigate and oversee a great many public building works during a period when Guildford was rapidly developing and expanding. His works include the laying out of Guildford Castle pleasure grounds, the restoration of the Castle ruins, the designing and construction of the public baths, the laying of the granite setts in the High Street and the construction of Onslow Bridge. Peak was appointed Mayor of Guildford in 1899. Local historians have been left an invaluable reference to local life and developments of the time in his notebooks which are today collectively referred to as 'Peak's Diaries' and are held at the Surrey History Centre in Woking. A published version was released in 2008 to coincide with the unveiling of a commemmorative plaque to the architect in the Castle grounds. Gertrude Jekyll Writer and renowned landscaper, Jekyll lived near Godalming. Wildly eccentric she had a formidable presence and could often be seen strutting through the town in a black cape and a hard black felt hat crowned with a plume of cock's feathers. A close friend of the architect Edwin Lutyen's, much of their work was done together. A 1986 modern shrub rose Gertrude Jekyll, described as 'rich, pink with shapely buds opening to large, full flowers in the old fashioned style and a deep and heavy scent', was named in her honour by grower David Austin. Emma Brooke Novelist and Fabian socialist from Weybridge was an energetic activist for equal rights for women. She wrote under the pseudonym E. Fairfax Byrne with books including The Superfluous Woman and The Life Accuser. Gerard Hopkins
The Jesuit priest and poet is by many regarded as among the finest Victorian poets. He became an original and daring innovator at a time when poetry was firmly entrenched in traditional methodology. Hopkins has memorials in his honour at Westminster Abbey and his home town of Haslemere. Whitaker Wright The wealthy industrialist who made his fortune in mining and railway construction was subject to scandal and ridicule when he was sentenced to prison for fraud for misusing funds in a troubled venture building part of the new London Underground. Wright, who had built an enormous house complete with an underwater billiards room on his estate at Witley near Godalming, had managed to smuggle in a cyanide tablet to the court and died in the presence of his unwitting solicitor. The police later also found a revolver Wright ahd concealed in his clothes. He is buried in the graveyard of All Saints church in Witley. MORE HERE Henry Knight Knight had trained as an engineer and became intent on harnassing steam for powering road-going transport. He established his motor works in West Street, Farnham from where he designed and built a road steam vehicle in 1868. The vehicle was prone to breakdowns so Knight turned to developing a petrol engine, his Trusty. His engine successfully powered a three-wheeled road vehicle, the fourth British vehicle ever to be built, and it was the first petrol driven vehicle ever to be driven on British roads. A later four-wheeled version is preserved in the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. The Reliance Motor Works building still stands in Farnham, albeit under very different usage today. Read the letter written to Knight Fred Morgan Gomshall artist Morgan lived at Edmond's Farm and enjoyed painting rural landscapes and portraits. Although he struggled to find a market for his paintings during his life, as so often befalls artists Morgan's works now command six figure sums. His 3ft 4in by 5ft 6in (1.01m by 1.68m) painting May which depicts children in a rural setting in Shere was put up for auction (June 2007) by Christie's of London with a broad estimate of £200,000 - £300,000. The painting, which Morgan produced in his late 30s, sold for £300 in 1885. The world record for the price of a Fred Morgan picture is $974,000. May 1 was sold by Christie's in New York in 2000. Canadian born William Pirrie moved with his family to County Down, Northern Ireland where he was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. From there he joined Harland & Wolff the builders of The Titanic and became an influential shipbuilder rising eventually to become chairman of the company. Pirrie was elected Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1896. Pirrie had a home at Whitley Park in Godalming and in the 1900s built the Temple of the Four Winds at the Devil's Punchbowl near Hindhead. Little remains of this folly today.
A prolific Victorian artist, Allingham specialised in idealised rural watercolours many of which featured local scenes. She moved to the Sandhills area of Wormley near Witley in the 1880s and through her husband, the Irish poet William Allingham (1824 - 1889) acquired a large circle of artistic and literary friends. These included the poet Tennyson (who lived near Haslemere) and Gertrude Jekyll the renowned Godalming garden landscaper. Allingham returned to London in 1888 shortly before the death of her husband and sold her house to the artist and writer W Graham Robertson. Her obituary published in The Times makes note that she died at the home of an old friend, one Mrs Daffurn, in Valewood, Haslemere and provided this description:
Much respected local historian Woods was born in Brook House in Mint Street Godalming. Much of his correspondence and all of his research documents, writings and lecture notes were bequeathed to the town upon his death and are kept at Godalming Museum. Woods' works cover more than 18,000 pages and are bound into 59 volumes, and were recently digitally scanned to allow wider access to his work. He dedicated his free time to researching the history of the area from the 14th to the 19th century covering the people and places from Compton to Haslemere. Both of Woods' parents were Godalming solicitors which provided him access to local property deeds, and his position as a civil servant working at the Treasury (1863 - 1902) provided access to the records of ancient legal disputes held at the Public Records Office, both sources enabling him to compile a comprehensive record of the area. A plaque commemorating his contribution to the town was unveiled by the mayor at Brook House in 2007. Hugh Locke-King Devised and built the world's first banked motor racing circuit at Brooklands near Byfleet. Himself a successful racing driver, Locke-King had been frustrated by the difficulties in practicing on English roads, especially after the first speed restrictions imposed heavy fines on the fledgling motorists. George Bernard Shaw
Lived near Haslemere. Shaw was active in socialist politics throughout his life and wrote several plays with political themes including Man and Superman (1902), John Bull's Other Island (1904) and Major Barbara (1905). He was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1925. William Willett Born in Farnham, Willett is credited with being the inventor of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in Britain. Using his own financial resources Willett published a pamphlet in 1907 titled The Waste of Daylight in which he proposed that clocks should be advanced by 80 minutes in the summer in order to ensure that the evenings remain in daylight for longer thus increasing daylight recreation time, and by his calculation saving £2.5m in lighting costs nationwide. He proposed that the clocks should be advanced by 20 minutes at 2 am on successive Sundays in April, and then retarded by the same amount on Sundays in September. Despite getting the backing of a number of politicians including a young Winston Churchill, the idea did not make it to the statute books until 1916, the year after his death. It was the outbreak of the First World War that saw the need to conserve coal stocks that became the catalyst for change, although his complicated regime was replaced with a simple one hour change. A sundial memorial has been erected in Petts Wood in Bromley, London near to Chiselhurst where he was to live for much of his life.
Lived at Pax Hill in Bentley near Alton and also at Chapel Farm near Ripley. Robert Baden-Powell was a professional soldier and a veteran of the Siege of Mafeking in the Boer War. He founded the Scout Movement. He joined Charterhouse School having won a scholarship when the school was still located in London, and moved with the school when it relocated to Godalming. Arnold Dolmetsch Eugène Arnold Dolmetsch was a french-born musician and instrument maker who lived for most of his life in England. A graduate of the Royal College of Music Dolmetsch established a workshop in Haslemere where he became renowned for his ability to produce quality copies of almost every kind of instrument dating from the 15th to 18th centuries. In 1925 he founded an annual chamber music festival. The International Dolmetsch Early Music Festival continues to this day and is held every July in the Haslemere Hall in the town. Dolmetsch was also primarily responsible for reviving the popularity of the recorder and it was through his efforts that the recorder to this day is still used as an instrument for teaching music in British schools. In 1937 he was awarded with a British Civil List pension and the following year was created a chevalier of the Legion d'honneur by the French government. Tobias Matthay
The pianist, teacher and composer studied at the Royal Academy of Music and as Professor of Advanced Piano taught there from 1876 to 1925. Matthay, who lived near Haslemere, became renowned for his teaching that stressed 'proper piano touch' and employed an analysis of arm movements, and that was brought to international recognition through his publishing of several books on his techniques. He also founded a piano school in 1900 with many of his pupils going on to define a distinct school of 20th century pianism. these included York Bowen, Myra Hess, Clifford Curzon and Eunice Norton. Matthay in 1907 built a grand house, High Marley, in the Surrey Hills near Haslemere where he would hold many of his classes, and where was to eventully die at the grand age of 87. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Creator of the character Sherlock Holmes lived at Hindhead near Haslemere. His short stories about Holmes' adventures were originally published in The Strand Magazine and featured the countryside around Haslemere and the Devils' Punchbowl nearby. Conan Doyle's house, Undershaw, nestling in a hollow by the busy A3 at Hindhead, is now derelict and the subject of a campaign to save it. MORE HERE Sidney & Beatrice Webb Founders of the socialist think-tank the Fabian Society in 1884, they built Passfield Corners near Liphook. Both were members of the Labour party and took an active interest in politics throughout their lives. Having entered the House as an MP in 1923 Sidney was created Baron Passfield in 1929. He served as Secretary of State to Ramsay MacDonald. Beatrice was the granddaughter of Radical (1) MP Richard Potter and was an active partner in all of her husband's political and professional activities including the establishment of the London School of Economics. Archibald Thorburn Distinguished artist acclaimed for his paintings of birds, Thorborn lived at High Leybourne in Hascombe near Godalming. Frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy he enjoyed the patronage of King George V in particular. He provided illustrations for The Birds of The British Isles (1920 - 1925) and Coloured Figures of the Birds of The British Isles (1895), the latter publishing 268 watercolours of his. Some of his original work can be seen at Godalming Museum. MORE ON THE ARTIST J. M. Barrie
A resident in Tilford near Farnham at the confluence of the north north and south branches of the Wey, novelist Barrie created Peter Pan and wrote many novels including Dear Brutus here. Peter Pan first appeared in The Little White Bird in 1901. MORE HERE George Sturt Author who also wrote under the pseudonym George Bourne and who immortalised the family business in The Wheelwright's Shop (1923) lived in Farnham and The Lower Bourne all his life. He also wrote about rural crafts and affairs. The family wheelwright business founded in 1706 was located in East Street, Farnham but fell to the coming of the motor car. Sturt is celebrated in a permanent exhibition at Farnham Museum. Philip Snowden
Snowden l ived at Woodlarks in Tilford near Farnham whilst working closely with Ramsey MacDonald to develop the Labour Party into a major political movement. As the Labour party's first Chancellor of the Exchequer his debating skills were legendary. Snowden married a leading suffragette, Ethel Annakin, and became a prominent supporter of the movement. He was created Viscount Snowden. The painter and illustrator lived in Wormely, near Witley having bought a house from the artist Helen Allingham in 1888. Born into a wealthy family he was able to experiment with a wide range of styles and media but favoured the Pre-Raphaelite style, and indeed became a major collector of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Robertson also for a period became greatly interested in the theatre and created portraits of many of the leading actresses of the time. Robertson is remembered locally for putting on a pageant play in a meadow near Chiddingfold parish hall in 1921 with 150 villagers in the cast. He also staged a play he'd written about Guildford, The Town of the Ford at the now defunct Theatre Royal in North Street in the town in 1925. H G Wells
The author wrote The War of the Worlds (1898) whilst living at Woking. His inspiration for the novel came from Woking Heath, then a vast and desolate heathland. Other novels included The Invisible Man (1897) and The Time Machine (1895). Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride was born near Farnham and although best remembered for her turbulent relationship with the Irish poet W. B. Yeats became an Irish revolutionary, spurred on by the plight of evicted people during the Irish 'Land Wars' (1870s - 1890s). Gonne had fallen in love with a right wing politician, Lucien Millevoye, and she became enbroilled in campaigns to have Irish Political prisoners released from jail. During the 1890s Gonne toured extensively throughout Britain and the US campaigning for the nationalist cause. Yeats enshrined Gonne in much of his work, and she became The Rose, Helen of Troy, the Ledaean Body, Cathleen Ni Houlihan, Pallas Athene and Deirdre in his lyrical verses. Edwin Lutyens Although not a Wey Valley long-term resident, renowned architect Edwin Lutyens formed a life-long working relationship with Godalming's Gertrude Jekyll, the garden designer and horticulturalist. Following his first commission in 1888 for a private house in Crooksbury near Farnham he forged a partnership with Jekyll after he began work on a house for her at Munstead Wood in Godalming. Their 'Lutyens-Jekyll' style was to become very popular as it a more informal 'natural' style of landscaping. Lutyens house designs captured the public imagination once the new lifestyle magazine Country Life started to feature his work. His more famous works included the Cenotaph in London, Tower Hill memorial, Queen Mary's Dolls' House (a four storey Palladian villa built on 1/12th scale at Windsor Castle) and the India Gate landmark in Delhi. Hilaire Belloc
French born poet, essayist and historian grew up in England and died in Guildford. Belloc's style and personality were perfectly encompassed by his childhood nickname 'old thunder'. He was best remembered for his light verse for children and for his considerable essays. His best known were Verses and Sonnets (1895), The Bad Child's Book of Beasts (1896), The Modern Traveller (1898), Mr. Burden (1904), and Cautionary Tales (1907). He also wrote the four-volume History of England (1925-31). Sir Edward Farquhar Buzzard Bart Educated at Charterhouse in Godalming Sir Edward went on to become a leading physician who attended King George V and King George VI. He and Lady Farquhar later settled at Munstead Grange in Godalming. Brigadier General
The career soldier was born in Guildford and lived at The Grange. He was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) as a 28-year-old Lieutenant in the Boer War for saving the guns at Sanna's Post under heavy fire. He repeatedly went out from under cover to retrieve the artillery having to give up on the last gun after five sorties. Three years previously Maxwell had received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) with a second DSO awarded to him posthumously in 1917. He was killed in action by a German sniper at Ypres, Belgium while commanding the 27th Brigade of the 9th (Scottish) Division. Lord Ashcroft, the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, owns Maxwells' VC which he bought at auction in 1998 for £78,000. Ralph Vaughan Williams The composer, who wrote symphonies, chamber music, operas, choral music and film scores, was a pupil at Charterhouse School in Godalming. His great-uncle was Charles Darwin. His early musical developments were interrupted by the First World War during which his hearing was damaged eventually resulting in deafness in his latter years. Williams became a central figure in British music through his long career as teacher to many young composers and conductors and he was respected also for his writings on music and composing. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Flora Thompson The novelist wrote The Peverel Papers as a Liphook resident in 1916. Her father was the postmaster in the town. Her other works included Lark Rise (1939), Candleford Green (1943) and Still Glides the Stream (published posthumously 1948). Whilst in nearby Grayshott as assistant sub-postmistress she came into regular contact with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and George Bernard Shaw. The New Farnham Repertory Company dramatised (2000) Lark Rise and two other productions have been community play projects (late 1990s) on the Surrey - Hampshire border. A walk 'Flora's Trail' has been established following a route through the countryside, from Grayshott to Giggs Green, that Thompson had so enjoyed. Dr Wilfrid Fox The tree lover that founded what was to develop into the Winkworth Arboretum near Godalming. His project started in 1938 was to plant exotic trees on a hilly landscape of 100 acres. The Arboretum is now owned by the National Trust. He was awarded the highest honour of the Royal Horticultural Society, the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1948. Fox was also a leading dermatologist at St George's Hospital, London and a founder of the Roads Beautifying Association in 1928. Warwick Deeping The prolific novelist and short story writer who concentrated on historical romances and stories associated with the Edwardian age. Deeping, whose most popular novel was Sorrell and Sons (1925), lived at his house Eastlands in Weybridge from 1919 until his death. E. M. Forster
Writing from his home at Monument Green, Weybridge, author Forster wrote a succession of highly successful novels including A Passage to India (1924), Howard’s End (1910) and A Room with a View (1908). Freeman Wills Crofts Irish born Crofts moved to Blackheath near Guildford in 1929 from where he wrote 37 books and 70 short stories. The popular crime novelist, whose principal character was Detective Inspector French, wrote his books in a summer house in the garden. Two of his books, Crime at Guildford (The Crime at Nornes) 1935 and The Hog's Back Mystery (The Strange Case of Dr Earle) 1933, featured local settings. Ernest Shepard London born Ernest Howard Shepard was the artist who brought the characters of A. A. Milne to life through his book illustrations. His association with Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin began in the 1920s when he was working on the satirical magazine Punch where he was given the opportunity to sketch Milne's characters for the magazine, and was to continue illustrating Milne's stories in a long association between the two. He also created illustrations for Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Shepard based his drawings of Pooh on Growler, his son's teddy bear. His drawings are keenly sought after by collectors worldwide with two of his pictures breaking world auction records in 2004 when they were sold as a pair for £69,310. A small unpublished watercolour and pen and ink picture Teddy Bear by the illustrator was expected to fetch up to £30,000 when it was auctioned by Sotheby's in 2006, and in 2007 a complete set of signed first edition copies of Winnie the Pooh books, which cost seven shillings and sixpence (38p today) each were auctioned for £7,800. A retired steward from the cruise ship company P&O announced (February 2008) that he is to auction a pen and ink drawing the artist quickly sketched for him as a keepsake on a menu card in 1968 whilst Shepard was on a cruise. The drawing, of Pooh followed by Piglet carrying a pile of plates, is expected to fetch £800. Shepard fell in love with the Wey Valley when he stayed with his family in the vicarage in Shalford near Guildford. ABOUT SHALFORD HERE In 1904 he moved to Shamley Green living from 1909 in Red Cottage in the village, and remained in the Guildford area for over 50 years. He was appointed a captain in the local Home Guard in 1939 when he was 60 years old. Shepard bequeathed his papers to the University of Surrey in 1974. Captain Lawrence Oates
Explorer on Scott's perilous expedition to the South Pole who uttered the immortal words before leaving the party to face his death: "I am just going outside and may be some time." Oates lived in Selborne near Alton in Hampshire and his house is now a museum owned by the Oates Memorial Trust. P G Wodehouse
Born in Guildford whilst his mother was home from Hong Kong, author and playwright Wodehouse was the creator of Bertie Wooster and his faithful manservant Jeeves with his stories providing a quintessential picture of English upper class society. Wodehouse also wrote for film, collaborated with Jerome Kern and George Gershwin and worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes. His birthplace, then 1 Vale Place, still stands. The detached Victorian house today has the address of 59 Epsom Road and today has been subdivided into flats. A wall plaque on the entrance porch records the fact. Sean O'Casey, an Irish dramatist whose plays highlighted the plight of Ireland's poor classes, famously jibed him as being "English literature's performing flea.", a description that Wodehouse cherished so much he adopted it as the title of his autobiography. Malcolm Campbell
The world speed record holder built his record breaking Bluebirds at Brooklands near Byfleet. He was the first to break the 300 mph (489 kph) on land in 1935. It was his son Donald who was to die trying to break the 300 mph water speed record on Coniston Water in the Bluebird K7 in 1967. George Leigh Mallory Assistant Master at the public school Charterhouse in Godalming from 1910 until 1915, was best known for being a mountaineer and member of the team that attempted to conquer Everest. He lost his life on the mountain in 1924, and the mountain peak wasn't conquered for another 29 years. John George (Jack) Phillips
The wireless operator on the doomed luxury liner RMS Titanic went down with the ship whilst broadcasting distress signals in a bid to summon help. Phillips was born in Farncombe near Godalming. MORE ABOUT JACK PHILLIPS & THE TITANIC
The scientist, inventor and engineer worked at the Brooklands airfield in Weybridge for 58 years. Best known for being the inventor of the bouncing bomb, which was successfully used by the RAF during WWII in their Dambuster raids in the Ruhr area of Germany, Wallis also had a great many other achievements. Initially working on airships with Vickers at Weybridge he pioneered geodetic engineering which resulted in the largest airship ever built. When Vickers abandoned airship manufacture he turned his skills to aircraft design and in the pre-war years designed the Vickers Wellington and Vickers Wellesley. Ever the eccentric-inventor, Wallis was often to be seen cycling around Brooklands with a greenhouse-like structure around his bicycle he had created to keep himself dry. As well as designing ground-breaking bombs during the war Wallis invented swing-wing technology, large cargo submarines, rocket-propelled torpedoes and pioneered the remote control of aircraft. He also undertook early work on the Concorde. Wallis was knighted in 1968. Entry suggested by Professor Brian T. Butcher Tom Sopwith Built his much admired Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Pup at Brooklands near Byfleet. His aircraft are credited with gaining the upper hand against the German airforce in the First World War. Harry Hawker The Australian aviation designer was architect of the Hawker Hurricane which proved to be a highly manoeuvrable fighter aircraft that contributed considerably to the defeat of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. The Hurricane was designed and built at Brooklands near Byfleet, continuing a long tradition of aeronautical innovation at the airfield. Angela Thirkell A cousin of Rudyard Kipling author Thirkell for a time lived and eventually died at Birtley House in Bramley near Guildford. She wrote popular light comedy novels, often under the pseudonym Leslie Parker, using Anthony Trollope's fictional Barsetshire as a setting in many. Alfred Smith
Alfred Victor Smith, a second lieutenant in the East Lancashire Regiment during WWI, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for gallantry in the face of the enemy. Guildford-born Smith threw himself on top of a live grenade saving the lives of a group of fellow soldiers and officers whilst in the trenches in Gallipoli, Turkey. Yvonne Arnaud The French born actress lived for many years in Guildford and she is buried in St Martha's churchyard on St Martha's Hill near Chilworth. Starting her careeer as a singer and pianist Arnaud performed with leading orchestras throughout Europe and America from 1905 until 1911. Her first step to her acting career was securing the lead role in the musical The Girl in The Taxi in 1911 but fate also took a hand as a throat operation damaged her vocal chords to such a degree that she had to give up singing. Her stage career lasted for many years and Arnaud also starred in several films during the 1930s. A theatre opening in Guildford in 1965 was named in her honour and today The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is the only surviing production theatre in Surrey. Author of Brave New World (1932) warning of dehumanisation in the rush for scientific and material progress, and Eyeless in Gaza (1936) was born in Godalming. Eton and Oxford educated Huxley became a friend of writer DH Lawrence and philosopher Bertrand Russell who both influenced his portrait of a future London in Brave New World. Huxley's mother Julia Arnold, who died when he was just fourteen, founded the girl's school Prior's Field in Godalming and his father, a writer and professional herbalist, taught at Charterhouse School. Huxley was the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley who acquired the moniker Darwin's Bulldog for his research as one of the 19th century's most prominent naturalists. Huxley, who suffered from poor vision after he almost lost his sight whilst seriously ill in 1911, taught for a while at Eton where one of his pupils was Eric Blair, better known under his writing name George Orwell. Huxley was a keen cyclist and used to visit the Surrey Hills especially around Hindhead and the Devil's Punchbowl regularly. One of Britain's oldest women Brown lives at Eastlake Residential Home in Godalming. In September 2007 she celebrated her 110th birthday surrounded by four generations of her family including five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and her 78-year-old son George. Newly married Brown moved to Artington Manor farm in Guildford in 1923 and took up teaching. She was instrumental in setting up the Artington and Littleton Pie Scheme which in the harsh post-war years ensured that poor families in rural areas would receive at least one nutritious pie a week. Brown attributes her longevity to never driving, having plenty of salt in her food and being positive with a sense of humour. When asked what biggest changes have most affected her during her long life she highlighted electricity and labour-saving devices as being the most influential. Martin Lloyd-Jones The Welsh-born Protestant Christian minister, who was influential in reforming the British evangelical movement in the 20th century, lived in Haslemere. Graduating from medical school at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London in 1921 he became an assistant to the Royal Physician, Sir Thomas Holder. However by 1927 he had taking up his religious calling and returned to Wales to become a minister. In 1939 he was appointed co-pastor of Westminster Chapel in London and it was at this time that he and his family moved to Haslemere. Retiring from his ministry at Westminster Chapel in 1968 he dedicated the rest of his life to scholarly work for the church. Orde Wingate
Leader of the highly effective Chindits in the Second World War was a pupil at Charterhouse School in Godalming. Wingate was killed on active service in Burma. Peter Pears An outstanding tenor, Sir Peter Nevillee Luard Pears was born in Farnham and became the life-long partner of the composer Benjamin Britten. Many of Britten's works contain a main tenor role written specifically for Pears. His voice was deemed controversial in that its vocal quality was quite unusual and it was cruelly suggested that he only had one good note, E-natural a third above middle C - which is why the aria of Peter Grimes, 'Now the Great Bear and Pleiades' is mainly written in that note. Pears was knighted in 1978. Elsa Megson Godalming Museum has a permanent exhibition of the photography of Elsa Megson who moved to Godalming after WWII to assist the photographer Chaplin Jones. Having opened her own studio in Hare Lane in Farncombe, Megson rapidly built up a reputation as a society photographer and included the royal family, and especially the Queen Mother, amongst her clientele. By the mid 60s she had specialised as a horticultural photographer and many of her botanical images were used to illustrate books including Blind Jack (1960) by Stephanie Ryde. George Reindorp Anglican clergyman Reindorp was appointed the fifth Bishop of Guildford in 1961 and held the post for 12 years before taking the Bishopric of Salisbury. When married to his first wife, a South African doctor, the couple who both undertook numerous appointments in the British lecture circuit were nicknamed 'Body and Soul'. Reindorp retired to Bramley where he died aged 79. Memorial services were held at both Guildford and Salisbury cathedrals, and Guildford's Bishop Reindorp School was named in his honour. Terry-Thomas The much-loved comic actor was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes in the 1960s. His catchphrase "you're an absolute shower" originated with his performance in Private's Progress (1956). He made his name as a cad, bounder and absolute rotter in a series of films including Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (1965), Monte Carlo or Bust (1969) and Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon (1967). Terry-Thomas, who was born as Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1971 and died at the age of 78 in Busbridge Hall nursing home in Godalming. Alan Turing Popularly considered to be the father of modern computer science, Turing was a mathematician, logician and cryptographer. During the Second World War Turing was a member of the code-breaking team at Bletchley Park and was instrumental in devising techniques for breaking German ciphers which including devising the method of the Bombe, an electromechanical machine, that could detect the settings on the German's Enigma code machine. After a conviction for 'acts of gross indecency' Turing is said to have committed suicide by eating an apple laced with cyanide. Turing lived in Guildford. London-born Wood left school at 15 to join the merchant navy where he developed an interest in electrical engineering. Funding himself through night school to provide himself with the necessary expertise he founded Dickson & Wood a company that sold and installed radios and televisions until his call-up in WWII. These early beginnings were to see the entrepreneur and businessman achieve millionaire status by the age of 38 principally through the outstanding success of the Kenwood Chef food mixer he had invented and patented in 1950. His company Kenwood sold eight million units before he was ousted in a hostile takeover by Thorn Electrical Industries in 1968, and the appliance is on permanent display in the Science Museum endorsing it as a significant invention. In the latter part of his life Wood lived in Liphook and took a close interest in local opportunities which included founding the Old Thorns Golf & Country Estate and Forest Mere Health Farm, both near the town. He was also chairman of Wispers girls school in Haslemere for many years and was instrumental in the school relocating to the town. Wilfrid Noyce The mountaineer was part of the successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. Noyce, who was educated at Charterhouse in Godalming, lost his life on the British-Soviet climb of Mount Garmo in the Parmirs. Elsie Denningberg was a founder member of Waverley Borough Council and served as a Godalming town councillor for 38 years from 1965 to 2003. She had also served as town Mayor for Godalming. Denninberg died in hospital of natural causes, although her death occurred three weeks after she and her husband were allegedly seriously assaulted during a burglary at their home in Godalming. SEE ALSO Bruce 'Jack' Weatherill Lord Weatherill in the early part of his life lived in Nightingale Road in Guildford. Elected to parliament in 1964 he became deputy Speaker in the House of Commons in 1979 at the time of the accession of Margaret Thatcher to the premiership. He took on the role of Speaker for The House from 1983 to 1992. Harry Secombe The high profile Welsh entertainer Sir Harry Donald Secombe died whilst a resident of Guildford. He was a member of the Goons trio alongside Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers and later appeared in stage musicals and films. Secombe also presented the religious programmes Songs of Praise and Highway. Having dedicated his working life to public service in the Borough of Waverley, Denninberg, who lives in Godalming, was presented with the highest award that the council can bestow in recognition of his loyalty to the local community. The former mayor received the Freedom of the Borough (2007) in recognition of his 40 years as Labour councillor. His work in the charity sector, which included setting up the Denningberg Centre in Godalming and the Farncombe Centre for the elderly and his support for the Meath Home in Godalming. SEE ALSO Pauline Grundy Guildford-born Grundy who attended Guildford County School for Girls was one of the first women in Britain to be trained to use radar during the Second World War. A high-ranking army officer she had a distinguished career and was awarded an MBE in 1953. As a major Grundy served during the Suez Crisis and was was among the last to leave the region after Egypt nationalised the canal and spent her last few hours on base shredding documents. After retiring from service she was closely involved in fundraising for the Army Benevolent Fund and also served with the Red Cross in South America. James Dickinson Jimmy Dickinson holds the record for the highest number of league appearances made by a Portsmouth FC football player having played 764 for the club. Only one other player (John Trollope, Swindon FC) has made more appearances (77) for a single club. Dickinson also won 48 caps playing for England, making him Portsmouth's most capped English player of all time. During his career he was never once booked or sent off, earning him the nickname Gentleman Jim. He was awarded an MBE in 1964 and in 1998 was included in the list of 100 Legends produced to mark the centenary of the Football League.. In his home town of Alton is a pub in Raven Square, Wooteys Way commemorating his nickname in his honour. Charlie Drake The hugely popular comedian, actor, writer and singer is included here with just a little poetic licence. Drake was born in London and sadly passed away his latter years in Brinsworth House, the retirement home for actors and performers in Twickenham. Remembered particularly for The Charlie Drake Show on television in the 1960s when his catchphrase 'Hello My Darlings' touched the populace and The Worker, the diminutive Drake (he was only 5ft 1in (1.6m) in stature) had family connections in Weybridge and his funeral was held at St James' Church in the town. However perhaps an even more popular connection with the town was 'The Worker' Drake's comic pronouncement to Weybridge as an upmarket town in his many visits to his show's Labour Exchange (today's Job Centre) interviews: "Charles Drake from Weybridge." Tony Hart Artist and television presenter Hart, who lives in Shamley Green near Guildford is best known for his BBC children's programmes Vision On, Smart Hart and Hartbeat. His TV career spans an incredible 50 years, with his first appearance as an artist and illustrator on the children's programme Saturday Special in 1952. Hart was awarded the BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998 and retired from regular TV work in 2002 although he does (2006) make occasional guest appeances. Peter Sellers The actor and comedian, best remembered for his Inspector Clouseau role in the Pink Panther films, lived for a time with his wife Britt Eckland in Elstead. He sold Brookfield in 1968 to Ringo Starr, and it later was bought by Stephen Stills of the 80s band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Sellers had been born into a family of entertainers, and having honed his comedy skills with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) whilst an NCO in the RAF during WWII he went on to act with Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine in the Goon Show. Denis Forbes Forbes was the first Bevin Boy in Guildford to be conscripted during the Second World War and received (March 2008) his official badge as part of a very belated nationwide recognition of the invaluable service they provided for their country in dangerous conditions. In 1943 the Government Minister for Labour and National Service, Ernest Bevin, launched a scheme to divert conscripts from national service in the forces to the mines, as at the time this crucial industry was almost on its knees through a severe shortage of miners. Bevin Boys, who were not volunteers, endured great discomfort working in dangerous conditions often deep underground that wouldn't be tolerated today. Many Bevin Boys were maimed or died during their three-year service down the mines, and often had to suffer the indignation of members of the public who accused them of being conscientious objectors. Bill Pertwee The actor who played ARP warden William Hodges in the hit BBC series Dad's Army lives in West Horsley near Guildford. Pertwee first appeared alongside the likes of Kenneth Horne and Kenneth Williams in the radio comedy series Round The Horne in the late 1960s. He also acted for the silver screen and appeared in three Carry On films, although for some reason he was cut from the final version of Carry On At Your Convenience. Pertwee, who is the cousin of Jon Pertwee of Doctor Who fame, was awarded an MBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for his services to charity. One charity he actively supports is the Guildford-based children's charity CHASE. Thetis Blacker Ann Thetis Blacker was a painter and singer who became best-known for her dyed-fabric technique batik helping to popularise the technique at a time when it was uncommon. Her pictures were commissioned for cathedrals across the UK, Europe and the USA. Born in Holmbury St Mary, Blacker's grandfather was a close friend of Oscar Wilde. Her singing career made a promising start and in the 1950s had started to appear in operatic productions including an appearance at Glyndebourne. However the visual arts proved to be her true calling and after graduating from the Chelsea School of Art Blacker visited the Far East in the early 1970s to study the art of batik and worked for a period at the Batik Research Institute in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Her commissions include a phoenix rising from the ashes as an altar frontal in St George's Chapel Windsor (1997), banners of St Cuthbert and St Oswald for Durham Cathedral (2001) as well is significan pieces in St Albans Abbey and Grey College, Durham. The artist worked from a studio in Shamley Green and died in Bramley. An auction (June 2008) in Ripley of Blacker's art and possessions is expected to raise £150,000 which will be equally donated to Guildford Cathedral and the Temenos Academy (1) of which Blacker was a fellow. (1) The Temenos Academy was founded in 1990 as a teaching organisation dedicated to encouraging poets, artists, writers and thinkers to subscribe to the belief that man is firstly a spiritual creature with spiritual needs. Billy Dainty Dudley's famous comedian and pantomime dame spent his final years in Godalming, finally passing away at his home 'Cobblers' in the town. Dainty started out his career as a Betty Fox Babe and from the early 1940s starred alongside Morecambe and Wise, Cliff Richard and Rod Hull. Terry Scott
The veteran actor and comedian appeared in no less than seven Carry On Films and starred with June Whitfield in the long-running BBC sitcom Terry and June. Scott died in Godalming after suffering from ill-health for many years. Bruce Forsyth
Showman and entertainer Forsyth initially achieved celebrity with Sunday Night at the London Palladium and soon became a household name presenting shows The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and more recently Strictly Come Dancing. Today living in Weybridge he celebrated his 60th year in showbusiness with the BAFTA Tribute to Bruce Forsyth broadcast by the BBC in February 2005. A bronze of the entertainer, created by his son-in-law, was unveiled in the same year in the London Palladium's Cinderella Bar. The 2006 New Year's Honours List saw Forsyth honoured with an OBE and in February 2008 the BBC broadcast a programme to celebrate his 80th birthday, Happy Birthday Brucie. His catchphrase 'Nice to see you, to see you nice' was voted by the British public in 2007 as their most popular. Mike Hawthorn A Farnham motor racing ace, Hawthorn won the British Grand Prix at Goodwood in 1952 driving a Cooper-Bristol. He tragically lost his life in a road traffic accident when his Jaguar car, which in the inquest was described by a witness as travelling at up to 100 mph, came off the road in high winds. The accident, which occurred on the northbound carriageway of the A3 just after the junction from the A31 Hogs Back, shocked the motor racing world at the time. Edward Kelsey Petersfield-born Kelsey lives in Guildford and is best known as the voice of Joe Grundy on the long-running BBC radio soap opera The Archers. He has also appeared on popular TV programmes including The Avengers, Softly Softly, The Saint, Z-Cars, Doctor Who, Minder, The Vicar of Dibley and EastEnders. Ray Drinkwater The former Guildford City footballer, who played his debut for the club against Chelmsford in 1951, was bought by Portsmouth for £2,000 before switching to Queen's Park Rangers in 1958. The goalkeeper also turned his hand to cricket and proved to be an invaluable all-rounder for Ripley Cricket Club for over 20 years.
David Shepherd The acclaimed wildlife artist and conservationist lived in Hascombe near Godalming for 32 years prior to moving to West Sussex. Shepherd is said to have been spurred into action on conservation when he came across 200 dead zebra lying by a poisoned Tanzanian waterhole when he was a young man. He worked as an aviation artist with the RAF when they commissioned him in 1960 to paint a rhino in Kenya. So started Shepherd's long and eventful career as a wildlife painter. He established the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation in the same year which is based at the Smithbrook Kilns in Cranleigh and has raised over £3m for projects targeted at saving endangered animals. He also funds projects to benefit rural communities. Shepherd's other passion is steam locomotives and he owns several including two British built ones rescued from decay on the Mulobezi Railway in Zambia, one in South Africa and his Black Prince that is based on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Shepherd helped found the East Somerset Heritage Steam Railway on tracks originally built in 1855. Faith Winter The Puttenham (near Guildford) based sculptor Winter is highly regarded for her busts and statues and has been commissioned to produce pieces which are on display throughout the world. This includes the statue of Archbishop George Abbot that stands at the top end of Guildford High Street. Winter took up sculpture at an early age and having come to Guildford with her mother at the outbreak of WWII attended Guildford School of Art at the age of 16. Her first sculpture to be accepted at the Royal Academy was a stone carving. Winter's long list of commissions include: 8ft (2.4m) high soldier group for Catterick Camp unveiled by HM the Queeen; Portrait bust of HRH The Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace; Lord Chief Marshal Lord Dowding in the Strand, London; President Daniel Arap Moi in Kenya; and Kamel Jumblatt in Lebanon. Winter also created the Falkland Memorial in Port Stanley and the Mulberry Harbour Memorial in Normandy, France. Coventry Town Council awarded Winter the commission to create a 9ft tall statue of Sir Frank Whittle, the inventor of the jet engine, to be erected in the town's Millenium Park. The statue was unveiled in June 2007. Martin Woodhouse The author and scriptwriter who is better known for writing for the TV series The Avengers lives in Haslemere. As an author he has written 11 novels and he is widely accredited with having created the techno-thriller genre of writing when his first novel The Tree Frog was published in 1966. Other authors including Michael Crichton (The Andromeda Strain) followed in Woodhouse's footsteps. As a screenwriter he wrote seven episodes of The Avengers between 1962 and 1965, and wrote episodes of other TV series including The Hidden Truth (1964); The Protectors (1964); The Man in Room 17 (1965) and Supercar (1961). Woodhouse penned a total of 77 screenplays in his career. Michael Aspel London-born Aspel made his name as a television presenter through a host of programmes starting in the 1960s. Crackerjack, Aspel and Company, This is Your Life and the Antiques Roadshow are amongst the shows he has presented and he became one of the country's most familiar faces during the 60s and 70s as a newsreader on national television. Aspel, who lives in Oatlands in Weybridge, has also hosted Miss World, A Song for Europe, Give Us a Clue and Child's Play. He was honoured with an OBE in 1993 and was voted into the Royal television Society Hall of Fame. The Rt Hon The Lord Howell of Guildford won the seat of Guildford in 1966 and remained Conservative MP of the town until standing down to Nick St Aubyn, also a Conservative, in the 1997 General Election. He was appointed as Margaret Thatcher's first Secretary of State for Energy and later of Transport. In 1987 he became chairman of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. Howell was made a life peer in 1997 where in the Upper House he is today (2008) the Shadow Deputy Leader of the Lords and Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. He is also the author of several books including The Edge of Now (2000) and a columnist for The Japan Times, the International Herald Tribune and the Wall Street Journal. Michael Nicholson Living in Grayswood near Haslemere the television foreign correspondent and journalist became a household name through his courageous coverage for ITN of trouble hotspots throughout the world. As war reporter he covered wars, terrorist attacks and civil uprisings in countries scattered around the globe including Nigeria, Vietnam, Cambodia, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Rhodesia, Beirut and Angola reporting on 15 conflicts in his 25-year career. Nicholson joined Trevor McDonald's investigative programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald in 1999. Despite being a war-hardened hack Nicholson adopted two orphan's during his time in global trouble spots. The first was nine-year-old Natasha from Bosnia and the |
