General Chat

Author Ellis Peters ( Brother Cadfael books) worked in the old chemist shop here before becoming a writer.

Thomas Hopper Alderson GC (15 September 1903 – 28 October 1965) was the first person to be directly awarded the George Cross shortly after its creation in 1940. He was an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden in Bridlington.


BUT where I was born
In 2002, a BBC poll ended up with Leatherhead High Street being voted the fifth worst in Britain

LORD KNYVETT THE MAN WHO CAUGHT GUY FAWKES LIVED IN OUR VILLIAGE,

Winston Churchill began his political career in the town where I was born ......... failed in 1899, but was successful in 1900

Sir William Walton was born there

Percy Bysshe & Mary Shelley lived here and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's gg grandfather was our vicar

Bee

Errol Flynn died in 1959 here where I now live .

............. and the coroner later said that Flynn had the largest warts on his p**** that the coroner had ever seen!

I don't think our village has any connections to anyone famous but the following were all born in Gloucestershire.


Sir Edward Jenner invented vaccination
William Tyndale Bible translator
W G Grace Cricketer
Gustav Holst composer Cheltenham
Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawn mower Stroud
J K Rowling author
Laurie Lee Poet and author Slad near stroud
Dennis Potter Author Forest of dean
Arthur “Bomber” Harris was born in Gloucestershire
Ivor Gurney
Robert Raikes who started Sunday schools

And I am sure everyone is aware of the Severn Bore on the River Severn where at certain times/tides the river sends a large wave up river from the mouth instead of flowing down river to the sea.

Can't quite compete with that Sylvia.........lol but....

We have quite a list of famous folk:

George Formby, comic actor Roy Kinnear, Radio Comedian Ted Ray, Music Hall Comedian Frank Randle, Classic Actor Sir Ian McKellen, Jazz Singer Georgie Fame and the author James Hilton all came from where I now live.

In 1848 Sir Thomas Beecham lived hereand was employed as an odd job man at a local chemists. It was in this town that he manufactured his legendary Beecham's Powders and Beecham's Pills.

Michael Marks, of Marks & Spencer, moved his warehouse here in 1892 and formed a partnership with Thomas Spencer in the town in 1894.



I feel rather insignificant now.........:))


Cx

oooops sorry Rose....you only wanted ONE interesting fact.....trust me to go the whole hog lol.....Cx

Cynthia, me too! Sorry Rose. The thing is there is no one interesting fact about this village.

captain james cooked lived here, less than a ten minute walk from my house :) x

lol I don't mind how many you put ;) I just put 'one' as I'm sure that it might be pushing it to find 2 about someplaces I've lived lol.

however I have a second one, Matthew Webb was born here:

"Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. On 25 August 1875 he swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours."

The Queen lives in the same place as me :-))

I was raised across the road from the site of Execution Dock.

None of us kids would go anywhere near it after dark.

Well, I live here. Is that interesting enough LOL
I am just a mile from the confluence of the Nottingham, Erewash and Cromford Canal.
And, just down the road, D.H. Lawrence was born, and a place where he sited some of his books.
Island, you would have to live in the same place as her Maj. LOLOL
Other than that, can't think of anything else. Sos.
Julia in Derbyshire

Just a mile down the road (and in a different county!) is the site of an infamous Victorian murder - it is the subject of the book 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'. I've also read an older book about the case, 'Cruelly Murdered'.

My husband's ancestor, Thomas Kemp, commissioned the building of Kemptown in Brighton (quite a well-known area, for several reasons, including beautiful Regency squares and crescents.)

Julia, I think "The complete Angler " was written close to you, Dovedale.**M**.

Charles Darwin was born " just up the road"

& Christopher Timothy & David Blakely went to the school there.

The Kings German Legion was stationed here. Roger Moore Lived Here as did Llewelin who did all the tricky things in the Bond Films,and the chap who sorted Television lived here.Oh and I,m not far from Senlac Field ( Battle ) where the Battle of Hastings was Faught.