Musician & orchestra leader It is rather sad to think that a man whose accomplishments were such that a Leamington street was named after him is almost forgotten within a few years. Berenska Drive was named after Jan Berenska a multi-talented musician whose orchestra had a huge following in the heyday of radio. During the … Read more
Concert pianist & writer When Denis Matthews left Warwick School in 1935 to take up a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in London, one of his erstwhile masters said “They tell me that you are going in for music Matthews but what do you intend doing with the rest of your time?” The … Read more
My great-great-grandparents were born in County Mayo, Ireland, John Jennings in 1838 at Killadoon, Ballintubber, and Anne in 1844 at Arthavalley, Ballintubber. I think that it is highly likely that the great potato famine after 1845 was the reason that John and Anne’s families decided that they needed to move in order to feed their … Read more
The photograph is plainly of a mid Victorian gentleman: dark suit and waistcoat, high turnover collar, dark circle of cravat, and yet not over-tidy, rustic almost; a shortish man with a short neck, chunky rather than burly; leaning forward as if in conversation, fair hair flying as if he drags his fingers through it when … Read more
Alexander Marshall Lodge (aka Alec) was the third son (of six sons and six daughters) of Sir Oliver Lodge, British Physicist and noted inventor, and the first Principal of the new University of Birmingham at Edgbaston. As did two other brothers, Lionel and Noel, Alec and his older brother Brodie eventually went into business using … Read more
Frederick and Elizabeth Whitehead were born at 3 Lansdowne Terrace (now numbered 5 Willes Road), Frederick on the 6th January, 1853 and Elizabeth the following year on the 21st November. The Whiteheads had been farmers and brick makers in the town since the eighteenth century but William, the father of Frederick and Elizabeth, had become … Read more
Corporal William Amey VC, MM, – the Man William Amey was born on the 5th March 1881 at Duddeston, in the Aston area of Birmingham, the last-but-one of the eight children of Charles & Elizabeth Amey. When he left school he worked as a chandelier maker for Verity’s Ltd, electrical manufacturers, so presumably had some … Read more
Here is a presentation by Alan Griffin of Leamington History Group about Henry Peach Robinson: pioneer Victorian photographer. A blue plaque in memory of Henry Peach Robinson was unveiled at 60 Parade on 23rd September 2015 by Dr Michael Pritchard, Director-General of the Royal Photographic Society. He has written an article for the RPS Newsletter … Read more
Kinmond Court There is a substantial building with a certain ‘presence’ on the east side of Kenilworth Street which is now the home of many retired people. At its heart is a Victorian building enlivened with patterns of different colours of bricks. Many will recall that in the 1960s part of it was the home … Read more
A Comics Genius A man who lived in Royal Leamington Spa from 1945 to 1958 at 18 Milverton Terrace was probably the most prolific fiction writer of his time. He was Gilbert Lawford Dalton. He wrote several books but deserves greatest recognition for the stories in comics which he penned for many years for the leading publisher, … Read more
Josef Kalaś was born in Czechoslovakia and served in the Czech army before the outbreak of WW2. During the 3rd Reich Occupation, he fled via Poland and joined the French Foreign Legion. He was released to fight with his countrymen at the outbreak of war, and eventually, having survived the last battle to stem the … Read more
Thursday 18 June marked the 73rd anniversary of Operation Anthropoid and the mission of the seven Czech soldiers to assassinate the Nazi tyrant Reinhard Heydrich. The Friends of the Czech Memorial Fountain, including many living relatives of the 4000 soldiers billeted in and around Leamington in WW2, gathered in Jephson Gardens on Sunday 14th June to … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
June 9, 2026
May 26, 2026