Adrian Shooter
March 29, 2023
Adrian Shooter CBE 1948-2022 – A life of entrepreneurial public service: Join former Chiltern Railways Director Ian Baxter (now Strategy Director, SLC Rail and President of Friends of Leamington Station) who pays tribute to Adrian’s life, vision and achievements. 13 April 2023 7.30 p.m. at the Pump Rooms. Organised by the Leamington Society and Friends
The Ironsides, Janey and Christopher
March 29, 2023
An article written by Virginia Ironside, daughter of the two recipients of a Blue Plaque. I am delighted that Leamington had chosen to commemorate my parents with a Blue Plaque, because I lived in Lansdowne Circus until I was 2 1/2 and it was here that my parents were happiest. (Their marriage didn’t last long
When the Long Arm of the Law drove a Jaguar Mk V
October 10, 2022
When I obtained my Mk V Saloon I had little or no knowledge of the model, history or heritage of the marque. Once I’d spent 2 years coming to terms with restoring, running and attending some shows, I started to appreciate the whys and wherefores of the car, the Designers/Engineers, and Jaguar Cars as a
Norman Hyde – Motorcycle Land Speed Record Holder
October 9, 2022
Norman Hyde, the legendary motorcyclist from Leamington, has been honoured to mark the 50th anniversary of his land speed record. Back in 1972, Norman who lives at Radford Semele, rode his home-built Roadrunner III to a speed of 161.8mph at RAF Fairford and in doing so achieved the World Sidecar Land Speed Record – an
A Commonwealth Trail around Leamington Spa
June 10, 2022
Our new Free Town Trail is based on a Commonwealth Theme to echo the Games this summer. It will be a free guided walk around Central Leamington to learn more about the town’s past connections with the Commonwealth. The walk will visit around ten locations including the Royal Pump Room, the Town Hall, Imperial House
Peter Spicer, Taxidermist
May 23, 2022
It is very important to start this article by saying that we understand that many people these days find the idea of taxidermy, the stuffing of animals, birds and fish, totally abhorrent. However, we also recognise that in earlier times the possession and collection of these specimens was very popular and allowed people to ‘enjoy’
Walter Ritchie, Sculptor, 1919-1997
April 3, 2022
Walter Ritchie was the son of a Coventry carpenter who trained with local stonemasons to become a fully -fledged sculptor by the age of 18. He said that they taught him how to hold a hammer and a chisel, – and a crowbar – in his words, “a very useful tool.” After WW2, he was
William Munger Heynes 1903-1989, Chief Engineer with Jaguar
February 9, 2022
William Munger Heynes (31.12.1903 – 11.07.1989) William Heynes was born at 11 Percy Terrace, Leamington Spa, one of a family of five boys. He was educated at Warwick School from 1914 to 1921, when he started as an apprentice draughtsman at the Humber Car Company in Coventry. He worked in the design department, learning every
Sir Frederick Gibberd, Architect
February 7, 2022
SIR FREDERICK GIBBERD, CBE, RA, FRIBA, MTPI, FILA, 1908 – 1984, was an English architect and landscape designer. Frederick Gibberd was born in Coventry on Tuesday 7th January 1908, the eldest of the five children of a local tailor, also Frederick (sometimes John??). When born, the family was living in Spencer Street, Coventry, but soon moved
Rosemary Guiot and the Pugh Family of Bath Street
January 25, 2022
Rosemary Guiot (pictured left, as a small girl) now lives in Cubbington, but has close connections to Bath Street and its Victorian past. Her great-grandfather, William George Pugh grew up in Leominster, Herefordshire, moved first to Liverpool, then Nottingham, and finally to Leamington with his wife and four sons, William, Albert, Henry and Percy, in
