William Louis de Normanville (1843-1928)
September 20, 2015
William Louis de Normanville’s family originated in Normandy. His grandfather, the Marquis de Normanville had escaped from the Revolution in 1792, leaving his family behind in the sadly mistaken belief that women and children would be safe from revolutionaries. In England he married again and eventually dropped the title. As a young man William de
Visit by Chris White MP and a new War Memorial
August 8, 2015
On 28th July, Leamington History Group were pleased to receive a visit from Chris White MP at their regular Tuesday morning meeting at South Lodge, Jephson Gardens. Barry Franklin, Chairman, and Michael Pearson, Vice Chairman, discussed with Chris some of the History Group’s on-going projects such as the commemoration of the 13 casualties of German
Rediscovering the Toovey Family, Leamington Artists
August 6, 2015
A few years ago, my dad brought home a dusty old envelope from the Town Hall, where he works.It was about to be put in the bin, so he brought it for me to look at. I was excited when I saw that the contents all related to one person, Richard Toovey. But who was
Gilbert Lawford Dalton (1903 or 1904 to 1963)
August 6, 2015
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,
Josef Kalaś, 1912 – 2008
July 20, 2015
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
A Time to Remember
June 25, 2015
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
Women in the Cricket Field
June 23, 2015
A trawl through back copies of the Leamington Courier in search of archive material relating to Leamington Cricket Club turned up an intriguing announcement by Mr W A Bezant in the editions of June 1890, – the forthcoming “Engagement, for one day only, of The Original English Lady Cricketers”, when two complete teams, Reds v.
Bath Place School in the 1940s
June 22, 2015
History Group Member Jeff Clarke was a pupil at Bath Place School just after WW2, until he left to take up an Apprenticeship at Henry Griffiths’ jewellery factory at the age of 15. He recorded these reminiscences of his school days with Margaret Rushton. He remembers the overcrowding, in the Infants, Juniors and Seniors, –
Westlea Wanderers Football Club
June 17, 2015
It is fifty years since Westlea Wanderers got together, – a group of lads playing football for fun on the local rec, who gradually became a force to be reckoned with. They started their campaign for recognition in the Leamington Sunday League Youth Section and went on to win a series of prestigious trophies all
Benjamin Satchwell 1732 – 1810, pioneer, philanthropist and ‘father’ of the Spa.
June 12, 2015
In 1782, Ben Satchwell with his friend William Abbotts found the second mineral spring in Leamington Priors ( the first had been discovered at least two hundred years earlier, but never exploited) and the Abbotts Original Baths opened a couple of years later in 1784. This coincided with a nineteenth century trend for “taking the
