Part Two, about 1875 to 2015. [Note – A version of these articles in a different format is available HERE] This follows the firm from the moment when Sidney Flavel junior took the reins to the present day. Sidney Flavel junior (1847 to 1931) was educated at Warwick School and was later a governor of … Read more
Robert Wilfrid Levick Simpson, internationally renowned as one of the most prolific 20th century composers of symphonies and chamber music, was born at 21 Rosefield Street Leamington in March 1921, where his parents, as officers of the Leamington Spa Corps of the Salvation Army in Park Street had an Army house. Mrs Simpson was Dutch, … Read more
Beatrice Janie Whitby was born in Ottery Saint Mary, Devon where her father Charles was in medical practice. The family numbered three daughters and five sons, the oldest of whom, a professional soldier, was killed in the Afghan war of 1880, almost at the same time as Dr Whitby moved to Leamington Spa, where he … Read more
As a result of the Spanish Civil War, over 4000 children, some only just over the age of six, were evacuated from Northern Spain to Britain in 1937. Suffering extreme hardship, violence, imprisonment without trial, and widespread poverty under the Franco regime, for the families of the Basque evacuees life had become an endless struggle … Read more
Two of the attributes of the late Victorians were large families and the multi-skilled “polymath”. There was more to Arthur Conan Doyle than the creation of iconic detective fiction, and to C B Fry who played cricket for Sussex and England who also held a world athletics record, won an FA Cup winner’s medal and … Read more
Ryland took on all our employees except, understandably, me. They rented our existing premises until a new, smaller dealership was built on Tachbrook Park Drive, later tagged ‘Leamington’s Motor Trade Alley’. As they wished to retain the goodwill of the name, they traded as Ryland Soans until in turn selling the business on to Allen … Read more
In the early and mid-60’s much thought was being given to the future development of Leamington, in terms of housing, industry, traffic and roads – rather like the recent Local Structure Plan. A.C.Lloyd acquired planning permission to develop Sydenham Farm, partially for housing, partially for industrial use. Stanleys Lane, a turning off Radford Road, renamed … Read more
So in 1927 Grandad had a cheque in the Bank, enjoyed being a Ford Main Dealer and was undoubtedly good at his job. He therefore approached Ford to see if there were opportunities for a new Main Dealer anywhere in the country. It turned out that at that time Hastings, High Wycombe, Wembley & Leamington … Read more
Soans is an unusual name, is spelled in various ways, sounds a bit foreign, but probably comes from the English word Son, which has evolved into Sons, then Soans. It may be Scandinavian, implying that my ancestors came to this country in long boats, intent on pillage & plunder. Many people might think that an … Read more
The Poppies or Barbed Poppies – The New Memorial in the Jephson Gardens At 11.00 am on 11th November 2014 a memorial was unveiled in the Jephson Gardens, between the Aviary and Willes Road entrance. The memorial will remember all those who played any part in World War One, including the widows and orphans and those who … Read more
Elizabeth Anne Galton was a Victorian gentlewoman, the eldest of six daughters and three sons born to a wealthy Quaker banking family and related through her mother to the Darwin family. She was not a feisty high-achiever, explorer or philanthropist, but she played a significant role for future historians at least in recording her memories … Read more
In October 1940, a fresh-faced young American named John Buccellato, just out of his teens, enlisted in the United States Army Infantry. His parents who were middle-class Sicillian immigrants lived in an apartment block facing Central Park in New York City. His mother was a milliner. Within two years ‘Butch’ Buccellato found himself in … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
September 9, 2026
August 12, 2026
August 8, 2026