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
Norman Painting was born at 28 Grove Street Leamington Spa on 23 April 1924, the son of a railway signalman. He was a gifted scholar who went on to win scholarships first to Leamington College for Boys, (September 1935 – July 1938), then King Edward VI School Nuneaton, Birmingham University and ultimately Christ Church College, … 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 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 … 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
During the 1939-1945 war, Leamington experienced a number of air raids which caused the death of 13 people and severe injuries to 39 others. This information was not made public at the time, for fear of damaging morale, but it came to light when the Local Medical Officer of Health published a report after the … Read more
What’s in a name? The Newbold part of the above local name is quite simple, – the ‘New’ denoting a parcel of land newly brought into cultivation. Whilst ‘Bold’ is Saxon for a building, the two words together indicate an area of land or village more recently established than the adjacent villages. This could have … 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
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, – … Read more
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 … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
November 6, 2026
November 6, 2026
November 6, 2026