Mitcham Hall of Fame
These are some of the famous people who were born or lived in Mitcham.
Introduction
Mitcham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Michelham. It was held partly by the Canons of Bayeux; partly by William, son of Ansculf and partly by Osbert. Its domesday assets were: 8 hides and 1 virgate. It had ½ mill worth £1, 3½ ploughs, 56acres (230,000m2) of meadow. It rendered £4 5s 4d.[1]
During her reign Queen Elizabeth I made at least five visits to the area. John Donne and Sir Walter Raleigh also had residences here in this era. It was at this time that Mitcham became gentrified, as due to the abundance of lavender fields Mitcham became renowned for its soothing air. This air also led people to settle in the area during times of plague. When industrialisation occurred, Mitcham quickly grew to become a town, and most of the farms were swallowed up in the expansion. Remnants of this farming history today include: Mitcham Common itself; Arthur's Pond, sited on the corner of Watney's Road and Commonside East, and named for a local farmer; Alfred Mizen School (Now named Garden Primary), named after a local nursery man who was very charitable towards the burgeoning town; and the road New Barnes Avenue, which was named after the farm that stood on that site.
Entertainment
Sport
Lorna Boothe Commonwealth 100m hurdles champion 197
Wood, Jason David ('Woody' ) (1971- ) ice Hockey international
Born in Mitcham, Surrey, England. Netminder. Settled in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada where he works as a fire-fighter with Penticton Fire Department.
International Career : Played for Great Britain (Junior) 1986-91. Played for England in 1992-93. Played for Great Britain in exhibition games 1992-94.
Club Career : Played for Streatham Scorpions & Streatham Bruins 1985-86, Medway Bears 1986-88, Peterborough Pirates 1988-89 (also one game for Deeside Dragons and one game for Solihull Barons), Cardiff Devils 1989-96 (also one game for Basingstoke Beavers in 1994-95), Cardiff Devils & Manchester Storm & Stevenage Oilers 1996-97 and Kingston Hawks 1997-98.
Medals : Won the British Championship in 1990, 1993 & 1994.
Won the British League Premier Division in 1989-90, 1992-93 & 1993-94.
Won the Superleague in 1996-97.
Won the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1992.
Won the British Junior Championship in 1986.
Won the English Junior Championship in 1986
Ernest William Bale Cricketer 1878 – 1952
Ernest William Bale (18 September 1878–6 July 1952) was an English cricketer who played 148 first-class matches between 1904 and 1920, the great majority of these (138) being for Worcestershire, for whom he was the first-choice wicket-keeper for several years before the First World War. Roy Genders considered that Bale's keeping in 1911, when Worcestershire came ninth in the County Championship — their best finish until 1939 — "contributed greatly towards such an excellent season".[1]
Bale played for Surrey's Second XI in the Minor Counties Championship as early as June 1902,[2] but his first-class debut came exactly two years later, when he appeared for London County against Leicestershire at Crystal Palace Park. He had a quiet match, claiming the single dismissal of Harry Whitehead and scoring 4* and 22*.[3] Later that month, Bale made his Surrey debut, against Oxford University at The Oval,[4] and for the remainder of the season he divided his time between Surrey and London County.
James Southerton Cricketer 1827 – 1880
(b.16 November 1827 in Petworth, Sussex – 16 June 1880 in Mitcham, Surrey) was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1854 and 1879.
In 1876/7 he toured Australia as part of James Lillywhite's side. This led to him playing in the two first-ever Test matches. Southerton was 49 years 119 days old when he made his Test debut, making him the oldest ever Test debutant, a record unlikely to ever be beaten. In 1880, he also became the first Test cricketer to die. However, as the games were not designated as official Test matches till much later, Southerton never knew about any of his records.
Herbert ("Bert") Strudwick (January 28, 1880, Mitcham, Surrey, England – February 14, 1970 in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex) was one of the best, and certainly the most popular, wicket-keepers in the history of cricket. During his career, his record of 1493 dismissals is the third-highest by any wicket-keeper in the history of first-class cricket. Quick-footed and short, Strudwick was also a courageous wicket-keeper who, as he testified long after he stopped playing, took many knocks on unprotected parts of his body from the very fast pitches that prevailed throughout his career when the weather was dry - especially as he would stand up even to the fastest bowling.
Born in Mitcham, for which he retained great affection throughout his life, Strudwick took to wicket-keeping, apparently on the advice of a local lady ("Miss Wilson"), at the age of ten. He first played for Surrey in a few games in 1902, but created a sensation in his first full season the following year, when he dismissed a record 91 batsmen (71 catches and 20 stumpings) - a feat made more remarkable by the decline of Surrey's top fast bowlers Tom Richardson and William Lockwood and the exceptionally wet weather of that summer. From that time on, Strudwick became regarded as the natural successor to Dick Lilley as England's Test wicket-keeper, and he toured Australian in 1903/1904 without playing a Test.
Dennis Sullivan Cricketer 1888 – 1968
J.W.Keene Cricketer (1903-1905)
James Caffarey Cricketer 1859 – 1913
William Humphrey Cricketer 1843 -1918
R.E.Turner Cricketer 1888 - ?
Muriel Cornell 1906 1996 ..... world record holder 80 metres hurdles
Stan Cornell Athlete – Husband and wife who Co-founded Mitcham A.C.
Lorna Cornell Girls singles winner Wimbledon 1950, 1951 (Daughter)
Kitty (Tilley) Dyer Athlete (shot and discus)
Dorothy Tyler - Dorothy Jennifer Beatrice Tyler-Odam MBE (born 14 March 1920) is a British athlete who competed mainly in the High Jump.
She competed for Great Britain in the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany in the High Jump where she won the silver medal. She repeated this feat in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London making her the only woman to win Olympic athletics medals before and after the war[
Academia
Arts
John Wealthy sculptor
Born in Mitcham, Surrey, John is a well-exhibited sculptor and painter. He was trained at the Wimbledon School of Art and now works as an educator and abstract artist.John has been widely exhibited in the U.K. since the 1960s. Some of his well-known exhibitions include:
Michael Moorcock Science Fiction writer
Born / 18 December 1939 (1939-12-18)Mitcham,, United Kingdom
Pen name / Bill Barclay
William Ewert Barclay
Michael Barrington (with Barrington J. Bayley)
Edward P. Bradbury
James Colvin
Warwick Colvin, Jr.
Philip James
Hank Janson
Desmond Reid
Occupation / Novelist
Nationality / British
Writing period / Contemporary
Genres / Science fiction, fantasy, comic books, historical fiction
Local Families
Sparrowhawk.
Gray - Funfair organisers
Any other names, categories additional information or anecdotes will be appreciated. Please contact Russell on 020 8946 0735 or