famous People with Tottenham Connections

DAVE CLARK	Born Tottenham, 15th December 1942
	Dave was born in Tottenham and lived in Philip Lane above what was then ‘Williams Brothers’ the grocers on the corner with Durham (later Kitchener) Road. A founder member and drummer for the pop group ‘The Dave Clark Five’ he was to enjoy huge success in both the UK and USA with hits such as ‘Glad all Over’ and ‘Bits and Pieces’. Prior to hitting the big time Dave and his band played at the ‘Tottenham Royal’ a popular dance hall in Tottenham during the 1960’s. In 2008 the band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
SHANI WALLIS	Born Tottenham, 14th April 1933
	Shani was born in Tottenham and on leaving school she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA, She is perhaps best known for her role as Nancy in the classic screen adaptation of ‘Oliver Twist’ in the musical ‘Oliver’ by Lionel Bart when she starred alongside Ron Moody - Harry Secombe –Oliver Reed- Jack Wild and Mark Lester. Shani now lives in the USA
LESLIE PHILLIPS	Born Tottenham - 20th April 1924
	Leslie was born in Welbourne Road, Tottenham in rather humble beginnings. His father was employed at Glover & Main in Edmonton who manufactured cookers. Following the early death of his father in 1931 the family moved to Chingford. It was his mother who decided that Phillips should be sent to the Italia Conti Academy to receive elocution lessons in order to lose his natural cockney accent as at that time a strong regional accent from any city was a major impediment to an aspiring actor. It proved to be an astute move and by the age of 14 Phillips was the family's main breadwinner, saving his mother from squalor. His suave, seductive voice is his trademark as well as his catchphrases, "I say, Ding Dong" He has played numerous roles on both stage and screen but is perhaps best known for the parts he played in the ‘Carry on ‘ series of films. Phillips has been a lifelong fan of Tottenham Hotspur and makes mention of the fact in his 2006 Autobiography Hello: I was born in Tottenham just before the team scored a goal and they said my scream was louder than those in the ground. I supported Tottenham Hotspur and have done until this day.
LESLIE WELSH	Born Edmonton 1907 – later lived in Cornwall Road, Tottenham – Died Feb 1980
	Perhaps best known as ‘Leslie Welch – The Memory Man’ His talent for memorising and then being able to recall accurately the smallest of sporting detail, was discovered almost by accident while he was serving with the 8th Army in the Western Desert in WW2. He overheard two officers arguing over the result of a football match; Leslie was not only able to settle the dispute but name the two teams as well. His fame spread and he was a popular star on post-war radio. Millions tuned in their radio sets in the 1950’s to listen to his warm cockney tones. Known as ‘The Memory Man’ he could recall the most obscure sporting detail from as many as 37 different sports as part of his radio and stage act but one day in 1963 he just vanished from the professional theatre..
TED WILLIS	Born Tottenham - 13th January 1914-Died 22nd Dec 1992
	He was born Edward Henry Willis in Stanley Road in the West Green area of Tottenham. Commonly known as Ted Willis he was politically active in support of the Labour party. However it was his passion for drama that was to bring him fame. He was best known for writing the television series ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ starring Jack Warner. He later wrote many other TV series including ‘Sergeant Cork’, ‘Mrs Thursday’ and ‘The Adventures of Black Beauty’. In 1963 he was awarded a life peerage as Baron Willis of Chislehurst, Kent. The memories of his Tottenham childhood are splendidly captured in his wonderful book ‘Whatever happened to Tom Mix? The story of one of my lives’
ARNOLD LYNCH	Born Tottenham3rd June 1914 - Died 13th Nov 2004
	Arnold Lynch, scientist and engineer, made a significant contribution to the development of what many regard as the first electronic computer. The Colossus machine was used from 1943 to 1945 by the code-breakers at Bletchley Park to break the Lorenz cypher; a cypher much more complex than Enigma. Arnold was the son of Albert John Lynch, the headmaster at West Green School, champion of the Dalton system of education and later Mayor of Tottenham. After graduating from Emmanuel College Cambridge, Arnold worked at the Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill. In 1943 Tommy Flowers, Colossus’s designer, commissioned Arnold to develop the vital high-speed optical paper tape reader. By D-day 1944 the Colossus machines at Bletchley Park were enabling the reading of the Nazi hierarchy’s “unbreakable” messages faster than the Nazis themselves. In 1995 Arnold Lynch helped the volunteers at Bletchley Park rebuild Colossus machines where they can now be viewed as working exhibits.
JOSEPH SILK	Born Tottenham - December 1942
	Prof Joseph Ivor Silk is the Savilion Chair of Astronomy at the University of Oxford. He came back to the UK in 1999 to take up the position, following a nearly 30-year career at the University of California, Berkeley. He once lived in the Park View Road area of Tottenham and was educated at Tottenham County School (1954-1960) and Cambridge University (1960-1963) He held distinguished positions in Munich, Paris Groningen and Baltimore. Professor Silk, a post-graduate of Harvard, has given more than two hundred invited conference lectures, primarily on galaxy formation and cosmology. He is a Fellow of New College Oxford and a Fellow of the Royal Society (elected May 1999)
DAVID TRIESMAN	Born Tottenham - 30th October 1943
	David Triesman was educated at the ‘Stationers Company school’ in London and later at the ‘University of Essex’ and ‘Kings College–Cambridge’ . An active trade unionist he later became a lecturer and a fellow of Cambridge University. He was made a life peer in January 2004 as Baron Triesman of Tottenham and was later to serve as Parliamentary Secretary of State for Innovation and then Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Foreign Office. However, a lifelong fan of Tottenham Hotspur, he is perhaps best known today as being the first independent Chairman of the ‘Football Association’ when appointed in 2008
LEMAR OBIKA	Born Tottenham - 4th April 1978
	Lemar Obika, professionally known as ‘Lemar’ was born in Tottenham from Nigerian parents. Lemar had some musical success supporting various artists such as Destiny’s Child, Total, Uncle Sam and Usher Raymond on their UK club tours and after some years, managed to secure a recording contract of his own. Lemar was most notably brought to public attention on the BBC’s Fame Academy show in 2002.
ADELE	Born Tottenham - 5th May 1988
	Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born in Tottenham London, England, UK, although better known professionally by her single name 'Adele'. She was born to a single teenage mother named Penny on 5th May 1988. Adele's father split from Adele's mother when Adele was 3 years which as of 2012 Adele had not forgiven him for. She began singing at age four and asserts that she became obsessed with voices. Adele has cited the 'Spice Girls' as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating the "they made me what I am today." At the age of 9, Adele and her mother, a furniture-maker and adult learning activities organiser, relocated to Brighton. At the age of 11, Adele and her mother moved to Brixton, and then to neighbouring district West Norwood in South London. At the annual 'Grammy Awards' in 2012, Adele was presented with 6 Grammy Awards including "Record of the Year", "Song of the Year" and "Album of the Year" tying the record held by 'Beyonce' for most Grammy Awards won by a female artist in a single year. Although she moved away from North London aged 9, Adele remains an ardent fan of her hometown Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur.
BRITNEY SPEARS	Born Louisiana - 2nd December 1981
	OK ! Perhaps a stretch of the truth but few people I am sure would be aware that Britney’s Great Grandparents originated from Tottenham. George Anthony Portell and Lillian Esther Lewis married at St John’s Church in Tottenham in 1923. Their daughter, Britney’s grandmother Lillian Woolmore-Portell , met and married a US Navy sailor Barnett O’Field Bridges in London during the second world war. They subsequently moved to New Orleans and had 3 children including Britney Spears mother Lynne. Britney Spears...or should that be 'Britney Spurs', as records reveal her family connections with Tottenham
RON MOODY	Born Tottenham - 8th January 1924
	Ron was born Ronald Moodnick and his parents were of Russian/Jewish descent. Moody originally trained to be an accountant at the London School of Economics but began appearing in shows and later decided to become a professional actor. Ron Moody has worked in a variety of genres, but is perhaps best known for his starring role as the villainous yet loveable ‘Fagin’ in Lionel Bart’s famous stage and film musical ‘Oliver’ which was based on the Charles Dickens’s novel ‘Oliver Twist’.
TREVOR PEACOCK	Born Tottenham - 19th May 1931
	Trevor Peacock was born in Tottenham the son of Alexandria and Victor Edward Peacock. He is an English character actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Jim Trott in the TV series ‘The Vicar of Dibley’. His catchphrase ‘’NO..NO..NO...NO...YES!’ will I am sure be familiar to many viewers of the programme. Trevor has appeared in many other popular TV programmes and feature films. He made his film debut as an actor in the little know film ‘The Barber of Stamford Hill (1963), another local connection ? Many will be surprised to learn that Trevor is also an accomplished songwriter. He wrote the 1960s pop classic "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter", which was recorded by Herman's Hermits. Other hit songs to his credit include "Mystery Girl" (recorded by Jess Conrad), "Made You" (Adam Faith), "Gossip Calypso" (Bernard Cribbins), "That's What Love Will Do" and "Nature's Time For Love" (both recorded by Joe Brown). He wrote the lyrics for the musical show, "Passion Flower Hotel" (music by John Barry), and for a musical based on the popular newspaper cartoon strip, Andy Capp (music by Alan Price).
MIKE REID	Born Hackney 1940
	Mike Reid moved with his family to Tottenham in the early years of WW2 as a result of devastation caused by German bombers in the Blitz and experienced a childhood of scrimping and saving. "I remember asking my dad if I could have tuppence," he recalled. "He said, 'Son, if battleships were worth two a penny, I couldn't buy a rowing boat.'" On leaving Rowland Hill School, Tottenham, Reid worked as a plasterer's mate, scrap-iron dealer, coalman and lorry driver. The gravel voice and cockney tones of Mike Reid first came to the attention of Television audiences in 1971 when 'The Comedians',which featured stand-up comics who were popular on the northern club circuits and working men's venues across Britain, first appeared on our screens. Then came the role that was to change his working life when in 1987 he landed the part of 'Frank Butcher' in the popular BBC soap 'Eastenders' which, with exception to a few years in the mid 1990's, was a part he played until 2000. Mike Reid tragically died from a heart attack in Marbella Spain in July 2007
GEORGE SEWELL	Born Hoxton 31st August 1924 - Died 2nd April 2007
	George was born in Hoxton but his family later moved to South Tottenham and they lived near Tewkesbury Road, off Seven Sisters Road. His mother's family were flower sellers and run their business nearby. George left school at 14 and was apprenticed in his father's trade as a printer. But when war broke out in 1939 and printing was soon restricted by the shortage of paper, he switched to building work, specifically the repair of bomb-damaged houses. Later in the war he joined the RAF and trained as a pilot, though too late to see action. George was a self-made actor who successfully auditioned for Joan Littlewood's Workshop where he appeared an 'Fings Aint Wot They Used T'Be' and 'Sparrers Cant Sing'. He excelled in strong, sometimes sinister, often shifty, supporting roles and, though he was best known and most at home on television, in series such as Z Cars and Special Branch, he had a solid grounding in the theatre and in the cinema he lent his talents to such acclaimed action movies as Get Carter (1971), playing Con Mc Carty, one of the London Villains sent up to Tyneside to carry out that task.
ROSAMUNDE JOHN	Born Nora Rosamund Jones -Tottenham - 19th October1913
	She was brought up in Tottenham and was educated at the Tottenham Drapers' College, then attended the Embassy School of Acting. She became a popular film and stage actress who was known for playing gentle mannered women. Rosamund was twice married, first to film editor Russell Lloyd, from 1943-1949, and then to the politician John Silkin (1950–1987). They had one son, Rory (born 1954). She died from natural causes in London 1998 aged 85.
GERTIE GITANA	Born Gertrude Astbury -Stoke on Trent -27th December1887
	Gertie was a famous Music Hall star who started her career in the very early 1900’s.and continued as a top line artist for over 30 years. At the 1901 Census ‘Gertrude Astbury’ was living at 83 The Crescent, High Cross Tottenham. During the 1914-18 war she was the Forces' sweetheart and often entertained the war wounded in hospitals. However Gertie once lived in West Green Road, Tottenham and also appeared regularly at the old ‘Wood Green Empire’. Perhaps her most famous song was ‘Sweet Nellie Dean’ which was often heard imitated by patrons of Pubic Houses throughout the land. In 1928 she married the dancer, Don Ross, and retired from the stage in 1938. Gertie Gitana died on the 5th January 1957 at Wigston Magna, Leics.
GEOFF LOVE	Born Todmorden ,Yorkshire 4th September 1916
	Geoff Love was a musical director, arranger, composer and one of the UK's most popular easy-listening music personalities. After performing with several top bands of the era, in 1955, Geoff Love formed his own band for the television show On The Town, and soon afterwards started recording for EMI/Columbia with his Orchestra and Concert Orchestra. In 1959, Geoff Love started to release some recordings under the pseudonym, Manuel and His Music Of The Mountains, which proved to be immensely successful. Besides his own orchestral records, Love provided the accompaniment and arrangements on record, and in concert, for many popular artists such as Connie Francis, Russ Conway, Paul Robeson, Judy Garland, Frankie Vaughan, Johnny Mathis, Des O'Connor, Ken Dodd, Marlene Dietrich and Gracie Fields. He recorded at least two albums with Shirley Bassey in 1959 and 1960 He was consistently popular on radio, and on television, where, besides conducting the orchestra, he was especially effective as a comic foil to Max Bygraves on his Singalongamax, and similar series. Geoff Love was born in Todmorden, Yorkshire in 1917. His father was a mixed race American born guitarist and dancer, and his mother an actress. We understand that the family first moved to Tottenham in the 1930s and were resident at 76, St. Margaret’s Road during the war years. We further understand that, from an inspection of the electoral rolls, Geoff Love is first listed there in 1945. The family continued to live at this address until about 1956. Geoff Love saw military service during the Second World War. Geoff Love was married to Joy and had two sons, Adrian and Nigel. We know from the Tottenham Grammar School website that Adrian was a pupil at the Grammar School from 1955 to 1960. Adrian Love was a popular disc jockey and presenter with LBC and Capital Radio who later enjoyed a very successful career with the BBC. Sadly Adrian died in 1999 having never fully recovered from a terrible car crash in 1997. Geoff Love died in London on 8th July 1991 age 73.
FAMOUS PEOPLE FROM TOTTENHAM ALREADY FEATURED ON THE SUMMERHILL ROAD WEBSITE
LUKE HOWARD	Born London - 28th November 1772
	It was Luke Howard who invented the terms for types of clouds, such as cirrus, stratus and cumulus that are in common usage today. Each time we look out the window and remark on the billowing cumulus, the dull stratus or lacy cirrus, we further honour the name of Luke Howard. He truly deserves the title bestowed by Dr John Day: Godfather of the Clouds. In April of 2002, the British Meteorological Office honoured the memory of Luke Howard by posting a plaque at his former home, 7 Bruce Grove, Tottenham, where Howard spent his final years.
JOHN WILLIAMS	Born Tottenham , High Cross - 27th June 1796
	John Williams was born at Rupert House, High Cross, Tottenham on the 27th June 1796 and was educated at a school in Fore Street, Edmonton. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a Mr Elias Tonkin, an Ironmonger in the City Road, London. Although primarily he was expected to be taught the commercial side of the business, John was far more interested in the practical side and spent much of his time in the blacksmiths forge where before long he became so skilled that any job that required great or delicate skill was entrusted to his capable hands. However it was a chance invitation by Mrs Tonkin for John to join her at a meeting at the Tabernacle Chapel that resulted in John dedicating his life to becoming a Missionary and to the worship of God. Within 12 months of applying to become a missionary, John had been married to Mary Chawner and in November 1816 they were both on route to a new life serving in the South Seas. John was no ordinary character but was thrusting and self confident. His vigorous personality and practical skills made him perhaps the most famous Missionary of his time. One can appreciate now both the talent and confidence he had and what a craftsman he was to undertake the construction of ocean going vessels as well as the many houses and churches he built during his years as a missionary mostly built by him using only the primitive tools and materials available to him in the South Seas. Sadly John Williams was to meet a very tragic death when, along with another missionary, Mr Harris, he was clubbed to death by natives on the island of Erromango in November 1839 and subsequently eaten by the natives in an act of cannibalism. The announcement of his death back home in the UK resulted in a huge outgoing of public sorrow. Such was their concern that appeals to the public resulted in the first of seven ship bearing the name ‘John Williams’ being dedicated to the service of missionaries continuing his work in the South Pacific.
ROWLAND HILL	Born Kidderminster, Worcs - 3rd December 1795
	Perhaps one of the most famous people from Tottenham's history is that of Sir Rowland Hill who is world famous for the development of the Penny Post System and the introduction of the postage stamp. His family operated Bruce Castle School, perhaps the most famous of the many private schools in Tottenham, that was opened in 1827 and began as a branch establishment of the Hill family school at Hazelwood near Birmingham. Rowland Hill was the first headmaster of Bruce Castle School and, on leaving the school in 1833, handed over to his brother Arthur Hill who retired in 1866 Sir Rowland Hill died at his home in Hampstead at the age of 84 on the 27th August 1879. His remains were laid in Westminster Abbey, London on the 4th September 1880.
WILLIAM HOBSON	Born: Southwark, London, 9th November 1752 - Died Tottenham May 1840
	William Hobson of Markfield House was the Quaker builder of the Martello Towers that were constructed all along the South East coastline of England in the early 19th century to repel any attacks by Napoleonic forces. Although never used in battle many are still standing today. William Hobson was also a friend of the artist,John Constable, who painted many portraits of the Hobson family.
HARRY CHAMPION	Born : William Crump - Shoreditch, London, 1865
	Harry Champion was a famous Music Hall star from the Victorian era. He first appeared in Music Hall at the age of 15. In 1888 he changed his stage name from Will Conray to Harry Champion and with a wide repertoire of songs, many of them sung at breakneck speed, he became one of the Music Hall's most successful artists. Many of Harry Champion's songs are still well known today and include "Any Old Iron", "Boiled Beef and Carrots" and "I'm Henery the Eighth I am". What few people realise however is that Harry Champion spent most of his life in Tottenham and in 1918 his address was given as 'Ascot Lodge' 520 West Green Road. He later moved to 161 Great Cambridge Road, Tottenham, this being his address at the time of his death in 1942. Many sources, not least of all Champion himself, confirm his long standing connection with the cab/taxi business, which seems to have continued well into the 1930's and possibly involved his relations. His son William Henry Crump, who acted as executor of his will in 1942, was described then as a 'Motor Engineer'. We now know that they established 'North London Coaches' in the 1930's but their fleet of vehicles was commandeered by the government at the outbreak of war in 1939
PRINCE BONAPARTE	Resident of Tottenham - 1861 -1883
	In September 1861 a quiet scholarly man retired to a house in West Green Road, close to Black Boy Lane. His name was Louis Lucien Bonaparte (Born 1813) and he bore a strong resemblance to the great Napoleon, who was his uncle. Lucien spent most of his life in literary pursuits. In 1883 Queen Victoria recognised his literary services with the grant of a pension. He took a house in Bayswater where he had a large library and a collection of Napoleonic relics. Ill health took him back to Italy where he died in Nov 1891
PERCY PERRIN	Born Percival Albert Perrin -Stoke Newington 1876
	Percy Perrin, often known as Peter, was one of the leading cricketers in England in the Edwardian ‘Golden Age’ of amateur cricket. Percy’s family moved to Tottenham in 1878 where they were very successful Publicans. They ran the ‘White Hart’ at Tottenham Hale and later ‘The Bull’ in Tottenham High Road. The Perrin’s were evidently very successful in the pub business and later in property because they were able to pay for the education of their two sons. In 1892, during the school holidays, he started to play cricket for Tottenham Cricket Club. In 1895 Percy broke several Tottenham batting records, and his performances came to the attention of Essex County Club, then based at Leyton. In his career as a county cricketer Percy played more matches, 496, in the County Championship than any other amateur. He was a hard hitting right hander he scored more Championship runs, 27,703, than any other Essex player, including Graham Gooch. At Chesterfield in 1904, he scored the first first-class triple century in the twentieth century, 343 not out, setting an Essex record which has lasted a hundred years. Shortly before he stopped playing cricket for Essex, Percy became a Test match selector. He remained a member of the Test selection committee for ten years, alongside the likes of Lord Hawke and Sir Stanley Jackson. Percy Perrin died at Hickling Broad, Norfolk just after the end of the Second World War, when his estate was valued at �5 million at 2005 prices.
OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PERSONS BORN IN TOTTENHAM
DENNIS SPOONER	Born Tottenham 1st December 1932 – Screenwriter and script editor Including Stingray, Thunderbirds, Doctor Who, Avengers, Bergerac, Randall & Hopkirk Deceased among many others.
LEONARD LEWIS	Born Tottenham 29th November 1927 –Producer & Director credits include EastEnders, Flambards, When the Boat Comes In, Softly Softly, Juliet Bravo among many others
MARK ALLEYNE	Born Tottenham 23rd May 1968 – Cricketer Gloucestershire. Played a few one-day internationals for England. Awarded MBE in 2004 for services to Cricket.
REUBEN MARTIN	Born Tottenham 1921 - Bodybuilder and weightlifter and former Mr Universe. Reuben also featured in many films including several of the 'Carry On' series when he played the part of a Gorilla. Reuben died December 1993.
JEAN BAYLISS	Born Tottenham A musical actress, Jean once lived in Arnold Road Tottenham and attended the Italia Conti stage school as a child and she went on to perform in many West End musicals. Jean was to star as 'Maria' in the original West End production of the 'The Sound of Music' when it premiered in London in 1961. She was later to gather some television fame when she played the part of Mrs Cunningham in the notorious ITV series Crossroads
THOMAS HODGKIN	Born Tottenham 1798 - Physician and pathologist . Studied at Edinburgh University. Best known for his description of the disease causing enlargement of the spleen, liver and lymph nodes, later named Hodgkin’s disease. Pioneer of preventive medicine. Wrote the two volumed work entitled The Morbid Anatomy of Serous and Mucous Membranes which became a classic in modern pathology