Walsall (/ˈwɔːlsɔːl/ ⓘ, or /ˈwɒlsɔːl/; locally /ˈwɔːrsʌl/) is a large market town and administrative centre in West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Birmingham, 7 miles (11 km) east of Wolverhampton and 9 miles (14 km) from Lichfield. This list a list of notable people who were born in, lived in, or were otherwise strongly associated with Walsall.
Entertainment[edit]
Acting[edit]
- Bobby Ash (1925–2007), British-Canadian actor born in Walsall[1]
- Zoe Dawson (born 1979 in Walsall) actress, minor roles in the BBC soap opera Doctors[citation needed]
- Don Gilet (born 1967 in Caldmore) actor, roles in BBC productions Babyfather, EastEnders and 55 Degrees North.[citation needed]
- Jeffrey Holland (born Jeffrey Michael Parkes, 1946 in Walsall) actor,[2] roles in TV sitcoms and in Hi-de-Hi!, attended Queen Mary's Grammar School.
- Matthew Marsden (born 1973 in West Bromwich) stage and film actor,[3] brought up on the Yew Tree Estate in Walsall and schooled in Wednesbury and Great Barr.
- Peter McEnery (born 1940 in Walsall) stage TV and film actor.[4] Gave Hayley Mills her first "grown-up" screen kiss in the 1964 film The Moon-Spinners.
- Sue Nicholls (born 1943 in Walsall) actress,[5] played Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street.
- Erin O'Connor MBE (born 1978 in Brownhills) model and TV actress, attended Brownhills Community School[citation needed]
- Meera Syal CBE (born 1961) comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. Brought up in Essington and attended Queen Mary's High School.
- Richard Wattis (born 1912 in Wednesbury – 1975), actor
- Frank Windsor (born 1927 in Walsall) actor,[6] mainly on TV. Attended Queen Mary's Grammar School. Played DS John Watt in Z-Cars from 1962 to 1965.
Music[edit]
- Amar (born 1982), British Indian singer
- Andy C (born 1976), DJ, record producer and co-founder of RAM Records[7]
- Rob Collins (1963 in Rowley Regis – 1996) musician,[8] original keyboardist of The Charlatans
- Martin Degville (born 1961 in Walsall) lead singer and co-songwriter[9] of the UK pop band Sigue Sigue Sputnik.
- Goldie aka Clifford Joseph Price, MBE (born 1965 in Walsall) musician,[10] DJ, graffiti artist, visual artist and actor, attended St. Francis of Assisi RC Secondary School in Aldridge
- Rob Halford (born 1951 in Sutton Coldfield) raised in Walsall, singer songwriter,[11] lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Judas Priest.
- Noddy Holder MBE (born 1946 in Caldmore) musician and actor,[12] lead singer and guitarist in glam rock band Slade
- Tom Major-Ball (1879 in Bloxwich – 1962) music hall and circus performer[13] and father of John Major, former Prime Minister
- Frank Mullings (1881 in Walsall – 1953) a leading English tenor[14] with Beecham Opera Company and its successor, the British National Opera Company
- Mark Rhodes (born 1981 in Darlaston) singer and TV presenter, finished 2nd in the 2nd series of Pop Idol, lives in Wombourne.[citation needed]
- Jorja Smith (born 1997 in Walsall) singer-songwriter[citation needed]
- Connie Talbot (born 2000) from Streetly, teen singer[15] 2nd place in the first series of Britain's Got Talent (series 1)
- Kathryn Tickell OBE, DL (born 8 June 1967 in Walsall) is an English musician, noted for her mastery of the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle.[16]
- Dave Walker (born 1945 in Walsall) singer and guitarist,[17] front-man for a number of bands; including Idle Race, Savoy Brown, Fleetwood Mac, and, briefly, Black Sabbath.
TV and radio[edit]
- Alex Lester (born 1956 in Walsall) radio broadcaster,[18]
- Andrew Peach (born in Bloxwich c. 1970) BBC Radio presenter[19]
- Bob Warman (born 1946) TV presenter,[20]
- Leila Williams (born in Walsall 1937) beauty queen and Blue Peter presenter from 1958 until 1962[21]
Politics[edit]
- William Dixon Allott, (1817–1892) born in Walsall, Mayor of Adelaide 1873–1874[22]
- David Ennals, Baron Ennals PC (1922–1995) Labour Party politician born in Walsall[23]
- Bruce George (born 1942) Labour Party politician,[24] MP for Walsall South 1974–2010
- Eddie Hughes (born 1968) Conservative Party politician,[25] MP for Walsall North 2017 to date.
- Joseph Leckie (Born Glasgow 24 May 1866 – 9 August 1938) after whom Joseph Leckie school, now an academy was named. MP for Walsall 1931 - 1938.
- Sir Harmar Nicholls (1912 in Walsall – 2000) Conservative Party politician,[26] MP for Peterborough 1950–1974.
- John Stonehouse (1925 – 1988) Labour Party politician,[27] MP for Walsall North 1974–1976, notable for his unsuccessful attempt to fake his own death in 1974
- David Winnick (born 1933) Labour Party politician,[28] MP for Walsall North 1979–2017.
- Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge MD (born 1941 in Walsall) politician,[29] Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park in London 1997–2005, made a life peer in June 2005.
- Valerie Vaz (born 1954) Labour politician[30] and solicitor MP for Walsall South 2010 to date.
Public service and commerce[edit]
- Francis Asbury (1745 Hamstead Bridge – 1816) joint founder[31] of the Methodist movement in the United States, brought up in Gt Barr, emigrated 1771
- Mike Ashley (born 1964), British billionaire retail entrepreneur focused in the sporting goods market[32]
- Sir Terence Beckett KBE (1923 in Walsall – 2013) businessman,[33] chairman of Ford and later, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry
- Margaret Bromhall (born 1890 in Walsall)[34] first radiotherapist appointed to a radiotherapy department, at North Middlesex Hospital in London[35]
- John Henry Carless VC (1896 in Walsall – 1917) recipient of the Victoria Cross[36] during the First World War
- Rev Harry Moore Dauncey (1863 in Walsall – 1932) missionary in Papua New Guinea[37]
- Sister Dora (1832–1878) Anglican nun[38] and a nurse in Walsall. She is honoured for her compassion and her medical work by a statue in the centre of town.[citation needed]
- Michael L. Fitzgerald (born Walsall in 1937) Roman Catholic Cardinal,[39] expert on Muslim-Christian relations
- Martin Fowler (born 1963 in Walsall) software developer[40]
- Frederick Gibbs MC (born 1899 in Walsall) World War I Flying Ace[41]
- Sir Harry Hinsley OBE (1918 in Birchills – 1998) historian and cryptanalyst,[42] worked at Bletchley Park and became Master of St John's College, Cambridge University
- Sir Len Peach (1932 in Walsall – 2016) Chief Executive[43] of the National Health Service 1986 – 1989.
- Air Vice-Marshal Sidney Webster CBE AFC (1900 in Walsall – 1984) aviator[44] and senior officer in the RAF
Sport[edit]
- Norman Ashe (born 1943), footballer
- Fred Bakewell (1908 in Walsall – 1983) was a Northamptonshire and England opening batsman,[45] renowned largely because of his unorthodox methods
- David Brown (born 1942 in Walsall) former English cricketer,[46] attended Queen Mary's Grammar School played in twenty six Tests from 1965 to 1969
- Colin Charvis (born 1972 in Sutton Coldfield) attended Queen Mary's Grammar School in Walsall,[47] a former captain of the Wales national rugby union team
- Leon Drysdale (born 1991), footballer
- Nick Gillingham MBE (born 1967 in Walsall) swimmer,[48] competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona
- Terry Holbrook (born 1945 in Walsall) football referee formerly in the Football League and Premier League
- Dean Keates (born 1978 in Beechdale) retired footballer and former First Team manager of Walsall.
- Vaughan Lee (born 1982) Mixed Martial Artist formerly competing in UFC.[citation needed]
- Mark Lewis-Francis MBE (born Darlason 1982) 100 metres sprinter,[49] member of the gold medal winning 4x100 metres relay team at the 2004 summer Olympics.
- Robert Marshall (1869–1937), cricketer
- Rupert Moon former Llanelli and Welsh rugby international, known as the "Walsall Welshman" he became a radio and television presenter in Wales.[50]
- Lee Naylor (born in 1980 in Mossley) former professional footballer[citation needed]
- Jaydon Paddock (born 2001 in Walsall), English trampoline gymnast
- David Platt (born Walsall 1966) English-born[51] Australian darts player
- Rachel Unitt (born 1982 in Bentley) England Women's footballer[52]
- Eleanor Simmonds OBE (born Walsall 1994) Paralympian swimmer,[53] won gold in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Writing[edit]
- John Byrne (born 1950 in Walsall) comic book creator, raised in West Bromwich[54]
- Peter Corey (born 1946 in Walsall) author[55] of the Coping With children's book series and also a TV actor.
- Jerome K. Jerome (1859 in Caldmore – 1927) writer [56] and humourist,[57] author of comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat (1889).
- Paul McDonald (born 1961 in Walsall) comic novelist[58] and academic.[59]
- Sir Henry Newbolt CH (1862 in Bilston – 1938) poet, novelist and historian[60] and old boy of Queen Mary's Grammar School.
- Nick Redfern (born 1964 in Pelsall) author and UFO researcher[61]
Science[edit]
- Lindon Eaves (1944–2022) geneticist and Anglican priest, born in Walsall
- John Edward Gray (1800–1875), zoologist, born in Walsall.[62]
Murderers[edit]
- Raymond Morris (1929 in Walsall – 2014) convicted of the Cannock Chase murders in the late 1960s, served 45 years in prison.
- Louise Porton (born 1996) woman who murdered her two children in 2018, formerly lived in Walsall
References[edit]
- ^ Langan, F.F. (25 May 2007). "'Uncle Bobby' took on Sesame Street: After a start in British music halls, he kept children spellbound with a popular Toronto television show". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Jeffrey Holland at IMDb
- ^ Matthew Marsden at IMDb
- ^ Peter McEnery at IMDb
- ^ Sue Nicholls at IMDb
- ^ Frank Windsor at IMDb
- ^ "Andy C wins DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2017 Highest Drum & Bass Award". DJ Mag. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ MTV website, 10/31/1996 retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ Martin Degville at IMDb
- ^ Goldie at IMDb
- ^ Rob Halford at IMDb
- ^ Noddy Holder at IMDb
- ^ The miraculous Major-Balls, BBC News, 21 May 1999 retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ Archive of British National Opera Company website retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ Connie Talbot at AllMusic retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ Hickman, Pamela (26 September 2015). "Kathryn Tickell talks about Northumbrian music, about the fiddle and the Northumbrian pipes". Pamela Hickman's Music Interviews. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ Archive of The Dave Walker Page, 2004 retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ BBC Local Radio, Saturday night with Alex Lester retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ BBC Radio Berkshire, Andrew Peach retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ Bob Warman at IMDb
- ^ Leila Williams at IMDb
- ^ "Obituary". South Australian Register. 22 November 1892. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- ^ HANSARD 1803–2005 → People (E) Mr David Ennals retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ TheyWorkForYou.com – Bruce George MP retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ TheyWorkForYou.com – Eddie Hughes MP retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ HANSARD 1803–2005 → People (N), Sir Harmar Nicholls retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ HANSARD 1803–2005 → People (S) Mr John Stonehouse retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ TheyWorkForYou.com – David Winnick Former MP retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ TheyWorkForYou.com – Baroness Tonge retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ TheyWorkForYou.com – Valerie Vaz MP retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography – via Wikisource.
- ^ "Mike Ashley: Sports Direct's media-shy owner enters spotlight". Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ^ The Guardian, Obituary, 12 May 2013 retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ "Winifred Harriet Bromhall". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ Haines, Catharine M. C.; Stevens, Helen M. (2001). International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-090-1.
- ^ "vconline.org.uk".
- ^ Rev Harry Moore Dauncey (Biographical details), British Museum retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ Walsall Council archive, History of Walsall's Sister Dora and the steam engine retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ BBC News, 16 September 2006, Pope's remarks reveal harder stance retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ A Conversation with Martin Fowler, 9 December 2002 retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ Frederick John Gibbs, The Aerodrome, 2015 retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ Sir Harry Hinsley: The Influence of ULTRA in WW2, 26 November 1996 retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ The Telegraph, 29 August 2016, Obituary retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ The London Gazette (Supplement), 1 January 1946. p. 32, No. 37407 retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ ESPN cricinfo Database retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ ESPN cricinfo Database retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ South Wales Argus, 28 September 2010, Charvis no longer with Dragons retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ Staffs ASA archive, NICK GILLINGHAM retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ Mark Lewis-Francis profile at IAAF retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ Thomas, Simon. "The remarkable life of Rupert Moon, one of Welsh rugby's great characters". WalesOnline.
- ^ Player profile on David Platt from Dartsdatabase retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ BBC Sport, 2 October 2014, Rachel Unitt: retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ The Telegraph, Eleanor Simmonds, Paralympic Sport, Paralympics GB retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ "Comic creator: John Byrne" URL retrieved 25 July 2006
- ^ Peter Corey at IMDb
- ^ . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). 1911.
- ^ Jeromekjerome.com website retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ "Black Country – Features – From Saddles to Chuckles". BBC. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ University of Wolverhampton Staff Page retrieved 16 February 2018
- ^ . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). 1911.
- ^ Nick Redfern's Celebrity Secrets blog retrieved 17 February 2018
- ^ . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 391.