Ben Dillon (1888-1941) JOCKEY Bernard Dillon was born at Caherina in Tralee. In 1901 he joined his older brother Joe, both of them being apprentice jockeys at the famous Druids Lodge training establishment in Wiltshire England. Victory on Lemberg in the 1910 Epsom Derby was his most famous achievement although he also rode winners in […]
Bergara, Danny – Grantham boss was first South American, Football League manager
Danny Bergara (1942 – 2007) Daniel Alberto “Danny” Bergara de Medina was a Uruguayan footballer and manager who also managed Grantham Town. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Bergara began his playing career at the age of 16, playing for Racing Club in the Uruguayan First Division, picking up a handful of under-21 caps for Uruguay, before […]
Redfern, Alastair – Solicitor became a bishop
Alastair Redfern (b1948) BISHOP of Derby Alastair Llewellyn John Redfern was previously Bishop of Grantham for eight years. Redfern was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. Having practised as a solicitor he was ordained in 1976 and became a curate in Wolverhampton. He then became a lecturer and later vice principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon. From […]
Harris, Elaine – Played for top British band when only 15
Elaine Harris (1939 – ?) ELAINE Harris, of Station Road, Grantham, struck a blow for women musicians. When only 15 she joined the top all-women Ivy Benson Band, playing at Torquay. She had seen the band playing at the Marble Arch Corner House, London, and asked if she could have an audition. After hearing Elaine […]
Howitt, Reg – Chip frier who turned to making gaskets
Howitt, Reg (1920- 2007) GEORGE (Reg) Howitt was born at Castle Bytham, educated locally and married Dorothy, a Grantham girl, in 1942 who died in 1979. He married Joyce in 1983. Before the Second World War he worked as a dairyman out of Bassingthorpe, and then worked in Leicester as a handyman and chauffeur. During […]
Tyndale, Gervase – King’s head was a state informer
Gervase Tyndale (c1494 -1536) GERVASE Tyndall was from a long established family, originally from Northumberland, but had settled in Deene Park in Northamptonshire. He was sent to Oxford University, where gained his BA on 25th February 1530. He was the headmaster at Grantham Grammar School from 1534 until 1537. When he arrived at the school, […]
Rickett, Dennis – Dennis knew his plaice
Dennis Rickett (1946 – 2022) BORN in Portsmouth, Dennis William Rickett came to Grantham when his father bought several fishmongers shop in the area called Rutland Fisheries. He went into the family business when he left school at 15, and took over the Welby Street shop in 1971, renaming it D W Rickett. As well […]
Young, Willie – Former Arsenal star cares for dogs
Willie Young (b1951) FORMER footballer William David Young was a large, physically intimidating centre back from Edinburgh. Young first played for Aberdeen, and made 187 appearances for the Dons between 1970 and 1975. He was signed by Spurs in September 1975, and made 54 appearances in two seasons. In March 1977, Young signed for arch-rivals […]
Ayscough, Hannah – Mother of a genius
Hannah Ayscough (1623-1679) HANNAH Ayscough is best known as the mother of Sir Isaac Newton. She was born in Market Overton in Rutland to James Ayscough and his wife Margery Blythe. Hannah married farmer Isaac Newton, the elder, in April 1642 and moved to Woolsthorpe Manor, near Colsterworth. He died in October 1642, and nearly […]
Underwood, Rory – England’s top try scorer
Rory Underwood (b1963) MIDDLESBROUGH-born Rory Underwood MBE is a record-breaking former English rugby union footballer who played wing for Bedford and most notably, Leicester Tigers. He moved to Skillington in 1987 and has since lived in both Grantham and Allington. He represented England and the British Lions and is a former Royal Air Force pilot. His […]
Tollemache, Frederick – Town MP with two pubs named after him
Frederick Tollemache (1804-1888) EVERYONE knows the Newton statue, on St Peter’s Hill, but many people still ask “who’s the other chap?” Well, the Hon Frederick James Tollemache, whose statue stands at the southern end of the green, was very popular in his day, he was Member of Parliament for Grantham for 40 years. This was […]
Pinching, ‘Pinch’ – A Damned good drummer
Andrew ‘Pinch’ Pinching (b1965) DRUMMER in The Damned, Andrew Pinching, was born in Grantham and went to the King’s School. He was a member of BMARCo Amateur Boxing Club. He began boxing at eight years old for Rugby Irish Club, while living with his father who was divorcing. He returned to Grantham with his mum. Pinch joined […]
Jones, Spike – Black belt barber was a chess master
Arthur ‘Spike’ Jones (1917- ? ) BORN and brought up in Old Trafford, Manchester Arthur ‘Spike’ Jones was the son of grinding wheel maker and a weaver. As a schoolboy in the 1930s, he earned 1/3d (7p) a time carrying golf bags containing up to 18 clubs for players on the Worsley course. Yet neither […]
Deering, Richard – Hanged after failed suicide bid
Deering, Richard (1882-1907) RICHARD Deering was sentenced to death after a lovers’ suicide pact went horribly wrong. Deering, a married man from Birmingham, had been working in the area as a booking agent for a travelling performing dog and animated picture show. At Edenham in 1907 he met Emily Lockwood and the couple fell in […]
Hutchinson, Beryl – Matron looked after her patients with patience
Beryl Hutchinson (1934-2012) BERYL Elsie Hutchinson MBE, was director of nursing and assistant manager of patient services at Grantham Hospital. She gave a lifetime of service to the Red Cross as branch nursing officer, training officer, regional director in Lincolnshire and vice-chair of the charity’s board of trustees. She was appointed MBE in 1999 for services […]
Woodward, Reg – The teacher who travelled the world
Reg Woodward(1919 – 2009) THE Rev Reginald Woodward joined the King’s School staff in 1953 and left 26 years later. He was a familiar figure in the town, wearing a distinctive beret, dog-collar, below-knee grey overcoat and a rucksack on both shoulders. He taught Divinity, Latin, French, German, Spanish and Italian and on retiring was […]
O’Neill, Martin – Former Ireland manager cut his teeth at Grantham
Martin Hugh Michael O’Neill OBE (b1952) MARTIN Hugh Michael O’Neill OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager who cut his managerial teeth with Grantham Town. Born in Kilrea, the sixth of nine siblings, his father was a founding member of local Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) club Pádraig Pearse’s Kilrea. He played Gaelic football for both […]
WyldeBore Smith, Brian – Survived being shot in head by sniper
Maj Gen Sir Brian WyldeBore Smith, (1913-2005) FRANCIS Brian Wyldbore-Smith was born in County Durham, the son of the vicar of Grindon, Northumberland, and chaplain to the 7th Marquess of Londonderry. Brian was educated at Wellington, where he attended the Army class before going to Woolwich. Wyldbore-Smith was commissioned in 1933 and joined 18th Field Regiment. […]
Bartle, William – Converted ambulance to a bus
William Bartle (1873-1948) BORN in Harlaxton William Bartle, lived in Main Street until he married Mary Ann and moved first to Dudley Road the St Anne’s Street. A fitter, he moved to Inner Street and started Blue Belle buses in about 1925, one of the earliest services in town, between Grantham and Great Gonerby and […]
Williams, Mike – Barnsley born, Barnsley bred….
Michael George Williams (1941-2023) Mike was born in Barnsley and like, Mike Parkinson, Dickie Bird and Geoffrey Boycott -and despite Welsh origins – was a ‘professional Yorkshireman’. His father was manager of the Rock cinema, Cudworth, where Michael Parkinson misspent some of his youth. It was rumoured that they showed so many Westerns the two […]