​THE WORlD'S GREATEST SINGER OF SONGS

Norwood News On This Day 26 January 1940 Count John McCormack at the Streatham Hill Theatre. He was a resident of 16 Cricklade Ave.
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Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

On This Day 25 January 1905 Margery Sharp was born. An author of 25 books who attended Streatham Hill High

Clara Margery Melita Sharp was born Salisbury, Wiltshire. She attended Chiswick House High School in Malta in 1912-1913, and Streatham Hill High School 1914-1923. In 1925 she went to Bedford College, earning a general arts degree and then a BA in French.

She studied art for one year at Westminster Art School. After school she became a full-time writer, writing short stories and working on a novel.

In 1938 she married Major Geoffrey Castle, an aeronautical engineer. During World War II she served as an Army Education Lecturer, travelling and lecturing and continuing to write. She produced 26 novels for adults, 14 stories for children, 4 plays, 2 mysteries, and many short stories.

Her most famous work is The Rescuers series about a mouse named Miss Bianca, which was adapted in two animated feature films, The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.
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Image ©National Portrait Gallery x26978

​On This Day 24 January two former MPs of Streatham were born

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Sir William Lane-Mitchell JP born 24 January 1861.
NPG x122937 © National Portrait Gallery, London
A Scottish Conservative Party politician and businessman He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham in 1918, and held the seat until his resignation in 1939 by becoming Steward of the Manor of Northstead

On This Day 23 January 1974 Alma Taylor died

Alma Louise Taylor (3 January 1895 – 23 January 1974) was a British actress
Taylor was born in Camberwell as Alma Cruse and grew up in Sunbury-on-Thames and lived 54 Stanthorpe Road Streatham under her married name of Avery.

She made her first screen appearance as a child actor in the 1907 film His Daughter's Voice. She went on to work for Cecil Hepworth and appeared in more than 150 film roles, appearing in a number of larger-budget films such as Shadow of Egypt which was shot on location in Egypt in 1924. Taylor was one of the major British stars of the 1910s and early 1920s.

In 1915 she was voted the most popular British performer by readers of Pictures and the Picturegoers, comfortably beating Charlie Chaplin into second place.
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She acted only occasionally after 1932, appearing in films such as Lilacs in the Spring, Blue Murder at St Trinian's and A Night to Remember during the 1950s. She died in London at the age of 79.

Walmsley Stanley was born On This Day 22 January 1831 and lived at the"Knowle"

"The Knowle", Leigham Court Road was on a 1 acre plot and was demolished soon after the Coates' murders and suicide

The house was once occupied by Walmsley Stanley (1831-1907) a Civil Engineer and his wife Helena (1842), 4 children: Edith, Walmsley, Hartley and Geuldins plus 3 servants and other staff working in the stables.

Walmsley (1831) was the son of Walmsley (1796) and Isabella (1801) and the family lived in Rice Lane, Walton on the Hill, West Derby, Lancs. Walmsley Sr was also a Civil Engineer who was involved in the construction of the Leeds- Liverpool canal. Walmsley Sr was possibly related to Thomas Fletcher, Civil Engineer, who was responsible for the Yorkshire side of the canal project.

Walmsley Stanley (1831) spent some time in Mauritius as Chief Engineer for the railway projects and his eldest child Edith was born in Mauritius in 1863
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While in Mauritius Walmsley was involved with the collection of Dodo bones and was at the centre of an academic dispute relating to the Dodo