Famous Coventrians

A terrific list, I never new so many of those names came from Coventry, however I would like to add another if I may. Peter Robbins played Rugby for Coventry and England. Freeman.

Coventry kid Roy Albrighton's band Nektar have a new album out next month called 'Time Machine' - released in the US on the Cleopatra label. US only release, I think. As I'm a fan of the band, I've ordered it from Amazon.com.

Several schoolfriends from my time at King Henry VIII (1970's) are worthy of note: Stephen Gadd - born in Berkshire (1964) but came to Coventry at an early age, was a chorister at the Cathedral and is now an opera singer Martin Marquez - actor Simon Over- pianist and conductor Jonathan Ockenden - senior civil servant and organiser of the G8 summit Harvey Brough (slightly older than us) - was also in the choir, later had a band called Harvey and the Wallbangers who were briefly famous in the '70's/'80's, but he has been a successful musician & composer since There are a few more people you may wish to include here

Have you seen this? Mike Lucas, of the canal touring Mikron Theatre Company, went to King Henry VIII, as I believe did Tim Higton, who is also well known on the canals as the owner of the Warwickshire Fly Boat Company, based at Stockton for many years.

Frank B Wilds, a builder by trade, moved from Coventry to Horning in Norfolk in the 1950's or 60's, where he became a very successful boatbuilder and owner of a holiday boat business.

Another one of my schoolfriends from Henry's who has done quite well in his chosen profession is Mark Whale - he is an international organist.

I don't understand the scoring in golf myself but I was just trying to find out what an Albatross was and came across this little snippet. Bogey - The term was developed in 1891 at the Coventry Golf Club in England when Hugh Rotherham, a Coventry member, conceived the idea of playing a competition against what he called a 'ground score' which represented error free play.The first such competition was played on May 13, 1891 and the idea spread quickly. During this time, a popular music-hall song of the time referred to the 'bogey-man' and this term was then adopted as the name of the scary score one would receive by not beating the ground score.

Lee Child, leading thriller writer, well known for the character Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise). Born in Coventry but now in New York. I would recommend his thriller 'Worth Dying for' also 'The Wreckage'. Mods note : thanks Dreamtime. Already included in our list of "Famous Coventrians" (see post 168 of this thread)

I am a great fan of Lee Child's books and I have his latest, 'A Wanted Man', to read when I go on holiday next week. I've read all the others, but I have to say 'The Wreckage' is not one of his. I got the chance to meet Lee Child at a seminar and book signing at Birmingham Library Theatre last year. He's a very personable and down-to-earth chap with no arty 'edge' to him at all. I did ask him why he wasn't a City fan, but his excuse was that he was brought up in Birmingham so became a Villa fan by default. He has used the names of past Villa players for characters in some of his books.

Congratulations to our own Ian Bell on achieving centuries in three consecutive Ashes test matches Well done, Belly

Oh, sorry for the repeat, just goes to show how up to date I am. Got mixed up, my other book was 'The Enemy' which I haven't finished yet.

No problem!

Another Ashes century for OUR Ian Bell - four in five tests against Australia, and his 20th test match hundred - well done, Belly