Famous Coventrians

No problems. On reflection, I have also replaced Jonathan Gould with Noel Cantwell, who took the Sky Blues into Europe in 1970

.... and I still have the programme from our game at Highfield Road!

You're quite correct Peter - he ran the Alhambra in New Buildings He has been included in this site's "Famous Coventrians" list

Someone recently in conversation brought something unexpected to my attention, and it concerns a man who I believe is a good candidate for our "famous list".... and his daughter. Intrigued? I read the fascinating book "Four Weeks in May" a few months ago, and the author, the Captain of HMS Coventry, David Hart Dyke, included many personal and touching parts about his family, talking fondly of his wife, 'D', and his children, Alice and Miranda - the latter of whom helped him enormously with the book by transcribing tapes and giving encouragement. Her name, along with the family surname, didn't ring any bells with me until it was mentioned a few days ago.... yes.... she is the extremely and naturally funny Miranda Hart of TV fame! It was only then that I looked again at the book, where I recalled seeing a family photo... and there she was - it's her alright - outside Coventry Cathedral in September 1982.

(Photo courtesy of the Birmingham Post & Mail)

Having read that book though, I highly recommend David as an Honorary Coventrian.

That's really interesting Rob...you can certainly see it's Miranda. Have you seen her in the drama on TV Sunday evenings, (Call The Midwife), she is really good,love it .

Hi Everyone, What about the accomplished author Mark Barrowcliffe. Living just off Broad Lane and educated at Woodlands, he has a clutch of successful novels under his belt.

Hi I love this, live history. Thank you so much. I have added a hot link. Hope you like. Mark_Barrowcliffe

My wife & I are glued to the screen even though she is in surgery for 6.30am on Monday. I do hide my eyes sometimes, Mayjan. (you know what I am like)

Ha ha Philip,so do I those babies they deliver are very realistic. Hope all goes well for your Wife on Monday.

Hi all I want to include Simon Over in this topic but although his mother once worked in one of my offices, I have no way of confirming that he was actually born here. What I do know is that he grew up in Longford, was organist at Salem Baptist as well as the Central Hall & our Cathedral for a time. The Wiki link gives no info about his childhood. Wiki also does not include him as a classical organist, yet I know from meeting him that his two favorite instruments are organ & harpsichord. Can anyone help? I might have to delete if I cannot confirm him as a Coventrian. I, like a lot of citizens of Coventry am not a Coventrian, being born at Keresley hospital which in 1947 was outside of the city boundary. For over eight years, a third of all hospital births in our area were at Keresley, so many of our 'Famous Coventrians' may not be.

Hi. Further to my above post: I am much happier now finding this.

Hello Phillip, You may remember I was looking for information a few months ago regarding the Bedworth organ builders, Topp and Son. Topps certainly built an instrument for the Salem Chapel, just by chance does the box notes have any details of the organ? Regards Heritage

Here are two photographs of the Salem organ. One shows the sound board under construction at the Topp's Bedworth workshop, believed to be around 1900. The other is a Topp family photograph showing the new organ after its installation.

Hi Heritage. Sad to say that I do not have the cd, but I am trying to get hold of one. But, for you, all is not lost just yet. church.org Someone at Salem is compiling an Organ history, but I cannot find who it is. Not tomorrow, but one Sunday I will pop along.

A famous Coventrian not to be missed off the list is Graham Symonds sadly now departed died in 2006 aged 69. Graham was Great Britain swimming team captain. A 17-year-old from Coventry winning the British national men's butterfly 200 metres championship. He went on to take the gold medal for 200 metres butterfly at the Moscow International Games and to captain the British swimming team at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He was coached by his father, a semi-professional footballer with a strong sense of sports fitness. Graham for a demonstration at Livingstone Road baths he would swim underwater for 100 metres to show his fitness Every Saturday, when the now iconographic BBC Grandstand camera came into view, the bottom left lens would be filled with an image of Graham Symonds, Great Britain's swimming captain, flexing his arms in a glorious arc, as he powered through the water. Rip Graham YouTube Link