Biography of Walter James Spurgeon

Born at 34 Millgrove Street, Battersea, London on 11 December 1890, and baptised with his brother Henry on 8 February 1891. He left school at an early age and was apprenticed to Beldams Foundry at Brentford where his father worked as an iron foundry fireman. In the 1911 census age 19 he's already working as a pattern maker at the iron foundry, living with his parents, 4 brothers & 2 sisters at 63 Whitestile Road, Brentford. He was a keen amateur road racing cyclist (at which he won many prizes), and also a good footballer - he is said to have played centre forward for Brentford Reserves.

He married Nellie Maud Carpenter at All Souls Church, Harlesdon, London NW10 on 27 December 1915. At the time he was living at 31 Buckingham Road, Harlesden, and his wife was at 39 Buckingham Road. He was then working as an Engineers Patternmaker (possibly for Arnolds Garage), having tried to volunteer as a despatch rider in the army during the war, but was exempted from military service because of the importance of his work as a skilled craftsman basic to the engineering industry. He and his wife set up house together in the lower flat of 8 Lushington Road, Harlesden, rented accomodation, where they lived until 1936. Towards the end of the 1914/18 war he set up his own Engineering Patternmakers business called Crownhill Patternmakers at 1A Honeywood Road, Willesden Junction, NW10, in which business he remained until he sold it as a going concern in 1962.

On 19 August 1921, during a tremendous heatwave, their only son Roy Walter was born. In 1936 the family moved to 255 Woodcock Hill, Preston Road, Harrow, Middlesex, to a new home which they owned, and where they lived until his retirement in 1962, when they moved to a new bungalow "Inglewood", Spurlands End Road, Great Kingshill, High Wycombe, Bucks.

On 11 December 1951 Walter sailed with his wife from Southampton to New York on SS Caronia, arriving 19 December. They returned after visitng relatives in California on the Queen Mary, leaving New York on 8 February 1952 and arriving at Southampton on 13 February, met by his son's family.

He was a motorcyclist and motorist from the earliest days, having owned all kinds of motorcycles from before the 1914/18 war, and acquired his first motor car in 1927 - a 1921 bull-nosed Morris Cowley. Subsequently, he owned many different types of car, alway buying second hand, including Clyno, Morris, Austin, Ford, and Rover. He was an early member of the Camping Club of GB and of the Caravan Club - he had his own caravan from 1938.

In his late forties he took up table tennis and played for several different clubs in the Watford, Acton & Wembly leagues, winning several trophies and individual league championships. He also played tennis well though not to such a high standard - but on at least one occassion he played in the All England Veterans Doubles championship at Wembly. He umpired there, as well as at World Championship table tennis tournaments at Wembly. Walter died from a heart attack after swimming in the sea during a caravan rally at Woodside football ground, Worthing, Sussex on 27 July 1963, aged 72.

See also Walter's map timeline.

Biography written originally by Roy Spurgeon. Updated by Paul Spurgeon 2022.