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List of people from the London Borough of Bexley

This is a list of notable people who were born or grew up in the London Borough of Bexley or otherwise have a strong association with the area.

Politics, government, military

Scientists and inventors

  • Patrick Young Alexander (1867–1943), aeronautical pioneer, born in Hern Villa, Belvedere.
  • Sir William Anderson (1834–1898), engineer and philanthropist, lived in Erith from 1864 until 1889 and contributed substantial time and money to the local community.
  • Augustus Applegath (1788–1871), inventor of the vertical printing-press, also built Shenstone House, lived and worked in Crayford.
  • Sheila Callender (1914–2004), haematologist, born in Sidcup.
  • Frank Farmer (1912–2004), physicist, pioneer in developing medical applications for physics, born in Bexleyheath.
  • Mary Kingsley (1862—1900), ethnographer, scientific writer, and explorer, lived as a young woman with her mother and brother in Southwood or Southwark House, Main Road (Crook Log).
  • Frederick George Loring (1869–1951), English naval officer and writer, and an early expert in wireless telegraphy, lived in Loring Hall, North Cray, until his death.
  • Ivan Magill (1888–1986), innovative anaesthetist, worked in Sidcup.
  • Sir Hiram Maxim (1840–1916), inventor of the Maxim gun, moved his works to Crayford in 1884 and lived in Stoneyhurst from then until 1889.
  • Sir John Pender (1816–1896), Scottish communications engineer and pioneer of undersea cabling, later politician, lived at Foots Cray Place from 1876 for the remainder of his life, buried at All Saints' Church.
  • Anthony Reckenzaun (1850–93), engineer, worked at the Erith Ironworks and set up evening classes for the workmen.
  • Flaxman Charles John Spurrell (1842–1915), archaeologist, geologist and photographer, moved to the borough as a child and later lived at The Priory, Picardy Road, Belvedere. Spurrell Avenue in Bexley is named after him.
  • Joshua Trimmer (1795–1857), geologist, born in North Cray.
  • Jack Wall (1932–2018), inventor of the Crayford focuser, which is incorporated into many modern telescopes.

Writers and journalists

  • William Auld (1924–2006), Scottish poet, author and Esperantist, born in Erith.
  • Algernon Blackwood (1869–1951), ghost story writer, journalist and broadcaster, lived in Crayford Manor House between 1871 and 1880 as a child, and the house features in his work 'A Prisoner in Fairyland' as 'Crayfield Manor House'.
  • Denis Bond (1946–), children's author, actor and scriptwriter, lives in Sidcup.
  • Garry Bushell (1955–), journalist, lives in Sidcup.
  • Hall Caine (1853–1931), author, lived in Aberleigh Lodge, Bexleyheath from 1884 to 1889 with his wife Mary and son Gordon Ralph, next door to Red House, home of William Morris. Aberleigh Lodge was demolished in the 1970s.
  • Wendy Cope (1945–), poet and author, born in Erith.
  • Edward Shepherd Creasy (1812–1878), author of The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, born in Bexley.
  • Roald Dahl (1916–1990), Welsh-born children's author, lived at Oakwood, Hurst Road, Bexley, from 1927 to 1934, when not at boarding school.
  • Thomas Harman, author of a work about vagabonds and rogues in 1566, resided in Crayford from 1547.
  • Neal Lawson (1963–), politician and commentator, grew up and went to school in Bexleyheath.
  • James Leasor (1923–2007), journalist and author, born in Erith.
  • Gerard Shelley (1891–1980), author, translator and Catholic bishop, born in Sidcup.
  • Nevil Shute (1899–1960), novelist and aeronautical engineer, lived in Hatherley Road, Sidcup, in the late 1920s, while working at Vickers in Crayford.
  • James Stephanie Sterling (1984–), video game journalist, born and grew up in Erith.
  • Anne Swithinbank (1957–), horticulturist and gardening writer, born and grew up in Belvedere.
  • Elizabeth Wiskemann (1899–1971), historian and journalist, born in Sidcup.

Entertainment, arts, culture

Visual arts

  • Tom Raworth (1938–2017), poet and visual artist, born in Bexleyheath and grew up in Welling.

Performing arts

Sport

Football

  • Semi Ajayi (1992–), Nigerian under-20 international footballer, born in Crayford.

Other sports

Other

References