📍Ealing, London W5, UK
1918 – 1929“I was born in Stockport, Cheshire, in May 1909, the son of Samuel Perry, a cotton spinner who had left school at ten, and my mother, Hannah. My father was active in the co-operative movement and local politics, and my early years were spent in Stockport, Bolton and Wallasey. In 1918 he became the first national secretary of the Co-operative Party, and we moved to London, to the Brentham Garden Suburb in Ealing, a new, co-operatively run estate of cottages, gardens and sports grounds, with its own tennis courts and cricket pitch. Brentham was a wonderful place for a sporty boy. I played on its courts and fields, and at Ealing County School I was a forward in the football team and wicket-keeper in the cricket team. My first love, though, was table tennis: in the evenings I pushed the kitchen table against the wall, put up a net and hit the ball against the wall, and I used the garage door for tennis practice. My father later became a Labour and Co-operative MP, and I grew up hearing about politics and working people's rights, and determined to make my own way. In 1929 I won the world table tennis championship, and then I gave it up for lawn tennis, determined to beat the wealthy players from the private clubs. Between 1933 and 1936 I won eight Grand Slam titles, including three Wimbledons in a row, and led Britain to four Davis Cups. Later I founded the clothing brand with the laurel wreath. A blue plaque marks our house in Brentham, and my statue stands at Wimbledon.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today