Famous Names

Famous Names Linked to Thetford

Thomas Paine, revered in the United States as an important influence on the Constitution, was born in the town and is honoured with a statue. His most important work was The Rights of Man.

Another statue in the town commemorates a character much loved in this country – Captain Mainwaring of Dad’s Army fame. Arthur Lowe and the rest of the cast were based in the Bell Hotel in the town and the series was filmed in the surrounding area in the 1970s. Modern visitors to the town cannot resist sitting on the bench alongside Captain Mainwaring to have their photographs taken. Keith Eldred, twice captain of the Club and a long-serving trustee, featured in the series as an extra and helped to entertain the cast on various social occasions. The reputation some of the elderly thespians had for imbibing was well earned as Keith and his wife Margo can attest!

Duleep Singh was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. A revered figure in the Sikh religion, his grave at Elveden Church is still visited by pilgrims. He also has a statue in the town, on Butten Island. His son, Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, was a keen member of the Club and a generous benefactor between the wars. The golf club has links to many other renowned figures from various backgrounds.

Famous Names Linked to Thetford Continued

James Braid, one of the Great Triumverate along with Harry Vardon and James Taylor, lent his name to the course in October 1923. He arrived by train in the morning, walked the course and returned on the afternoon train – having submitted a bill for 10 guineas. He had seen enough to offer advice on the layout and, in particular, on the bunkering of the course (probably his speciality area). His additional recommendations provided the basis for work on the course ever since.

His prolific work as a golf architect and course builder saw his named linked to hundreds of courses throughout the British Isles and the United States – and has provided the index for the Association of James Braid Courses, of which Thetford is a proud member. JWHT Douglas won Olympic gold as a boxer and captained England to an Ashes series victory in Australia as a cricketer. He visited Thetford each Easter with the SOS Society until he was lost at sea in 1930. A timber merchant, he died with his father when their ship sank in the Baltic in 1930.

A salver donated in his memory is still a popular prize today. Leonard Crawley, who played in the first Ryder Cup and was a highly-respected golf correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, took part in several matches at Thetford as a member of various Cambridge University teams. Henry Longhurst, the voice of golf on the BBC for many years, also promoted the delights of Thetford in the Sunday Times.

Sir William Gentle, ex-Chief Constable of Brighton, founded the Greyhound Racing Association in 1926, was President of the Club from 1939 to 1948.

Henry Cotton, three-time Open Champion, visited Thetford in his Rolls Royce and invited Reggie Knight (son of the professional Reg) to become his assistant at Ashridge GC. He produced plans for a revised layout in 1968 during an exhibition match but his plans were not taken up. He returned for another exhibition in 1971 when one of the other players was Peter Alliss, now the voice of golf at the BBC.

Brothers Basil, Rodney and Desmond Rought-Rought were all Norfolk County cricketers as well as members of the golf Club. Their family rabbit processing business, which had employed 500 people and involved the culling of 28,000 a year in the 1880s, continued until 1973.

“Thetford is a grand test of the game” Leonard Crawley

Sir William Gentle Reg Knight & Son Reggie