51.5071° N, 0.1297° W

LONDON

Most Famous People Born in London, United Kingdom

Notable people
15,663
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1919
Most distinctive
Novelist 2.6×

Nine centuries of the British public eye. London's notables fan out across a longer continuous span than almost any other anglophone city, from medieval peers and antiquarians through Georgian solicitors and impresarios to a postwar wave of actors, footballers, and singers. The court and the stage have always been within walking distance of each other here, and the dataset shows it.

Standouts

What London Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is London's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (2,038).

London over-indexes on novelist 2.6× the global rate.

London under-produces football — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Actor 2,038 2.5×
  2. Politician 1,102 0.6×
  3. Painter 769 1.9×
  4. Writer 646 1.3×
  5. Football 600 0.3×
  6. Singer 424 1.3×
  7. Film 350 1.8×
  8. Music 340 1.5×
  1. Novelist 163 2.6×
  2. Actor 2,038 2.5×
  3. Painter 769 1.9×
  4. Film 350 1.8×
  5. Composer 318 1.5×
  6. Music 340 1.5×
  1. Football 600 0.3×
  2. Politician 1,102 0.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of London's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1550 1600 1650 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Other
All15,663
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Showing 727 of 15,663 notable people

6358 MONK

Nanamoli Bhikkhu

1905 - 1960

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6374 AUTHOR

David Scott Daniell

1906 - 1965

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6396 PAINTER

Pamela Bianco

1906 - 1994

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6400 PAINTER

Paul Drury

1903 - 1987

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6401 MILITAR

Gerald Lloyd-Verney

1900 - 1957

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6414 ENGRAVER

John Farleigh

1900 - 1965

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6499 PAINTER

Walter Thomas Monnington

1902 - 1976

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6503 FILM

Derek Twist

1905 - 1979

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6548 ARTIST

Reg Parlett

1904 - 1991

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6554 CARTOONIST

Osbert Lancaster

1908 - 1986

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6573 PAINTER

John Wells (artist)

1907 - 2000

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6580 PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Alex Vetchinsky

1904 - 1980

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6581 ACTOR

Adele Dixon

1908 - 1992

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6623 BOTANIST

E. F. Warburg

1908 - 1966

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6626 FILM

Alfred Roome

1908 - 1997

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6647 BUSINESS

Pierre Liotard-Vogt

1909 - 1987

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6653 PAINTER

John Melville

1902 - 1986

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6661 POLITICIAN

Katharine Elliot, Baroness Elliot of Harwood

1903 - 1994

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6701 SPORT

Jack Lauterwasser

1904 - 2003

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6730 BUSINESS

Charles Clore

1904 - 1979

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6760 COMPOSER

Reginald Foresythe

1907 - 1958

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6778 FILM

Dallas Bower

1907 - 1999

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6809 ACTOR

Leonora Corbett

1908 - 1960

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6858 ECONOMIST

Eveline M. Burns

1900 - 1985

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6876 GENETICIST

Peter Alfred Gorer

1907 - 1961

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6914 SPY

Cecily Lefort

1900 - 1945

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6920 ADMIRAL

Caspar John

1903 - 1984

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6950 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Mary Chubb

1903 - 2003

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6957 AUTHOR

John Anthony Thwaites

1909 - 1981

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6958 DIPLOMAT

Roger Allen (diplomat)

1909 - 1972

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6960 ATHLETIC

George Renwick (athlete)

1901 - 1984

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6990 MILITAR

Varyl Begg

1908 - 1995

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6991 FASCIST

Angus Macnab

1906 - 1977

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7000 FILM

Nat Cohen

1905 - 1988

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7016 ACTOR

Hugh Sinclair (actor)

1903 - 1962

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7087 ACTOR

Nancy Welford

1904 - 1991

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7103 PAINTER

Basil Rakoczi

1908 - 1976

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7129 SWIMMER

Percy Peter

1902 - 1986

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7156 DESIGNER

Benjamin Bowden

1906 - 1998

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7182 SCIENTIST

Leslie Grinsell

1907 - 1995

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7194 JOURNALIST

Robert Melville (art critic)

1905 - 1986

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7195 HISTORIAN

Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales

1900 - 1983

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7214 PUBLISHER

Rupert Hart-Davis

1907 - 1999

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7231 PLAYER

John Olliff

1908 - 1951

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7254 DRIVER

Violette Cordery

1900 - 1983

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7300 PHILOSOPHER

H. B. Acton

1908 - 1974

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7334 PHYSICIST

Alan C. Burton

1904 - 1979

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7351 PAINTER

Elinor Bellingham-Smith

1906 - 1988

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7354 JUDGE

Geoffrey Cross, Baron Cross of Chelsea

1904 - 1989

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7371 ACTOR

Chili Bouchier

1909 - 1999

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7379 PIANIST

Betty Humby Beecham

1908 - 1958

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7384 PAINTER

EQ Nicholson

1908 - 1992

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7398 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Aileen Fox

1907 - 2005

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7399 FILM

Eric G. Stacey

1903 - 1969

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7466 ENGINEER

Arthur T. Ippen

1907 - 1974

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7514 BOTANIST

John Gilmour (botanist)

1906 - 1986

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7551 ACTOR

Arthur Rigby (actor)

1900 - 1971

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7609 MISSING

C. W. A. Scott

1903 - 1946

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7621 SCIENTIST

Julius Grant

1901 - 1991

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7655 ACTOR

Reginald Sheffield

1901 - 1957

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7663 SOLDIER

Sir John Carew Pole, 12th Baronet

1902 - 1993

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7677 ACADEMIC

Frank Cyril James

1903 - 1973

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7680 MATHEMATICIAN

Cyril Offord

1906 - 2000

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7705 ART HISTORIAN

Basil Gray

1904 - 1989

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7719 MUSIC

Tiny Winters

1909 - 1996

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7724 SINGER

Gwen Catley

1906 - 1996

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7731 ACTOR

Elsie Randolph

1904 - 1982

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7737 SCULPTOR

Albert Stewart

1900 - 1965

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7757 JUDGE

Charles Ritchie Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen

1908 - 1986

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7767 ACADEMIC

Brian Woledge

1904 - 2002

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7777 ART DIRECTOR

Thomas N. Morahan

1906 - 1969

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7788 POLITICIAN

Joan Vickers, Baroness Vickers

1907 - 1994

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7801 FILM

J. Elder Wills

1900 - 1970

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7874 PAINTER

Helen Lessore

1907 - 1994

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7876 DRIVER

Bill Whitehouse

1909 - 1957

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7890 ACTOR

Tony Sympson

1906 - 1983

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7892 PHYSICIAN

Hannah Billig

1901 - 1987

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7893 WRITER

Clifford Witting

1907 - 1968

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7916 ACTOR

Colette Brettel

1902 - 1973

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7932 ROWER

Dick Southwood

1906 - 1986

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7936 WRITER

Alan Sorrell

1904 - 1974

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7951 FOOTBALL

Edgar Kail

1900 - 1976

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7974 PAINTER

Adrian Stokes (critic)

1902 - 1972

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7978 HISTORIAN

Robert Peel (Christian Science)

1909 - 1992

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7999 ACTOR

Brenda Dean Paul

1907 - 1959

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8001 ACTOR

Frederick Piper

1902 - 1979

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8083 GOVERNOR

Humphrey Gibbs

1902 - 1990

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8094 LITHOGRAPHER

Barnett Freedman

1901 - 1958

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8107 ACTOR

Eric Bransby Williams

1900 - 1994

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8111 SPY

George Reginald Starr

1904 - 1980

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8121 ACTOR

Anthony Eustrel

1902 - 1979

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8127 PAINTER

Anna Walinska

1906 - 1997

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8130 PLAYER

Joan Austin

1903 - 1998

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8138 PAINTER

Leslie Hurry

1909 - 1978

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8185 FILM

Aubrey Wisberg

1909 - 1990

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8208 AVIATOR

Henry Pelham-Clinton-Hope, 9th Duke of Newcastle

1907 - 1988

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8229 DAUGHTER

Marian Montagu Douglas Scott

1908 - 1996

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8372 PRINTMAKER

Blair Hughes-Stanton

1902 - 1981

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8389 PAINTER

Robert Medley

1905 - 1994

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8433 ARTIST

James Berry (artist)

1906 - 1979

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8443 ENGINEER

Amherst Villiers

1900 - 1991

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8456 MILITAR

Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe

1908 - 1984

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8464 PAINTER

Nancy Carline

1909 - 2004

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8492 ACTOR

Alan Keith

1908 - 2003

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8499 COMPOSER

Tommie Connor

1904 - 1993

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8515 NOVELIST

Pamela Frankau

1908 - 1967

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8538 ACTOR

Rex O'Malley

1901 - 1976

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8586 SCULPTOR

Betty Rea

1904 - 1965

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8617 PAINTER

Ivor Williams

1908 - 1982

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8659 COMPOSER

Minna Keal

1909 - 1999

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8754 CONDUCTOR

William Busch

1901 - 1945

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8760 ACTOR

Alison Leggatt

1904 - 1990

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8763 SCIENTIST

Jean Georges Baer

1902 - 1975

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8777 ACTOR

John Glyn-Jones

1909 - 1997

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8780 MISSIONARY

Roy Hession

1908 - 1992

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8790 PAINTER

Michael Rothenstein

1908 - 1993

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8891 DIPLOMAT

Eric Berthoud

1900 - 1989

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8918 SCREENWRITER

Rowland Leigh

1903 - 1963

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8957 STAGE

Nicholas Llewelyn Davies

1903 - 1980

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8961 JOURNALIST

Ian Stephens (editor)

1903 - 1984

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9012 CIVIL SERVICE

Edgeworth Beresford David

1908 - 1965

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9014 FOOTBALL

Sid Bishop (footballer, born 1900)

1900 - 1949

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9039 POET

Daphne Fielding

1904 - 1997

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9045 ARTIST

Phil Leakey

1908 - 1992

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9053 EDUCATOR

Joseph Bentwich

1902 - 1982

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9079 LAWYER

Irving Ben Cooper

1902 - 1996

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9085 WRITER

Leonard Gribble

1908 - 1985

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9186 SCREENWRITER

John Croydon

1907 - 1994

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9204 BANDLEADER

Bert Firman

1906 - 1999

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9212 PAINTER

Claude Rogers (artist)

1907 - 1979

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9219 ACTOR

Sunday Wilshin

1905 - 1991

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9245 ACTOR

Billy Milton

1905 - 1989

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9274 ACTOR

Gilly Flower

1908 - 2001

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9410 ACTOR

Max Bacon (actor)

1906 - 1969

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9440 ACTOR

Clive Morton

1904 - 1975

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9463 CRICKET

Greville Stevens

1901 - 1970

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9476 WRITER

John Sommerfield

1908 - 1991

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9483 VIOLIN

Adolph Koldofsky

1905 - 1951

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9499 PAINTER

Norman Hepple

1908 - 1994

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9502 WRITER

Kenneth Muir (scholar)

1907 - 1996

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9506 ACTOR

Richard Caldicot

1908 - 1995

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9507 BOTANIST

William Owen James

1900 - 1978

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9511 ACTOR

Ian Wilson (actor)

1901 - 1987

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9514 ILLUSTRATOR

Grace Golden

1904 - 1993

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9546 HISTORIAN

Ursula Hoff

1909 - 2005

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9599 PLAYER

Nigel Sharpe

1904 - 1962

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9614 JUDGE

Mervyn Griffith-Jones

1909 - 1979

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9627 PHOTOGRAPHER

John French (photographer)

1907 - 1966

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9644 ART HISTORIAN

Lillian Browse

1906 - 2005

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9656 DRIVER

Matthew White Ridley, 3rd Viscount Ridley

1902 - 1964

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9727 SINGER

Norman Lumsden

1906 - 2001

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9732 JOURNALIST

Mollie Panter-Downes

1906 - 1997

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9734 PAINTER

Rupert Shephard

1909 - 1992

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9738 MINISTER

Arthur Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley

1904 - 1976

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9747 BUSINESS

William Sydney Atkins

1902 - 1989

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9754 PAINTER

Morris Kestelman

1905 - 1998

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9755 LANDSCAPE EXPERT

Alvilde Lees-Milne

1909 - 1994

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9782 ACTOR

Evelyn Dove

1902 - 1987

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9805 ACTOR

Julie Suedo

1901 - 1978

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9835 ARCHITECT

Norah Aiton

1903 - 1988

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9837 ACTOR

Roger Maxwell (actor)

1900 - 1971

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9839 ACTOR

Winifred Shotter

1904 - 1996

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9840 WRITER

Magdalen King-Hall

1904 - 1971

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9879 ACTOR

Hal Osmond

1902 - 1959

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9881 POLITICIAN

John Belcher (politician)

1905 - 1964

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9904 PAINTER

Meraud Guinness

1904 - 1993

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9915 ACTOR

Vanda Gréville

1908 - 1997

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9942 HOTELIER

Horace Kadoorie

1902 - 1995

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9949 PAINTER

Eric Taylor (artist)

1909 - 1999

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10003 ACTOR

Campbell Singer

1909 - 1976

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10017 HISTORIAN

Betty Behrens

1904 - 1989

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10020 ENGINEER

Edward Russell, 26th Baron de Clifford

1907 - 1982

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10053 DRIVER

Jack Dunfee

1901 - 1975

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10085 ACTOR

Queenie Ashton

1903 - 1999

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10086 PAINTER

Harry Kernoff

1900 - 1974

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10113 PAINTER

William Dring

1904 - 1990

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10144 PIANIST

Harry Isaacs (pianist)

1902 - 1972

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10164 CONDUCTOR

Peter Yorke

1902 - 1966

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10170 WRITER

Jack Mavrogordato

1905 - 1987

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10172 TRADE UNION

Harold Collison

1909 - 1995

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10195 MISSING

Wellesley Aron

1901 - 1988

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10200 BIOCHEMIST

Guy Frederic Marrian

1904 - 1981

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10210 PHYSICIAN

Hedley Atkins

1905 - 1983

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10235 SKATER

Mollie Phillips

1907 - 1994

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10257 PIANIST

Lady Margaret Douglas-Home

1906 - 1996

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10284 PAINTER

Dorothea Braby

1909 - 1987

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10293 MILITAR

Gerald Thubron

1903 - 1992

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10323 ACTOR

George Moon

1909 - 1981

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10324 FOOTBALL

Jim Barrett Sr.

1907 - 1970

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10329 ACTOR

Lydia Sherwood

1906 - 1989

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10349 MUSIC

Ivor Kirchin

1905 - 1997

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10381 PAINTER

Abram Belskie

1907 - 1988

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10406 PLAYER

Jimmy Farrell

1903 - 1979

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10416 PAINTER

Adrian Maurice Daintrey

1902 - 1988

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10419 LIBRARIAN

Howard Nixon

1909 - 1983

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10452 ACTOR

Charles Lamb (actor)

1900 - 1989

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10464 EXPLORER

David Haig-Thomas

1908 - 1944

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10471 ACTOR

William Kendall (actor)

1903 - 1984

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10473 MUSIC

Max Salpeter

1908 - 2010

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10497 PAINTER

Paul Lucien Dessau

1909 - 1999

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10535 FILM

James Carreras

1909 - 1990

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10557 PHILOSOPHER

Margaret MacDonald (philosopher)

1907 - 1956

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10577 ARTIST

Charles Binger

1907 - 1974

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10585 PLAYWRIGHT

Nigel Morland

1905 - 1986

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10605 RADIO

Ray Sonin

1907 - 1991

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10607 SCREENWRITER

Arthur La Bern

1909 - 1990

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10621 HURDLER

Douglas Neame

1901 - 1988

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10623 PAINTER

Celia Frances Bedford

1904 - 1959

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10658 BOXER

Roland Todd

1900 - 1969

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10682 PAINTER

Evan Charlton

1904 - 1984

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10733 NOVELIST

Marjorie Wilkins Campbell

1901 - 1986

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10741 COMMUNIST

Ted Bramley

1905 - 1989

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10776 POET

Francis Brabazon

1907 - 1984

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10777 POLITICIAN

Ivor Guest, 2nd Viscount Wimborne

1903 - 1967

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10820 PAINTER

Sybil Craig

1901 - 1989

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10831 BACTERIOLOGIST

Theodor Rosebury

1904 - 1976

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10842 ARTIST

Natalie Bevan

1909 - 2007

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10860 MODEL

Baba de Faucigny-Lucinge

1902 - 1945

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10865 PAINTER

Cecil Mary Leslie

1900 - 1980

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10890 PAINTER

John Strevens

1902 - 1990

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10918 ATHLETIC

Eileen Edwards

1903 - 1988

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10919 PLAYER

Kenneth Konstam

1906 - 1968

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10944 COMEDIAN

Robert John Pratt

1907 - 2003

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10956 ART DIRECTOR

Jim Morahan

1902 - 1976

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10960 MILITAR

Henry Sherek

1900 - 1967

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10989 EPIDEMIOLOGIST

Cyril Garnham

1901 - 1994

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10991 LITERARY

Roy Daniells

1902 - 1979

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11053 FILM

John Sutro

1903 - 1985

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11082 PAINTER

Eve Kirk

1900 - 1969

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11104 ENGINEER

Walter Hassan

1905 - 1996

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11110 MAYOR

John Coventry (cricketer)

1903 - 1969

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11135 AUTHOR

Hilda Charlton

1906 - 1988

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11157 POLITICIAN

Henry Hunloke

1906 - 1978

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11195 SKIPPER

Stewart Morris

1909 - 1991

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11200 BIOCHEMIST

Antoinette Pirie

1905 - 1991

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11203 CRICKET

Jack Lee (cricketer)

1902 - 1944

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11227 ACTOR

Romilly Lunge

1904 - 1994

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11243 WRITER

Kenneth Horne (writer)

1900 - 1975

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11255 ACTOR

Eric Clavering

1901 - 1989

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11257 FOOTBALL

Albert Cadwell

1900 - 1944

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11276 WRITER

H. E. Todd

1908 - 1988

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11292 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Edward Playfair

1909 - 1999

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11307 AUTHOR

Henry Lionel Lawrence

1908 - 1990

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11322 JUMPER

Henry Nicoll (equestrian)

1908 - 1999

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11335 ACTOR

Blyth Daly

1901 - 1965

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11354 ACTOR

Faith Bennett

1903 - 1969

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11366 MANUFACTURER

Maurice Fiennes

1907 - 1994

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11381 ACTOR

Ursula Hirst

1909 - 2002

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11415 COMPOSER

Marcus Adeney

1900 - 1998

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11418 THEATRE

Robert Nesbitt

1906 - 1995

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11480 NAVY

Deric Holland-Martin

1906 - 1977

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11544 CRICKET

Ian Akers-Douglas

1909 - 1952

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11551 CRICKET

Frederick Gamble (cricketer)

1905 - 1965

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11552 MUSIC

Maurice J. E. Brown

1906 - 1975

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11555 PAINTER

Jean de La Fontinelle

1900 - 1974

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11584 PHOTOGRAPHER

Barbara Ker-Seymer

1905 - 1994

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11618 ROWER

Robert Nisbet (rower)

1900 - 1986

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11623 ACTOR

Bruce Belfrage

1900 - 1974

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11673 WRITER

Mary Violet Heberden

1906 - 1965

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11700 POLITICIAN

Dudley Joel

1904 - 1941

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11715 ACTOR

Elsa Buchanan

1908 - 2004

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11749 ACTOR

Frederick Burtwell

1900 - 1948

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11764 FILM

Herbert Smith (producer)

1901 - 1986

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11797 EXPLORER

Michael Spender

1906 - 1945

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11839 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Gervase Mathew

1905 - 1976

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11941 CHESS

Harold Lommer

1904 - 1980

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11965 ACTIVIST

Muriel Dowding, Baroness Dowding

1908 - 1993

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11969 ARTIST

Max Arthur Cohn

1903 - 1998

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11996 PAINTER

Leonard Daniels

1909 - 1998

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12007 ACTOR

Edward Colmans

1908 - 1977

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12039 POLITICIAN

David Hardman

1901 - 1989

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12046 ACTOR

Helen Goss

1903 - 1985

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12051 SAXOPHONIST

Billy Bartholomew

1901 - 1972

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12053 ACCOUNTANT

John Davis (British businessman)

1906 - 1993

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12105 ACTOR

Barry MacKay (actor)

1906 - 1985

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12175 HISTORIAN

Courtenay Edward Stevens

1905 - 1976

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12176 ACTOR

Derek Gorst

1903 - 1981

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12189 BOXER

Al Foreman

1904 - 1954

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12201 SCULPTOR

Winifred Turner

1903 - 1983

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12228 OFFICER

Joe Baker-Cresswell

1901 - 1997

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12233 KGB AGENT

Vladimir Pravdin

1905 - 1970

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12256 ACTOR

Joan Lockton

Born 1901

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12263 ACTOR

Norma Balean

1907 - 1989

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12268 SWIMMER

Frederick Milton

1906 - 1991

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12334 CRICKET

Nigel Capel-Cure

1908 - 2004

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12337 ACTOR

Miriam Jordan

1904 - 1987

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12355 WRITER

Charles B. Child

1903 - 1993

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12380 ACTOR

Philip Leaver

1904 - 1981

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12399 MATHEMATICIAN

Samuel Verblunsky

1906 - 1996

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12426 AIR FORCE

Bernard Glemser

1908 - 1990

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12439 ACTOR

Edmund Warwick

1907 - 1989

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12470 WRITER

Bruce Graeme

1900 - 1982

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12476 MOUNTAINEER

Jack Longland

1905 - 1993

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12503 SCREENWRITER

Marjorie Deans

1901 - 1982

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12523 ATHLETIC

Franco Reyser

Born 1904

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12530 MILITAR

Carter B. Magruder

1900 - 1988

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12567 CRICKET

Frank Lee (cricketer)

1905 - 1982

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12673 PAINTER

James Stroudley

1906 - 1985

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12691 CRICKET

Robin Buckston

1908 - 1967

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12696 CRICKET

Fred Price (cricketer)

1902 - 1969

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