Leonard Matthews - Tolworth Plaque Exhibition

Today we finished off the Tolcake Heroes exhibition with a final brass plaque dedicated to Leonard Matthews. It has been a wonderful exhibition from Sam Tout and Alban Low who hope to be working on a new exhibition in 2020.

Leonard Matthews (b. 1896)
7 Hazel Bank, Tolworth, Surrey, England

The George Medal has been awarded to Mr. Leonard Matthews, a Surbiton A.R.P. worker, of 7, Hazelbank, Tolworth, for his gallantry in tunnelling under the wreckage of a bombed house and causing a trapped man to be rescued, following a raid in September. Mr. Matthews was the leader of a stretcher party which rescued three people from under the stairs of a bombed house, and then turned their attention to another wrecked house. “We were told that a man, Mr. Butler, and his wife and child were under the debris,” said Mr. Matthews, “There was no sign of life but I started a tunnel with my hands, and eventually found Mr. Butler under the wreckage. My colleagues and I pulled him out. He was almost unhurt. His wife and child, luckily, were not at home when the bomb fell.” Mr. Matthews served in the R.A.M.C. in the last war, and for a few years after the Armistice. He twice played in Army Cup Association football finals, and received first a winners’ medal and then a runners up medal from the late King George V, who. just after the last war, decorated him with the Meritorious Service Medal, which Mr. Matthews was awarded for helping to prevent an ammunition train from being blown up in Russia. “Although I have shaken harids with his late father, I have never had the pleasure of meeting our present King,” Mr. Matthews said.
Surrey Advertiser - Saturday 21 December 1940

Thomas Dumper and Nobby Reddick - TolcakeHeroes

author Sam Tout

Sam Tout and Alban Low's new exhibition along Tolworth's famous Broadway continues with new plaques dedicated to local heroes Thomas Dumper and Nobby Reddick. Sam's plaque is inspired by a lovely doughnut he ate at the Moda Caffe. This week they are joined by CollectConnect co-founder Dean Reddick, who has chosen to honour his dad as his hero.

Doughnut
Here is Sam Tout's delicious haiku........and above is the doughnut before it was gobbled up.

Eat space world Doughville 

Lava land of jelly prey 

Tastes stress ball de-light

Nobby Reddick

Nobby Reddick plaque by Dean Reddick

Dean Reddick's plaque is dedicated to the incomparable Nobby Reddick. Nobby (born 1945) and his wife Sonia have been residents of Tolworth for many years. He has worked as a painter and decorator for most of his life and continues to be an active member of the community.

Thomas Dumper plaque - Alban Low

Thomas Dumper
Our third plaque is dedicated to Thomas Dumper (1861-1943). Dumper was a member of Surbiton Council for forty years and was second substitute Charter Mayor. For some years he was a police sergeant (270 Division) and saved a man's life in 1887 when the man deliberately threw himself off Westminster bridge. He left the force in 1898 to become licensee of the Red Lion, Tolworth, and retired as victualler in 1925. Dumper was “father” of the Council, and an alderman when he retired from the Council in 1940. He was chairman of the Surbiton District Council from 1917 to 1920, and was made the first freeman of the borough of Surbiton in 1937. In the 1918 Parliamentary election he unsuccessfully contested the Kingston Division as a Labour candidate.

Thomas Dumper

TolcakeHeroes - Charlie Spooner Tolworth

Sam Tout - Tolcake Haiku 

A few months ago we started a new exhibition at Tolworth Station with our What If posters. It has been a great success and has included work from artists Sam Tout, Bryan Benge and Alban Low. We'll finish this exhibition in the next few weeks and I'm sure we will revisit the format in the future. But worry not public art lovers because we have another venture up our collective sleeves.

Alban Low - Tolcake Hero

Sam and Alban have begun a new exhibition in Tolworth today, this time along its famous Broadway. They have written haiku and had them engraved on brass effect plaques. Alban has chosen to write about heroes of Tolworth while Sam has found inspiration from cakes he is eating in the Broadway shops and cafes. They have placed the first two brass plaques out on benches today. Go and have a look for yourself.

Sam's haiku today was inspired by a Caramel Bun from Costa Coffee (55-57 Tolworth Broadway, Surbiton KT6 7DW)

Sweet Tolworth cake rain, 

On caramel roundabouts, 

Creamy clouds blow out 

Alban's haiku is inspired by Charlie Spooner (aged 13) who rescued a school chum from the Hogg's Mill river in 1909. He was awarded a special certificate from the Royal Humane Society and was lauded as a hero in the local area. The boy he saved was so grateful he gave Charlie all his worldly possessions including his swimming shorts, a fishing rod, 3 farthings and a quantity of cake. Unfortunately Charlie died 5 years later and is buried in St Mary's Churchyard, Long Ditton.

A special thank you to Robin Hutchinson and The Community Brain who has made this project possible. More next week when Sam eats a massive doughnut and I celebrate the life of the great Thomas Dumper.

What If exhibition in Tolworth

'What If' is a new exhibition that celebrates a world of whimsical and playful futures. Posters are being placed at Tolworth railway station over the next few months that we hope will be imaginative and silly. They might even make you laugh and perhaps provoke a thought or two.

For us it is a new format here at CollectConnect and we are slowly trialling the concept. The first posters are from Alban Low who many of you will know and Sam Tout, a new young artist with an inquisitive mind. Dean Reddick and Bryan Benge will be following with their own What Ifs.

Tolworth is the gateway to new worlds, it is the home of imagination where every future is possible. We are very grateful to The Community Brain who has helped with this exhibition and artist Debbie Chessell who has her studio at Tolworth Station.

#whatiftolworth

Sam Tout

Alban Low