'Gerald Plumbly (pictured right) was one of the last English gentlemen who often wore a monocle, drove an old Rolls Royce, had impeccable manners and never swore. Son of a blacksmith whose works was situated close to Fitzroy Square in London, he inherited his father's love of horses and became a veterinary surgeon who for more than twenty years, treated the Queen's horses. His long life lasted 95 years, starting in the age of the horse and carriage and ended in the age of the Facebook.
A modest and charming man, he would never promote himself. When he was asked about the Queen's corgis he would laugh and say "I only dealt with horses, particularly the heavy ones. I love them. They are more intelligent that most people. I didn't have any contact with the corgis, thankfully!" He lived most of his life in Wimpole Mews, close to Soho, and was often called out to treat the pets of showbiz stars and gained a large clientele. In his youth he starred in school plays and later acquired many friends from the theatrical profession which yielded countless anecdotes about him. Peter Ray, one of his oldest friends, said "probably the best was the one about the girl stripper in a Soho club with a boa constrictor. The snake bit her on the lip, well I think that was where it was, and wouldn't let go. The manager looked at the Yellow Pages and plucked out Gerald's name and rang him. Gerald came round and when he saw the girl's predicament said to the man 'pull the curtains, we need some privacy.' He pulled out his lighter and applied the flame to the rear of the snake which promptly released its hold. The curtains were pulled back to applause from the audience and the manager gave Gerald a one year's free membership. Gerald then sent a hefty invoice, which was eventually paid. Another one I liked happened late in life when he was 92. He had a fall and needed a tetanus injection and he asked the doctor 'how long will it last?' The doctor said 'ten years' and he said 'well I'll make a note to have another in 2016.'" Gerald Percival Plumbly was born in Hither Green on October 30, 1914 and was educated at Malvern House School and St. Dunstan's in Catford before qualifying as a vet at the London University. One of his friends at St. Dunstan's was Robert Stanford-Tuck, DSO, DFC with two bars who earned a reputation as one of the country's greatest heroes in the Battle of Britain WW11, shooting down 27 German aircraft, with 14 probables and surviving four incidents when he was shot down. He also escaped three times from German prisons and was each time captured before gaining his freedom in 1945. In 1942, he shot down a German bomber over Cardiff when a bomb escaped as the aircraft hurtled towards the ground and the explosion killed a soldier at an army training camp. The man who died was married to his sister. Gerald said of him "he was a lovely man." Plumbly's great passion was cricket and he devoted much of his life to his wandering club The Stoics which was founded in 1877 by Albert Ernest Stoddart, the archetypal Victoria sportsman, stockbroker and gambler who captained England at both cricket and rugby. He outdid W.G.Grace in 1886 by scoring a world record 485 in a single day for Hampstead against Stoics after being up most of the night playing poker. Without matching Stoddart's feats, Plumbly also relished late nights and led a similar bohemian life. The name "Stoic" came from Zeno, a Greek philosopher in 308 BC and he preached fortitude and self control but the flamboyant "Stod," who was subject of the famous cricketing poem "My Dear Victorious Stod" shot and killed himself at St. John's Wood at the age of 52 after losing a fortune. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. Plumbly was also cremated there. His friend Jack Hyams, who is still playing cricket at the age of ninety, often shared rooms with him on their many cricket tours and said "He was a very enthusiastic cricketer - a technically correct batsman, an accurate, medium pace bowler and a good catcher in the slip. But he never scored a century. In the summer he played as many games as possible and when there were drops out, he would persuade Australians to turn out. On one occasion he went round a sharp bend too fast and the passenger door flew open and the Australian finished up on a grass mound. Gerald was very apologetic and asked if he was still fit enough to play. 'Fine,' said the Aussie, 'but who am I playing for?' "I never heard Gerald swear. The closest to it came when we bowled three successive wides and he was very upset and said 'damn!' He proceeded to apologise to his captain, the umpires and the opposing batsmen. After one game against one of the College sides in Cambridge, he became very flustered when he learned that he couldn't find his gold toothpick. He scrambled about in the dark looking for it for ages and eventually, with the help of headlights from cars, someone stumbled on it." He played squash into his fifties after founding his own club The Swans. He married Josephine Mary Rayner, known as "Topsy," in 1943 and she too was a vet who also undertook his secretarial work. She died in 1996. He is survived by his daughter Geraldine and two grand children Charlie and Natasha. There will be a memorial at the St.John's Wood Church close to Lord's where he spent so much time there as a member of the MCC.' |
On return from the Stoics tour of Sri Lanka in 2008 which Gerald was unfortunately not able to attend, the team presented him with an album of photographs which marked the event. A recording of the presentation, made by Gavin Scovell (son of Brian (below)) can be viewed and heard here. The notes (left) concerning the late Gerald Plumbly were written by Brian Scovell (pictured below), a Stoics member and leading sports journalist and author. They are reproduced with his permission. (both photos via Google Images)
Gerald Plumbly's obituary, as published in 'The Telegraph' on 15 Feb 2010, can be seen here |