Category Archives: WW1

Harold Francis Bidder D.S.O.

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Lt. Col. Harold Francis Bidder, D.S.O. (1917), M.A., F.S.A.

Second son of George P. Bidder II, Q.C., of Ravensbury Park, Mitcham.
Born 1875; educated St. Paul’s and Trinity College Cambridge.
Married in 1918 to Vivian, eldest daughter of late H. M. Rush, of
Edinburgh; 2 sons, 1 daughter.

Barrister at Lincoln’s Inn 1899.

Joined 9th Battalion, Royal Sussex regiment in 1899, and served in South African War 1899-1902 and in Great War 1914-19 in France.
Lt. Col. Machine Gun corps 1917

Associate member of Chartered Surveyors’ Institute,
J.P. (1926) Surrey.

1 Brick court, Temple, E.C.4 (Central 1687) ;
The Malt House, Nettlebed, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon (Nettlebed 260).

Source: Kelly’s Handbook to the Titled, Landed & Official Classes, 1952 from Find My Past (subscription required)

According to Eric Montague in his book Mitcham Histories : 10 Ravensbury, pages 42-3, among his interests was archaeology, and he started the excavation of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Ravensbury in 1891. He continued with this after WW1 and finished it in 1922.

He became the first president of the Merton and Morden Historical Society when it was formed in 1951, a position he held for 20 years until his death at the age of 92.

Allen Bros (Mitcham), Ltd.

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360/364 London Road

Car sales and repair business that was the on west side of London Road, south of the White Hart pub and on the north side of the corner with Broadway Gardens.

Being a Austin Rover dealer they did a repair on my Rover 3.5 in 1984:

13th November 1984 invoice for repairs to a Rover 3.5

89th February 1985 receipt

The garage also rented cars:

part of rental agreement dated 17th May 1985

Clip from Merton Memories photo, copyright London Borough of Merton.

The site was used by KwikFit for a number of years, as seen in this 2008 Google StreetView:

These aerial views are from Bing:

kwikfit-to-north

kwikfit-to-south

The site was bought by a property developer who wanted to build a block of flats. With the KwikFit signage removed, parts of the original words used by Allen Bros could be seen.

September 2014

September 2014

September 2014. Allen Bros (Mitcham) can just be seen revealed after KwikFit signage was removed.

September 2014. Allen Bros (Mitcham) can just be seen revealed after KwikFit signage was removed.

Demolition began in early December 2016.

13th December 2016

13th December 2016

Photo taken on 2nd January 2017

Photo taken on 2nd January 2017

From 1953 Who’s Who in the Motor Industry digitised by Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History:

Car and Light Commercial Vehicle Stockists.
360, London Road, Mitcham, Surrey.
Telephone: 0867.

Directors:
M.D. Allen.
Lt. Col. F.E. Manning O.B.E.
P.L. Smith.
H.F. Priest.

Note that M.D. Allen referred to Malcolm Day Allen, see obituary below.

Mitcham Advertiser, 3rd July 1958

HE FOUNDED A MOTOR FIRM

The funeral took place on Friday of Mr. Malcolm Day ALLEN, founder and managing director of Messrs. Allen Bros., the Lower Mitcham motor firm, who died at Herring-on-Sea, Sussex. He was the third son of the Rev. Bevill Allen, for 36 years minister of Tooting Congregational Church.

Mr. Allen, who was a bachelor, aged 66, lived with his sister in Langdale Avenue. He attained distinction as an airman in the first world war and as a leading figure in the formation and support of the Mitcham Air-Training Corps.

He flew bombers in the first world war and commanded 2157 (Mitcham East) Squadron A.T.C. in the last war.

At the funeral service in Tooting Congregational Church (his father’s church), and at the London Road Cemetery, Mitcham, were Mr. E.J.D. Field, chairman of Mitcham Magistrates Court, Mr. W. Dalton, a former mayor of Mitcham, who represented the Tooting Church, Mr. Manning, a fellow directors, and representatives of organisations connected with the R.A.F.

Merton Memories Photos
Mr. F.E.Manning, with his son in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in 1957
Vintage car outside Allen Bros. Garage

Advertised as the Broadway Garage in 1937:

1937 ad

1937 ad

1961 advert from Norwood News, via the British Newspaper Archive