Orpington and the (nearly) King of Albania! A curious coincidence ...
Here in Orpington we can boast of some famous cricketing ex-residents. The census records of 1881 show that the young C.B. Fry (born in Croydon in 1872) was living in Orpington: most aptly (and we might say, presciently?) at the cricket ground. He became an eminent sportsman who represented England at both cricket and football. The cricket ground he lived above was at Tubbendens the old house (now Maxwell Gardens) demolished after the last war. The address recorded in 1881 was Sherlies which is the site today of Sherlies Avenue.
Here in Orpington we can boast of some famous cricketing ex-residents. The census records of 1881 show that the young C.B. Fry (born in Croydon in 1872) was living in Orpington: most aptly (and we might say, presciently?) at the cricket ground. He became an eminent sportsman who represented England at both cricket and football. The cricket ground he lived above was at Tubbendens the old house (now Maxwell Gardens) demolished after the last war. The address recorded in 1881 was Sherlies which is the site today of Sherlies Avenue.
Much later, living on the Petts Wood side of town we had Peter West (1920 – 2003). His career in radio and television broadcasting covered multiple sports: mostly cricket and rugby but tennis at Wimbledon too. Away from sport he hosted the popular television shows Come Dancing and Miss World.
A stroke of fate linked these two famous Orpingtonians. Peter West got his lucky break as a sports commentator one day in 1947 when C.B. Fry cried off from a cricket outside broadcast in Taunton. Peter filled in at short notice.
A stroke of fate linked these two famous Orpingtonians. Peter West got his lucky break as a sports commentator one day in 1947 when C.B. Fry cried off from a cricket outside broadcast in Taunton. Peter filled in at short notice.
A biographer of C.B. Fry’s eventful superstar life would have many highlights to mention, but surely the connection to King Zog of Albania is exceptionally curious? The celebrated C.B. Fry (1872 – 1956) was offered the throne of Albania when the Balkan country was looking for a King and couldn’t muster an eligible candidate from its own monarchy or nobility.
The catalyst was Fry’s cricketing friendship with the foremost cricketer K.S. Ranjitsinhji (‘Ranji’) of Sussex and England who ruled his native Indian principality of Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933. When Fry wrote his autobiography Life Worth Living (published in 1939) he recounted that he took the role of substitute delegate and speechwriter while Ranji was delegate for India at the Assemblies of the League of Nations at Geneva. The Albanians were there and had tasked a senior member of their clergy to find an English gentleman with a dowry of £10,000 a year to become their King. Fry held that if he had wanted to accept the offer Ranji would have subsidised him financially, but Fry didn’t want to leave his English homeland where his sporting exploits had made him a national hero. At cricket he won 26 test caps and starred as batsman and bowler for Sussex and Hampshire between 1894 and 1921.
Ahmed Zuktar Zogolli (1895 – 1961) appointed himself for the vacant role of King of the Albanians, Zog I in 1928. History suggests that his became largely a puppet regime under the rule of Mussolini who invaded and overran Albania in 1939. Alas too King Zog was shunned by the royal courts of other European monarchs who didn’t legitimise his self-declared status of crowned monarch. In exile he lived briefly in England during the Second World War before settling in France for the remainder of his life.
The catalyst was Fry’s cricketing friendship with the foremost cricketer K.S. Ranjitsinhji (‘Ranji’) of Sussex and England who ruled his native Indian principality of Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933. When Fry wrote his autobiography Life Worth Living (published in 1939) he recounted that he took the role of substitute delegate and speechwriter while Ranji was delegate for India at the Assemblies of the League of Nations at Geneva. The Albanians were there and had tasked a senior member of their clergy to find an English gentleman with a dowry of £10,000 a year to become their King. Fry held that if he had wanted to accept the offer Ranji would have subsidised him financially, but Fry didn’t want to leave his English homeland where his sporting exploits had made him a national hero. At cricket he won 26 test caps and starred as batsman and bowler for Sussex and Hampshire between 1894 and 1921.
Ahmed Zuktar Zogolli (1895 – 1961) appointed himself for the vacant role of King of the Albanians, Zog I in 1928. History suggests that his became largely a puppet regime under the rule of Mussolini who invaded and overran Albania in 1939. Alas too King Zog was shunned by the royal courts of other European monarchs who didn’t legitimise his self-declared status of crowned monarch. In exile he lived briefly in England during the Second World War before settling in France for the remainder of his life.
The above 'Cricketing Curiosity' article by Jerry Dowlen is published in the current issue of the Kent County Cricket Supporters Club quarterly magazine.
The story is told too in our Cray 150 local history book Curiosities of Orpington published in 2024.
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The story is told too in our Cray 150 local history book Curiosities of Orpington published in 2024.
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