Famous People from Bexley

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Maxim, Sir Hiram

Sir Hiram Maxim (1840-1916) inventor of the automatic machine gun, a steam-powered flying machine and hundreds of other items, was born in Maine, USA. He obtained his first patent – for a hair-curling iron - when only 26, rapidly followed by a gas machine and a locomotive headlamp. He became chief engineer of the US Electric Lighting Company before moving to Crayford, England, where, in 1884, he unveiled his famous Maxim machine gun. This used the gas produced by the explosion of each cartridge to continuously operate the gun’s mechanism. The British army used the gun in the Matabele war 1893-94. In the 1890s he beat the Wright brothers into the air. On 31 July 1894, with Maxim at the controls, his Crayford-designed flying machine lifted off the ground at Baldwyns Park, Dartford, and flew for 100ft at an altitude of about two feet before it was brought down by structural failure. In November to raise money for Bexley Cottage Hospital he was selling rides on the machine for 5 shillings (25p) a trip. He became a naturalised British subject and was knighted in 1901.

Moore, Sir Roger

Sir Roger George Moore KBE, the actor, who was born on 14 October 1927, lived in Wansunt Road, Old Bexley, when married to his second wife, the singer Dorothy Squires before their 1968 divorce. After portraying a series of British action heroes on TV and film – Ivanhoe, Simon Templar in The Saint and as successor to Sean Connery as James Bond in seven films between 1973-85, he was made a Knight Commander of the British Empire in 2003 for his charitable work, notably for UNICEF.

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Morris, William

William Morris, designer and poet, was founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Born at Walthamstow he graduated from Oxford and worked in the architectural offices of George Street, who specialised in the Gothic revival style. He left to pursue painting under the tutelage of Dante Gabriel Rosetti. In 1859 he commissioned a new home, the Red House, Bexleyheath. Annoyed at being unable to find good textiles and furniture he decided to design them himself – a momentous decision. He was unhappy with increasing mass production and sought to re-establish traditional craftsmanship, producing furniture, stained glass, textiles and wallpaper. He was active in left wing politics, notably the Democratic Federation and the Socialist League.

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