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General First nameNorman Rollinson (Tim)
LastnameLewis
GenderMale
CountryEngland
Date of birth1925-00-00
Place of birthLymington, Hampshire, England
Date of death2017-02-26
Place of deathNewport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England


About

From: https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/15163040.obituary-gp-and-tennis-champion-tim-lewis-dies-aged-91/

Obituary: General practitioner and tennis champion Tim Lewis dies aged 91

By Michaela Horsfield

Born in Lymington, Hampshire, in 1925 to Reginald Lewis and Marguerite Lewis (née Rollinson), Tim was one of seven children; Gerald, Roy, Eric, Geoffrey, Nora and Rene. At their family home in New Milton, Tim was brought up on tennis, with their house, Melrose, possessing its own lawn tennis court. “In fact, he started holding his first junior wooden tennis racket at one year old,” said his daughter Sara Pennant-Jones.

At the age of nine Tim was already playing in the Brockenhurst and Milford-on-Sea tournaments, which were meant for children over twice his age. When he was 12 he won the Junior Tennis Championship for the under 15s. Tim attended Homefield School in Christchurch, Dorset, before heading to Saint Catherine’s College, Cambridge, to study medicine, and during his time there represented Cambridge University successfully at tennis.

After graduating from Cambridge, he continued playing tennis, representing not only the Royal Air Force (RAF) but also Great Britain at the Davis Cup. He also represented Britain at Wimbledon, competing throughout the early 1950s. “Coached at times by Dan Maskell and Fred Perry, Tim was an attacking player who liked to take the ball early,” said Sara.

However, Tim also had to juggle the priorities of practicing and playing tennis with his medical studies at Westminster Hospital. An article from the well renowned ‘Daily Graphic’ sports correspondent Laurie Pignon in April 1949 read: “Tim, 21, aims to be a surgeon and Davis Cup tennis star. This is a week Tim Lewis, a London medical student, will remember, first to become a surgeon and second to play lawn tennis for Britain.”

In the RAF Tim served as a medical officer at RAF Halton before a posting to Chessington helped him to balance his tennis with service life, with access to both Queen’s Club and Wimbledon. In 1953, Tim married Lorna Mackey, a 24-year-old nurse receptionist, and they settled in Leatherhead in Surrey, where Tim served as a general practitioner to over 3,000 patients, as well as serving RAF Headley Court.

During his retirement, he played golf with friends and spent more time with his family and his dog. Tim would often give the family a tough game of table tennis and take them to watch Wimbledon every year.

After Lorna died in 2010, Tim remained living near his eldest daughter Jenny and her family until 2015 when, with the onset of Alzheimer’s, he moved to live closer to his daughter Jane in a care home in Newport Pagnell, where he died on February 26 with his family around him.

“He will be sorely missed by family, friends and patients as he was a true family doctor and a truly loving father and grandfather in every way,” said Sara.

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Archive statistics Career1936 - 1961
Tournament wins13
Matches92
Match wins56


Tournament wins 1952 - Hampshire Championships (Amateur)
1951 - Carlisle (Amateur)
1951 - Winchester (Amateur)
1951 - Norfolk (Amateur)
1951 - Penzance ()
1951 - Bury and West Suffolk (Amateur)
1950 - Hampshire Championships (Amateur)
1948 - Budleigh Salterton (Amateur)
1948 - Cheltenham (Amateur)
1948 - Middlesex Championships (Amateur)
1948 - Torquay (Open)
1948 - Hampshire Championships (Amateur)
1947 - Budleigh Salterton (Amateur)


Tournaments Sutton Hard Courts - 1961 British Covered Court Championships - 1958 Wimbledon - 1954 Budleigh Salterton - 1954 Wimbledon - 1953 Queens Club Tournament - 1953 Kent Championships - 1953 Surrey Championships - 1953 Wimbledon Plate (Consolation) - 1953 Great Britain vs. Belgium Exhibition - 1953 Hampshire Championships - 1952 South of England Championships - 1952 Herga Club - 1952 Budleigh Salterton - 1952 Tunbridge Wells - 1952 Hampshire Championships - 1951 Carlisle - 1951 Winchester - 1951 Penzance - 1951 Bury and West Suffolk - 1951 Bath - 1951 Norfolk - 1951 Hampshire Championships - 1950 Paddington - 1950 Wimbledon - 1949 US Open - 1949 Queens Club Tournament - 1949 Netherlands International Championships - 1949 Paddington - 1949 Scandinavian Championships - 1949 Cumberland Hard Courts - 1949 Wimbledon - 1948 Cheltenham - 1948 Midland Counties Championships - 1948 Hampshire Championships - 1948 Middlesex Championships - 1948 Budleigh Salterton - 1948 Torquay - 1948 Guildford Hardcourts - 1948 Henley Hard courts Autumn Meeting - 1948 Wimbledon - 1947 North of England Championships - 1947 Wimbledon Plate (Consolation) - 1947 Budleigh Salterton - 1947 Wimbledon - 1946 Queens Club Tournament - 1946 South of England Championships - 1946 Wimbledon Plate (Consolation) - 1946 English Amateurs vs. Professionals - 1946 New Malden - 1946 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1936