Highlights of Sir Harry Preston’s 76 years of life displayed in a vertical timeline. Scroll for more. You can also view in a horizontal timeline.
*Some items may display out of order in the two column (PC/Laptop) display mode
1860: Born in Cheltenham
John Henry (Harry) Preston was born on 19th February 1860 into a middle-class family in Queen Street, Cheltenham. He was the second child and first son of…
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1870-80s: Early Career
Harry was educated privately and initially obeyed his father’s desire that he follow a scholastic career by becoming a pupil teacher in Lewisham, Kent, for three…
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1870-80s: The Young Sportsman
Outside of his job, Harry put his abundant energies into various sporting activities, including sculling, swimming, boxing and cycling. He was a member of the West…
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1882-87: London Pubs
From city clerk to publican; After around two years working as a shipping clerk in the city, mixing with the seafaring individuals of the London docks,…
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1884: Bantamweight Semifinals
Harry’s love and skill for boxing sees him through to the semifinals of the first-ever Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) Bantamweight (54kg) competition in 1884. Unfortunately, Harry…
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1885: First Marriage
Harry marries Ellen Boor (nee Lovelace), the daughter of a boot manufacturer, in London, on 17th December 1885. See Ellen Boor and Harry Preston’s Early Days…
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1885: A Daughter
Ellen gave birth to a daughter, Ethel Maud, on 23rd April 1885, eight months before her marriage to Harry. The father, recorded on Ethel’s birth certificate…
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c1887: Bournemouth
After serving around five years apprenticeship in the hospitality industry running pubs in London, Harry was ready for bigger and better things. Around 1887 when still…
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1891: Central Hotel, Bournemouth
By 1891 Harry had taken over the running of the Central Hotel on Richmond Hill in Bournemouth. Built only a few years earlier in 1886. Sadly…
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1895: Winnie
Winifred Emily Preston (Winnie) is born 31st December 1895 at 7 Darlan Rd, Fulham. The mother is Harry’s mistress Lily English, a housekeeper at the Metropole…
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1898: Jack
Harry John (Jack) Woodlands is born 19th June 1898 at Sea Road, Pokesdown, Bournemouth. Jack is the second child to Harry and Lily English. It’s at…
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c1898: Grand Hotel, Bournemouth
Around 1898 Harry becomes part-owner of the Grand Hotel, Bournemouth, in partnership with William Dore. Between them, they ran both the Central and the Grand hotels…
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c1900: Princes Hotel, London
Keeping a foot in London, Harry becomes a director on the board of the Princes Hotel in London and was instrumental in turning around the fortunes…
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c1901: Royal York Hotel, Brighton
Arriving in Brighton around 1901 Harry took over the dilapidated Royal York Hotel in the Old Steine. Once the haunt of royalty and well-known figures such…
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1902: W.G. Grace Motorcar Ride
In September 1902, WG Grace the famous cricketer takes his first ride in a motor car courtesy of Harry Preston. Sat in the bar of the…
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1905: Brighton Speed Trials
Harry was responsible for the very first Brighton Speed Trials which took place along Madeira Drive during ‘Motor Week’ from 19 to 22 July, 1905, now…
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1907: Sussex Motor Yacht Club
Harry was a keen sailor and owned the first motor yacht on Brighton’s stretch of coast, the ‘My Lady Ada’. In April 1907 he co-founded the…
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1910: Harry’s First Flight!
On 10th July 1910, a French pioneer named André Beaumont took Harry up for his first-ever flight. Beaumont had brought the seaplane over in pieces from…
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1911: First London to Brighton Flight
In February 1911, Harry hosts a hastily arranged banquet at his Royal York Hotel to celebrate the first aeroplane flight from London to Brighton. The pilot,…
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1911: Grand Brighton Aerial Race
“Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines!“… On 6th May 1911, perhaps inspired by the Morison flight, Harry and his brother Dick sponsored the first cross-country…
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1911: My Lady Molly
Harry’s love of sailing continues with his motor yacht My Lady Molly. But both the yacht and Harry nearly came to grief in 1911 when, during…
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1913: Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton
Following his great success at the Royal York, in 1913 Harry bought the nearby Royal Albion Hotel, which had been closed since 1900, for £13,500 (having…
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1913: Ellen Preston Dies
On 30th July 1913, Ellen Preston, Harry’s wife of 28 years, passed away from heart failure, aged 62. See Ellen Boor and Harry Preston’s Early Days…
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1914: Second Marriage
On 12th March 1914, Harry married his second wife, Edith Ellen Collings, the hotel manageress at the Royal Albion in Brighton. See Edith Collings and Harry…
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1914: Daughter Nancy
On 28th September 1914, Harry welcomed his third daughter into the world. She was named Edith after her mother but became known as Nancy, most likely…
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1920: Royal Patrons
Harry’s increasing success with his Brighton hotels and his philanthropic activities eventually led him into the august company of Edward, Prince of Wales (later to become…
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1921: With a Prince at the Royal Albert Hall
On 13th January 1921 his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, a great boxing fan, greatly honoured Harry with his company at the Wilde-Herman fight at…
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1921: Fight of the Century
In July 1921 Harry was commissioned by his friend Lord Dalziel to report on the Carpentier-Dempsey fight in the United States, the Heavyweight Championship of the…
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1921: Palace Pier Follies & the Prince
Through their mutual love of sport, Harry developed a great friendship with Edward, Prince of Wales. One evening in 1921, shortly after Harry returned from reporting…
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1922: Lily English Dies
Lily English, Harry’s mistress of almost 30 years, died in May 1922 in New Cross, London aged only 56. Harry’s two children by her were now…
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1922: Ideal Home Feature
In November 1922 the Ideal Home Magazine ran an 8-page feature entitled ‘A Country Cottage at Ansty Sussex, the residence of Harry J Preston Esq. of…
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1925: Jack Dempsey Charity Fight
Harry’s annual charity tournaments at the Brighton Dome became regarded as one of the country’s chief sporting fixtures. In 1925 Harry achieved one of his greatest…
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1926: Battle of Lewes Road
During the May 1926 General Strike, Harry aged 66, was enlisted as a volunteer mounted ‘special’ policeman. The General Strike was a UK wide strike called…
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1926: Brighton Town Councillor
Sometime after the ‘Battle of Lewes Road‘ in 1926, Harry became a Brighton town councillor, being elected to the council in a Tory seat. But it…
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1927: A Few Friends
In October 1927, a group of some of the most eminent people in the country held a dinner in honour of Harry, at the Piccadilly Hotel…
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1928: First Book (Memories)
In 1928 Harry published his first book, ‘Memories‘ “The world has been walking through my swing door for half a century now, and this fact –…
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1929: Harry Retires
In 1929 Harry retired from business, aged 69, to enjoy life in his country cottage. Just two years before, he wrote; “…like most men getting on…
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1933: A Knighthood
The high point of Harry’s life came on 12th July 1933 when he was knighted by King George V at Buckingham Palace for his services to…
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1936: Leaves From My Unwritten Diary
Harry’s second book “Leaves From My Unwritten Diary“, was written in 1935 and published in 1936. In it, he explains that dates meant little to him,…
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1936: Sir Harry Preston RIP
Sir Harry died on 13th August 1936, in his private suite at the Albion Hotel, of cancer, after many months of illness. His funeral was attended…
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