Arthur Elvin

Sir Arthur Elvin MBE (5 July 1899 in Norwich, England[1] – 4 February 1957) was a British businessman who was best known as the owner and operator of Wembley Stadium, London, and supporter of the 1948 Olympic Games.[2][3]

The son of a Norwich policeman, he was born in Magpie Road, Norwich. Elvin left school at the age of fourteen. After a few different jobs, including as a soap salesman in Aldgate, he joined the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War, aged 17.

Arthur Elvin (center) in POW camp 1918

Flying as an observer, Elvin was shot down over France and was held as a prisoner of war for six months, despite at least one escape attempt.[3] He later said that one of the reasons for his recapture was that he could not swim, and that this had made him determined to construct a public swimming pool.[citation needed]

After the war Elvin was employed by the Ministry of Munitions to salvage the metal in artillery shells in France, supervising, in his words, "hundreds of workmen of all nationalities." [citation needed]

Back in England, Elvin ran out of money and in 1924 was offered a job working in a cigarette kiosk at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park, Wembley, by a charity for distressed ex-officers. Working at the Exhibition changed Elvin's life.[citation needed]

Elvin died at sea in 1957 whilst on a trip to South Africa and was buried at sea. Despite his success he never lost his Norwich accent.[2][4][5][6]

Between 1976 and 2006, his name was commemorated through the naming of Elvin House, a futuristic triangular office block in Wembley.[7]

  1. ^ Jacobs, N. & Lipscombe, P. (2005). Wembley Speedway : The Pre-War Years. Stroud: Tempus Publishing; ISBN 0-7524-3750-X
  2. ^ a b "Former Norwich paperboy was a driving force behind 1948 London Olympics". 24 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Service Record for A. J. Elvin AIR 76/151/77". 12 January 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  4. ^ "The story of how Ginger, the boy from Norwich, started making his mark in the world". 25 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Arthur Elvin". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33017. Retrieved 30 June 2016. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. ^ Morgan, Tom (1947) The People Speedway Guide, Odhams Press, p. 79
  7. ^ "Wembley Conference Centre, Elvin House & Exhibition Halls – John F Hunt". johnfhunt.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2016.