Ordination of son of Oddington Rector
The Rev. Samuel Crawley, Rector of Oddington, devoted his column in the Islip Rural Deanery Magazine of July 1898 entirely to his son, Alfred Ernest Crawley.
“It will be interesting to the parishioners to know that the eldest son of the Rector, Mr A.E.Crawley, M.A., Senior Classical and Composition Master at Lancing College, was admitted to holy orders on Trinity Sunday by the Lord Bishop of Chichester. Mr Crawley had a most brilliant career at Cambridge. In 1887 he gained the open “Senior Classical Scholarship” at Emmanuel College, and at the “Previous Examination” he obtained a “First Class” in Classics, “First Class” in “Additionals” and “Second Class” in “Mathematics.” In 1888 Mr Crawley gained a Classical Exhibition of £50 a year from the Goldsmiths’ Company; he became also “Foundation Scholar” (£60 a year) and Latin Prize Essayist. In 1889 his Scholarship was advanced to £80, and he graduated as B.A. in the “First Class” of the “Classical Tripos.” In 1890 he was again placed in the “First Class” of the “Classical Tripos” at the “Further Examination.” In 1891 Mr Crawley became Senior Classical Master at St. John’s School, Leatherhead. In 1892 he gained the “Sudbury-Hardyman” Prize, value £30, open to B.A.’s of Emmanuel College for the best dissertation on an original subject. His subject was “Clavus Annalis.” In 1897 he became Senior Classical Master of Lancing College, in addition to his classical work.
Alfred Ernest Crawley was born at Lincoln in 1869. He attended Sedbergh School before going up to Emmanuel College. He married Constance Alice White at the Church of St. Andrew, Oddington on 31 July 1900, the ceremony being conducted by his father.
He was a very skilled player and coach of lawn tennis, following in the tradition of his father. He died at Kensington on 21 October 1924.
*******************************************************************************************************
Walter Cecil Crawley – Olympian
Walter Cecil Crawley was the son of the Rector of Oddington, Rev. Samuel Crawley and Elizabeth Hannah Crawley, nee Cross. He was born at Masham, North Yorkshire on 29 March 1880.
Rev. Samuel Crawley was a renowned lawn tennis player and passed these skills on to his son. Walter represented Great Britain at singles and doubles in the London Olympics of 1908. That year he was a quarter-finalist in the Wimbledon Championships. His last appearance at Wimbledon was in 1927.
Walter Crawley’s initial career was in law but he went on to become an eminent entomologist. He died at Graffham, West Sussex on 11 October 1940.
St Andrew's Church 