Notable People
Charles Dickens lived in the town as a boy, both in 'The Brook, Chatham' and in Ordnance Terrace before Chatham railway station was built just opposite. He subsequently described it as the happiest period of his childhood, and eventually returned to the area in adulthood when he bought a house in nearby Gad's Hill. Medway features in his novels.
Current England international footballer Chris Smalling attended Chatham Grammar School for Boys and plays club football for Manchester United.
Others who were born or who lived or live in Chatham:
- Organist and post-romantic composer Percy Whitlock
- Victorian era painter and patricide Richard Dadd
- Artist, poet, and musician Billy Childish
- Musician, guitarist with the Hollies, Steve Lauri
- Poet, painter, storyteller and mythographer Bill Lewis
- Poet, screenwriter, film maker and writer Alan Denman, was a lecturer at the Kent Institute of Art & Design (KIAD) at Fort Pitt in Rochester.
- Artist Tracey Emin (one time girl friend of Billy Childish in 1980's) Young British Artists
- Designer Zandra Rhodes, CBE, RDI
- Author and screenwriter Stel Pavlou attended the Chatham Grammar School for Boys
- Boyband-singer Lee Ryan also attended the Chatham Grammar School for Boys
- Ben Mills, singer and X Factor contestant
- Actor Tommy Knight
- Twice BDO World Darts Championship Finalist Dave Whitcombe
- Former captain of League of Ireland club, Bohemians, Kevin Hunt
- England international hockey player, Ashley Jackson
- Composer, pop musician and member of The Art of Noise, Anne Dudley
- The actor Kevin Eldon, stand up comedian and comedy actor, who starred in Big Train, I'm Alan Partridge and with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring in Fist of Fun and This Morning with Richard Not Judy
- Professional footballer Andrew Crofts currently playing for Norwich City FC
- Professional footballer Neil Shipperley, formerly of Crystal Palace FC and Wimbledon FC - now manager of non-league Walton Casuals FC
- Author and historian William Coles Finch lived at Luton, Chatham.
- Keith Donohue, Devon cricketer
- The biographer, novelist and poet Elizabeth Benger was brought up here between 1782 and 1797.
- Professional footballer George Boyd of Peterborough United was born in Chatham and played briefly for Chatham Town FC
- Professional footballer Lee Minshull of AFC Wimbledon was born in Chatham.
Read more about this topic: Chatham, Kent
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