Page 102 - WHO'S WHO OF DUDLEY ROTARY

He lived most of his life in central Dudley, in the Dixon’s Green and Oakham areas and latterly
in Priory Close. As a young man he was a steward at Dixon’s Green Wesleyan Church, and during
his period as bank manager in the town he was Secretary of the Dudley & District Boy Scouts
Association and President of Dudley Grammar School Old Boy’s Association.

320 Hugh Anyon SHERRATT (1892-1961) (Member 1936-38; re-joined 17.12.1951; member until
shortly before his death in 1961.) Radio Equipment Retailing. Proprietor of Sherratt’s Electrical
Ltd of Wolverhampton Street, Dudley. The firm survived him and continued until 1997. (See
#191 for a more detailed biography.)

321 Geoffrey Ernest HILL (1918-1998) (Inducted 17.12.1951; President 1962-63; left in late 1967.)
Electrical Engineering Contracting. He was a partner in the firm Graham, Hill & Poole, which had
workshops at New Road, Netherton. His brother-in-law Basil Poole, club member #303, helped
set him up in business in 1947 and remained a partner for six years. From 1954 he operated in
his own name as G Hill (Electrical) Limited from various premises in Dudley, first in Occupation
Street, then Trindle Road, and finally Union Street. He moved home to Hagley in 1963, so two
years later he opened a radio and television shop and repair business in Worcester Road, Hagley
and wound up the Dudley company. He was a son of Ernest Hill, proprietor of the booksellers
Britten & Hill in Dudley High Street, and was educated as a boarder at Wolverley School near
Kidderminster.

322 Rev Thomas (‘Tom’) Whitney Uniacke KEITH-MURRAY (1904-1976) (Inducted 31.12.1951; made
an Honorary Member in 1966 and kept that title up to his death.) Clerk in
Holy Orders. Vicar of Dudley from July 1951 (in succession to Canon John
Waring, Rotary member #268). He was made an Honorary Canon of
Worcester Cathedral and Rural Dean of Swinford the same year. He
remained Vicar of Dudley until September 1966 when he appears to have
assumed the full duties of a Canon of the Cathedral. As early as 1959 he had
moved from the Vicarage in Dudley to the village of Wichenford near
Worcester, and in 1969 moved into Worcester itself.
He was born in Zululand (Natal), South Africa, son of a surgeon and Church
of Scotland minister. His name ‘Thomas’ was added at his baptism nine months after his birth.
He was sent to England to be educated at Haileybury public school, Hertfordshire. On leaving
Haileybury he joined Puttick & Simpson, fine art auctioneers in London where he stayed until
1925. He took up school teaching, becoming Senior Assistant Master at Finstall Park Preparatory
School for Boys, Bromsgrove, in 1926. He remained there until 1939, during which time he
became a Diocesan Lay Reader. That year he decided to enter the church and trained for the
ministry at Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge. He was ordained as a Deacon of the
parish of Headless Cross, Redditch in December 1940 and parish priest in September 1941. He
married the daughter of the Vicar of Lickey in 1944, the same year he became Vicar of St Thomas’
Church, Stourbridge. He was at Stourbridge seven years before coming to Dudley. Up to the
end of 1964 he was a Chaplain 4th Class (equivalent in rank to Captain) with the Territorial Army,
Worcester. Before coming to Dudley he was already prominent in the Boy Scout movement - as
Assistant District Commissioner at Stourbridge and District Commissioner at Bromsgrove.

323 Joseph Howard WHORTON [Joseph junior] (1908-1967) (Inducted 21.7.1952; died 6.6.1967
whilst still a member.) Automobile Distributing, but from February 1954 altered to Automobile
Retailing. Managing Director of Whittingham & Co. Ltd of The Broadway Garage, Dudley,
automobile sales, service and repairs. He was the son of Joseph Henry Whorton who joined
the Rotary club in 1925 (#105), and father of David Whorton who joined in 1963 (#387). His
father was a car and motorcycle dealer, partner in the firm of Whorton & Christopher, but this
was forced into liquidation immediately following his death in 1928 when Joseph junior was only