Arthur Elvin

rdf:langString Arthur Elvin

rdf:langString Sir Arthur 'Ginger' Elvin MBE (5 July 1899 in Norwich, England – 4 February 1957) was a British businessman who was best known as the owner and operator of Wembley Stadium, London. 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 . Flying as an observer Elvin was shot down over France and was held as a prisoner of war for two years, despite at least one escape attempt. 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. 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." 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. Elvin died at sea whilst on a trip to South Africa and was buried at sea. Despite his success he never lost his Norwich accent. Between 1976 and 2006 his name was commemorated through the naming of Elvin House, a futuristic triangular office block.