Place Name
Sir Alec Victor Bedser (July 4, 1918 – April 4, 2010) or Eric Arthur Bedser (July 4, 1918 – May 24, 2006) were identical twin brothers who both went went on to play for Surrey County Cricket Club. Alec was, widely regarded as one of England’s top bowlers of the 20thCentury. They were born at their grandmother’s house in Reading in 1918. After the Second World War, in which like their father, they served in the RAF, they continued their interrupted cricket careers. In 1946 Alec took seven wickets in his first Championship match quickly being selected to play for England against the visiting Indians, he took 24 wickets ensuring that he remained top of the England selector list for years. As a Test player he bowled more than 10,000 overs and was also the spearhead of the Surrey team that won seven successive Championships in the 1950s. He retired in 1960 and was a selector for 20 years, 13 of them as chairman. Outside of cricket he was a founding member of the Freedom Association, a centre-right, anti-union, and libertarian pressure group with links to the Conservative Party. He became president of Surrey in 1987, the club he joined in 1938 as a groundstaff boy. He received a knighthood under John Major. Eric enjoyed a successful first-class career, as an all-rounder for the Surrey team that won seven successive County Championships from 1952 to 1958, although he was never selected for the national side. After retiring from playing cricket the brothers went into business with Ronald Straker running a successful stationery firm, Straker-Bedser, which was later taken over by Ryman in 1977. This street was laid out over a former sports ground with many of the streets named after major sporting personalities.
