James Wallman (1928 – 2024)
It was very sad news for the club to hear that James Wallman passed away on the 17th October 2024, a week after his 96th birthday.
James was the eldest member of Camberley Chess Club for 3 years, having moved from Dorset to Camberley after his wife died, to be close to Martin and his family.
In that relatively short time, James lit up the club with his unfailing enthusiasm and positivity. Not only did he play for the club, but he also travelled far and wide to play in no less than 26 chess tournaments in the last two years! He was probably the oldest active ECF member. He was all about playing with a smile and enjoying the game…win, lose or draw – he was a good role model for us all.
James was born in Islington in 1928, and went to school in Enfield. He experienced the German air raids during the war in his early teens and told how he found them to be fun and exciting, as only a teenage boy could! He did National Service training at Catterick and went on to serve in Berlin as a signaller and was there during the Berlin Airlift, learning German on the way.
After returning to London James worked at the Crown Agents and met Miriam, a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital. They were married for an incredible 66 years and raised four children, and the family expanded to include 14 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren!
James was a history teacher at Latymer School in Edmonton for many years, taking early retirement and moved following his wife’s teaching posts to Cambridgeshire and then to Verwood in Dorset in 1984. During their whole married life they enjoyed many caravan holidays all over Europe particularly to Greece, the South of France and Austria.
He enjoyed walking every day, rain or shine, listening to classical music, as well as playing chess. He was an avid reader, kept up to date with world news, did The Times crossword daily, used the internet widely even discovering Chat GPT which he used with great enthusiasm! He also used his iPhone for many apps including online banking, find my friend, whatsapp, online chess and even receiving phone calls and listening to Spotify on his wireless hearing aids.
Following his move to Camberley he enjoyed living independently for two years in his own flat before deciding that a move to a care home would be beneficial. He moved into Camberley Manor Care Home in August 2023 and went on to have a very fulfilled last year of life taking up Yoga and Tai Chi. He became renowned for dancing at every opportunity and was even awarded their Golden Rose Award for King of Dance in February of this year – a title he wore with pride. He kept up his daily walks up until his last months.
Some comments from the English Chess Forum can be found here.