James Emil Hubert Zimmermann (1886 – 31 May 1917) was a British tennis player in the years before World War I. His father was German, and Zimmerman was embarrassed by his German name, so he abbreviated his surname to Mann. He reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon men's singles in 1912 where he lost in straight sets to

Alfred Beamish Alfred Ernest Beamish (6 August 1879 – 28 February 1944) was an English tennis player born in Richmond, Surrey, England. He finished runner-up to James Cecil Parke in the Men's Singles final of the Australasian Championships, the future Austr ...

. He lost in the second round at Wimbledon in 1913 to

Percival Davson Percival May Davson (30 September 1877 – 5 December 1959) was a British fencer and tennis player. He won a silver medal in the team épée event at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He also competed in the Davis Cup in 1919. In April 1913 Per ...

. According to his obituary in the Sydney newspaper ''Referee'' on 17 October 1917, Zimmermann was "always popular with the crowd, for his garrulity on court, though sometimes disconcerting to his opponents, he had a vein of humour and irresponsibility". In 1915, his habit of sleepwalking led him into danger when he was found wandering on the Brighton railway line near Victoria station (he was sentenced to six months imprisonment, though the sentence was quashed on appeal). In World War I, Zimmermann was a sergeant in the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

(HAC) and died from wounds sustained in action in 1917.

References

1886 births 1917 deaths British male tennis players British people of German descent Place of birth missing British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I Honourable Artillery Company soldiers {{UK-tennis-bio-stub