Kenneth Arthur Wagg (March 6, 1909-May 7, 2000) was an English

rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

player, banker, and theatrical producer.

Early life and business career

Wagg was born in 1909; his great-grandfather was the founder of the merchant bank Helbert Wagg. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and Magdalen College, Oxford. Wagg worked for his family's bank after graduating from Oxford. Wagg became a director of

Horlicks Horlicks is a sweet malted milk hot drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was s ...

following his marriage to Katherine Horlick and served as chairman of Horlick's North American subsidiary after the Second World War. Wagg joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and served with the Rifle Brigade in the North African campaign in the war. Wagg produced several

West End plays West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

in the 1950s and 60s including ''South'' by

Julien Green Julien Green (September 6, 1900 – August 13, 1998) was an American writer who authored several novels (''The Dark Journey'', ''The Closed Garden'', ''Moira'', ''Each Man in His Darkness'', the ''Dixie'' trilogy, etc.), a four-volume autobiog ...

, ''Belle or The Ballad of Doctor Crippen'' by

Wolf Mankowitz Cyril Wolf Mankowitz (7 November 1924 – 20 May 1998) was an English writer, playwright and screenwriter. He is particularly known for three novels— '' Make Me an Offer'' (1952), '' A Kid for Two Farthings'' (1953) and ''My Old Man's a Dustm ...

and the 1958 play ''Four Winds'' by Thomas Phipps.

Rackets

Wagg became a noted player of

while at Eton. Wagg formed a doubles partnership with Ian Akers-Douglas. He and Akers-Douglas won the Public Schools championship of 1927 and the Noel Bruce Cup in 1932. The pair were victorious in the national Amateur Doubles championship of 1932, 1933 and 1935. Wagg was part of the inaugural British rackets tour of the United States following the Second World War. He was victorious in the Army rackets tournament with Cosmo Crawley. Wagg reached the semi-finals of the British rackets championship in 1952, also winning the US doubles title that year. Wagg and Geoffrey Atkins lost the final of the US doubles in 1953. In 1958 Wagg won the US doubles title with Atkins. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described the match as "one of the most remarkable feats recorded on a rackets court" as Wagg and Atkins came back from 7–0 in the first game with "the greatest single hand of rackets within memory" as their opponents, the American players Robert Grant and Clarence Pell, "found themselves helpless against the absolute perfection, cleverness and finality of the British pair". Wagg and Atkins won the US doubles championship again in 1961 and won the individual Canadian title in 1960. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' wrote that "Wagg is a brilliant player with one of the best backhand strokes seen since the

irst World An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...

war" and wrote of him in 1935 that he "must be classed as the best doubles player of the game". Wagg was the captain of several British racket teams in the International Cup in the 1950s and 60s.

Personal life

Wagg married the food company heiress Katherine Horlick in 1933; the couple had four sons and divorced in 1946. He married actress Margaret Sullavan in 1950; she died of barbiturate poisoning in 1960. Wagg later described "the memories of an all too brief life with the most upright, unique and attractive character I had ever met". Wagg married the actress Clare Sandars, Lady McEwen, and converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1973 shortly before their marriage. He worked as fundraiser for Catholic causes in the last years of his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagg, Kenneth 1909 births 2000 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Converts to Roman Catholicism English expatriates in the United States English investment bankers English racquets players English theatre managers and producers People educated at Eton College Rifle Brigade soldiers