Date of Plaque Unveiling: 8 June 2001
Speakers: Grant Barker and Ken Somerville
Location: 1431 Oxford Street West, London, ON (present site of London Hunt and Country Clubhouse)
History
London is proud to have been home to one of Canada’s most loved and respected golfers. Charles Ross (“Sandy”) Somerville was born on May 4, 1903 in London and started playing sports at a young age. A great all-around athlete, Sandy was half-back for the University of Toronto varsity team, captain of its junior hockey team, and competed internationally in cricket. He turned down offers to play with the Toronto Argonauts and Toronto Maple Leafs and instead opted to pursue golf at an amateur level, while building a successful career as a life insurance executive.
Somerville started golfing at the young age of seven and studied with Kernie Marsh at the London Hunt and Country Club. He won his first Canadian Amateur Championship in 1926 and added five more titles to his resumé before the Second World War (in 1928, 1930, 1931, 1935, and 1937). Somerville gained much attention when he became the first Canadian and only the second non-American to win the United States Amateur Champion in 1932. Organizers were unprepared for a non-American win and did not even have a Union Jack to use in the award ceremony.
When the Second World War broke out, Somerville put golf on hold and responded to the call of duty. He was commissioned as an officer in the Canadian Army and served until the end of the war. Somerville was made a Member of the British Empire in recognition for his service.
After the war, Somerville continued to be active in golf and served as President of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, President of the Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association, and as President of the London Hunt and Country Club for three terms. He was also a four-time champion of the Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association and two-time winner of U.S.-Canada Seniors’ trophy.
Somerville has received many honours in recognition of his great accomplishments in golf, including the Lionel Conacher Trophy for Canada’s most outstanding male athlete (1932) and a place in both Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (1955) and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame (1971). He was also named top golfer of the half century by the Canadian Press in 1950.
Perhaps more important than his long list of titles and awards, Somerville achieved international respect and admiration. Nicknamed “Silent Sandy,” Somerville approached the game with quiet determination, focus and modesty. A key player at a time when golf was experiencing unprecedented growth and popularity, Canadians were proud of all that Somerville accomplished and represented.
Charles Ross "Sandy" Somerville died May 17, 1992.
