Alice Mabel Pickering (1860–1939), née Simpson, was an English tennis player who twice reached the final of the Wimbledon Championship. Pickering played at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...

from 1895 to 1901. In 1896, she won the all-comers-competition at Wimbledon 1896,Arthur Wallis Myers (1903): ''Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad.'' Scribner's sons, New York, p. 180.
online
but lost the challenge round against Charlotte Cooper 2–6, 3–6. She again reached the all-comers final in the following year, but this time lost to

Blanche Bingley Blanche Bingley Hillyard (née Bingley; 3 November 1863 – 6 August 1946) was an English tennis player. She won six singles Wimbledon championships (1886, 1889, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900) and was runner up seven times, having also competed in the ...

. In 1896, she won the doubles competition at the Irish Championships with

Ruth Durlacher Ruth Durlacher (née Dyas; 22 July 1876 – 21 September 1946) was an Irish tennis player. She played in the Wimbledon Championships between 1897 and 1907. Early life Durlacher was born Ruth Dyas in Malahide on 22 July 1876. Durlacher was daug ...

Grand Slam finals

Single (1 runner-up)

Personal life

Pickering was born in 1860 in the village of Ledsham, West Yorkshire. Her parents were the Reverend Michael Henry Simpson (1816–1888), Vicar of the Church of St Philip and St James, Tow Law,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, between 1862 and 1888, and his wife Elizabeth, née Hendrick (1806–1905). On her mother's side, Pickering was part of an old north country family, being a great-great-granddaughter of Lord Lever of Alkrington Hall. Pickering was one of 14 children who grew up in

Tow Law Tow Law is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles to the south of Consett and 5 miles to the north west of Crook. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,952, increasing to 2,138 at the ...

. Her siblings included Florence Eva Simpson (1865–1923), known as Elva Lorence, a published writer and composer, as well as a painter. Another sister was

Katherine Ashton Simpson Katherine Ashton Simpson (known as Kate A. Pearce Simpson; after marriage, Kate A. Pearce-Ellis; (1858–1951) was a British author, poet, and painter. Work Simpson published several books and poetry collections. A number of her poems were set t ...

(1858–1951), known as Kate A. Pearce Simpson, the writer of books and musicals and poetry. She was also an artist, whose work was hung in the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

, at the Berwick Exhibition in Newcastle-on-Tyne. She married William Pickering on 28 July 1885 in Tow Law, County Durham. They had one son, Basil Henry, and the family lived on Lawn Road in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

. William Pickering became Chief Government Inspector of Mines for Yorkshire and the North Midlands. He was killed on 12 July 1912 in the Cadeby Main Pit Disaster. After William's death, Alice became involved in numerous charitable endeavours during the First World War running the Arnold Auxiliary Hospital in

. She was awarded an MBE in the March 1918 New Year Honours (MBE) for her wartime contributions and was decorated by the King at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. She died in 1939 in Doncaster.

References

External links

* British female tennis players 1860 births 1939 deaths 19th-century female tennis players 19th-century English sportswomen Tennis players from County Durham People from Tow Law English female tennis players Members of the Order of the British Empire {{England-tennis-bio-stub