Ernest Simpson

Simpson was born at Clapton, London in 1875, the second son of Frederick and Rose Simpson (née Jack); Simpson also had four sisters. The family lived at Beckenham in Kent, and Simpson's father worked at the London Stock Exchange, a profession which both boys later took up. Simpson was educated at boarding school at Littlehampton before moving to Malvern College in 1891, aged 15, where he played association football and, for three years, cricket. His obituary in The Malvernian described him as "strongly-built, full of keenness and vigour" and that he "threw himself whole-heartedly... into every kind of game and athletics".

He captained the college cricket team, which Wisden described as a "thoroughly useful team", in his final year at school, succeeding Cuthbert Burnup in the role. He was a member of the Cadet Corps, leaving school in 1895 with the rank of lieutenant. He went up to Cambridge University for a period, but does not appear to have graduated.

Simpson lived most of his life in Beckenham and joined the Stock Exchange in 1900. He dealt primarily in the US market and worked as a stock jobber. In April 1913 he married Violet Bishop in Sloane Square; the couple did not have children.