[1] A right-handed batsman and left-arm unorthodox spin bowler, Compton is regularly credited as one of England's most remarkable batsmen.

[6][7] Compton was born and brought up in what was then the urban district of Hendon, which later became part of Greater London; his father had moved there in hopes of finding more work.

The previous summer he had begun to make a name for himself when, at that same venue, he scored 114 as captain of an Elementary Schools XI, impressing Test selector Sir Pelham Warner.

It was in India that he began his close friendship with his Australian counterpart, Test cricketer, footballer and national hero, Keith Miller.

[20] England toured Australia in the 1946–47 Ashes series and though they were beaten by the powerful Australian team, Compton distinguished himself by scoring a century in each innings of the Adelaide Test.

Helped by a rare summer of sunshine,[21] Compton thrilled the war-weary English public with his cavalier batting.

[22] According to journalist Frank Keating, Compton's personal favourite innings of that summer was for Middlesex against Kent at Lord's.

Cardus wrote: Never have I been so deeply touched on a cricket ground as in this heavenly summer, when I went to Lord's to see a pale-faced crowd, existing on rations, the rocket-bomb still in the ears of most, and see the strain of anxiety and affliction passed from all hearts and shoulders at the sight of Compton in full sail ... each stroke a flick of delight, a propulsion of happy, sane, healthy life.

[23] Arlott, who had written his first cricket book that summer, concluded with a tribute to Compton:To close the eyes is to see again that easy, happy figure at the wicket, pushing an unruly forelock out of the eye and then as it falls down again, playing off the wrong foot a stroke which passes deep-point like a bullet ... never again will the boyish delight in hitting a ball with a piece of wood flower directly into charm and gaiety and all the wealth of achievement.

Compton was forced off the ground with a cut head, given two stitches, and ordered to rest despite wanting to return to the crease.

[citation needed] On the MCC tour of South Africa 1948–49 he scored 300 against North-Eastern Transvaal in just a minute over three hours – still the fastest triple-century ever in first-class cricket.

Reminiscing about the match later, Compton compared the South Africans' bowling with a decent county side, but criticised their catching (he had been dropped before he reached 20).

He became the first professional to captain the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) for an entire game, Jack Hobbs having taken over from the injured Arthur Carr in 1924–1925.

Arsenal won the league championship (old First Division) in 1937–38, but Denis Compton did not get a medal since he had made only 7 appearances that season.

Peter Parfitt, the Middlesex and England batsman, was a speaker at a major celebration in London for Compton's 70th birthday.

[14][15] Compton's death, on Saint George's Day, coincided with the opening of the 1997 County Championship season, and pavilion flags across the country were lowered to half-mast in his memory.

[23] The MCC named the twin stands at the Nursery End of Lord's Cricket Ground in his and Bill Edrich's honour.

Cricket writer Colin Bateman noted, however, that it was "a dull, practical structure which does little justice to their mercurial talents and indomitable spirits".

With his contemporary the footballer Stanley Matthews, Compton was the first British sportsman to make a substantial living by exploiting his sporting reputation to provide advertisements and endorsements.

[19] Compton's elder brother Leslie also played cricket for Middlesex and football as a defender for Arsenal and England.

[38] With his second wife, Valerie Platt, Compton had two sons, Patrick and Richard, both of whom were born in England but brought up by their mother in South Africa after 1960.

"[42] In an episode of Ever Decreasing Circles titled "The Cricket Match", Martin explains to his neighbour Paul that Compton never undermined his county captain George Mann despite being the better player.

In Tim Rice's Academy Awards acceptance speech for the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", he thanked Compton as "... a childhood hero of mine.