History Of The Anglo In England, Pre-1920

[Dan Worrall]

Hi Dan

 

I've just been talking to John Newman of Grenoside Sword team. He says they never had a concertina player but there is a picture of a flutina player.

 

Still no luck with scanning, my machine is wrecked, and digital photos are too small and blurred in close up. I'll keep trying

 

Yours

Mike

 

Hi Mike,

I'm in the edit phase of the Anglo-in-England piece now...the English Anglo had a great history and the telling of it has grown into a book...I decided to also include a rewrite/update of the 'Anglo-in-Ireland' and 'Concertina-at-Sea' articles in it too (nearly two thirds of the 'at Sea' sightings were on British ships, and I bet nearly all the ships I quote had an Irish sailor or two on board, so it seems fitting to include it), so it will be a doorstop. Last count, I had well over 250 illustrations and hundreds of first-hand accounts going back well into the 1840s. But your photo sounds great....I wants it.....any luck with the scanner? Got a friend, or a library with one? Many thanks.

 

I'm hoping to get the thing reviewed, edited, formatted and out the door by early summer. Then I'll start on vol.II...Australia, NZ, S Africa, Africa, US and, with some help, the revival itself, which is now well into its 4th decade.

 

By the way, I'm STILL looking for some more good photos of Irish concertina players pre-1930.....They are scarce as hen's teeth. Any any ideas out there?

 

Big Roly,

A) cool moniker

B ) why was Frank West a villain? Is this an inside joke? Or am I just a dunce not to know more about him?

 

Best to all,

Dan

Edited February 6, 2009 by Dan Worrall

[Dave Rogers]

B ) why was Frank West a villain? Is this an inside joke? Or am I just a dunce not to know more about him?

 

It's Fred West, Dan - Big Roly was referring to this nasty piece of work:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_West

 

We may be more curious about serial killers over here, as many Brits seem to know a lot about those from the other side of the pond as well as the home-grown ones...

[Dan Worrall]

B ) why was Frank West a villain? Is this an inside joke? Or am I just a dunce not to know more about him?

 

It's Fred West, Dan - Big Roly was referring to this nasty piece of work:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_West

 

We may be more curious about serial killers over here, as many Brits seem to know a lot about those from the other side of the pond as well as the home-grown ones...

 

Oh...how awful. Way too young to be Scan's old friend, thank goodness.

[michael sam wild]

Hi Dan

I'll go round to a friends and scan it. I was going to buy a joint scannner, copier and printer but fiunds are low after Christmas. Photos no good, too much glare from the shiny paper Sorry for the delay

 

 

By the way have you come across records of people playing and singing at the same time, eg popular music, music hall etc . I'm interested in what they did. I'm sure as a novel instrument it must have been put to various uses

 

Cheers

Mike

[Dan Worrall]

Hi Dan

I'll go round to a friends and scan it. I was going to buy a joint scannner, copier and printer but fiunds are low after Christmas. Photos no good, too much glare from the shiny paper Sorry for the delay

 

 

By the way have you come across records of people playing and singing at the same time, eg popular music, music hall etc . I'm interested in what they did. I'm sure as a novel instrument it must have been put to various uses

 

Cheers

Mike

Thank 'ee kindly, Mike; I look forward to seeing it!

 

Yes, certainly folks sang with their anglos. Here below is one of my favorite references, a preview from my book. Crying Harry was a London street character in the 1890s; he played concertina and sang hymns while he played, and as you can see sometimes his dog did the singing:

 

"'Crying Harry'is a long, lean, anatomy of a man of some sixty summers- or winters, rather- who discourses sweet music- Moody and Sanky’s (hymns)- from the brazen bowels of a German concertina to the occasional accompaniment of his diminutive dog Fidey, but more often to that of his own less melodious lungs. His hymns are invariably rendered with the most approved unction, what time the tears may be seen to flow copiously from his great sightless orbs down a pair of cadaverous cheeks, presenting a picture at once impressive and irresistible. Woe betide the tender-hearted old lady who chances to cross Harry's path when he is in his melting mood. Fresh from her cozy cottage, with the memory of perhaps a dozen sturdy vagabonds rankling in her breast, she may screw her mouth a little tighter, and step out with unwonted firmness as the form of a vocalist comes in sight, and the air becomes charged with his pious strain; but be her heart never so steeled against charity, she cannot pass him. There is about Harry a mysterious influence that no sympathetic old lady- and all old ladies are sympathetic- can resist, a magnetic attraction that no coin of the realm below the caliber of a shilling can treat with impunity. The diminutive three-penny piece may presume upon its insignificance, or its universally acknowledged utility in the matter of Sunday collections, and hide itself in the remotest corner of purse or pocket; but it knows not the man with whom it has to deal when Harry is about. …. The tears will begin to flow as if by magic, additional unction is impaired to the pious strain, and the old lady capitulates gracefully. …. Harry's facility for divining the approach of sympathetic old ladies is nothing less than marvelous."

 

One way they played while singing---the simplest, perhaps---was by playing simple chords, often with both hands. There is a Sally Army book written on how to play those as hymn accompaniments (see the Appendix of my Anglos in America article on www.concertina.com). Two-fisted three-chord tricks. Not too difficult.

 

I've got more such sightings of singer-players. Usually it is the street singers, or Sally Army types. No doubt it was in the halls, too, I have a nice photo of one SA-dressed woman singing with ther Anglo on a hall set (recently posted on the Forum, can't remember the thread). You may also recall the postcard of the inebriated couple on the beach, man playing and singing, that Stephen Chambers posted a while back. That stuff is not made up...it was one of the key uses.

 

There is the myth, or rather urban legend, occasionally circulated in some English circles that singing to a concertina is just a product of the revival (the Bert Lloyd era, etc), and that real folk singers never used musical accompaniment. I rank that one right in there with other concertina urban legends, like 'sailors never played them--that is an urban legend'. Printed 19th century texts are much better sources than folk revivalists for such history.

 

Cheers

Dan

Edited February 10, 2009 by Dan Worrall

[michael sam wild]

Thanks Dan, that's a great quote!

[Big_Roly]

Hello Dan, hello everybody.

 

B ) why was Frank West a villain? Is this an inside joke? Or am I just a dunce not to know more about him?

 

It's Fred West, Dan - Big Roly was referring to this nasty piece of work:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_West

 

We may be more curious about serial killers over here, as many Brits seem to know a lot about those from the other side of the pond as well as the home-grown ones...

 

Oh...how awful. Way too young to be Scan's old friend, thank goodness.

 

Sorry to get the wind up you! I lived in the same town (Cheltenham) as at least one of the non-concertina-playing West's victims - but enough of that. I see that Scan's chum Harry 'Bogie' Woolgar, played only one side of the anglo. Why was that? A disability, or was it because he could? I've given it a try, myself, clutching the 'tina between my knees, and attempting to play the drones on a set of Border pipes with my other hand. I suppose other people's opinion of me is quite justified really.

 

All the best

 

Big Roly

[marshall]

I've been researching the history of the Anglo concertina in England, focusing on the period before 1920, and am working toward an eventual article to join others of mine (on the anglo in the US, Ireland, and at sea, all available at www.angloconcertina.org). Using various sources, digital and otherwise, I seem to be finding quite a lot of interesting material on its use in Victorian and Edwardian England---in street music, country dances, Salvation army rallies, street playing of music hall tunes, use in minstrel groups, and the like. There are two areas where I am having particular difficulty, however, and wonder if those hardy souls amongst you with an interest in history might have some information to help me:

 

1. Use of the Anglo in morris and 'folk-ritual' dances (mummers, etc.), prior to the time of Sharp's first English folk revival. As you can imagine, I can find many more references to urban life than to country life, so things like morris and mummers and the like go rather unreported. Keith Chandler, in his excellent book on the morris, thought that Anglo playing for morris was quite rare, but I've been finding a fair number of references (including the three photos Howard Mitchell kindly posted on this forum a few years back). Attached below is a list of what I have been able to find. Does anyone have anything that could be added? The more the list grows, the more it seems as if the Anglo might have been used more in the morris than some people think, during the Anglo's peak years at the end of the 19th century....but I'd need to see some more references to be able to state that with any confidence.

 

Groups with Anglo players for Morris or other ‘Ritual’ Dance, pre-Sharp revival

 

• William Kimber Jr., 1872-1961, Headington Quarry morris side, Oxfordshire

• William Kimber Sr. (1849-1931, Headington Quarry morris side, Oxfordshire

• Wheatley morris side, Oxfordshire, 1870s

• Winchcombe morris side, Gloucestershire, 1880s

• Shrewsbury, Shropshire morris side, 1878-79

• Glossop, Derbyshire morris side, 1927 photo recreating earlier activity

• Mossley, Lancashire morris side, 1903 photo

• Oldham, Lancashire morris side, ca. 1909 photo

• Sherborne, Gloucestershire mummers group had concertina, along with Thomas Pitts (b. 1855) on pipe and tabor

• Bradford, blackfaced mummer ‘Bletherhead Bands’, 1896

 

2. Remnant Anglo players in England after its popularity crashed following WWI. Even after the widespread Anglo craze in Ireland came to an abrupt end in the early 20th century, there was still a fair number of living players scattered around Ireland, and not just in Clare (see my Table 1 in that article). Six years ago, Roger Digby addressed the matter of surviving, active English players of the Anglo in the same period, and came up with only three: Tester, Kimber, and Fred Kilroy (Roger's article is at http://www.concertina.com/digby/anglo-file/ ). I can push it to six, just barely). I find this list too small to be credible. Certainly there were folks that must have been playing...your great-uncle Henry, perhaps? I'm interested in ANY Anglo players that can be documented during the period from 1920 to 1960 (in other words, before the concertina and folk revival happened). Do any of you know any others?

 

Known Anglo Players in England, active during the period 1920-1960

 

• William Kimber Jr., 1872-1961, Headington Quarry brickmason, morris and country dance

• Scan Tester (1887-1982) Sussex musician, various styles

• Will Tester, Scan’s brother, Sussex brickmaker

• Fred Kilroy, Oldham Lancashire, morris and dance tunes

• Rev. Kenneth Loveless

• David Jacob Blazer, London music halls in 1920s

 

Any help on these questions would be very gratefully received! Likewise, any other information you might wish to share on early Anglo playing in England would be very useful.

 

Kind regards,

Dan

 

What about the Royton concertina player Ellis Marshall? I remember seeing him playing for Wrigley Head though that must have been later than the period in question (probably late 1970s) but it shows he was still active. I believe he was born 1906 and died in 1993. Mark Davies will probably know much more.

 

Chas

[Dan Worrall]

What about the Royton concertina player Ellis Marshall? I remember seeing him playing for Wrigley Head though that must have been later than the period in question (probably late 1970s) but it shows he was still active. I believe he was born 1906 and died in 1993. Mark Davies will probably know much more.

 

Chas

Chas,

 

Thanks, especially for his birth and death dates. I had found a little about him. Here below is the little bit I have so far, buried in a snippet (from a larger section) I put together about the Royton Morris; if you have anything else you think I should add about him, I'd be glad to do it. By the way, I have finished the rough draft writing, and it is entering the edits/reviews stage:

 

...........

...A writer in 1952 recalled seeing the morris team at Royton in previous years, where a band of concertinas was employed:

 

The Royton Morris, Lancashire, stands by itself in numbers, dress and pattern. Ten men, a youth at each end, all in black velvet breeches, neat black clogs and perky jockey caps, swinging hanks of cotton bound up tightly into rolls; small men of the factory type, cotton spinners most of them. Out they march, their band composed of concertinas and drums, big and little....

 

This Royton team was partly a product of the morris revival. In 1928, Maud Karpeles of the English Folk Dance Society took the initiative to reform the Royton team with members from two pre-existing groups, each of which was an active team at least as far back as the 1890s. When they traveled to Royal Albert Hall in 1935 (Figure 4i), winning the 'All England Championship', they had two Anglo concertina players, Peter McDermot and Eillis Marshall (1906?-1993). After World War II, another Anglo player, Royton-born Fred Kilroy, joined Ellis Marshall. The Royton team was together for decades before disbanding in 1983. Both Kilroy and Marshall played the Anglo in a chorded style that emphasized minimal changes in bellows direction, and plenty of the volume needed for outdoor performances....

.....................

 

That is taken from various printed sources which I'll reference when this is published (chief among them is Alan Ward's article on Fred Kilroy).

 

Cheers,

Dan

[marshall]

What about the Royton concertina player Ellis Marshall? I remember seeing him playing for Wrigley Head though that must have been later than the period in question (probably late 1970s) but it shows he was still active. I believe he was born 1906 and died in 1993. Mark Davies will probably know much more.

 

Chas

Chas,

 

Thanks, especially for his birth and death dates. I had found a little about him. Here below is the little bit I have so far, buried in a snippet (from a larger section) I put together about the Royton Morris; if you have anything else you think I should add about him, I'd be glad to do it. By the way, I have finished the rough draft writing, and it is entering the edits/reviews stage:

 

...........

...A writer in 1952 recalled seeing the morris team at Royton in previous years, where a band of concertinas was employed:

 

The Royton Morris, Lancashire, stands by itself in numbers, dress and pattern. Ten men, a youth at each end, all in black velvet breeches, neat black clogs and perky jockey caps, swinging hanks of cotton bound up tightly into rolls; small men of the factory type, cotton spinners most of them. Out they march, their band composed of concertinas and drums, big and little....

 

This Royton team was partly a product of the morris revival. In 1928, Maud Karpeles of the English Folk Dance Society took the initiative to reform the Royton team with members from two pre-existing groups, each of which was an active team at least as far back as the 1890s. When they traveled to Royal Albert Hall in 1935 (Figure 4i), winning the 'All England Championship', they had two Anglo concertina players, Peter McDermot and Eillis Marshall (1906?-1993). After World War II, another Anglo player, Royton-born Fred Kilroy, joined Ellis Marshall. The Royton team was together for decades before disbanding in 1983. Both Kilroy and Marshall played the Anglo in a chorded style that emphasized minimal changes in bellows direction, and plenty of the volume needed for outdoor performances....

.....................

 

That is taken from various printed sources which I'll reference when this is published (chief among them is Alan Ward's article on Fred Kilroy).

 

Cheers,

Dan

 

Thanks Dan - I had "forgotten" about Alan Ward's article concerning Fred Kilroy. While I was searching for that I came across a photo of Ellis Marshall in English Dance and Song Spring 1978 Vol XL No 1. Do you have a copy of this or shall I send you a scan of it?

 

Chas

[Dan Worrall]

Thanks Dan - I had "forgotten" about Alan Ward's article concerning Fred Kilroy. While I was searching for that I came across a photo of Ellis Marshall in English Dance and Song Spring 1978 Vol XL No 1. Do you have a copy of this or shall I send you a scan of it?

 

Chas

 

Scan received....many thanks! There is nothing like having a photo when talking about people. It will make its way into the story...

 

All the best,

Dan

[TonyM]

I've been researching the history of the Anglo concertina in England, focusing on the period before 1920, and am working toward an eventual article to join others of mine (on the anglo in the US, Ireland, and at sea, all available at www.angloconcertina.org). Using various sources, digital and otherwise, I seem to be finding quite a lot of interesting material on its use in Victorian and Edwardian England---in street music, country dances, Salvation army rallies, street playing of music hall tunes, use in minstrel groups, and the like. There are two areas where I am having particular difficulty, however, and wonder if those hardy souls amongst you with an interest in history might have some information to help me:

 

1. Use of the Anglo in morris and 'folk-ritual' dances (mummers, etc.), prior to the time of Sharp's first English folk revival. As you can imagine, I can find many more references to urban life than to country life, so things like morris and mummers and the like go rather unreported. Keith Chandler, in his excellent book on the morris, thought that Anglo playing for morris was quite rare, but I've been finding a fair number of references (including the three photos Howard Mitchell kindly posted on this forum a few years back). Attached below is a list of what I have been able to find. Does anyone have anything that could be added? The more the list grows, the more it seems as if the Anglo might have been used more in the morris than some people think, during the Anglo's peak years at the end of the 19th century....but I'd need to see some more references to be able to state that with any confidence.

 

Groups with Anglo players for Morris or other ‘Ritual’ Dance, pre-Sharp revival

 

• William Kimber Jr., 1872-1961, Headington Quarry morris side, Oxfordshire

• William Kimber Sr. (1849-1931, Headington Quarry morris side, Oxfordshire

• Wheatley morris side, Oxfordshire, 1870s

• Winchcombe morris side, Gloucestershire, 1880s

• Shrewsbury, Shropshire morris side, 1878-79

• Glossop, Derbyshire morris side, 1927 photo recreating earlier activity

• Mossley, Lancashire morris side, 1903 photo

• Oldham, Lancashire morris side, ca. 1909 photo

• Sherborne, Gloucestershire mummers group had concertina, along with Thomas Pitts (b. 1855) on pipe and tabor

• Bradford, blackfaced mummer ‘Bletherhead Bands’, 1896

 

2. Remnant Anglo players in England after its popularity crashed following WWI. Even after the widespread Anglo craze in Ireland came to an abrupt end in the early 20th century, there was still a fair number of living players scattered around Ireland, and not just in Clare (see my Table 1 in that article). Six years ago, Roger Digby addressed the matter of surviving, active English players of the Anglo in the same period, and came up with only three: Tester, Kimber, and Fred Kilroy (Roger's article is at http://www.concertina.com/digby/anglo-file/ ). I can push it to six, just barely). I find this list too small to be credible. Certainly there were folks that must have been playing...your great-uncle Henry, perhaps? I'm interested in ANY Anglo players that can be documented during the period from 1920 to 1960 (in other words, before the concertina and folk revival happened). Do any of you know any others?

 

Known Anglo Players in England, active during the period 1920-1960

 

• William Kimber Jr., 1872-1961, Headington Quarry brickmason, morris and country dance

• Scan Tester (1887-1982) Sussex musician, various styles

• Will Tester, Scan’s brother, Sussex brickmaker

• Fred Kilroy, Oldham Lancashire, morris and dance tunes

• Rev. Kenneth Loveless

• David Jacob Blazer, London music halls in 1920s

 

Any help on these questions would be very gratefully received! Likewise, any other information you might wish to share on early Anglo playing in England would be very useful.

 

Kind regards,

Dan

 

What about the Royton concertina player Ellis Marshall? I remember seeing him playing for Wrigley Head though that must have been later than the period in question (probably late 1970s) but it shows he was still active. I believe he was born 1906 and died in 1993. Mark Davies will probably know much more.

 

Chas

 

Hi Chas,

 

Thank You so much for mentioning Ellis...Yes, he played both for Royton and Wrigley Head Morris in his time. He was born July 1st, 1906 and passed away on October 25th, 1993. I still miss him very much.

 

My name is Tony Marshall...I'm Ellis' Grandson.

 

It's my first time at this fabulous site, and I'm so glad you are all sharing some great stories!

[TonyM]

What about the Royton concertina player Ellis Marshall? I remember seeing him playing for Wrigley Head though that must have been later than the period in question (probably late 1970s) but it shows he was still active. I believe he was born 1906 and died in 1993. Mark Davies will probably know much more.

 

Chas

Chas,

 

Thanks, especially for his birth and death dates. I had found a little about him. Here below is the little bit I have so far, buried in a snippet (from a larger section) I put together about the Royton Morris; if you have anything else you think I should add about him, I'd be glad to do it. By the way, I have finished the rough draft writing, and it is entering the edits/reviews stage:

 

...........

...A writer in 1952 recalled seeing the morris team at Royton in previous years, where a band of concertinas was employed:

 

The Royton Morris, Lancashire, stands by itself in numbers, dress and pattern. Ten men, a youth at each end, all in black velvet breeches, neat black clogs and perky jockey caps, swinging hanks of cotton bound up tightly into rolls; small men of the factory type, cotton spinners most of them. Out they march, their band composed of concertinas and drums, big and little....

 

This Royton team was partly a product of the morris revival. In 1928, Maud Karpeles of the English Folk Dance Society took the initiative to reform the Royton team with members from two pre-existing groups, each of which was an active team at least as far back as the 1890s. When they traveled to Royal Albert Hall in 1935 (Figure 4i), winning the 'All England Championship', they had two Anglo concertina players, Peter McDermot and Eillis Marshall (1906?-1993). After World War II, another Anglo player, Royton-born Fred Kilroy, joined Ellis Marshall. The Royton team was together for decades before disbanding in 1983. Both Kilroy and Marshall played the Anglo in a chorded style that emphasized minimal changes in bellows direction, and plenty of the volume needed for outdoor performances....

.....................

 

That is taken from various printed sources which I'll reference when this is published (chief among them is Alan Ward's article on Fred Kilroy).

 

Cheers,

Dan

 

Thank You, Dan!

 

I've recently dropped you an email introducing myself, I'm Ellis' Grandson...hope you receive it ok.

 

Yes, Ellis was born July 1st, 1906.

 

It's great to see that you managed to research a little information concerning my Grandfather's playing style. He was also very much a part of the Royton Morris revival of the late 1970's/early 1980's, and played the concertina for the boys' team when they appeared on ITV's Saturday morning children's programme, 'The Fun Factory' in 1980. I remember watching their performance on my little black & white portable in my bedroom that morning...I didn't have a video player at the time so obviously couldn't record it; I've been trying to track down this little piece of history of recent times; Alas, to no avail.

 

Tony Marshall.

 

www.tonymarshall.info

[TonyM]

Thanks Dan - I had "forgotten" about Alan Ward's article concerning Fred Kilroy. While I was searching for that I came across a photo of Ellis Marshall in English Dance and Song Spring 1978 Vol XL No 1. Do you have a copy of this or shall I send you a scan of it?

 

Chas

 

Scan received....many thanks! There is nothing like having a photo when talking about people. It will make its way into the story...

 

All the best,

Dan

 

 

Hi Guys,

 

Would sure like to see a copy of that scan, if possible?!

 

I have several pics of Ellis playing concertina and kitted out in the full morris regalia; some of the pics I submitted for use to the Oldham Evening Chronicle in 2005/2006 when they published a couple of articles marking my Grandfather's Centenary year to tie-in with the 'Pal of My Cradle Days' Exhibition which was displayed in Royton Library from July to November 06.

 

Cheers,

 

Tony.

 

www.tonymarshall.info

[Dan Worrall]

Thanks Dan - I had "forgotten" about Alan Ward's article concerning Fred Kilroy. While I was searching for that I came across a photo of Ellis Marshall in English Dance and Song Spring 1978 Vol XL No 1. Do you have a copy of this or shall I send you a scan of it?

 

Chas

 

Scan received....many thanks! There is nothing like having a photo when talking about people. It will make its way into the story...

 

All the best,

Dan

 

 

Hi Guys,

 

Would sure like to see a copy of that scan, if possible?!

 

I have several pics of Ellis playing concertina and kitted out in the full morris regalia; some of the pics I submitted for use to the Oldham Evening Chronicle in 2005/2006 when they published a couple of articles marking my Grandfather's Centenary year to tie-in with the 'Pal of My Cradle Days' Exhibition which was displayed in Royton Library from July to November 06.

 

Cheers,

 

Tony.

 

www.tonymarshall.info

 

Tony,

 

Sure thing; I'll try to attach it here.

 

Dan

 

Edited June 2, 2009 by Dan Worrall

[Jon L]

Hi Dan,

 

My Grandfather Wal Savage played anglo concertina for Abingdon Morris before the Great War; according to my father the side did not dance again after the Great war, but he returned to Abingdon and continued to play in the pubs and was 'Mayor of Ock Street' onat least one occasion. I can just remember him playing at his home in the mid 50's but he was in poor health and died soon afterwards. My father taught me the Abingdon version of Princess Royal, but unfortunately he was always somewhat ashamed of his father's bibulous ways and music and so information on Grandad and the Morris are somewhat sketchy. However, I did meet two elderly men at a ring meeting in Thame in 1973 who remembered my Grandad; one of them was I think called Jack Hyde and played a harmonica.

 

Look forward to reading your article - by the way, I found your trancriptions of Kimber's tunes fascinating and enlightening. Thank you.

Hi Dave

 

I was fascinated to come across your account of your Grandfather playing for Abingdon Morris before the Great War and being Mayor of Ock Street. I was born and raised in Abingdon and have played for one of the two morris teams there over the last 30 years. I have also being doing a lot of research into the history of Abingdon morris and the Mayor of Ock Street going back over the last few hundred years and this is the first I have heard of Wal Savage! It would be great to know anything else about him. Do you have a photo? Any futher details you can provide would be very useful for filling in the details of the period during which he was involved.

Best wishes

 

Jon L

[Jon L]

Hi Dan,

 

My Grandfather Wal Savage played anglo concertina for Abingdon Morris before the Great War; according to my father the side did not dance again after the Great war, but he returned to Abingdon and continued to play in the pubs and was 'Mayor of Ock Street' onat least one occasion. I can just remember him playing at his home in the mid 50's but he was in poor health and died soon afterwards. My father taught me the Abingdon version of Princess Royal, but unfortunately he was always somewhat ashamed of his father's bibulous ways and music and so information on Grandad and the Morris are somewhat sketchy. However, I did meet two elderly men at a ring meeting in Thame in 1973 who remembered my Grandad; one of them was I think called Jack Hyde and played a harmonica.

 

Look forward to reading your article - by the way, I found your trancriptions of Kimber's tunes fascinating and enlightening. Thank you.

Hi Dave

 

I was fascinated to come across your account of your Grandfather playing for Abingdon Morris before the Great War and being Mayor of Ock Street. I was born and raised in Abingdon and have played for one of the two morris teams there over the last 30 years. I have also being doing a lot of research into the history of Abingdon morris and the Mayor of Ock Street going back over the last few hundred years and this is the first I have heard of Wal Savage! It would be great to know anything else about him. Do you have a photo? Any futher details you can provide would be very useful for filling in the details of the period during which he was involved.

Best wishes

 

Jon L

[glenda]

Just came across this conversation, my grandfather was Mr Eric Holland of crows nest Swanage