Comments on: Music Hall Artistes Of Abney Park Cemetery

By: Brian Ekins

Brian Ekins — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 23:37:39 +0000

To Tony Bird, I have only just seen your message from Sept 2016, “trying to contact me”. Hope you see this and my e mail address.
Brian

By: John Carey

John Carey — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 10:16:40 +0000

Martin
Thank you for replying, I would be grateful for anything that you may have to help me.

I think the easiest way of doing this is by giving you my email address for future correspondence. My email is jccarey@mac.com, hopefully if you send me an email we could correspond more privately.

Thank you once again for your reply

Regards

John

By: Martin Palmer

Martin Palmer — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 04:52:41 +0000

John Carey
I would gladly relate anything I can recall of my grandmother, and if you would like them, I could send copies of all the pictures I have of her.
My sister might remember more.
I have not done much research myself, but it has been suggested to me that it might prove useful to find a biography of Harry Lauder (alibris.com or abe.com should have inexpensive options), or to check with Glasgow newspapers ( one postcard I have shows that she performed at the Princess’s theatre in Glasgow in 1917.)
If you are interested, what would be the most convenient way to do this?

By: John Carey

John Carey — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 09:04:36 +0000

Martin Palmer
I would be grateful if you could contact me with regards to any information you may have on Edith Palmer “Kitty Curtis”. I am currently undertaking some research on my family tree and would appriciate any help you can give me.
Thank you
John Carey

By: Tony Bird

Tony Bird — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 17:12:05 +0000

Trying to contact Brian Ekins

By: Martin Palmer

Martin Palmer — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 01:50:03 +0000

My grandmother was a pantomime and musical hall artist and was buried somewhere in Abney Park Cemetery. Her name was Edith Palmer and her stage name Kitty Curtis. She performed as a singer, dancer and male impersonator. I have several postcards of her, one showing that she was Principal Boy in Harry Lauder’s “Three Cheers” in Glasgow in 1917.
She married a clown, one of the first “Cocos.” There is a family story, possibly apocryphal, although I like to think not, that grandad was a drinking buddy of Harry Houdini and Charlie Chaplin. The story goes that coming home very drunk with Houdini after a performance, neither my grandfather nor, more significantly, Houdini were able to open the front door. And they had the key!! A nice story, but as far as I’m aware, Houdini, unlike Chaplin, did not spend that much time in London. Still, you never know…

By: Brian Ekins

Brian Ekins — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 12:33:54 +0000

To anyone out there, does anyone have any information on Edwin Bird/Fred Herbert, Music Hall Artiste in the early 1900’s? Edwin was one of my Great Grandfathers and I believe used Fred Herbert as his stage name. I have recently found that Edwin had a son, Frederick Herbert Bird, who died at the age of 2. I also believe that at one time Edwin was Secretary of the Variety Artist Federation.
Hopefully. Brian Ekins.

By: Janet Dobson

Janet Dobson — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 20:45:38 +0000

This was lovely to read through. Been years since I’ve been in that area but my grandfather is buried in that cemetery although I’ve never found his grave. I have found the number so if I ever get a chance to come back I’ll look for him. Lovely to know he is resting somewhere like this with such wonderful people.

By: Pauline Taylor

Pauline Taylor — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:59:50 +0000

This is of particular interest to me as many members of my family are buried in Abney Park Cemetery including my great grandfather. His father, Samuel Denton, was a witness to the death of Mr James Braidwood who was killed by a warehouse wall falling on him during the Great Fire in Tooley Street in June 1861. Mr Braidwood was the Superintendent of the London Fire Engine Establishment, and he had gone to the scene of the fire to help to give the exhausted firemen a nip of brandy. My 2xgreat grandfather was a shipwright who lived in Tooley Street and he was walking home when he saw the wall fall on James Braidwood. this is what he said at the inquest ” I am a shipwright and I live in Tooley Street. About three or four minutes before the wall fell I was walking down the yard. One of the men asked me what I thought of it, and I said it would be a fearful thing before it was ended. I saw the wall fall, I saw it coming, and made a rush to get clear, a second later it fell upon Mr Braidwood, burying him beneath the ruins.”

Mr Braidwood was buried in Abney Park Cemetery on 29 June 1861, he funeral procession was a mile and a half long, shops were closed along the route, crowds lined the pavements and all the city churches rang their bells. There is a memorial to him in the Cemetery.

The fire in Tooley Street was the worst since the Great Fire of London in 1666, it burned for two weeks and the cost was estimated at two million pounds!

By: Kirsten Foster

Kirsten Foster — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 16:51:01 +0000

The music hall guild does a free tour of music hall stars at Abney the last Sunday every month. See abneypark.org for more on this and other events at Abney Park , where you can also sign up for our mailing list.