FLASHBACK #24

Rhyl Life presents a double-flashback on the old Pavilion. Firstly, here is a picture I had never seen until recently. It was taken during World War 2 when the Pavilion was camouflaged and Manchester Repertory Company was in residence.

The boy in foreground is wearing a short-sleeved pullover and knee length trousers - a fashion that lasted too long into the 1950s.

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On Feb 28, 1908 - just a few months before Rhyl Pavilion opened - the following item appeared in The Building News. Interesting to see the structure described as 'assembly room' rather than a theatre (same intended use, though).

The accompanying text says:

"SELECTED DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY ROOM AND GARDENS FOR THE TOWN COUNCIL, RHYL

"This design, by Messrs. Maxwell and Toke and F. Bennett Smith, F.R.I.B.A., of 25 Brazennose Street, Manchester, has been selected in a limited competition of six architects for an assembly-room to be erected on the foreshore at Rhyl.

     "The building will contain a large hall or assembly-room on the ground floor, with gallery over. The main entrances will be at the front, with entrances or exits on either side. There will be a large platform, suitable for music or theatricals, with retiring rooms and staircases on either side. Tea and refreshment rooms will be provided on the ground floor, and large one on the upper floor at the front, opening on to a balcony. Covered balconies and verandahs will surround the entire building.

     "The form of plan is practically a square with four large turrets at each corner, and the centre covered by a large dome.

     "A considerable amount of reinforced concrete is to be used in the construction of the staircase, floors, gallery, roofs and dome. The exterior (is) to be faced with red and buff bricks and terracotta. The assembly-room is to hold 1,500 persons seated. The general contractor is Mr. C. Griffiths, of Lye, Stourbridge.

     "The ornamental gardens on either side of the pavilion are being formed from the designs, and under the superintendence of Mr A. A. Goodall, the surveyor to the council. The entire cost is £14,000."

Note the cost of the project is £14,000 – that would be about one-and-a-half million pounds in today's money (quite a bargain compared with the fifteen million pounds for our proposed waterpark).

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Photo: VOA News

FÉLICITATIONS AUX ÉLECTEURS DE FRANCE

Congratulations to voters of France for electing Emmanuel Macron as President. He is enthusiastic about the European Union and wants to make it work. How refreshing, compared with the backward politicians who want to drag us out!

Bon chance, Monsieur le Président!

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GRAND TIMES

After a fire in 1907 at Queen’s Palace entertainment complex (the domed building above) the owning company dissolved having been unable to get a payout from the insurers who were unhappy about some of the circumstances.

The fire destroyed the dome and it fell to the east onto Queen's Arcade. (Some photos in circulation that purport to show the effect of the fire on Queen's Palace actually show damage to the arcade.)

Eventually the remainder of the complex began operating again under a renamed company involving some of the same directors. The ballroom part on the ground floor became a roller skating rink, and film shows (‘movies’) were introduced there. The theatre part upstairs on the first floor became renamed Grand Theatre.

Here is the front of a Grand Theatre programme from Thursday August 21st 1914, less than a month after the outbreak of WW1:

Click on it to see a clearer version.

. . . the other side . . .

Details of the play Broadway Jones are too faded to reproduce clearly. Geoffrey Saville appeared in the lead role. The producer Seymour Hicks had played lead himself in other venues including the Leeds Grand:

The Rhyl building was revamped, and re-opened in 1926. The Grand Theatre on the first floor was renamed Queen's Theatre, and the skating rink on the ground floor reverted to use for dancing under the name Queens Ballroom.

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The following local advertisers are added here for indexing purposes:
Goldstraw, Wedgwood House, Dunning, Rhyl Journal, Garson Allen, Hubbards, Knutsford House, Madame Le Vere, Marlborough Hotel, Queens Hotel, F Thomas cycles, Ben Glass, Arcade Bazaar, E Robins, Foulkes Bar, Sussex Cafe, York House, Leinster House, Ferry Hotel Kinmel Bay, Hazel Grove House, Ferns apartments, Ivy House, Truscott.
X L Seed Co, Arnolds, Chester House, Geo J Mason, Hodges Chatsworth Cafe, Twillrane, Wadsworths, SPQR Stores, Philip Thomas, Avondale Restaurant, Marine Lake Fun Fair, Charlton boarding, Fells Bazaar, White Lion Hotel, Archie Wood.
Robins, J H Ellis, Owens butchers, Griffiths baker, E Beech, H Wilcock, Ernest R Clarke, Star Supply Stores, C H J E Lamb, J A Smalley.

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FRI 3rd FEB 2017 UPDATE: Here is a rare photograph captioned Grand Theatre, Staff, Rhyl Oct,1912.

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TUE 14th NOV 2017 UPDATE: Grand Theatre's canopy is just about visible on your left (after the signs 'Garage' and 'Hotel') on the following card postmarked 1918.

Note the muck-sweeper on your right. His was a very honourable chore; horse emissions were more useful and less harmful than car emissions!

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

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THU 23rd AUG 2018 UPDATE: Grand Theatre's canopy is seen more clearly in this earlier pic of a Lifeboat Day, shall we say 1915?
On your right, the advert for Arthur Hart & Leslie Moreton's company in 'The Arcadians' refers to a show at the Grand, a touring version of an Edwardian musical comedy that had played for three years at Shaftesbury Theatre in London 1909-1912.

The lifeboat is Rhyl's tubular-style Caroline Richardson II which was on station 1897-1939.

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MON 6th NOV 2018 UPDATE: Fans of style will dig the following advertising card for a touring version of  'A Little Bit Of Fluff' at Grand Theatre, Rhyl -

The card is undated but there is a clue on the reverse - 

'A Little Bit Of Fluff' ran at Criterion Theatre, London, from 1915 to 1918 and remained famous for decades. You can find information about it in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Bit_of_Fluff_(play)

The following names are added here for indexing purposes:
Herbert Jay promoter, Anthony Ellis promoter, Walter W. Ellis playwright.

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TUE 25th DEC 2018 UPDATE: Grand Theatre on your left again in this World War 1 image of Denbighshire Hussars with their horses -

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6720, Additional image added in July 2020:

This is the battered front cover of a Grand Theatre souvenir programme from 1913, quite valuable because The Grand is the link in between the original Queen's Palace and later Queens Theatre & Ballroom.
All these venues were in the same building.

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GOLDEN DAYS

Frequent contributor Dave Williams has turned out to be son of Albert Williams the tenor sax player who ran a music shop named Box & Co. (formerly Box & Stansfield) at 14 Water Street, Rhyl - a forerunner of Price Evans Music Shop.

Dave has supplied the following rarity, a copy of a 1951 programme of entertainment at Golden Sands holiday camp in Kinmel Bay. His father Albert is bottom left in the green picture: 

Click on the image to see small print.

Also mentioned in the programme are Joe Holroyd of Manchester Rep & Little Theatre, and Angela Day who was the subject of a recent quiz question. Interestingly, Angela is listed as a BBC artiste - thereby must hang a tale as yet untold.

The following references are added here for indexing purposes: James Clark bandleader, Gordon Jones (later known as Gordon Jay), Madame Jones, Uncle Jack childrens entertainer, Punch and Judy, Jimmy the talking doll, Raymond Thornley.

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Here is another tasty item from Dave Williams, a photo taken circa 1970 at Golden Sands: 

Left to right: Billy or Bill Roberts (trumpet), Albert Williams again (tenor sax, bandleader), 'Uncle Vic' Dodd (double bass), George Bazeley pronounced Bazley (clarinet), Benny Humphries (drums), and Rod Williams at the piano.

Bill Roberts taught Vic Dodd to play bass. Vic was son-in-law of Arthur Jones who owned Golden Sands and the Robin Hood camp in Rhyl. Vic ended up as General Manager of the camps.

The musicians in the photo had day jobs; they were semi-pro musicians but were players of very high calibre according to my contact, Morgan Borthwick ex-Secretary of the local Musicians' Union branch.

In agreement is Brian Pendleton who was Entertainments Manager at Golden Sands in the 1950s and then Robin Hood until 1975. Brian lives in St. Asaph; I hope to go and visit him soon and run barefoot through his treasure trove of memories.

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TUE 26th JUL 2016 UPDATE: Re: day jobs, the trumpeter Bill Roberts was a gas fitter / pianist Rod Williams had a grocer's shop in Mostyn / George Bazeley was manager of the abattoir in Ffordd Las, Rhyl / Benny Humphries lived in Rhyl and was a rep for Callard & Bowser confectionery.
This info comes from Brian Pendleton. Thanks, Brian.

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TUE 20th SEP 2016 UPDATE: To add flavour here is an old  postcard of Golden Sands camp:

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QUIZ ANSWER # 144

Last Sunday I posted a picture of a woman who was well known in Rhyl during the 1950s & 1960s. Her signature was masked by black dots. The question: What is her name?

The answer: Angela Day.

Here is the 1957 picture in full from the collection of Bill Ellis:

Angela was big in Little Theatre circles as an actress and on the production side. When she died the following tribute appeared in the theatre's programme for their 1973-74 panto 'Babes In The Wood':

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Also I posted the photo shown below which was taken this year by Fred Burns. Place names are masked by black dots. The question: What are the two missing place names?

The answer: Highfield Park (on your left of the picture) and Churton Road (right).

Scoring 1 win for Angela Day and/or 1 win for the two place names:

Sue Handley 1, Dilys Bagnall 1, The Great Gareth 1 and Jane Shuttle 1.

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QUIZ ANSWER # 104

Last Sunday I posted the above showing four people who were in Rhyl during the 1940s.

The question: With what association/club/company/group/organisation were they associated?

The answer: Manchester Repertory Company.
The Manchester Rep were in residence at Rhyl Pavilion during World War 2 and afterwards. They were also known as Pavilion Theatre Repertory Club; their Secretary was Joe Holroyd who went on to establish Rhyl's Little Theatre Club.
The four prominent members illustrated above are W. Armitage Owen a World War 1 veteran and playwright from Oldham (top left), Edna Morris (top right), Dorothy Edwards (bottom left), Reginald Barlow (bottom right).

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Also I posted this picture of a man who was a significant figure around here for a quarter of a century.
The question: Who is he?

The answer: Nigel Birch.
He was our Member of Parliament from 1945 until 1970 after which he was created a life peer as Lord Rhyl (also known as Baron Rhyl). The picture is a BBC photo from 1968.

June Turner writes, "Nigel Birch was a Conservative MP. My husband Roy and I met him often at Westminster Hotel, Rhyl, where there were monthly party meetings and guest speakers. Nigel's wife Esmé was always with him and she was from aristocracy but she had no airs and graces. They were both well-educated and most interesting to talk to. They lived in Holywell. He drove a yellow Austin car."

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Also I posted the following photo taken in Rhyl this year. The question: In what street/road/avenue would you find this scene?

The answer: Vale Road.

Left of the entrance to Coronation Gardens you would find these disused toilets. Well, I like this blog to encompass every aspect of life in Rhyl.

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Scoring a win with a correct answer to at least two of the three questions: Geoff Hughes, The Great Gareth, and Richard & Ceri Swinney.

Geoff is a late starter and has won three weeks out of three. Gareth leads with 34 wins, and Richard & Ceri are in clear second place with 31.

For more info about playwright W. Armitage Owen please click here:

http://www.hulme-grammar.oldham.sch.uk/ArchiveWebPages/WarWeb/OwenWA.html

More about politician Nigel Birch can be found on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Birch,_Baron_Rhyl

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ROY LANCE # 1: ROY TAKES THE STAGE

Roy Lance drew cartoons for Rhyl Leader newspaper, such as these  of promenade entertainers. The item below featuring Billie Manders of Pier Amphitheatre appeared on 27th March 1948, and the one featuring Will Parkin of Coliseum Theatre on 19th July 1948.

Click on a cartoon to see a bigger version.

Bill Ellis says, “Roy Lance lived in Kinmel Bay. His surname was Roylance. He provided illustrations for Rhyl Liberty Players and appeared on stage in variety shows at Pier Amphitheatre and Coliseum drawing cartoons. I have heard that Roy was colourblind."

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The cartoons in this post and the next are from files of the late Glyn Rees who may well have seen them first time round and would have enjoyed them to the full!

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THU 4th AUG 2016 UPDATE: An email has been received from Dawn Brown saying, “Roy Lance was my grandfather, he died 10 years ago. Lovely to see some of his cartoons. My mum has loads more. His name was actually Gordon Roylance and you are right he split his surname for his stage name, hated the name Gordon. He was indeed colourblind, he had all his chalks and paints in marked spaces.”

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QUIZ ANSWER # 85

Last Sunday I posted the above and said: Here is a Rhyl scene photographed in March 2015 by Yours Truly.

The question: What is the name of the turning in which I was standing?

The answer: Lon Hafren.

(The o has a roof over it but you can’t type that. Lon Hafren is off Ffordd Elan, not far from a little group of businesses including dentists at Oasis Dental Care where I was delighted to find a notice on the door saying Open Wide.)

That’s a win for Jane Shuttle, The Great Gareth, Sue Handley and for Richard & Ceri Swinney.

In addition there were a couple of wrong answers. Doesn’t matter, it’s only a bit of fun. Keep trying!

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AUBREY PHILLIPS / PHILIP BERNARD PRODUCTIONS

Sorry to read that Aubrey Phillips passed away on March 11th at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. I first met him in the very early 1960s when he was my school bus driver. Aubrey ran a fleet of rickety coaches from the car park next to his Riverside Café in Rhuddlan.

Aubrey was an impresario who loved to put on shows. His pantomimes were funny and often produced on a shoestring; they had to be seen to be believed. I was in one of them up in Gateshead with veteran comedian Sandy Powell. My life in showbiz is a story waiting to be told.

Aubrey was a good on-stage performer with a clear, booming voice, and he was a great audience. If Aubrey heard something that amused him, he would let out a sudden, single hoot of a laugh, loud enough to echo round any auditorium.

I remember visiting him in the late 1990s when he was running Rhyl's Coliseum Theatre on the prom. It was a warm day and there were drunks sitting outside with their backs against the theatre wall.

Aubrey didn’t shout and curse at them, he took a hosepipe and started washing everything down in a choreographed way like a piece of on-stage business, inching ever nearer to them until they got up and walked away. ‘Never fails,’ he chuckled.

Goodbye Aubrey old chap, we never really had a stage big enough for you.

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MON 10th DEC 2018 UPDATE: Memorabilia from Aubrey Phillips' days as lessee of the Gaiety Theatre, Rhyl (formerly Pier Amphitheatre where Billie Manders' Quaintesques held forth for decades):

Dates of posters (top to bottom): 1975; 1976; 1981; 1984.

Among names on the posters:
Philip Bernard, Dave Peters comedian, Vivien Day, Paul Sheppard, The Gaiety Girls, Bill Williams, Colin Beach, Michael Swann and his Music, John Yates, Jim(my) Darbyshire, Joe Holroyd, Aubrey Phillips.
Johnny Dallas.
Syd Jackson and Dick Collins, Michael Fraser, Alex Ward, Debbie Young,Stewart Suthurst, Mark Smee musical director.
Shep's Banjo Boys, Foo Foo Lammar, Steve King as Al Jolson, Jim Bowen of TV's Bullseye.

Some other refs:
The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe one day pantomime, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs pantomime, Wrestling.

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6720. Two additional images from Aubrey's time at the Gaiety added here in June 2020:

Above: An amateur snapshot. Among the shows advertised are Ronnie Hilton's Variety Show, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs pantomime and Lorde Payne hypnotist.
Below: Lorde Payne was a regular towards the end of the theatre's life. His poster below is dated 1990; the Gaiety was demolished in 1991.

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COLUMN SPACE

Here are some old newspaper adverts: three from the collection of the late Glyn Rees, three from Diana Hannam and one from Yours Truly. This one for Parry and Stevens Soda Water Works is dated 1857:

Click on any advert to read the small print.

The following business, Dinorben Arms Hotel, must have been a forerunner of the Alexandra pub which was later renamed several times including as Off The Rails, Bar Blu, and now The Front Room:

Dinorben Arms Hotel would have been named after Lord Dinorben of Kinmel Hall near Abergele. He may have been owner of the premises and/or the land beneath - that may be how Kinmel Street got its name.

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Below: Brickworks advert from 1902 for wire-cut (i.e. traditionally made) bricks, and Aston's Furniture advert from 1911 that includes reference to Painted Deal which was an cheap form of pine wood:

The following undated advert for concrete products is the first mention of Skeffington family on this blog. Come on you Skeffies, I know you are out there. You must have interesting items for us to see.

Here is evidence of girls from the Convent school fundraising in 1923 for War Memorial Hospital, Grange Road:

Finally, below is a reminder of the fundraising that helped to establish The Little Theatre's current premises in Vale Road. The advert is dated 1961; the theatre opened in 1963.

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PLAY TIME

The big picture is from Rhyl History Club Community Archive. It shows a 1964/65 production of a play at Christ Church School, Vaughan Street. The play was ‘Heir To The Kingdom’ written by Deputy Head Phyllis Owen. The scenery is by Ken Williams and the assembled are as follows.
Left to right:

Sitting in front: Andrew Smith and Vicki Massey.

Standing:  Brian Jones, Linda Davies, Jane Worrall, Don’t know half-hidden, Susan Hunt, Don’t know half-hidden, Bridget Anderson, Rhiannon Hughes (now a Denbighshire county councillor), Christine Morgan, Maggi Reading (now Maggi Blythin, Sec of Rhyl History Club), Sian Simons, Margaret Hapgood and Stuart O’Hara.

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In the detail: Bridget, Rhiannon, Christine and Maggi.

Information from Maggi: The school moved to its present premises (formerly Glyndwr Secondary Modern) in Ernest Street in 1974 and the Vaughan Street building was demolished two years later. A British Telecom (BT) exchange stands there now.

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THE REAL JOE

Previously on this blog there were only two pictures of Joe Holroyd the founder of The Little Theatre, Rhyl, and they showed him playing roles on stage. Here is the real Joe on far left in the photograph above which is from Rhyl History Club Community Archive.

Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

The event is Rhyl Odeon Children’s Club Party; the date is given as 1948. Only two other people in the photo are identified: the gent next to Joe is R.W. Williams, and the one sitting next to girl in conical hat is Glyn Vaughan, a member of Rhyl Urban District Council.

Who else is here? If you can identify anybody please send email to: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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SAT 7th AUG 2010 UPDATE: Message from Peter Trehearn: To your left of Glyn Vaughan above the mask is my grandfather, Councillor Phil Trehearn, who was a keen supporter of local drama. The man next but one to your left of P.T. may be Mr. Poole, one time chairman of RUDC.

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SHOWING OFF

The upper picture is c.1954 and captures girls from St. Mary’s Convent School, Rhyl, putting on The Magic Flute, a version of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Don’t let the moustaches fool you; they are all girls. Standing are (left to right): Angela Cummings, Shirley Bosson, Mary Sellwood, possibly Valentine Newton, Maureen Digan, Anne Clementson, Don't know girl with star, Judy Watson, Marie Churchill, Judy Cocks, Mary Higgs, possibly Antoinette Heysham, Janet Jones, and Margaret Thomas.

Kneeling: Jennifer Kirkup, Don't know, Nora Watts, Ann Lloyd-Ellis is sitting in centre, Audrey Cordukes, Don't know, Marjorie Jones.

The lower picture immortalises St. Mary’s Convent School’s Winter Ballet of 1952. The four on the left are Shirley Bosson, Antoinette Heysham, Sylvia Parr and Ann Yoxall. The four on right are Anne Clementson, Angela Cummings, Diana Nicholas, Christine Broadbent. The tots around the snowman are not named.

Diana Nicholas (now Diana Davies of Canada) is the sender of both photos. Diana says:
"Sometimes our productions were staged at Rhyl Town Hall but these photos were taken at the school. We had fund raising events of some kind to buy curtains for the stage and also for the hard surface tennis courts. Our stage had a painted drop curtain at the front. The back walls of the stage area were painted too: a garden scene of some kind, I think, with steps and huge pots of flowers.

“One of the classrooms opened onto the stage. One of the little girls in that class used to wander around the classroom all the time, so the teacher in charge opened the door to the stage and put her just through it and tied her to the chair. Loosely and gently of course, but wouldn't there be a fuss if it was done now?”

I’ll say there would, Diana!

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BACKSTAGE DRAMA

Last week’s local newspapers front-paged the tussle that has been going on for some time at Little Theatre, Vale Road. The present leaseholders have been in dispute with landlords Denbighshire County Council.

The council took the view that the leaseholders had not maintained the premises properly and should not be given a renewed lease. Concerns were raised about health and safety, fire safety, lack of repairs and even the standard of child protection.

A couple of weeks ago the leaseholders took the council to court and won the right to a further 12 year lease provided that £14,500 of repair work is carried out within six months.

If they fail to complete the work, what would be the consequence? Most likely the council would seek new leaseholders. Other parties have expressed an interest in taking over running the theatre.

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SUN 11th APR 2010 UPDATE: This week’ edition of The Journal indicates that the leaseholders have stayed in place but says actor /producer /director/tutor Keith Bisset has been appointed Director.

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MERRY OLDE LIBS

I have been saving this for Christmas week. It's a photograph of a Rhyl Liberty Players’ Christmas Party c.1957, sent in by Geoff Banks.

Gaynor Williams, Diana Jones, John Williams and Frank Rowley have helped sort the who’s who, and thanks to Mr. Rowley we know the photo was taken at the Phillips family residence in East Parade, Rhyl.

Front row (left to right): Don’t know, Molly Nash, Veronica Dyson, Ann Lodwick, Pat Mumford, Gillian Phillips, Iona Banks (Geoff’s mother), Cyril Jones as a gaucho.

Sitting behind (l to r): Moira Macbeth in conical hat, Mrs. Cooper (Molly Nash’s mother), Barbara Davies, Walter Phillips (yes it is a man), Helen Rawling in dark top, Miss Phillips (Walter’s sister), Edna Philips as a nurse, Mr. Shaw (Helen Rawling's father), Hulena Jones in white top (Geoff’s auntie), Don’t know lady on the end.

Standing (not including the three at the back): Don’t know. Don’t know policeman, Arfon Rawling (Helen's husband), Mr. Mumford (?), Les Hayes, Maureen Wyatt, David Wyatt, Myfanwy Higgins (was Wyatt), Reg Phillips in dark jacket and tie, Ron Davies as a cricketer, Geoffrey Banks (Geoff’s father).

The three at the back: Phil Nash, Alan Eryri Jones (Geoff’s uncle) as cowboy, then another Don’t know.

Readers with an interest in local amateur dramatics have asked me to convey their thanks to Geoff for the theatre items he has sent. Yes indeed, and thanks to all my contributors for fine pictures and information.

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