MARK HAMBOURG

Mark Hamourg
portrait by F.W. Schmidt, Manchester

Mark Hambourg (1879-1960) was a Russian-born, naturalised British pianist of international repute. He played at Rhyl Pavilion on Sunday October 10th 1943, presumably as part of a concerted effort to keep the collective pecker up during World War 2.

Mr. Hambourg was accompanied by the Bournemouth Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by William Rees. The dodgy acoustics at the old Pavilion would have done them no favours but it was by all accounts a  rattling good concert, a big success!

This reference is added here for indexing purposes:
Summit Enterprises Limited London.

You can see Mark Hambourg on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD2IoVbOUpc

--
WED 7th MAR 2018 UPDATE: From one pianist to two! On April 2nd 1945 (five months before World War 2 ended) the Pavilion presented piano duettists Marjan Rawicz and Walter Landauer.
Here is the complete programme:

 

 

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

These are added here for indexing purposes:
Harold Fielding agent promoter, Mary Denise singer vocalist, Mannucci cello cellist , Joseph Saxby piano pianist, Keith Prowse old advert.

You can see Rawicz & Landauer on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i82tN2f1t4w&list=RDi82tN2f1t4w&t=2

--
FRI 3rd AUG 2018 UPDATE: An eminent visitor to Rhyl Pavilion the year before Mark Hambourg was the Russian/Ukranian naturalised British concert pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch who was given a CBE in 1946 for performing hundreds of recitals to servicemen and charities during WW2.

These are added here for indexing purposes:
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Henry Holst, Louis Cohen.

The Grand Repertory Ball reference in the flyer was a fundraising event by (and possibly for) Manchester Repertory Company who were resident at the Pavilion at that time.

--

PROFESSOR OLIPHANT

Marcus Laurence Elwin "Mark" Oliphant

If I had asked, What is the connection between Rhyl and Hiroshima? you might have sent a sarcastic reply – but a link has been established by journalist/author Andrew Ramsay of Adelaide, South Australia. This morning I received an email from Andrew saying:

“I am currently in the UK . . . conducting research into an historic biography I have been commissioned to write on Sir Mark Oliphant, an eminent Australian nuclear physicist who was integrally involved in the development of the atomic bomb while he was working at Cambridge and Birmingham Universities from 1928-1950.

“My interest in Rhyl stems from the discovery that Sir Mark (then Professor Oliphant) was on holiday in Rhyl with his wife and two young children on the day that he learned the bomb he had helped to develop was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

“. . . I am very keen to gain an historical snapshot of what daily life in Rhyl might have looked like at that time (August 6, 1945)."

My reply was as follows:

Rhyl is generally busy in August, and in 1945 the Queens entertainment complex in West Parade was fully operational with dancing nightly at the Queens Ballroom on the ground floor and variety shows at the Queens Theatre on the first floor.

At Rhyl Pavilion (a big domed building on the promenade) the Manchester Repertory Company, which had been resident there during most of the war years, presented a play every week. The Pavilion had Sunday concerts by visiting orchestras (dance bands).

At the open air Coliseum theatre on the prom there was a show titled Stars In The Air by the resident Will Parkin troupe featuring Frank Formby (George's brother). At the Pier Amphitheatre there was a regular concert party, Billie Manders - a female impersonator - and his Quaintesques.

On the prom near the pier the Open Air Bathing Pool ('The Baths') presented swimming displays by Miss Sunny Lowry the English Channel swimmer.

Wartime canteens were still open and there would have been plenty of 'squaddies' around because the Army's base at nearby Kinmel Park Camp was still training young soldiers. Among the public there must have been a certain amount of euphoria at the end of the war in Europe and a huge sense of relief.

Here in Rhyl we had the usual victory parties and 'Welcome Home' parties for military personnel returning from overseas. The local business community continued to hold fundraising events to help alleviate severe cases of hardship but - generally speaking - Rhyl had a good war. The Army and/or Civil Service had requisitioned lots of hotels and boarding houses and many businesses such as garages and workshops, and the Government had paid all the bills.

The future for businesses looked considerably less certain. So underneath the veneer of celebration and fun there was an undercurrent of unease and a creeping awareness that the war had changed everything.

--

While Andrew Ramsay carries on researching for his book, you would find some basic information about Mark Oliphant in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Oliphant

--

ECHOES OF WORLD WAR 2

Of the above, the late Les Slee of Molineaux Road, Rhyl, said: "This is a picture of Military College of Science (later RAMTS) Group 37A taken in Rhyl in September 1941 after the passing-out parade following completion of apprenticeships. I am on the right-hand end in the middle row. One of the officers in charge was Colonel A. T. 'Goldie' Gardner who was a test driver for MG cars. He had only one arm.
     "These boys went all round the world as Artificers reparing motor vehicles, instruments and guns, and some never came back alive. Quite a few of us (including me) got married to Rhyl girls and settled happily here."

In the photo below, Mr. P.T. (Phil) Trehearn is shown far right in fundraising mode. As President of Rhyl Individual Traders' Association (RITA) he started a war comforts fund and organised the local British Red Cross Penny-a-Week Fund. Mr. Trehearn became a member of Rhyl Urban District Council during the war. Photo supplied by Peter Trehearn.

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

The image above was supplied by Eric Hughes whose wife Doreen commented as follows:
"At Marine Lake Fun Fair my father, the engineer Albert Barnes was resident director. When the war began I was only 13. The fairground was open as usual on summer evenings and I used to help out there. My father's workshops in Westbourne Avenue were requisitioned by the Army. He experimented with apparatus to be fixed on the front of tanks to explode land mines.
     "The picture above shows an example of a rolling device. In the background is a government inspector. The outcome of the experiments was a device involving flailing chains, which was actually used by the military."

The image below was supplied years ago by Mr. Joe Cooper of Prestatyn. It shows 'C' Company Home Guard GPO Rhyl (that's right, Dad's Army) with a serious gun known as the Northover Projector.

All four images so far are from the book 'Rhyl In The Second World War' by Yours Truly which was published in 2003 and may be available from local libraries.

The one below, showing 'F' Company Home Guard Rhyl, came to hand too late to be included in the book.

--

MON 2nd APR 2018 UPDATE: 'Rhyl In The Second World War' says, "The beach was spiked with long wooden poles, and pyramid-shaped concrete objects were positioned on the sands to prevent enemy landings by air or sea."
Below is an image not in the book, a recent acquisition showing holiday-makers and donkeys among the beach barricades at Rhyl in 1944.
Click on the image to see a bigger version.

--
Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

See my Rhyl videos on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/RhylTime

Only the videos marked RhylTime are mine!

--

HANDFUL OF MYSTERIES

Here at Jones Towers are quite a few pictures marked 'Maybe Rhyl', 'Possibly Rhyl', 'Probably Rhyl'. or simply 'Unknown'. Nothing is known about this one - a large group of males of various ages:

The above is presumed to be a Rhyl picture because it is by photographer Wills Jones who, in that era of straw boater hats, operated from the Magnet Studio in High Street, Rhyl.
[The Magnet Studio was upstairs to your left of Boots chemist until Boots expanded and swallowed it.]

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

The above is dated 1941 (during World War 2) and labelled 'Rhyl district'. There is no obvious pointer to why these people are being photographed together.
Standing in the back row (left to right): Don't know, Nellie Hall, Rosie Powell, ---- Whittaker, Elsie Woods, V. Gratton and Don't know.
Sitting in the front row (l to r): Kitty Harris, Rene Mac, Vera Whitworth, Don't know and Lottie Jones.

--
I am not 100 per cent convinced that the following is Rhyl but, if it is, we might be looking at businesses that were replaced by the long gone Regal Cinema which was in turn replaced by the retail building at 97 High Street recently vacated by the Co-op.

On your left in the picture is Pozzi's Restaurant & Tea Rooms at No.97. 
On your right is 'Ye Olde Britannia' Fish &  Chip Saloon, which may well have been the remnant of the Britannia Forge pub  - a hotbed of illegal gambling - originally the Britannia Inn.
On the other hand, the picture may not be Rhyl at all.
Hey ho.
Motor car enthusiasts may be able to guess the date.

--

In this Rhyl promenade pic, probably late 1950s, on your left is the Pier Amphitheatre ('The Amphi') and on your right is Prince's Water Phantasy at the Open Air Bathing Pool ('The Baths'). All well and good but what is the tall tower centre right?

Would it part of the illuminations perhaps?

Your thoughts on any of today's mysteries would be most welcome.

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

--

MON 12th JUN 2017 UPDATE: Of the first picture above, Robert Jones of Dyserth writes:

"The location of the men and boys is the old Merseyside Holiday Camp in Dyserth. The Allt y Graig railway bridge is at the top left, and the wall to the right going to Lady’s Wood is visible. 

The camp was sited on Lletty Mwyn (Place of Minerals), next to the Clive Engine; you can see undulating ground due to the mine waste.

There are lots of pictures of those tents from 1909 onwards, including soldiers in WW1, until wooden huts replaced them in the 1920s. 

The most interesting thing about the photo is the unusual mixture of the classes posing together."

Thank you, Robert!

--

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.

--
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).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!

--

JEWISH CONNECTIONS

Bill Ellis’ collection of material relating to Billie Manders & Quaintesques continues to grow. This was a concert party that entertained at the Pier Amphitheatre, Rhyl, in summer seasons from 1921 to 1963.

Among Bill’s memorabilia is a book presented to Mr. Manders in 1942 by The Rhyl Hebrew Congregation in appreciation of letting them use the Amphitheatre for Yom Kippur Services. Here is the title of the book and the presentation page:

 

The President is H. Huglin; the Honorary Secretary is J.H. Lysman.

--

From my own resources comes the following blurry photo taken in 1951 showing a meeting room of the Congregation, location unknown. The pic is followed by a detail showing some names:

Click on an image to see a clearer version.

The names are Solomon Rifkin, Gabriel Alis, Marie Alis, M. Cohen, Gedaliah Fox, Aaron Adolph, Morris Sugarman, Ada Sugarman, Lewis Lipman, Hannah Leah Lipman, William Jachcel, Regine Jachcel.

Mr. Manders' wife had the maiden name Fox - so it could be that they were Jewish - a thought that had never occurred previously to me or Bill Ellis.

Apart from references to J.H. Lipman The Wire King and Sir Anthony Meyer MP there has been no mention of Rhyl's Jewish connections. Further information would be welcome.

Info about other ethnic groups in Rhyl would be welcome too.

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

--

MON 13th FEB 2018 UPDATE: The room was on the first floor above what was then Lloyd's Bank, next door to the left of the old Carmel Welsh Chapel (now pawnbrokers).

This information comes from ex-Rhylite Geoffrey Fox, grandson of Gedaliah Fox and son of Reuben Fox who ran a fancy goods shop in the ornate building on the corner of Water Street and Crescent Road. The family was not related to Mrs. Manders.

Of the black-and-white photo Geoffrey says, "I know that room very well. My Dad and Uncle Harry Fox used to look after the synagogue. On that board the lettering was gold, the curtains were velvet red and the seats were light wood grain with a rich colour carpet. The window was also highly decorated.

"We had the room next door too - for functions. The Tora scrolls (Bible) were kept behind the curtains on the left and the two of them were bought by my family and dedicated to the memory of my grand parents and uncle. I know all the other families on the board. "

Geoffrey mentions the Rifkin / Rivken family had a scrap metal business. The Sugarmans, originally from Dublin, had the Army & Navy Stores in Queen Street. Family member Sara Sugarman is an actress and film maker, see Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Sugarman

Geoffrey concludes, "I grew up in Rhyl got married and moved to Israel worked as an Aeronautical Engineer for IAI (Israel Aircraft Industries). Worked in a number of places in Europe and US on aircraft projects and now live in San Diego."

Thanks for writing, Geoff.
Best wishes from Sunny Rhyl to Sunny California!

--

MIKE'S PIX

Couple of weeks ago it was my pleasure to visit Mike Davies at his home in Vale Road, Rhyl. Mike has a mass of material relating to family history and the social history of Vale Road. Below are some of his items.

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

Above: One of the V-J Day (Victory over Japan) parties in 1945 in Rhyl marking the very end of World War 2. Mike thinks the name of the place in the picture may have been Cut Street; he is the toddler below the red dot.
The chap below the blue dot, cheering with the others, is believed to be Adrian Henri who was destined to gain fame as a poet and painter. From my own collection here he is in calmer pose later in life: 

Adrian Henri has been quoted as saying, "From the age of sixteen through to the early (1960s) I did summer jobs in Rhyl's fairgrounds, trying to support myself as a painter over the winter, painting in a little builder's hut off Vale Road." 
You can read about Adrian Henri in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Henri

--

Above: Returning to Mike Davies's material, this map dated 1880, shows a large expanse of water on your left. It was nicknamed 'Tarleton's Lake' because Captain John Tarleton, one of the Commissioners of Rhyl, owned the land around there. [You may have noticed a Tarleton Street off East Parade.]
Residents dumped rubbish in the water and an accident occurred in which two boys drowned before the 'Lake' was done away with.
The map is in Rhyl Library should you wish to study it in finer detail.

Below: Mike worked for food wholesalers G. & W. Collins in Marsh Road in a building opposite the present Good News Family Church. Working on the delivery side and later as a sales rep, Mike visited all the Rhyl cafes, restaurants and hotels.
I particularly like his picture of Forte's Medina Restaurant in High Street. If Forte's were there today it would be next door to your left of Costa:

The pic dates from late 1950s/early 1960s. Mike says that at Forte's was operated by the Bracchi family and there was a dance floor upstairs; also there was a dance floor upstairs at Evans' Clwydian Cafe on corner of High Street and Wellington Road where the Granite camping shop is now.

--
From Mike's collection here is a very rare picture of the Royal Hotel, High Street, Rhyl, in Edwardian times. The hotel stood on the corner of High Street and Sussex Street where The Piazza restaurant is now:

Here is a detail from the above:

The following shot is of a lounge or dining room inside the Royal Hotel. Note the wonderful dresser on your right of the picture. It is not a Welsh dresser, it is Flemish (from Belgium):

That same piece of furniture is a family heirloom on his wife's side (her family used to operate the Royal Hotel) and now stands in Mike's living room. Here he is leaning on it, photographed by Yours Truly!

My thanks to Mike and his childhood sweetheart/wife, a delightful lady who was christened Glynne and is known as Lynne. She dodged my camera in case people got the impression that she knows a lot of about Rhyl history when in fact she doesn't - so don't ask her!
Best wishes to them both.

--

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

--

WESTBOURNE CAFE

George Owen MBE has 'chipped in' with this unusual item relating to the public auction in August 1946 of Westbourne Café on corner of Wellington Road and Westbourne Avenue, Rhyl.

It was a fish & chips eatery with ice cream kiosk outside - a popular place only a few yards from the entrance to Marine Lake Fun Fair. The auction included two houses round the corner, Nos. 2 and 4 Westbourne Avenue under same ownership as the cafe.

[In the background of the photo above are the gas works that stood where Aldi supermarket is now. These days there are shops on that corner with The Rhyl Bistro modern continental cooking upstairs.]

Here are further details from the 1946 auction brochure.
Click on any part to see a bigger version.

George says:
"In 1946-48 I lived with my parents, brother and sister in a flat over what was then known as the Donald Duck Cafe on the corner of Sandringham Avenue, almost opposite the Westbourne Café. Aged seven or eight, my Mum often sent me with a large enamel bowl to get six penny worth of chips which would be enough for the five of us. 

"The end of the war meant plenty of trade from the post-war holiday makers who flocked to Rhyl in the summer months and filled up the many busy guest houses in Rhyl West. Only a couple of years later, aged 10, along with a bunch of other schoolboy entrepreneurs, I used to stand outside Rhyl Railway Station with a purpose-built wooden truck my Dad had made (some less fortunate lads used old prams).

"In those days families came on holiday by train, which were frequent on a Saturday, and we would tout to carry the holidaymakers suitcases to the guest houses. "Can I carry your cases Mister!” would be the cry. At half-a-crown a trip it could be quite lucrative."

So, eight trips would net those boys £1 which was not to be sneezed at in the 1950s. £1 then would be worth more than £20 today.

Thanks George. Thought-provoking stuff!

--
The following references are added here for indexing purposes: C Wesley Haslam auctioneers, Edward Hughes solicitor, Harold Smith accountants.

--

SEAFRONT WEST

The western side of the seafront, loved by generations of children, has been well featured in this blog. You would find many of its attractions categorised under labels on your left near the top of this page.

Here are a few more images, starting with the relatively uncluttered way it looked in 1960s from the junction of - probably - River Street.

--
Earlier, in 1940s this was the scene near Queen Street. Robins is now Harker's Corner Cafe - and on opposite corner was Savoy Café:

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

Above: the ornamental fountain in 1930s. The fountain had been opened in 1892 with a big splash of publicity but the water had been turned off by the time this picture was taken.
The fountain was scrapped during WW2 (1939-45) to provide metal for the war effort.

Below: a picture showing the cycling and tricyling opposite the Queens is always welcome, even a badly-coloured one: 

--
Here are a couple of contrasting shots of the bandstand to the east of Rhyl Pavilion, in the area that became eventually a roller skating rink. The first must have been taken during or just before WW2:

The lower picture above shows the original bandstand on the same part of the prom. In the background there is work in progress on repairing the Queen's Palace and Arcade across the road.

--
Who could resist this striking pic of Punch and Judy opposite West Parade instead of what became the customary position east of High Street? It is Rhyl's first P&C man, Professor Millar and his talking dolls, on a card postmarked 1905:

--

SUN 14th FEB 2016 UPDATE: Here is an additional image of the cycling park (aka cycling track) in Pier Gardens (aka Queens Gardens!) on a card postmarked 1930:

--
FRI 20th JUL 2018 UPDATE: And here is the same place before cycles and tricycles arrived. The postmark is indistinct, might be 1916.

Neither Pier Gardens nor Queens Gardens this time but Promenade Gardens. Same location, three names . . .

--

PAIRING AGAIN

This is another post that pulls together pairs of pictures not previously published in this blog. Firstly two dramatic shots of building the present Foryd Bridge which opened in 1932 (pictures from Rhyl History Club):

Next are a couple of photos of HMS Rhyl. The one on your left is 1960s and the other is probably 1970s:

The following are World War 1 and World War 2 memorial plaques in Christ Church, Water Street, Rhyl, photographed by Fred Burns:

The family name Rhydwen Jones appears on both plaques. 

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

Now, here are two adverts - the front and back covers of a Pavilion circus programme which is said to be from 1954:

A connection between the two shows advertised above is that they were both staged by Captain A. Prince-Cox, F.R.M.S. (This is an acronym of which I can make no sense in a showbiz context. Perhaps a reader will enlighten us on this point.)

--

Above is a colour postcard from my own collection showing the Sun Centre (opened June 1980) as it looked before the new Pavilion Theatre was built at its side.

Below is a Daily Post photo of the new Pavilion Theatre being built; it opened in September 1991.

--

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

--