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Happy birthday Odeon- 90 years old today

29/6/2020

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The Astoria Cinema, Streatham High Road, was opened on 30th June 1930 and is presently the Odeon Cinema

Designed by E A Stone with 2,576 seats and opened by the Mayor of Wandsworth T J Cox JP

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Streatham Baloon photographers

28/6/2020

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On This Day 29June 1892 Cecil Shadbolt was killed in a baloon accident
Cecil and his father George Shadbolt were Pioneer Photographers with George Shadbolt's last recorded address is 119 Hopton Road, Streatham.
"Mr Cecil Victor Shadbolt, one of the occupants of the ill-fated balloon which went up from the Crystal Palace grounds, on the 29th died from the serious injuries he sustained.... His remains were on Wednesday afternoon interred at the Norwood Cemetery. Owing in part to the steady downpour of rain, and to the fact that the deceased was not a resident in the locality, the funeral was very quietly conducted.... An open hearse conveyed the coffin from the Norwood Cottage Hospital where he died, followed by one coach containing his father and brother"
Cecil’s father George (1819–1901) dealt in mahogany and other fine timber. He was an early experimenter in photography and a student of optics with a strong interest in inno- vative techniques. A founder member of the Photographic Society and a writer and editor of the Photographic Journal and the Liverpool and Manchester Journal, subsequently the British Journal of Photography
(Extracts Colin Fenn)
Further reading:
Victorian gas balloon aerial images below
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34428872
https://heritagecalling.com/…/ballooning-in-bowler-hats-ea…/

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Anyone for Tennis?

28/6/2020

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We would at this time of the year be looking forward to Wimbledon fortnight so here is another tennis post.

Wigmore Lawn tennis Club- 1911
The Club was opened for play on 27 May 1911 at 11 am and formally opened at 3:30 by Mr Leonard Mortimer- the proprietor and president (Photo Wayland of Woodbourne Avenue)
Leonard Mortimer (a stockbroker) was the son of Charles and Elisabeth Mortimer who owned much of the St Leonard's ward and lived at Woodfield House which was situated where Streatham and Clapham HS is today

I am guessing it was called Wigmore as Charles' family seat was Wigmore castle.
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In 1911 there was an entrance to the courts from Woodbourne Avenue (73a). Today the entrance to the club is in Becmead Ave

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Music Hall performer Jenny Hill

27/6/2020

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On This Day 28 June 1896 Jenny Hill died. She lived at the Hermitage in Streatham

Jenny Hill (1848 – 28 June 1896), born Elizabeth Jane Thompson, was a popular English music hall performer of the Victorian era known as "The Vital Spark" and "the Queen of the Halls". Her repertoire of songs included "'Arry", "The Boy I Love Is in the Gallery", "The Little Vagabond Boy", "I've Been a Good Woman to You" and "If I Only Bossed the Show"

Jenny Hill was born in Paddington, London, to Michael Thompson (1812/13–1881) a Marylebone cab driver. Her stage début was made at the age of six or seven, when she performed as the legs of the goose in the pantomime Mother Goose at the Aquarium Theatre in Westminster. In about 1860 she made her professional debut at Dr. Johnson's Concert Rooms, traditional "Song & Supper Rooms" in Fleet Street

On 28 May 1866, aged 18, she married John Wilson Woodley, an acrobat known by the stage name Jean Pasta; he later abandoned her, leaving her with three children, one of whom became the music hall performer Peggy Pryde- she died at Peggy's home in Brixton

In London, Hill was engaged for a tryout at the London Pavilion, a music hall, where her song stopped the show. The popular entertainer George Leybourne led her back onto the stage for an encore. By 1871 she was earning £6 a week at the London Pavilion. The theatrical agent Hugh J. Didcott gave the expressive, witty and vivacious Hill the sobriquet "The Vital Spark", which she used throughout her career

On 25 March 1889 she appeared on the same bill as Bessie Bellwood at the Canterbury Theatre of Varieties. Her repertoire of songs included 'Arry, The Boy I Love Is In The Gallery, The Little Vagabond Boy, I've Been a Good Woman to You and If I Only Bossed the Show.
Eventually, she earned enough by dancing the "Cellar Flap", singing her song The Coffee-Shop Girl and by her male impersonations to buy The Hermitage and its farmlands at Streatham
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She is buried at Nunhead cemetery

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Kiwi star at  Streatham and Mitcham

26/6/2020

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On This Day 27 June 1986 the New Zealand Rugby international George Nepia died

Nepia captained the New Zealand Maori team—known as the All Whites for their white uniforms—on its tour of Australia in 1935. After that he played professional rugby league in England for Streatham and Mitcham, which used Nepia’s name to attract 20,000 spectators to its first match against OldhamC

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Image ©National Portrait Gallery
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Clash's Mick Jones

25/6/2020

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​Mick Jones was born On This Day 26th June 1955
Lead guitarist of the Clash and then formed Big Audio Dynamite.
Lived with his grandmother at Christchurch House, Streatham
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ThrowBackThursday c1900 Greyhound Lane and Railway Tavern

24/6/2020

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Literary critic of Agatha Christie novels

24/6/2020

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​On This Day 25th June 1872 Ernest Robertson Punshon was born
He died at 38 Palace Road, Streatham and is recorded living at 23 Nimrod Road, Streatham and 123 Welham Road, West Streatham
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He was a novelist and literary critic. He reviewed Agatha Christie's novels for the Guardian. He was a prolific writer of short stories
Image ©National Portrait Gallery

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Battersea Grammar, Abbotswood Road, Streatham

24/6/2020

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Battersea Grammar School - 1950 (no sound). Interesting clip of life at the School
https://www.londonsscreenarchives.org.uk/title/918/
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One of 6 VCs with Streatham connections

23/6/2020

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​On This Day 24 June 1894 Major Alfred James Terence Fleming-Sandes VC was born in Northstead Road. One of 6 VCs connected to Streatham

On 29 September 1915 at the Hohenzollern Redoubt, France, Second Lieutenant Fleming-Sandes was sent to command a company which was in a very critical position. His men, very much shaken by continual bombing and machine-gun fire, were beginning to retire, but the second lieutenant collected a few bombs and jumping on the parapet in full view of the Germans, only 20 yards (18 m) away, threw them. Although severely wounded almost at once, he continued to advance and throw bombs until he was again wounded. This act put new heart into his men and saved the situation. (London Gazette)

http://www.vconline.org.uk/alfred-j-t-fleming-sandes-vc/4586724877
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(The final image is at the Streatham War Memorial)

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    Mark Bery, Secretary Streatham Society

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Next Meeting

"West End: Creating the Pleasure District, 1800-1914" Monday 1st March 2021 07:30pm by Professor Rohan McWilliam
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Our Newsletter, issue 243 has been posted to members and issue 242, Autumn 2020 is now available on this site.

Members are invited to complete the Gift Aid Declaration contained in the newsletter (243), or download the form . This will provide funds to support your Society

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