Holloway Travelling Theatre Company.

[battyrat]

Hi all, still researching the Holloway family. Would love to contact any relatives of Horace Holloway and Annie of the Prince of Wales or Henry and Catherine of the Star theatre or any decedents of Joseph and Hannah or Joseph senior of the Sans Pariel. My Great Grandmother was Annie Holloway who married Frederick Davies, daughter of Edward Holloway and Elizabeth Cottrell.Edward was Horace Holloways brother and son of Henry and Catherine. I would love to talk and exchange info, photos etc. with any member of the family. I know there are other family members out there watching these boards, please drop by and say Hello.

[FOAH]

I am a local historian for Atherstone in North Warwickshire. In 1935, much to my embarrassment, the local council closed down Holloway's Travelling Theatre. More than 20 years ago we were approached by G H Holloway of Penkridge who lent us a wonderful collection of memorabilia including costumes and a scale model of the theatre and we put on an exhibition in a temporary space for a few weeks only.

We now have a more permanent space and better display skills and would love to repeat the exhibition but we have been unable to trace G H Holloway to see if he/she still has the material and is prepared to lend it.

Do any of you know anything about this, I have just found photographs of the exhibition if they would help?

[Dianne Murphy]

Hi my mothers great great grandmother was a Hollaway. Mum has passed but I have notes (and some photos) saying Bill and Minnie were owners of the traveling side show and they had a son called Archie ( great aunt and uncle) Minnie and William Wilkinson were Mums grandparentsI think. Bertha Dawkes was an Aunt. Beatrice was part of the show and I have a picture of her dressed in an Aladin costume. Aunt Violet was also in the show. My Aunt Rose also performed. I think she was a Bates. Hope this assists. I'm now living in Australia and Mum always spoke of the caravan and wondered about its whereabouts after she left the UK in 1951.my grandparents were George William Chamberlain and Mary Elizabeth Chamberlain, nee Wilkinson

[AntonyH]

My father was Thomas David Holloway born in 1926 to David Holloway (stage name Jack Smiles?) and Dorothy Lynch (Dancer?) .  David Holloway died when my father was 7 years old and after that his mother left the company and remarried.  After the death of his mother several years later he had no contact whatesoever with his family.  He spoke very little to us about his childhood apart from the odd comment about being born in a caravan in Nuneaton. 
I now have children of my own who have questions about my family history that I cannot answer.  I have found this forum absolutely fascinating and would be extemely grateful if anyone had any more information about this side of the Holloway family, I would love to see some photo's especially of my grandfather David Holloway

[tanjil]

I am not connected to the Holloway family but thought that those of you that are would like to know where Annie & Horace Holloway are buried.
Annie died 12 March, 1936 in Atherstone aged 65
Horace died 14 Aug 1946 at Chase Terrace, Chase Town aged 76.
They are buried in a double sized grave with an angel standing guard.
Grave number N 0530, Sheepy Road Cemetery, Atherstone. Warwickshire.
There is another family member with them but from memory I can't remember. Will check.

[kamilla1960]

I've been looking at the Holloway Travelling Theatre Company, and their links to the Sommerville family, the Sommerville ( Somerville) family were part of a travelling theatre called the Magna Travelling Theatre that seemed to concentrate within the Lincolnshire area. I've been doing a lot of research in the newspapers about the families. I am not directly related, but my brother in law was "adopted" by a branch of the Sommerville family in Lincolnshire. Has anyone got any photos they could let me have copies of either Magna Travelling Theatre Company or Holloway Travelling Theatre Company? I have been fascinated by all the modern day connections to people like Fred Karno, The Four Holloways, Stanley Holloway, Nervo and Knox and the Crazy Gang. Thank you

[Dos]

My grandparents also had a portable theatre, in South Wales.They would have known Henry Holloway.  Replying to FOAH's message I've been trying to track down the model of Holloway's theatre.  I have detailed descriptions  from my mother and her sisters of what the theatres were like.  I'd to see any pictures from when you had the exhibition in Atherstone.  Does anyone know if Geoff Holloway of Penkridge is still around, or know what happened to his collection of portable theatre items. I know that around 2004 he helped with an article about the tragic deaths of Henry Holloway's 3 little girls who were poisoned by carbon monoxide in the wagon they slept in in Newtown, mid-Wales.

[ROYALGEORGE]

I am the great grandson of Horace Holloway, and the son of G.H. Holloway of Penkridge. Sadly, my dad passed away in 2007. My mum still has most of the travelling theatre items that dad had passed down to him, and the model theatre he made is still in excellent condition.

[Dos]

Message from DOS

I'm replying to Royal George's posting about the model theatre and other memorabilia.  I'd really love to be able to see this model and photograph it as it must be a really accurate representation of what the theatre was like inside.  I'd be happy to share information I have about my grandparents' theatre.  I live in North Wales so am not too far from Staffordshire which it where I presume this material is.
How exciting to be able to track all this down!