John Mortimer, actor comedian

[Dannemois]

Merthyr Express, Jan 8, 1927
Good Attendance Awards
At the Brithdir Girls Department, good attendance awards were presented amongst others to:
Elsie Gerrish a silver medal for 3 years perfect attendance.

Merthyr Express, Oct 22, 1927
Billiards
Brithdir now have a newly formed Billiards team playing in Division II of the Rhymney Valley and District Libraries League.  Players named in reports: Sydney Williams, E. Watts, W. Bassett, F. Rogers, Bryn Harris, H.T. Baldwin, Reg Williams, B. Chard, Trevor Phillips, Tom Bromage, T. Boddington, F Whitting, R. Moral, C. Gerrish.

Merthyr Express, Saturday Feb 24, 1900
Bargoed - Dreadful Fatal Accident
An unfortunate accident occurred at the Powell Duffryn Coal Company’s new pits on Monday at about 4 pm.  On account of the tremendous quantity of water to contend with, it had been deemed advisable to suspend sinking operations for a long period, in the meantime to provide pumping engines to cope with the water.  To meet this end , William Gerrish, Bargoed and Thomas Reed, 15 Charles Street, Brithdir, were engaged with others on constructing a lodge-room near the bottom of the shaft, when a stone fell, severely injuring the former, the later being terrible mutilated, and he only survived about twenty-minutes after the accident.  Dr. Reidy was immediately advised and attended at the pit top when the poor fellows were brought to bank.  They were conveyed to their respective homes by their comrades.

[meg1920]

Thank you for these.  I think the William Gerrish in the article of 1900 is  the father of William and Frank.  This is all very interesting.
meg

[Dannemois]

Hi Meg
Glad they were of interest.  I made enqueries with the British Music Hall Association seeking details of John Mortimer and below is the reply I received.  I have had a look, its a subscription site and could be a source for you but beware there was also a playwright named John Mortimer.

"Roy. Thanks for the email.Unfortunately we have nothing in our Archive relating to John Mortimer but all is not lost.  A few months ago the weekly theatrical newspaper The Stage put every edition in full on the internet.  This means that if you input the name of John Mortimer his name will come up in every edition where the Stage wrote about him. To start offyou need to input The Stage Archive, then click on Welcome to the Stage Archive and follow the instructions. I have tried it and the name John Mortimer comes up many times.  In fact I think that the John Mortimer at the start is a different John Mortimer from the end. Try it and see how you get on.  Good luck Max Tyler"

[meg1920]

Thanks Roy
Have tried The Stage Archive but no luck so far as there are many entries. Obviously a lot are to do with the playwright!  However, I will persevere - if I find anything will let you know.
Best Wishes
meg

[MJP007]

Hi,

I came across a thread you participated in regarding the actor comedian John Mortimer and the Gerrish family.

John Mortimer / Peter B Trott was my great grandfather, his daughter Elsie Maria Mortimer was my grandmother, her son Reginald Denis Parry was my Father.

I am trying to track down more information about John Mortimer / Peter B Trott. I see that in places Mortimer-Trott is also used as a surname.

I am also trying to track down more information on the brothers and sisters of Elsie Maria especially Eva and her son Frank (Frankie) Gerrish who was my uncle.