Gladys Rose Jones and Lily Gorham

[maddys52]

If you have a library card you may also be able to access British Library Newspapers online (free) from home. I use my Australian National Library card and use their eresources to look up old newspapers. 

A very quick search for " Gladys Rose Jones" shows numerous items between 1903 and 1912.

[recorder]

Hillhurst & CaroleW & Maddy Thank you for your endeavours on my behalf.  The Era is a positive mine of information, Hillhurst, but how did you get  to the Sept 1905 item for Gladys?  I have no family connection with these ladies, Carole.  My daughter has asked for help with a project she has undertaken. We do not have an Ancestry or Find My Past membership and were using our local library facility prior to lockdown.  Membership may be the way forward. Will try the British library Newspapers on line, Maddy.  Hillhurst has given me the link  The BMD details help to complete the picture so thanks for details. I will pass the good news to my daughter who will, I am sure, be surprised by the info you have managed to unearth. If anything more turns up it will be received gratefully. I will post again later.

Recorder

[Ashtone]

Hi Recorder - yes The Era was a wonderful publication for entertainment-related news, particularly the early 20th century. I know there are other pubs like The Era, but their names escape me.

As regards "Miss Lily Gorham" there is also a birth for a Lily Rose Gorham Gorham in Camden c1880.
Father was a doctor. Baptism record lists her forename as Lily Rose Gorham, so parents obviously liked the name Gorham. But no idea if she's "Miss Lily Gorham" (contralto).

Good luck with your research! Both ladies seem like worthy subjects.

[recorder]

Thanks Hillhurst.

[Ashtone]

The Era is a positive mine of information, Hillhurst, but how did you get  to the Sept 1905 item for Gladys?   

I tend to use speech marks/quotes when searching for something/someone in particular. It returns quicker and more accurate results (unless OCR has "mangled" the article's text). So in this instance, I simply used "Miss Gladys Rose Jones" (with speech marks). That was it.  It returned a total of 94 results during the period of 1900-1919 in various newspapers in the UK. By the way, The Stage was the other publication I was thinking of earlier.

[Mabel Bagshawe]

Gladys made it to Wales a few times - reciting and also playing roles as young boys

https://newspapers.library.wales/search?range%5Bmin%5D=1804&range%5Bmax%5D=1919&query=%22gladys+rose+jones%22

[recorder]

Mabel - Forgive the delay in acknowledging your note.  The link has proved very interesting.  Thanks for your help.

Recorder.

[recorder]

Hello again,  -  A visit by my daughter has clarified the search.   She is contributing to a project looking  at Victorian entertainment and a search for various songs etc has been sub-contracted to me.  Having said that the family history of Gladys and Lily was received with great pleasure. I managed to find the words and music for a number of the songs but being out of my depth in computer matters I did not store them in a safe place and lost the lot. With help I was able to find again most of the details but I cannot retrieve a number of bits and some things I could not find in the first place.

I appreciate this is not really a family history matter but if anyone can guide me to the following it would help considerably.

The words and music for a song The Broken Story
Words for recitations 'Matinee hat'    'Lissie   'Our baby'  All recited by Gladys.

Any item would be welcome.

Recorder

[maddys52]

How very frustrating for you! My son, who works in IT used to have as a screensaver "anything that is not saved will be lost" (and he says important things need 2 or 3 backups in different locations in different media), very true I'm afraid.

There is this poem that was published in Punch on 1 Jan 1898, not sure if it's the "Matinee Hat" you are after.

"In a theatre a merry maid sat
Wearing a marvellous matinee hat.
  The people behind murmured and muttered:
  I will not repeat the language uttered,
'Twas mostly a masculine form of "drat."

Feathers and flow'rs of a wonderful hue
To a monstrous height on that hat there grew.
  The people behind were wild with passion,
  They hated the hat of latest fashion,
Complaining that it quite obscured their view.

When in her programme this merry maid read
A special request to ladies, which said
  The people behind would most gracious feel
  If those in the front would heed their appeal,
She quickly removed that hat from her head.

In a theatre a manager's tact
Proved he could manage as well as could act.
  The people behind no longer vainly
  Strove behind feathers to see more plainly;
And gratefully they acknowledged the fact."