Hi all interested parties.
I spent yesterday talking to my Mother to see if any memories could be unlocked. Nothing significant, only the following:
1. For some reason, she thought for most of her life that he originally came from the Birmingham area (Aston rings a bell), but on reflection she's not sure and it's just as likely this could be just where he and Madge (somehow) might have met. She never really knew if they originally met here, or in London.
2. She recalls sometime on the late 50s that Madge dropped into a rare conversation that Alf came from a 'well to do' family and was disinherited. Intriguing, but no further info.
3. Apparently Alf was quite 'pally' with Flanagan and Allen and she recalls a specific occasion (age about 5 or 6) being taken to some pub or club while 'dad and his friends' were drinking.
4. Madge at some stage during her final years in another moment of apparent lucidity claimed Alf had (or knew?) two sisters who had a stage act called the Dolly Sisters - or some permutation of 'Dolly'. This seems strange. There was a very famous Dolly Sisters duo at the time, so if this can be accepted as true, they couldn't use that name. So perhaps a tribute/copy act - maybe this is the connection to F&A? Or did he get to know them as they used the dining cars travelling to various theatres? Probably a Red herring, but who knows?
Bob
Quote from post 5
Now to complicate matters. It is just possible that Wilson was an assumed name. 'Madge' suffered from Alzheimer's and in a moment of lucidity, blurted out 'you won't find him -
he was a Speers). Variants of Speirs/Spiers/Spears - plural and singular have so far not produced anything. If it's true, did he use this 'given name' for official documentation and or employment?
There are always "small nuggets" . I had exactly the same from an aunt in my own research a few years back.
Do other's sense we have found Alfred Spiers/Albert Wilson via a very long and complicated route through "family word of mouth", and various documentation?
SS
