Women musicians and Unions

In writing this blog, I have come up against a query that is still unresolved: when did female musicians first obtain union protection? Jenna Bailey, who has been researching the work of Ivy Benson, sent me a copy of an article by Deborah Rohr, first published in the Journal of Musicological Research, (18.4.307-346), in 1999.

Waldini in Burma, 1945

Waldini had now been travelling for three years, but the tour in Burma turned out to be quite different from anything that had gone before.  The high humidity caused continuous sweating that drained their energy.  “The prickly heat began to take its toll, and most of us came out in a mass of angry spots

Waldini in Egypt, Palestine, India, and Ceylon

When Waldini arrived in Cairo he was actually returning to places he had visited in the First World War.  When he arrived, he was asked to come to see Colonel Rex Newman, who was the Officer in Command of ENSA in Cairo.  “Wally, the fellows out in the Desert want to see your show.” “OK,

Waldini in Italy

Waldini and his band reached the outskirts of Campobassa before it had been captured from the Germans, so spent a night at the Rear Army HQ.  The girls were able to sleep in tents, and the men slept in the truck.  It needs to be remembered that they were not soldiers, they had not been

Waldini in Tunisia and Sicily

In fact, Phyllis’s fainting was not merely a product of the heat and emotion.  That night only Waldini and Jack Salt were the only two still fit, and they spent the night attending to the needs of the others.  The Office at Tunis were sending them messages to speed onwards, but they were too ill

Waldini in Algeria

As I have already covered the prior histories of Petulengro, Don Rico and Teddy Joyce, I wanted to discover more of the previous history of Waldini, too. What neither Waldini’s online Wikipedia entry, nor Mabel, said, was that Waldini had been already been touring abroad with ENSA for some years before the trip to Germany

‘Goodnight, ladies..’

Since Mabel first gave a solo performance at the Central Hall, Westminster, at the age of nine, her greatest joy had been performing to an audience.  At home she used to give Sunday evening recitals to her parents, and at friends’ parties, she took her violin to give a ‘party piece’.  Her professional playing career

‘Going up West’

In 1952, Mabel’s mother died, and the following spring she married Henry Leslie Willson, known as Leslie.  Leslie had been an admirer for many years, writing to her during her months in Portugal, and visiting her when she was playing in Skegness and elsewhere.  When Ella Winser had married Mabel’s brother in 1936 this had

‘Dear old Skeggie’

For female musicians, like Mabel, life got harder in the late forties and fifties. The large male dance bands were now working in the huge ballrooms all over the country – the Meccas, the Locarnos, and the Palais de Dance, as well as doing broadcasts.  However, as older dancers sailed round the floor with their

Evening News Flower and Country Shows

The Evening News sponsored another exhibition at Olympia called the Flower and Country Show for several years. Mabel won the contract to provide two ladies’ quintets for the 1953 show, and the letter of acceptance says that the arrangements would be similar to the ones already agreed for the Ideal Home Exhibition, with the addition