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M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on December 1, 2023, 1:45 pm
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 11, 2023, 9:50 pm, in reply to "M. G. Truman"
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on December 12, 2023, 1:31 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Jeffrey - thank you so much for such a detailed reply. Interestingly, in a Sept 1926 letter Letts does mention a 7 year old called Una (and yes, it's an Irish name - the Irish version of Winifred, actually!) and the letter is written from Chesterfield so it's very likely that there is a link between Una Truman and M G Truman. The father in this house was a very hard-working doctor and there were six children, one at Stonyhurst, one at a convent school and 4 at home ranging from 10 to 1.5 years. The Amazon.com listing - thankfully I screenshotted it at the time - gives Escott and Co as publishers on 1 January 1916. Thanks again, Jeffrey - one jigsaw piece at a time! Bairbre
Previous Message
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 12, 2023, 6:53 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
It's most unlikely that 7-year-old Una was the Una in question as the 1935 listing gives that particular Una as being an LRAM, having performed as solo pianist at Queen's Hall and being a violinist, conductor and orchestral leader. At the age of 16 she would have been quite a prodigy ! But does the mention of her by Letts specifically state that little Una was a daughter in the household in which the letter was written. The age-range of 10-15 appears to rule this out.
What I failed to mention before was that Irene Truman was married to a certain Mr. Brooke and she appears to have performed two-piano recitals with her sister Una under her married name Irene Brooke. If the Una mentioned in the Chesterfield letter wasn't referred to as a daughter of the household it's possible she might have been the daughter of the Brookes...maybe named after her aunt. In 1935 the two sisters were living at the same address in Langdale Grove Ave., Nottingham presumably with Mr.Brooke . Maybe the census records might yield some information. If Irene was a close contemporary of Letts and, IF little Una was her child it indicates that Irene must have been in her mid to late thirties when she gave birth to her...perhaps, although far from unknown, a little late in the day to have a first child but, were there others that preceded Una ?
This, of course, doesn't bring us much closer to an identification of M G Truman, but in my other reply in this thread - written before I had seen this particular contribution you had made - I speculated that the the unusual way of presenting the composer's name with initials might have been a way of concealing certain bits of information. A thought did cross my mind that M G Truman might have been the name under which Irene published her own compositions.
Maybe the jigsaw will come together and begin to form a recognisible image that you can work on in the near future.
Previous Message
Jeffrey - thank you so much for such a detailed reply. Interestingly, in a Sept 1926 letter Letts does mention a 7 year old called Una (and yes, it's an Irish name - the Irish version of Winifred, actually!) and the letter is written from Chesterfield so it's very likely that there is a link between Una Truman and M G Truman. The father in this house was a very hard-working doctor and there were six children, one at Stonyhurst, one at a convent school and 4 at home ranging from 10 to 1.5 years. The Amazon.com listing - thankfully I screenshotted it at the time - gives Escott and Co as publishers on 1 January 1916. Thanks again, Jeffrey - one jigsaw piece at a time! Bairbre
Previous Message
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on December 13, 2023, 2:51 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
So having trawled through letters, diaries and BMD here since yesterday, I realise I have led myself and you astray in the details - apologies for that. I have now worked out that the Chesterfield family was Dr Patrick MacGinnis and his wife, son Niall (b. 1913, actor) daughter Mary (b.1914), son Dermot (b. 1920, W M Letts's godson), daughter Una who died aged 8 in 1926, and three other boys. She had known this family when they lived in Dublin preWW1.So 'Una Truman' may be a coincidence.
In her 1937 diary, Letts went to Liverpool from Dublin and'stopped at Crewe for Derby, went to Edwards'. So this suggests the Edwards also lived in this area. Unfortunately the Trumans don't appear in her diaries at all, but the 1912 book was dedicated to E.G Edwards and M.G. Truman, and another of Letts's many godchildren (Pomona and Co. published in 1924 was dedicated to her 'Family of (8) Godchildren) was a Margaret Truman. As you said, the MG might have been to hide gender - Winifred Letts wrote mainly as W M Letts and she felt critics were less kind to women writers.
I can bring up the Amazon link by searching for 'Dan O'Shee Letts' (on the general search engine, not on the amazon site)
Previous Message
It's most unlikely that 7-year-old Una was the Una in question as the 1935 listing gives that particular Una as being an LRAM, having performed as solo pianist at Queen's Hall and being a violinist, conductor and orchestral leader. At the age of 16 she would have been quite a prodigy ! But does the mention of her by Letts specifically state that little Una was a daughter in the household in which the letter was written. The age-range of 10-15 appears to rule this out.
What I failed to mention before was that Irene Truman was married to a certain Mr. Brooke and she appears to have performed two-piano recitals with her sister Una under her married name Irene Brooke. If the Una mentioned in the Chesterfield letter wasn't referred to as a daughter of the household it's possible she might have been the daughter of the Brookes...maybe named after her aunt. In 1935 the two sisters were living at the same address in Langdale Grove Ave., Nottingham presumably with Mr.Brooke . Maybe the census records might yield some information. If Irene was a close contemporary of Letts and, IF little Una was her child it indicates that Irene must have been in her mid to late thirties when she gave birth to her...perhaps, although far from unknown, a little late in the day to have a first child but, were there others that preceded Una ?
This, of course, doesn't bring us much closer to an identification of M G Truman, but in my other reply in this thread - written before I had seen this particular contribution you had made - I speculated that the the unusual way of presenting the composer's name with initials might have been a way of concealing certain bits of information. A thought did cross my mind that M G Truman might have been the name under which Irene published her own compositions.
Maybe the jigsaw will come together and begin to form a recognisible image that you can work on in the near future.
Previous Message
Jeffrey - thank you so much for such a detailed reply. Interestingly, in a Sept 1926 letter Letts does mention a 7 year old called Una (and yes, it's an Irish name - the Irish version of Winifred, actually!) and the letter is written from Chesterfield so it's very likely that there is a link between Una Truman and M G Truman. The father in this house was a very hard-working doctor and there were six children, one at Stonyhurst, one at a convent school and 4 at home ranging from 10 to 1.5 years. The Amazon.com listing - thankfully I screenshotted it at the time - gives Escott and Co as publishers on 1 January 1916. Thanks again, Jeffrey - one jigsaw piece at a time! Bairbre
Previous Message
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 13, 2023, 5:29 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
It's very easy to create a wrong "scenario" by just overlooking one detail or misinterpreting another. I realise I put "Little" Una outside of the doctor's family by misreading your "1.5" as "15"....I should have gone to Specsavers !
I surmised that M G Truman could well have been female from the "Days in school" reference in the dedication. The use of initials in the dedication seems very formal as a way to address people who surely must have been close acquaintances in earlier years. Did Letts, by any chance, hold a post at any school which might render the possibility that the dedicatees of the book were former male staff members? Have you been able to identify E G Edwards ?
I have, today, e-mailed the Nottinghamshire historical society to ask if they have any information in their archives about the Truman sisters and, by chance, any reference to M G Truman. If they are able to supply me with any relevant information I will pass it on to you.
Having an interest in old films I have seen the actor Niall MacGinnis many times. I guess one of his best-known roles was as the sinister Doctor Karswell in "Night of the Demon."
Previous Message
So having trawled through letters, diaries and BMD here since yesterday, I realise I have led myself and you astray in the details - apologies for that. I have now worked out that the Chesterfield family was Dr Patrick MacGinnis and his wife, son Niall (b. 1913, actor) daughter Mary (b.1914), son Dermot (b. 1920, W M Letts's godson), daughter Una who died aged 8 in 1926, and three other boys. She had known this family when they lived in Dublin preWW1.So 'Una Truman' may be a coincidence.
In her 1937 diary, Letts went to Liverpool from Dublin and'stopped at Crewe for Derby, went to Edwards'. So this suggests the Edwards also lived in this area. Unfortunately the Trumans don't appear in her diaries at all, but the 1912 book was dedicated to E.G Edwards and M.G. Truman, and another of Letts's many godchildren (Pomona and Co. published in 1924 was dedicated to her 'Family of (8) Godchildren) was a Margaret Truman. As you said, the MG might have been to hide gender - Winifred Letts wrote mainly as W M Letts and she felt critics were less kind to women writers.
I can bring up the Amazon link by searching for 'Dan O'Shee Letts' (on the general search engine, not on the amazon site)
Previous Message
It's most unlikely that 7-year-old Una was the Una in question as the 1935 listing gives that particular Una as being an LRAM, having performed as solo pianist at Queen's Hall and being a violinist, conductor and orchestral leader. At the age of 16 she would have been quite a prodigy ! But does the mention of her by Letts specifically state that little Una was a daughter in the household in which the letter was written. The age-range of 10-15 appears to rule this out.
What I failed to mention before was that Irene Truman was married to a certain Mr. Brooke and she appears to have performed two-piano recitals with her sister Una under her married name Irene Brooke. If the Una mentioned in the Chesterfield letter wasn't referred to as a daughter of the household it's possible she might have been the daughter of the Brookes...maybe named after her aunt. In 1935 the two sisters were living at the same address in Langdale Grove Ave., Nottingham presumably with Mr.Brooke . Maybe the census records might yield some information. If Irene was a close contemporary of Letts and, IF little Una was her child it indicates that Irene must have been in her mid to late thirties when she gave birth to her...perhaps, although far from unknown, a little late in the day to have a first child but, were there others that preceded Una ?
This, of course, doesn't bring us much closer to an identification of M G Truman, but in my other reply in this thread - written before I had seen this particular contribution you had made - I speculated that the the unusual way of presenting the composer's name with initials might have been a way of concealing certain bits of information. A thought did cross my mind that M G Truman might have been the name under which Irene published her own compositions.
Maybe the jigsaw will come together and begin to form a recognisible image that you can work on in the near future.
Previous Message
Jeffrey - thank you so much for such a detailed reply. Interestingly, in a Sept 1926 letter Letts does mention a 7 year old called Una (and yes, it's an Irish name - the Irish version of Winifred, actually!) and the letter is written from Chesterfield so it's very likely that there is a link between Una Truman and M G Truman. The father in this house was a very hard-working doctor and there were six children, one at Stonyhurst, one at a convent school and 4 at home ranging from 10 to 1.5 years. The Amazon.com listing - thankfully I screenshotted it at the time - gives Escott and Co as publishers on 1 January 1916. Thanks again, Jeffrey - one jigsaw piece at a time! Bairbre
Previous Message
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by BAIRBRE on December 14, 2023, 12:36 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Thanks for all your help and interest, Jeffrey. Re E G Edwards, I only know that Letts changed at 'Crewe for Derby and visited Edwards'. Letts attended S. Anne's Abbots Bromley from c1891-1898, and then changed to Alexandra College in Dublin. To the best of my knowledge, she did not work at all until signing up as a VAD in 1915. I wondered was the EG and MG a reflection of Letts's own use of WM instead of Winifred Mabel. I shall keep on with the jigsaw. Thanks for sending the Nottinghamshire query.
Previous Message
It's very easy to create a wrong "scenario" by just overlooking one detail or misinterpreting another. I realise I put "Little" Una outside of the doctor's family by misreading your "1.5" as "15"....I should have gone to Specsavers !
I surmised that M G Truman could well have been female from the "Days in school" reference in the dedication. The use of initials in the dedication seems very formal as a way to address people who surely must have been close acquaintances in earlier years. Did Letts, by any chance, hold a post at any school which might render the possibility that the dedicatees of the book were former male staff members? Have you been able to identify E G Edwards ?
I have, today, e-mailed the Nottinghamshire historical society to ask if they have any information in their archives about the Truman sisters and, by chance, any reference to M G Truman. If they are able to supply me with any relevant information I will pass it on to you.
Having an interest in old films I have seen the actor Niall MacGinnis many times. I guess one of his best-known roles was as the sinister Doctor Karswell in "Night of the Demon."
Previous Message
So having trawled through letters, diaries and BMD here since yesterday, I realise I have led myself and you astray in the details - apologies for that. I have now worked out that the Chesterfield family was Dr Patrick MacGinnis and his wife, son Niall (b. 1913, actor) daughter Mary (b.1914), son Dermot (b. 1920, W M Letts's godson), daughter Una who died aged 8 in 1926, and three other boys. She had known this family when they lived in Dublin preWW1.So 'Una Truman' may be a coincidence.
In her 1937 diary, Letts went to Liverpool from Dublin and'stopped at Crewe for Derby, went to Edwards'. So this suggests the Edwards also lived in this area. Unfortunately the Trumans don't appear in her diaries at all, but the 1912 book was dedicated to E.G Edwards and M.G. Truman, and another of Letts's many godchildren (Pomona and Co. published in 1924 was dedicated to her 'Family of (8) Godchildren) was a Margaret Truman. As you said, the MG might have been to hide gender - Winifred Letts wrote mainly as W M Letts and she felt critics were less kind to women writers.
I can bring up the Amazon link by searching for 'Dan O'Shee Letts' (on the general search engine, not on the amazon site)
Previous Message
It's most unlikely that 7-year-old Una was the Una in question as the 1935 listing gives that particular Una as being an LRAM, having performed as solo pianist at Queen's Hall and being a violinist, conductor and orchestral leader. At the age of 16 she would have been quite a prodigy ! But does the mention of her by Letts specifically state that little Una was a daughter in the household in which the letter was written. The age-range of 10-15 appears to rule this out.
What I failed to mention before was that Irene Truman was married to a certain Mr. Brooke and she appears to have performed two-piano recitals with her sister Una under her married name Irene Brooke. If the Una mentioned in the Chesterfield letter wasn't referred to as a daughter of the household it's possible she might have been the daughter of the Brookes...maybe named after her aunt. In 1935 the two sisters were living at the same address in Langdale Grove Ave., Nottingham presumably with Mr.Brooke . Maybe the census records might yield some information. If Irene was a close contemporary of Letts and, IF little Una was her child it indicates that Irene must have been in her mid to late thirties when she gave birth to her...perhaps, although far from unknown, a little late in the day to have a first child but, were there others that preceded Una ?
This, of course, doesn't bring us much closer to an identification of M G Truman, but in my other reply in this thread - written before I had seen this particular contribution you had made - I speculated that the the unusual way of presenting the composer's name with initials might have been a way of concealing certain bits of information. A thought did cross my mind that M G Truman might have been the name under which Irene published her own compositions.
Maybe the jigsaw will come together and begin to form a recognisible image that you can work on in the near future.
Previous Message
Jeffrey - thank you so much for such a detailed reply. Interestingly, in a Sept 1926 letter Letts does mention a 7 year old called Una (and yes, it's an Irish name - the Irish version of Winifred, actually!) and the letter is written from Chesterfield so it's very likely that there is a link between Una Truman and M G Truman. The father in this house was a very hard-working doctor and there were six children, one at Stonyhurst, one at a convent school and 4 at home ranging from 10 to 1.5 years. The Amazon.com listing - thankfully I screenshotted it at the time - gives Escott and Co as publishers on 1 January 1916. Thanks again, Jeffrey - one jigsaw piece at a time! Bairbre
Previous Message
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 14, 2023, 5:31 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
No need to reply to this bit of speculation, Bairbre, but I wonder if the use of initials might be a relic of schooldays' practice of referring to each other by initials. I think, back in those days, even girls were addressed by just their surnames in school so initials alone might have been considered an informal, friendly form of address. Or maybe, in the early years of the 20c. polite formalities were still operating in those levels of society where Letts moved.
Previous Message
Thanks for all your help and interest, Jeffrey. Re E G Edwards, I only know that Letts changed at 'Crewe for Derby and visited Edwards'. Letts attended S. Anne's Abbots Bromley from c1891-1898, and then changed to Alexandra College in Dublin. To the best of my knowledge, she did not work at all until signing up as a VAD in 1915. I wondered was the EG and MG a reflection of Letts's own use of WM instead of Winifred Mabel. I shall keep on with the jigsaw. Thanks for sending the Nottinghamshire query.
Previous Message
It's very easy to create a wrong "scenario" by just overlooking one detail or misinterpreting another. I realise I put "Little" Una outside of the doctor's family by misreading your "1.5" as "15"....I should have gone to Specsavers !
I surmised that M G Truman could well have been female from the "Days in school" reference in the dedication. The use of initials in the dedication seems very formal as a way to address people who surely must have been close acquaintances in earlier years. Did Letts, by any chance, hold a post at any school which might render the possibility that the dedicatees of the book were former male staff members? Have you been able to identify E G Edwards ?
I have, today, e-mailed the Nottinghamshire historical society to ask if they have any information in their archives about the Truman sisters and, by chance, any reference to M G Truman. If they are able to supply me with any relevant information I will pass it on to you.
Having an interest in old films I have seen the actor Niall MacGinnis many times. I guess one of his best-known roles was as the sinister Doctor Karswell in "Night of the Demon."
Previous Message
So having trawled through letters, diaries and BMD here since yesterday, I realise I have led myself and you astray in the details - apologies for that. I have now worked out that the Chesterfield family was Dr Patrick MacGinnis and his wife, son Niall (b. 1913, actor) daughter Mary (b.1914), son Dermot (b. 1920, W M Letts's godson), daughter Una who died aged 8 in 1926, and three other boys. She had known this family when they lived in Dublin preWW1.So 'Una Truman' may be a coincidence.
In her 1937 diary, Letts went to Liverpool from Dublin and'stopped at Crewe for Derby, went to Edwards'. So this suggests the Edwards also lived in this area. Unfortunately the Trumans don't appear in her diaries at all, but the 1912 book was dedicated to E.G Edwards and M.G. Truman, and another of Letts's many godchildren (Pomona and Co. published in 1924 was dedicated to her 'Family of (8) Godchildren) was a Margaret Truman. As you said, the MG might have been to hide gender - Winifred Letts wrote mainly as W M Letts and she felt critics were less kind to women writers.
I can bring up the Amazon link by searching for 'Dan O'Shee Letts' (on the general search engine, not on the amazon site)
Previous Message
It's most unlikely that 7-year-old Una was the Una in question as the 1935 listing gives that particular Una as being an LRAM, having performed as solo pianist at Queen's Hall and being a violinist, conductor and orchestral leader. At the age of 16 she would have been quite a prodigy ! But does the mention of her by Letts specifically state that little Una was a daughter in the household in which the letter was written. The age-range of 10-15 appears to rule this out.
What I failed to mention before was that Irene Truman was married to a certain Mr. Brooke and she appears to have performed two-piano recitals with her sister Una under her married name Irene Brooke. If the Una mentioned in the Chesterfield letter wasn't referred to as a daughter of the household it's possible she might have been the daughter of the Brookes...maybe named after her aunt. In 1935 the two sisters were living at the same address in Langdale Grove Ave., Nottingham presumably with Mr.Brooke . Maybe the census records might yield some information. If Irene was a close contemporary of Letts and, IF little Una was her child it indicates that Irene must have been in her mid to late thirties when she gave birth to her...perhaps, although far from unknown, a little late in the day to have a first child but, were there others that preceded Una ?
This, of course, doesn't bring us much closer to an identification of M G Truman, but in my other reply in this thread - written before I had seen this particular contribution you had made - I speculated that the the unusual way of presenting the composer's name with initials might have been a way of concealing certain bits of information. A thought did cross my mind that M G Truman might have been the name under which Irene published her own compositions.
Maybe the jigsaw will come together and begin to form a recognisible image that you can work on in the near future.
Previous Message
Jeffrey - thank you so much for such a detailed reply. Interestingly, in a Sept 1926 letter Letts does mention a 7 year old called Una (and yes, it's an Irish name - the Irish version of Winifred, actually!) and the letter is written from Chesterfield so it's very likely that there is a link between Una Truman and M G Truman. The father in this house was a very hard-working doctor and there were six children, one at Stonyhurst, one at a convent school and 4 at home ranging from 10 to 1.5 years. The Amazon.com listing - thankfully I screenshotted it at the time - gives Escott and Co as publishers on 1 January 1916. Thanks again, Jeffrey - one jigsaw piece at a time! Bairbre
Previous Message
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on December 12, 2023, 1:40 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Actually the listing is still there on amazon.com - I don't know how to show the image but these are the details: Three Songs, words by W. M. Letts. - The Beggar Girl. - Dan O'Shee ... - Sails Unknown Binding – Import, January 1, 1916 by M. G Truman (Author) Publisher Escott & Co Publication date January 1, 1916 See all details Product details ASIN : B0000D4DDG Publisher : Escott & Co (January 1, 1916) Item Weight : 1.74 pounds
Previous Message
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 12, 2023, 5:58 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
I was searching on the UK Amazon site so tried again on the American site. In spite of entering various search-terms the listing has proven , to me, as elusive as has M G Truman.
No matter, I doubt that it would have given me any more than the details than those you have given.
In some 65 years of sheet-music collecting I have never encountered the publisher Escott & co. so that particular piece of information gives me no leads to follow at all. It's interesting that the publication is listed as an import (1916) so was probably shipped over from the UK. I'd be intrigued to know where Amazon. com obtained the information.
It's unusual that the composer's forenames are given only as initials. The "Days in school" reference suggests that M G Truman might have been female and, perhaps, a fellow-pupil of Letts. Despite the great successes of Cecile Chaminade there might still, at that time, have been certain prejudices against women composers and so the composer's name might have been given in that way in order not to give too much away about identity.
If these songs found their way to the USA it's possible that they might be found in one of the American libraries who make digital copies of their archives available online. There are a number of these and, enjoying a mystery as I do, I shall endeavour to search them for the information being sought.
I realise that there are as many "mights" "maybes" and "possiblys" here as in any standard "Biography" of Shakespeare, but in the case of M G Truman there's even less to go on.
It's a pity that the British Library services are mostly unavailable at the moment as, I guess, answers to some of these questions could be found there.
Have you found out anything about E G Edwards?
Previous Message
Actually the listing is still there on amazon.com - I don't know how to show the image but these are the details: Three Songs, words by W. M. Letts. - The Beggar Girl. - Dan O'Shee ... - Sails Unknown Binding – Import, January 1, 1916 by M. G Truman (Author) Publisher Escott & Co Publication date January 1, 1916 See all details Product details ASIN : B0000D4DDG Publisher : Escott & Co (January 1, 1916) Item Weight : 1.74 pounds
Previous Message
I looked up these pieces on Amazon but could find no listing. Did the listings of the no-longer-available publications that you saw give the name (s) of the songs' publishers?
I also consulted a Who's Who in Music dated 1935. I found no mention of M G Truman but there was a listing for two sisters , Irene and Una both born in Nottingham and both still resident there at the time. Both were apparently professional performers (piano, violin and cello) and regular broadcasters and Irene was also a published composer.
There might be no connection at all between these ladies and M G Truman but the close proximity of Derbyshire and Nottingham suggests the possibility that there is one. And isn't Una an Irish name ?
As both these ladies appear to have had successful musical careers in the 1930s it could be that investigation might prove a family link with the elusive MG who , as far as I can see, has left no record that can be found among a number of archive and library records - both at home and abroad - that can be accessed on the internet and which I've searched although , perhaps when the British Library has recovered from its cyber attack - something can be found there.
Previous Message
I am researching the life and works of the writer W M Letts (1882-1972). She dedicated a 1912 book to E G Edwards and M G Truman who she knew from 'days in Ireland, days in Derbyshire, days in school' - I don't know which category Truman falls into but I discovered that M G Truman set three poems by Letts to music - Sails', 'Old Dan O'Shee' and 'The Beggar Girl' - 1916 sheet music is "now unavailable on Amazon". Could anyone give me more information on Truman? Many thanks
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 12, 2023, 7:32 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Not strictly relevant to the enquiry at hand but the Radio Times listings reveal quite a lot of activity at the BBC by the Truman/ Brooke sisters:
Posted by Bairbre on December 14, 2023, 11:14 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Yes indeed he did, Jeffrey - he set at least fifteen of her poems to music, and Ina Boyle, Charles Wood, Ivor Gurney (under the pseudonym Michael (Raphoe) Flood), Maurice Jacobson, C. Alison Compton, Rhoda Coghill, Edward Bairstow, Haldane Campbell Stewart, Dorothy Parke and Christopher à Becket Williams also did settings of her poems - now I add M G Truman to that list. Although Stanford seems to get most of the credit, Ina Boyle (an almost-forgotten-until-recently Irish composer) set 'A Soft Day, Thank God' to music in 1912 ahead of Stanford's 'A Soft Day'.
Previous Message
Forgive me if you already know this but the prolific Charles Villiers Stanford set some of her poetry as solo songs.
IMSLP has one set, "A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster" op.140, online:
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 15, 2023, 4:58 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
I've looked at some of her poetry online and I can see why it would appeal to composers as texts for songs. I've heard of Ina Boyle but can't quite think under what circumstances just at the moment.
As for Maurice Jacobson, he was an examiner for a piano class I competed in at a music festival when I was at school. I won the first prize but the competition wasn't up to much ! Jacobson set Francis Thompson's Hound of Heaven as a choral/orchestral work and I heard it broadcast many years ago. I wonder if recorded copies of the broadcast survive anywhere ?
Previous Message
Yes indeed he did, Jeffrey - he set at least fifteen of her poems to music, and Ina Boyle, Charles Wood, Ivor Gurney (under the pseudonym Michael (Raphoe) Flood), Maurice Jacobson, C. Alison Compton, Rhoda Coghill, Edward Bairstow, Haldane Campbell Stewart, Dorothy Parke and Christopher à Becket Williams also did settings of her poems - now I add M G Truman to that list. Although Stanford seems to get most of the credit, Ina Boyle (an almost-forgotten-until-recently Irish composer) set 'A Soft Day, Thank God' to music in 1912 ahead of Stanford's 'A Soft Day'.
Previous Message
Forgive me if you already know this but the prolific Charles Villiers Stanford set some of her poetry as solo songs.
IMSLP has one set, "A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster" op.140, online:
Posted by Bairbre on December 19, 2023, 8:30 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Charles a Becket Williams was a brother of Letts's brother-in-law, Charles Arthur Williams.
The Chesterfield and District LHS think they have identified E G Edwards as Elizabeth Grace Edwards born c.1881/1882 (contemporary of Letts), daughter of Henry Vincent Edwards born in Dublin and Eliza, born in Nottingham; Living at Mackworth, Belper 1891. 1901 and 1911 living at Darley Abbey and in 1939, Elizabeth was a secretary at Overton Hall, Ashover - at that time it was a school. All of the places are in Derbyshire.
Strangely, none of those places/names ring any bells for me!
Happy Christmas to you Jeffrey and thanks for your help and interest.I'm sure your 1st prize was well deserved! Bairbre
Previous Message
I've looked at some of her poetry online and I can see why it would appeal to composers as texts for songs. I've heard of Ina Boyle but can't quite think under what circumstances just at the moment.
As for Maurice Jacobson, he was an examiner for a piano class I competed in at a music festival when I was at school. I won the first prize but the competition wasn't up to much ! Jacobson set Francis Thompson's Hound of Heaven as a choral/orchestral work and I heard it broadcast many years ago. I wonder if recorded copies of the broadcast survive anywhere ?
Previous Message
Yes indeed he did, Jeffrey - he set at least fifteen of her poems to music, and Ina Boyle, Charles Wood, Ivor Gurney (under the pseudonym Michael (Raphoe) Flood), Maurice Jacobson, C. Alison Compton, Rhoda Coghill, Edward Bairstow, Haldane Campbell Stewart, Dorothy Parke and Christopher à Becket Williams also did settings of her poems - now I add M G Truman to that list. Although Stanford seems to get most of the credit, Ina Boyle (an almost-forgotten-until-recently Irish composer) set 'A Soft Day, Thank God' to music in 1912 ahead of Stanford's 'A Soft Day'.
Previous Message
Forgive me if you already know this but the prolific Charles Villiers Stanford set some of her poetry as solo songs.
IMSLP has one set, "A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster" op.140, online:
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 20, 2023, 5:45 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Well, that's a bit more evidence that seems to fit into the picture , Bairbre.
I haven't, as yet, received a reply from the historical society yet; maybe someone is on the trail of the various Trumans at this very moment.
I know of a composer called Christopher a Becket Williams, but not a Charles....perhaps a momentary slip of the memory on someone's part ? In any case there must be a connection considering how unusual the name is.
I've remembered where I knew the name of Ina Boyle from now; I have a cd recording of "The Magic Harp."
Best wishes to you , too, for Christmas and the New Year.
Previous Message
Charles a Becket Williams was a brother of Letts's brother-in-law, Charles Arthur Williams.
The Chesterfield and District LHS think they have identified E G Edwards as Elizabeth Grace Edwards born c.1881/1882 (contemporary of Letts), daughter of Henry Vincent Edwards born in Dublin and Eliza, born in Nottingham; Living at Mackworth, Belper 1891. 1901 and 1911 living at Darley Abbey and in 1939, Elizabeth was a secretary at Overton Hall, Ashover - at that time it was a school. All of the places are in Derbyshire.
Strangely, none of those places/names ring any bells for me!
Happy Christmas to you Jeffrey and thanks for your help and interest.I'm sure your 1st prize was well deserved! Bairbre
Previous Message
I've looked at some of her poetry online and I can see why it would appeal to composers as texts for songs. I've heard of Ina Boyle but can't quite think under what circumstances just at the moment.
As for Maurice Jacobson, he was an examiner for a piano class I competed in at a music festival when I was at school. I won the first prize but the competition wasn't up to much ! Jacobson set Francis Thompson's Hound of Heaven as a choral/orchestral work and I heard it broadcast many years ago. I wonder if recorded copies of the broadcast survive anywhere ?
Previous Message
Yes indeed he did, Jeffrey - he set at least fifteen of her poems to music, and Ina Boyle, Charles Wood, Ivor Gurney (under the pseudonym Michael (Raphoe) Flood), Maurice Jacobson, C. Alison Compton, Rhoda Coghill, Edward Bairstow, Haldane Campbell Stewart, Dorothy Parke and Christopher à Becket Williams also did settings of her poems - now I add M G Truman to that list. Although Stanford seems to get most of the credit, Ina Boyle (an almost-forgotten-until-recently Irish composer) set 'A Soft Day, Thank God' to music in 1912 ahead of Stanford's 'A Soft Day'.
Previous Message
Forgive me if you already know this but the prolific Charles Villiers Stanford set some of her poetry as solo songs.
IMSLP has one set, "A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster" op.140, online:
Posted by bairbre on December 20, 2023, 7:26 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Sorry - the sentence should have read Christopher a Becket Williams was a brother of Letts's brother-in-law, Charles Arthur Williams.
Previous Message
Well, that's a bit more evidence that seems to fit into the picture , Bairbre.
I haven't, as yet, received a reply from the historical society yet; maybe someone is on the trail of the various Trumans at this very moment.
I know of a composer called Christopher a Becket Williams, but not a Charles....perhaps a momentary slip of the memory on someone's part ? In any case there must be a connection considering how unusual the name is.
I've remembered where I knew the name of Ina Boyle from now; I have a cd recording of "The Magic Harp."
Best wishes to you , too, for Christmas and the New Year.
Previous Message
Charles a Becket Williams was a brother of Letts's brother-in-law, Charles Arthur Williams.
The Chesterfield and District LHS think they have identified E G Edwards as Elizabeth Grace Edwards born c.1881/1882 (contemporary of Letts), daughter of Henry Vincent Edwards born in Dublin and Eliza, born in Nottingham; Living at Mackworth, Belper 1891. 1901 and 1911 living at Darley Abbey and in 1939, Elizabeth was a secretary at Overton Hall, Ashover - at that time it was a school. All of the places are in Derbyshire.
Strangely, none of those places/names ring any bells for me!
Happy Christmas to you Jeffrey and thanks for your help and interest.I'm sure your 1st prize was well deserved! Bairbre
Previous Message
I've looked at some of her poetry online and I can see why it would appeal to composers as texts for songs. I've heard of Ina Boyle but can't quite think under what circumstances just at the moment.
As for Maurice Jacobson, he was an examiner for a piano class I competed in at a music festival when I was at school. I won the first prize but the competition wasn't up to much ! Jacobson set Francis Thompson's Hound of Heaven as a choral/orchestral work and I heard it broadcast many years ago. I wonder if recorded copies of the broadcast survive anywhere ?
Previous Message
Yes indeed he did, Jeffrey - he set at least fifteen of her poems to music, and Ina Boyle, Charles Wood, Ivor Gurney (under the pseudonym Michael (Raphoe) Flood), Maurice Jacobson, C. Alison Compton, Rhoda Coghill, Edward Bairstow, Haldane Campbell Stewart, Dorothy Parke and Christopher à Becket Williams also did settings of her poems - now I add M G Truman to that list. Although Stanford seems to get most of the credit, Ina Boyle (an almost-forgotten-until-recently Irish composer) set 'A Soft Day, Thank God' to music in 1912 ahead of Stanford's 'A Soft Day'.
Previous Message
Forgive me if you already know this but the prolific Charles Villiers Stanford set some of her poetry as solo songs.
IMSLP has one set, "A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster" op.140, online:
Posted by Chris Howell on December 22, 2023, 7:57 am, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
The Christopher/Charles confusion may arise from the composer's habit of publishing simply as "C. à Beckett Williams". I have scores of 5 Impressions for piano (1915), Impromptu op.16/2 for piano and Hampton Court Suite for piano (1919), all with his name in this way. I also have a piano piece "A Hundred Years Ago" (1927) and a unison song "A Sea Song" (1934) by one Beckett Williams. I had blithely assumed they were one and the same, but looking at the later dates, I'd say perhaps not. A son who decided to drop the "à"? Or just no connection at all? The librettist of Stanford's operas "Savanarola" and "The Canterbury Pilgrims" was Gilbert A. à Beckett. Is there a connection? Though à Beckett as a surname (or part of one) is unusual, the à Becketts were something of a literary dynasty in Victorian England and there was a distant family connection with W.S. Gilbert.
Previous Message
Sorry - the sentence should have read Christopher a Becket Williams was a brother of Letts's brother-in-law, Charles Arthur Williams.
Previous Message
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on December 22, 2023, 3:26 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Mea culpa, mea culpa - the confusion in this thread between Christopher and Charles is all down to a mistyping by me - I typed 'Charles' twice instead of 'Christopher ...Charles 'in my Dec 19th post. Christopher à Becket Williams, the noted organist and composer, and brother in-law of Dorothea Williams (née Letts, sister of W M Letts), used W M Letts's lyrics in a Christmas carol, “Ring Out the Bells”. It was published by J.B. Cramer and Co. Ltd in a series called ‘Unison Songs and Carols Etc. for Music Festivals and Class Singing’.
Previous Message
The Christopher/Charles confusion may arise from the composer's habit of publishing simply as "C. à Beckett Williams". I have scores of 5 Impressions for piano (1915), Impromptu op.16/2 for piano and Hampton Court Suite for piano (1919), all with his name in this way. I also have a piano piece "A Hundred Years Ago" (1927) and a unison song "A Sea Song" (1934) by one Beckett Williams. I had blithely assumed they were one and the same, but looking at the later dates, I'd say perhaps not. A son who decided to drop the "à"? Or just no connection at all? The librettist of Stanford's operas "Savanarola" and "The Canterbury Pilgrims" was Gilbert A. à Beckett. Is there a connection? Though à Beckett as a surname (or part of one) is unusual, the à Becketts were something of a literary dynasty in Victorian England and there was a distant family connection with W.S. Gilbert.
Previous Message
Sorry - the sentence should have read Christopher a Becket Williams was a brother of Letts's brother-in-law, Charles Arthur Williams.
Previous Message
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 22, 2023, 5:47 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Hello Bairbre. I have, today , received an e mail reply from the historical society. I think it will be entirely in order if I copy the relevant section of the reply and paste it here:
"Unfortunately we don't hold archives but I would recommend you contact the Nottinghamshire archives who may hold some information. I can pop your query into the next edition of the Historian magazine if you wish? What contact details shall I give in the article?
Kind regards
Sarah""
I replied to inform Sarah that I was enquiring on behalf of another and gave a few details why. It's probably best, if you wish to pursue the matter, to do so yourself from now on as you will best be able to evaluate any information that might come your way.
Best of luck in your researches. Please do let us know if anything interesting comes to light.
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on December 28, 2023, 10:58 am, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Thank you Jeffrey - I will follow up on that and will forward any new relevant information. Best wishes for 2024. Bairbre
Previous Message
Hello Bairbre. I have, today , received an e mail reply from the historical society. I think it will be entirely in order if I copy the relevant section of the reply and paste it here:
"Unfortunately we don't hold archives but I would recommend you contact the Nottinghamshire archives who may hold some information. I can pop your query into the next edition of the Historian magazine if you wish? What contact details shall I give in the article?
Kind regards
Sarah""
I replied to inform Sarah that I was enquiring on behalf of another and gave a few details why. It's probably best, if you wish to pursue the matter, to do so yourself from now on as you will best be able to evaluate any information that might come your way.
Best of luck in your researches. Please do let us know if anything interesting comes to light.
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on December 28, 2023, 7:59 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Best wishes to you too. I hope I haven't set you on a false trail with my mentioning the Truman sisters, in other words, a Mare's Nest. I will say that, in all my experience of music, the name "Truman" hasn't signified at all largely. Considering the other factors of time and place I feel, if you are able to find out a little more about Una and Irene, the information might well lead you to the identification of M.G. - Good luck !
Previous Message
Thank you Jeffrey - I will follow up on that and will forward any new relevant information. Best wishes for 2024. Bairbre
Previous Message
Hello Bairbre. I have, today , received an e mail reply from the historical society. I think it will be entirely in order if I copy the relevant section of the reply and paste it here:
"Unfortunately we don't hold archives but I would recommend you contact the Nottinghamshire archives who may hold some information. I can pop your query into the next edition of the Historian magazine if you wish? What contact details shall I give in the article?
Kind regards
Sarah""
I replied to inform Sarah that I was enquiring on behalf of another and gave a few details why. It's probably best, if you wish to pursue the matter, to do so yourself from now on as you will best be able to evaluate any information that might come your way.
Best of luck in your researches. Please do let us know if anything interesting comes to light.
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on January 8, 2024, 5:43 pm, in reply to "M. G. Truman"
Not really relevant to the topic of the thread but, in the YouTube video (link given below) of an episode of The Good Old Days, Wilfred Pickles recites a poem by Winifred Letts called Tim, An Irish Terrier.
In the same show, singing comic duets with Hugh Paddick, is Joan Sterndale-Bennett, great grandaughter of composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett.
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on January 9, 2024, 1:38 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Thank you for that, Jeffrey. I had completely forgotten about that series but I remember now that we used to watch it. If my (late) mother had been watching that episode, she would have cried with delight! Tim an Irish Terrier was a very popular choice in elocution exams etc but I had no recording of it - thanks so much!
Previous Message
Not really relevant to the topic of the thread but, in the YouTube video (link given below) of an episode of The Good Old Days, Wilfred Pickles recites a poem by Winifred Letts called Tim, An Irish Terrier.
In the same show, singing comic duets with Hugh Paddick, is Joan Sterndale-Bennett, great grandaughter of composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett.
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on January 15, 2024, 2:01 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Interestingly, now that access is available again to the BL catalogue, I see the M G Truman score mentioned again - I don't remember ever seeing it on the BL catalogue before - it was purely by accident that I came across it on Amazon Details Title Three Songs, words by W. M. Letts. - The Beggar Girl. - Dan O'Shee ... - Sails. Creator Truman, M. G. Publisher London : Escott & Co Creation Date 1916 Format (folio) folio
Previous Message
Thank you for that, Jeffrey. I had completely forgotten about that series but I remember now that we used to watch it. If my (late) mother had been watching that episode, she would have cried with delight! Tim an Irish Terrier was a very popular choice in elocution exams etc but I had no recording of it - thanks so much!
Previous Message
Not really relevant to the topic of the thread but, in the YouTube video (link given below) of an episode of The Good Old Days, Wilfred Pickles recites a poem by Winifred Letts called Tim, An Irish Terrier.
In the same show, singing comic duets with Hugh Paddick, is Joan Sterndale-Bennett, great grandaughter of composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett.
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Jeffrey Lague on January 16, 2024, 5:24 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
When icicles have ceased to hang by the wall I might take a trip to town to see if I can view the item on a visitor's pass to the BL in order to get an idea of what sort of music M.G. Truman wrote so keep an occasional eye on the thread, Bairbre, in case I have anything to report in the future.
There were lots of small music publishers dotted around the UK usually producing cheap -often inaccurate- editions of popular classics, simplified arrangements, community songbooks etc. I'm rather surprised that Escott had its quarters in London as I've never heard of it before.
Previous Message
Interestingly, now that access is available again to the BL catalogue, I see the M G Truman score mentioned again - I don't remember ever seeing it on the BL catalogue before - it was purely by accident that I came across it on Amazon Details Title Three Songs, words by W. M. Letts. - The Beggar Girl. - Dan O'Shee ... - Sails. Creator Truman, M. G. Publisher London : Escott & Co Creation Date 1916 Format (folio) folio
Previous Message
Thank you for that, Jeffrey. I had completely forgotten about that series but I remember now that we used to watch it. If my (late) mother had been watching that episode, she would have cried with delight! Tim an Irish Terrier was a very popular choice in elocution exams etc but I had no recording of it - thanks so much!
Previous Message
Not really relevant to the topic of the thread but, in the YouTube video (link given below) of an episode of The Good Old Days, Wilfred Pickles recites a poem by Winifred Letts called Tim, An Irish Terrier.
In the same show, singing comic duets with Hugh Paddick, is Joan Sterndale-Bennett, great grandaughter of composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett.
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on January 16, 2024, 10:44 pm, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
I'll check in regularly Jeffrey - and thanks for all your help to date.
Previous Message
When icicles have ceased to hang by the wall I might take a trip to town to see if I can view the item on a visitor's pass to the BL in order to get an idea of what sort of music M.G. Truman wrote so keep an occasional eye on the thread, Bairbre, in case I have anything to report in the future.
There were lots of small music publishers dotted around the UK usually producing cheap -often inaccurate- editions of popular classics, simplified arrangements, community songbooks etc. I'm rather surprised that Escott had its quarters in London as I've never heard of it before.
Previous Message
Interestingly, now that access is available again to the BL catalogue, I see the M G Truman score mentioned again - I don't remember ever seeing it on the BL catalogue before - it was purely by accident that I came across it on Amazon Details Title Three Songs, words by W. M. Letts. - The Beggar Girl. - Dan O'Shee ... - Sails. Creator Truman, M. G. Publisher London : Escott & Co Creation Date 1916 Format (folio) folio
Previous Message
Thank you for that, Jeffrey. I had completely forgotten about that series but I remember now that we used to watch it. If my (late) mother had been watching that episode, she would have cried with delight! Tim an Irish Terrier was a very popular choice in elocution exams etc but I had no recording of it - thanks so much!
Previous Message
Not really relevant to the topic of the thread but, in the YouTube video (link given below) of an episode of The Good Old Days, Wilfred Pickles recites a poem by Winifred Letts called Tim, An Irish Terrier.
In the same show, singing comic duets with Hugh Paddick, is Joan Sterndale-Bennett, great grandaughter of composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett.
Re: M. G. Truman
Posted by Bairbre on April 8, 2024, 12:27 am, in reply to "Re: M. G. Truman"
Would anyone have contact details for Ken Johnston from Scotland - I see he set a piece of Letts's poetry to music too.