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A Victorian 1822 pattern Light Cavalry officer’s dress sword for the 10th Hussars by HENRY WILKINSON PALL MALL LONDON No.18619 (=1873CE) blade 83cms etched with crowned VR cypher, Xth within garter inscribed PRINCE OF WALES’S OWN, above HUSSARS above battle honours to Sevastopol, with owner’s initials RDL, all with scrolling foliage, regulation triple bar steel guard, chequered steel grip, silver wire bound fish skin covered grip, in polished steel scabbard.The sword of R. Drury Lowe, 10th Hussars, cornet 1869, Lieut. 1871. Sold with copy of the Wilkinson Sword ledger entry and some limited research material. Please note that all lots in this auction have been imported from outside the United Kingdom and are subject to 5% import duty on the hammer price. Items being exported outside of the UK are exempt from this charge upon proof of export. Any international bidder having items sent to a UK address will be subject to this fee.

Trumpet Sovereign Model By Boosey & Hawkes bell stamped with globe logo, no.667421, in manufacturers hard caseAll valves and slides move freely as do valve top caps & bottom caps; Bell logo reads 'Manufactured by Boosey And Hawkes London England. Sovereign'; trigger connecting bar missing; mouthpiece (cornet) stamped 'JK Exclusive 5C'; dents to 1st & 2nd slide bows and bell back bow

Cornet By Bach (USA) Model CR310, no.853731, cased with mouthpiece

Mint stamp sheets and partial sheets to include GUERNSEY half pence Castle Cornet sheets of 30 stamps x50 (approx), GREAT BRITAIN GB 5d Philympia 1970, 3d Forth Road Bridge 1964, 9d Cutty Sark, 1s British Ships etc. ISLE OF MAN 3d purple, 4d blue, 4d black, etc.

BESSON & CO 'PROTOTYPE' CORNET, in original fitted case and with accessories the case 36cm wide

Brunswick Medal for Waterloo awarded to Cornet Theodore Berkhan UHL Esquire (Theod. Berkhan. Cornet. UHL. Esq.), clip and ring suspension, edge bumps, fine (1)

LOWE HUDSON: (1769-1844) Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who served as Governor of Saint Helena 1816-21 where he was the 'gaoler' of Emperor Napoleon. A.L.S., with his initials HL, two pages, 4to, n.p. (Saint Helena), n.d. (´Friday´), to Sir Thomas Reade. Lowe commences his letter stating ´Ask the commanders and as many of the passengers as you may think right to dine here either today or tomorrow as may be found most convenient´ and also requests that Reade invites ´the two Captains Campbell´ as well as any ladies, such as Mrs. Munro, further remarking ´Lady Lowe wishes also to see Cornet De Lancey. She does not precisely know who he is, but says he must be a relation´. Lowe also forwards a pass as requested by Reade and two letters for the Admiral and concludes by adding that he has enquired as to ´whether Bonaparte made any remarks´ regarding a book, and observing ´This questioning I fear he will not like´. Accompanied by the original envelope wrapper hand addressed by Lowe. Some light, minimal age wear and a few minor stains, VGSir Thomas Reade (1782-1849) British Colonel during the Napoleonic Wars, one of the principal guards of the defeated Napoleon during his exile to Saint Helena.

Cased J R Lafleur & Son Cornet

Vintage advertising object cornet with icecream in fibreglass, 1950sVintage reclameobject cornet met ijscreem in fiberglas, jaren '50H 135 cm

British rule in Ireland Collection of letters, 18th century all on single bifolium of laid paper (one folio, the rest 4to), most presumed to be addressed to Charles Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend as lord lieutenant of Ireland (in post 1767-72), and comprising:Charles Fitzroy, later 1st Baron Southampton (1737-1797), 4 autograph letters signed as regimental colonel of the 14th Light Dragoons, London, 1768-9, all to ‘My Lord’ regarding a request for preferment, etc., William Kerr, Earl of Ancram, later 4th Marquess of Lothian, (c.1710-1775), 3 autograph letters signed, Dublin and London, 1762-8, all to ‘My Lord’, on regimental matters, ‘I received a letter yesterday from Lord Shelburne to inform me that His Majesty had granted me leave of absence through your Lordship’s most obliging application', etc., all signed ‘Ancram’ (though the style technically incorrect following Ancram's succession to the marquessate in 1767);George Purdon, Limerick, 1772, 2 autograph letters signed evidently to Lord Townshend (referring to ‘your Lordship’s son my Lord Ferrars'), requesting preferment for his son, a cornet in the 4th Regiment of Horse);Thomas Vereker, autograph letter signed, Limerick, 1768, to ‘your Excellency’, a letter of recommendation for his brother, ‘lieutenant of dragoons on this establishment’;Amos Vereker, Athlone, 1772, ‘Sir, I Hope his Excellency will not censure me, for the freedom I take, in requesting, through you, the vacant place of barrack master for Youghall’;Edward Smith (identified in pencilled notes as lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Regiment of Horse); 2 similar letters;and manuscript memorandum concerning a skirmish at Elphin, 11 May 1795 ('a Party of the 10th Dragoons surprised them - killed upwards of Twenty - wounded many and drove sixteen into a river near the place where they were drowned …'), 2 pp., 4to(a folder)

A Quantity of Militaria, comprising a collection of die cast metal models of Crimean soldiers and other figures, two Crimean battlefield relic bullets, a Crimea War commemorative pottery mug and plate, a large black and white print of Cornet George Orby Wombwell, Aide de Campe to Lord Cardigan at the Battle of Balaklava; a large colour print "Alma - Forward the 42nd"; Ten Military Books: - The Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Army, 1844 and Addenda to the Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Army, 1854; The History of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding), 1993; The Records of the Third Battalion Prince of Wales' Own, West Yorkshire Regiment (Second West York Light Infantry Militia), 1882; The First Regiment of Militia, (Third West York Light Infantry), 1876; Records of the Third Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment. 1910; North York Militia, 1907; The History of the 1/4th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (W.R.) Regiment, 1914 – 1919. published 1920; The West Riding Territorials in the Great War.1920; and History of the Volunteer Infantry, (Huddersfield and its vicinity). 1903 (two boxes)

A Barratts of Manchester brass cornet. 605.

A Westminster by Besson cornet in carry case.

An early 20th century chrome plated cornet, the bell stamped Ball Beavon & Co., Paris Et Londres, housed in a fitted painted pine case.

A Blessing XL-CR brass cornet, serial no. A10804, in fitted leather case, together with a Vincent Bach muffler. (2)

Henry Wimbush (British, 1859-1910) 'Cornet Street, Guernsey', signed lower left, watercolour, 31cm x 25cm

THE KINGS SURVEY OF THE CHANNEL ISLANDS 1680 - Report on the state of Guernsey & Jersey by Col. G. Legge - The Fortress Edition limited edition number 8/50, covered in a brown marbled paper, comes complete with 4 half-size prints of Thomas Phillips? illustrations of Fort Elizabeth and Castle Cornet and their ground plans, held in an archival pocket within the book cover, the one of Castle Cornet has been professionally framed and glazed, the book measures approximately 53cm. high x 38cm. wide and 5«cm. thick, and holds many fold-out reproduction watercolours etc, housed in original box, together with four reproduction limited edition 12/125 prints from 'THE KINGS SURVEY', one of Castle Cornet / St. Peter Port, being framed and glazed, overall 68«cm. x 87.4cm.

The M.G.S. and Waterloo pair awarded to Lieutenant William Crawley Yonge, 52nd Foot, related by marriage to Sir John Colborne (later 1st Baron Seaton) and father of Charlotte Mary Yonge, the noted Victorian novelist Military General Service 1793-1814, 4 clasps, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse (W. C. Yonge, Lieut. 52nd Foot); Waterloo 1815 (Lieut. W. Crawley Yonge, 1st Batt. 52nd Reg. Foot.) third letter of Crawley corrected from ‘o’, fitted with replacement silver bar suspension, both medals fitted with silver ribbon buckles, light contact marks, otherwise very fine or better (2) £5,000-£7,000 --- Provenance: Sotheby’s, June 1971, with other family medals. William Crawley Yonge was born on 26 June 1795, the eighth of nine children of the Reverend Duke Yonge and Catherine (née Crawley) of Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire. He grew up in Cornwood, Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor, where his father was the rector from 1793 to 1823, and was educated at Ottery St Mary, where the head was George Coleridge, of the poet's family, and then on to Eton College. He was gazetted by purchase as an ensign in the 52nd Regiment in May 1812 and joined the regiment outside San Sebastian in September the following year, having been promoted to Lieutenant the previous April. He was present at the crossing of the Bidassoa and at the battles of Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Tarbes, Toulouse and Waterloo. William was placed on half pay for an Ensign following the reduction of the regiment after its return from France early in 1818. Although he rejoined the 52nd on full pay in the following November, it was marriage that led him to resign his active commission in February 1823, having served for a time with the 17th Regiment in Ireland. William married Fanny Bargus on 25 October 1822, at Otterbourne Old Church, Hampshire. Fanny was a stepsister of Sir John Colborne, and William was the brother of Sir John’s brother-in-law the Reverend Duke Yonge. John Colborne and Sophia Leeke, sister of Ensign Leeke of the 52nd, were witnesses. William was father to Charlotte Mary Yonge, born in August 1823 and destined to become a famous and successful novelist who dedicated her talents as a writer to the service of the church. In her autobiography she makes many mentions of her father and several interesting comments on his military service: ‘He joined in the midst of the siege of St Sebastian and his first experience of war was crossing a bridge on which the enemy’s guns were firing. He hesitated to bend his head below the shelter of the parapet and old soldiers had to advise him not to expose himself to danger unnecessarily. He kept a journal [since lost] dutifully at that time but in dreadful schoolboy writing and with wonderfully little in it, though the sight of it served in after life to assist his recollections.’ Charlotte also recounts what happened to William in the hours and days following the battle of Waterloo: ‘That night of victory was spent in the open field, in the clothes the officers and men had fought in, all the officer’s luggage was plundered by the Belgium’s during the battle. The only thing ever recovered was William Yonge’s box empty of all save his bible and prayer book, which was found in a loft in Brussels. His friend Mr Griffith’s found a pony tied to a post, with a saddle bag containing two coarse women’s shifts and this was the only change of linen anyone had as they marched straight on for Paris. In preparation for entering the City they halted at St Cloud and there all the officers got into one pond and passed the single razor in their possession from chin to chin.’ In his account of Lord Seaton and the 52nd, William Leeke, a junior ensign and nephew of Mr Bargus, gives the following account: ‘Our servants made a bed of straw on the wet ploughed field and all four of us. Yonge and I lay down, and being covered in our boat cloaks tried to go to sleep. It was very hot and there was heavy rain I think it was a little after four, we were ordered to fall in again. We piled arms and remained for the night... My friend Yonge shared my boat cloak and straw with me and we consequently both of us got very wet.’ Many commentators at the time and subsequently have written about the retreat of the French Guard and what caused it, but it is instructive to see what one junior officer who was there felt. In his privately published Memoir of the Services of Field Marshal Lord Seaton, William Yonge wrote: ‘Then too, was invented the story of “Up Guards and at them.” It was a piece of gossip picked up in the Camp by Sir Walter Scott, on his visit to Paris, first appearing in his “Paul’s Letters to his Kinsfolk” and from then adopted by Alison as a historical fact, in truth they never came in contact at all with the Imperial Guards, and were in no way instrumental in their repulse.’ Leeke quotes from a letter written by William Yonge to Colonel Bentham in November 1853: ‘He [Colborne, later 1st Baron Seaton] kept watching the heavy column advancing saw no attempt at preparation to meet it. He said there is nothing else to do but to endeavour to stop them by a flank attack and that if something of sort not done our line would be penetrated. How is it possible that this fanfaronade of Guards charging the head of this column can have the smallest foundation in truth. As to Lord Seaton I think there was never a man so ill used.’ William's daughter Charlotte also wrote of this issue in her autobiography: ‘He [Colborne] thought the final exchange would have been fully explained and the honour awarded to the 52nd... Gossip has picked up and invented “up Guards and at them”… But the crisis of Waterloo has become a vexed question.’ Of this injustice William wrote many letters to the Secretary of War. In one letter he wrote: ‘While the ensigns of the Guards were made lieutenants on the pretence of the 1st Guards having repulsed the Imperial Guard, the lieutenants of the regiment that actually did the work were made ensigns.’ This, of course, had a financial consequence for William, for an ensign’s pay was lower than that of a lieutenant’s. Retiring to the Hampshire village of Otterborne, he was a J.P. for many years and a Cornet in the North Hants Yeomanry from 1836 to 1840. On the death of the Duke of Wellington in 1852, William was among an elite group of old Waterloo veterans who were in the funeral procession, as was also his son Julian, who was in the Rifles. He clearly remained vexed by Waterloo and the injustice to the 52nd and to Lord Seaton himself. William Crawley Yonge died at Otterborne on 26 February 1854; among those attending his funeral was Lord Seaton. His daughter Charlotte was also clearly influenced by her father’s interest in matters military. In March 1896, 81 years after Waterloo and 41 years after her father died, she wrote to an American admirer: ‘My father fought at Waterloo and I grew up with many army traditions from him and his colonel Lord Seaton.’ In her novel Clever Woman of the Family, published in 1865, perhaps reflecting her father’s attitude to life, she wrote: ‘It is the discipline and Constant Duty that make the soldier and are far more valuable than exceptional doings.’ From the beginning to the end of her life, Waterloo remained a topic of key importance for Charlotte. It figured in her very first book published in 1839, Le Chateau de Melville. Several other of her books also had a military theme. With acknowledgement to Ian Yonge and his excellent biographical work available online...

Besson Cornet, in fitted box.

An ornate cornet

A Boosey & Hawkes Imperial cornet, boxed.

A cased brass cornet

A collection of Olympus cameras, lenses & accessories together with leather Olympus bag, Cornet bellows camera & set of west German Stener Bayreuth 8x30 binoculars

A silver plated cornet, a pair of maracas, a tambourine, a part of a flute (one ivory piece has been removed) and other musical instruments (box)

A Silbron silver plated Cornet in a leather case

A brass cornet, by Boosey & Co, London, No 88983, in a hardwood case

A silver plated cornet, no apparent maker's mark, 34 cm (l). [W]

A Barratts of Manchester brass cornet. 605.

A Boosey & Hawkes LTD cornet.

A Yamaha clarinet, 67cm long, cased; a Mayers & Harrison of Manchester cornet; & four various harmonicas.

Corton cornet in case with mouthpieces

A Joseph Wallis cornet, in fitted case; together with an early 20th Century cornet in fitted case; a Boosey and Hawkes clarinet and case; and a tubephone. (4)

MEDAL PAIR - Waterloo and Military General Service - Lieutenant Robert John Uniacke, 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars. Waterloo Medal, fitted with replaced hinged straight bar suspension; and Military General Service 1793-1814, 1 clasp, 'Orthes', both renamed in Sans Serif lettering to "LIEUT. ROBERT UNIACKE, 7TH REGIMENT HUSSARS".Sold together with a letter from Major J.S. Sutherland MBE (Queen's Own Hussars Headquarters), 16th February 1965, in which Major Sutherland confirms Uniacke's entitlement for the Waterloo Medal and the General Service Medal with clasp. He fought at Waterloo and in the Peninsular and was stated to have been a 'most gallant officer'. Provenance:Private Collection Footnote:Lieutenant Uniacke was a member of a famous and wealthy Irish Protestant family who owned the Woodhouse Estate at Stradbally, County, Waterford. Described as a ‘most gallant officer’ in Army records, he was made a cornet on January 25, 1812, Lieutenant on July 15, 1813 and retired from the Army on July 24, 1817. In 1821, he married Lady Mildred Bourke, sister to Robert, 5th Earl of Mayo, with whom he had six children. The couple’s only surviving son and heir, Colonel Robert Bor Uniacke died in 1853, aged 29.A justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant, Lieutenant Uniacke inherited the estate in 1802 as the eldest son of Colonel Robert Uniacke (1756-1802) and Annette Constantia. He died aged 55 in Clifton, near Bristol in April 1851, where the family had a home. Lieutenant Uniacke’s father was a Member of Parliament for the city of Youghal as well as being a Colonel of Waterford Militia and Surveyor General of the Ordnance. His mother was the daughter of John Beresford, the First Commissioner of the Revenue of Ireland, whose brother, George, was the 1st Marquis of Waterford.John James Fitzgerald (1797–1825), Lieutenant Uniacke’s younger brother, sailed as chaplain on a convict ship in 1823 to Australia, where he became the chronicler of John Oxley’s geographical expedition in search of the sources of the river later called Brisbane. In 1824, he was appointed surveyor of distilleries as well as Sheriff and Provost Marshal of New South Wales. He died of remittent bilious fever in Sidney in 1825, aged 27. Other members of the Uniacke family also have early connections to Nova Scotia, Canada.The Uniackes of Woodhouse were staunch Protestants. They built St James’ Church between 1798 and 1802, a school for protestant children just outside the gates of the churchyard and another school for children of both Protestant and Catholic denominations where Lieutenant Uniacke’s sister and daughter both worked as teachers. When the Great Famine hit Ireland, Lieutenant Uniacke crossed religious borders to work closely with Catholic medical doctor, Dr John Coghlan of Kilmacthomas to build a Work House, which he helped finance himself and became a key member of the Board of Guardians. The relationship was said to be quite unusual for the time.

Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of (1769-1852) Signed commission document, 8th January 1821 Cornet Walter Taylor to be a Lieutenant in the North Hants Yeomanry Cavalry (Hampshire Yeomanry), signed lower right with red wax seal, framed, 33.5cm x 19.5cm.Sold together with a photocopied sketch of Taylor's family tree. Walter Taylor (1801-1872). Landed gentleman of independent means of Hockley House, Hants. County magistrate and J.P. Visiting justice of the County Gaol (Winchester). Squire of Cheriton.

Seven pairs of various cased binoculars, together with a cased Cornet Model B clockwork cine camera and two brown leather binocular cases

A large signed photograph of Queen Alexandra dated August 9th 1909, by W & B Downey Ebury St, London, in a brown leather frame with embossed gilt cornet, image size 27.6 x 18cm together with another signed photograph in a brown leather frame,(2)

A Doulton Lambeth 'Mouse Musician' stoneware menu holder, 'Harp and Cornet', by George Tinworth (1843-1913), modelled as two mice playing a harp and cornet, incised with title to the rim of the base, impressed marks to the underneath, 9cm highCondition ReportThe branch behind the harp and the top of the base have been restored. Please see the additional images. 

A brass cornet, no mouth piece

A brass cornet, no mouth piece

A brass cornet, no mouth piece

A brass cornet, no mouth piece

Cased Mirage brass trumpet, Boosey & Co Class A cornet in case, Besson & Co Class A 'prototype' cornet and a miniature violin

Two cased Cornets, Weltklang silver plate Cornet with mother of pearl valves, and a Corton by Amati silver plate Cornet

Cased silver plate Apollo Cornet, and a Barratts of Manchester silver plate cornet, and a King Cleveland brass cornet

14 Boxed Britains metal figure sets to include 9 x Queen Victoria Presenting Scots Guards With The State Colour sets featuring 40208 Senior Officers Of The Scots Guards, 5993 Duke Of Connaught, 00292 Band Set - Circular Bass, Tenor Sax, Euphonium, 5992 Band Set - Bass Drum, Side Drum, Oboe, 00291 Band Set - Bassoon, Tenor Drum, Cymbals, 40201 Band Set - Sgt. Trombone, Sgt. Clarinet, Sgt. Cornet, 5994 Band Set - Tenor Horn, Trombone, Clarinet, 40106 Band Set - Tuba, Alto Saxophone, Piccolo and 40202 Band Set - Side Drum, Clarinet, French Horn, 3 x The Golden Jubilee Elizabeth II sets featuring 40317 The Metropolitan Police, 40263 The Queen's Waterboatmen and 40261 The Corps Of Gentleman At Arms, 1 x 00255 The Sovereign's Escort and 1 x 17385 Scottish Bag Pipe Command Set, all ex

Britains Collectors Club Centenary Series - Queen Victoria presenting the Scots Guards with the State colour, 15th September 1899, comprising: 3 figure Band Sets - Set 5992 - Bass Drum, Side Drum, Oboe, Set 00291- Bassoon, Tenor Drum, Cymbals, Set 40106 - Tuba, Alto Sax, Piccolo, Set 40201 - Sgt. Trombone, Sgt. Clarinet, Sgt. Cornet, Set 40202 - Side Drum, Clarinet & French Horn. Trooping the Colour Range - Set 40109 - Colour Point Scots Guards, Set 40110 - Receiving the Colour - Welsh Guards & Set 40113 Escort to the Colour - Irish Guards. Mint, contained in near Mint [minor storage wear] Britains pictorial set boxes. [8]

A cased brass cornet.

A George III silver dinner plate,by Francis Butty & Nicholas Dumee, London 1769,circular form with a gadroon border, engraved with a crowned armorial, diameter 24.3cm, approx. weight 16.6oz.The armorial is that of Paget within a Garter under a Marquess's cornet, belonging to Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (1768-1854). He commanded the cavalry at the battles Quatre Bras and Waterloo and was later made Marquess of Anglesey in 1815 and a Knight of the Garter in 1818.Provenance: A Private Collection.

Jacobus Ludovicus Cornet (1815-1882) Dutch Family group in a rustic interior Signed and dated 1853, 32cm by 40.5cm Provenance: M Newman Ltd, London The reverse of the panel is covered. No splits or movement evident from the face. Slighly raised brittle age craquelure in a few patches, such as the orangy shawl of the lady. There is also a minor fine drying craquelure in places, some slightly opened, and some which have been suppressed by retouching. Many of the dark passages/outlines have been reinforced by retouching, which now appears slighly textured and matte in reflected light - see images in reflected light. Possibly to cover slight abrasion?There are a few minor scattered small retouched losses, for example above the cat's head. Slightly yellowed, dulled varnish. Light suface dirt and debris with a few minor scuffs, drips and blobs of what looks like wax in the bottom left corner.

Sonata Brass cornet, Boosey Heley example with cases (2).

W. Brown and Sons silver plated Cornet, with improved valves, stamped with London address.33cm long

Musical Instruments - a cornet, a clarinet, a bass recorder, a recorder, sheet music and practice books

A cased cornet

Chauchard, Captain: Carte De La Partie Septentrionale De L'Italia, Paris, 1791, a hand coloured linen backed map of Northern Italy with key to bottom right corner, 54 x 173cm, together with one other depicting the Gulf of Venice and surrounding land, no key, 63 x 175cm, housed in a card sleeve and outer sleeve titled to the spine Italie Septentrionale, various other 18th century and later maps to include Tournai, Belgium, hand written Cornet Watson 5th Regiment D: Gds, Tournai, Flanders, Atlas National De France Departement De La Vendee, 1790 and Philip's Series of Travelling Maps, Ireland by J. Bartholomew F.R.G.S. etc.

BESSON, '600' CORNET, no. 622-830685, in fitted case32.5cm wide Valves work. Perhaps could do with relubrication, though push down and return up.

WERIL, EC1071 CORNET, no. E25151, in fitted case35.5cm wide

BOOSEY AND HAWKES, 'SOVEREIGN' CORNET, no. 648146, in fitted case32.5cm wide Valves in working order.

SONATA, CORNET, no. 15030377, in fitted vase35.5cm wide

Yamaha YTR 1335 trumpet serial no.409775, lacking mouthpiece in original Yamaha case, and The Salvation Army Own Mark Cornet, (pocket trumpet) lacking mouthpiece, (in need of attention), (2) (Victor Brox collection) - please note the trumpet pictured on the RHS of the image has been withdrawn

A wonderful collection of letters and ephemera from the musician Roy Fox. Including a Script Roy Fox Remembers c1934, Some hand written music ` Where is love` plus other printed pieces. Including a large collection of original photographs from various stars at the time and photos of Roy Fox on various years including at leisure and at work with his band. All original photos most with agency photo stamps or info on the reverse. Including Ford Sterling, Bing Crosby signed photo, Jean Harlow ( Hells Angles ) Louis Armstrong, Xavier Cugat, Duke Ellington,Rudy Vallee, Noah Berry signed, Noah and Wally during the war, photo from the book, Frank Sinatra signed photo when they met in Glasgow at the Empire Theatre, Gary ( Roys Son ) |Eileen O`Donnell ( wife ) Joan Crawford, photo at the Royal Command Performance where he made the Queen laugh, King Albert of Belgium and Royal Family 1932-33, and many more. Plus cuttings and stamps and old paper money from his travels. A truly personal look into the life of Roy Fox. Roy Fox (October 25, 1901 – March 20, 1982) was an American-born British dance bandleader who was popular in Britain during the British dance band era. Early life and career. Roy Fox was born in Denver, Colorado, United States in 1901.[1][2] He and his musician sister Vera were raised in Hollywood, California,[2] in a Salvation Army family. Roy began playing cornet when he was 11 years old, and by age 13 was performing in the Los Angeles Examiner's newsboys' band. He got a job as a bank messenger, but soon took up music full-time.[2] He was employed as a Music supervisor at Fox Film Studios, but soon concentrated on playing.[2] His first major association came at the age of 16, when he joined Abe Lyman's orchestra at the Sunset Inn in Santa Monica,[1] where he played alongside Miff Mole, Gussie Mueller, Henry Halstead, and Gus Arnheim. He developed a soft style of playing there which earned him the nickname "The Whispering Cornetist". Fame as bandleader In 1920, he put together his own band, with whom he recorded in 1925. That same year he also scored a gig on radio broadcasting with Art Hickman's orchestra;[1] this ensemble toured the U.S., then did an extended residency in Florida. After some time in New York City, Fox and Arnheim reconvened in Hollywood, working at the Ambassador Hotel, and Fox continued to broadcast with his own bands. During this time he also did a number of film soundtracks.[4] In 1929, Fox was invited to lead a band based at the Café de Paris in London,[1][2] which he first did on September 29, 1930.[3] He recorded on the BBC that year, and when his band returned to the U.S. the following spring, Fox remained behind, recording with a new group for Decca Records (also acting as musical director for the label) and accepting an engagement at the Monseigneur restaurant in Piccadilly starting in May 1931.[2][3][5] His band included Lew Stone, Bill Harty, Harry Berly, Sid Buckman, Nat Gonella and Al Bowlly.[3] In 1932, he fell ill with pleurisy and travelled to Switzerland for a stay at a sanatorium. During his convalescence the band was led by its pianist, Lew Stone.[1] Upon Fox's return he resumed control of the band but when the Monseigneur contract came up for renewal in the autumn of 1932 was unable to agree terms. The restaurant's owner then offered the residency to Stone and all the band, with the exception of trumpeter Sid Buckman, decided to remain with Stone. Fox took out an injunction on the grounds of breach of contract against his singer, Al Bowlly, which prevented Bowlly performing with Stone's band on the first night; however, Fox lost his action.[6] Fox formed a new band with Buckman as trumpeter and vocalist, secured a residency at the Café Anglais in Leicester Square, London,[1][3] and performed in Belgium as well as at home in the UK. Art Christmas played a variety of instruments in this band. Among his vocalists were Denny Dennis and Mary Lee, whilst his musicians included Jack Jackson, Nat Gonella and Harry Gold.[4] In 1933, the band performed as part of the Royal Command Performance at the London Palladium, and the following year embarked on a tour of Britain.[3] Fox appeared in the films On the Air (1934) and Radio Pirates (also known as Big Ben Calling) the following year.[7][8] In January 1936, he moved to the His Master's Voice (HMV) label, and toured Europe until 1938, when he fell ill again, and broke up the band.[9][6] War and post-war years[edit] The Roy Fox band disbanded in 1938,[3] and Fox moved to Australia, where he led the Jay Whidden Orchestra. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, with his British passport taken away, he had no choice but to return to his native America, rather than go back to Britain. In New York, he went into a residency at the La Martinique, from which he broadcast weekly. He then moved to a new club, the Riobamba, on 57th Street, at which the floor show included a young Frank Sinatra, who was making his solo nightclub debut, and told Fox that he was the worst conductor he had ever worked with. Fox told him off, but they became good friends. He then went to the Savoy-Plaza Hotel, a venue popular with high society, which was opposite Central Park.[4] He led a band back in Britain from 1946 to 1947, with appearances at the Isle of Man and London's Potomac Club. He also briefly resumed recording in this period, returning to his old label, Decca, with whom he released several more 78s.[10] Fox went into semi-retirement after 1952, when he opened his own booking agency.[1] His autobiography, Hollywood, Mayfair, and All That Jazz (1975) is still in print.