It's amazing when you are just going about normal research
how you find a little crack in the wall which wasn't there before and it takes up
the rest of the day or week.
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| Neil Power and his comedy partner Bert Bendon (photo courtesy of collinsvariety.co.uk) |
I was following up on some newly found information about a music hall artiste
who was born Cornelius McBride but was known as Neil Power.
First, his grave popped up in London, attached to the gravestone of his mother
and father-in-law. A day or 2 later, while trying to retrieve this information,
up popped 2 travel documents for Neil, where Neil was returning to England from
trips to South Africa in the 1920s. Accompanying him was his wife Louisa
Stout, herself in the theatre.
His comedy act with Bert Bendon was a “nationwide bill topper” in the days when
variety acts were hard-working and
sincere. Neil married Louisa Stout of Lambeth in 1923. It is quite possible he
met her through the theatre as music hall artists Mary and Ernest Silly were
boarding with her mother at the time of the 1911 Census. They are both
described as “Artistes” in their travel documentation. There is also a
record of Louisa and Cornelius travelling back from New York in 1924.
Power and Bendon – some background from https://robynandthegenies.blogspot.com/2015/11/neil-power-cornelius-mcbrides-scottish.html
In 1925
Neil Power and Bert Benton, performing at the Hippodrome in Leeds received high
praise as “a couple of talented laughter makers” in a review entitled “Star
Struck”. This seems to be where they introduced their famous skit “Mend
the Door”. Bert’s catch phrase of “I’m only an apprentice!” made thousands
laugh. (I can hear him saying it with all the gravity and timing it required
for the effect.) The skit goes along the lines of attempting to mend some sort
of door. They performed this act regularly amongst much audience mirth and
laughter. It was described in the Variety Stage on 11 August 1921 as “admirably
conceived and played in capital fashion by the artists concerned”.
The production, which had opened to acclaim, had had a large amount of money
spent on the staging. It was said to have “a considerable amount of brainwork,
much time and pain, good taste and a flair for heating the public fancy”.
Although it had no semblance of a story Power and Benton and their fellow
artists contributed to the general scheme of things doing several skits.
The review
opens with Power and Benton doing a Railway Station Scene followed later by a
Hospital Scene with Power and Bendon as the doctor and patient and Carrie
Kasric as a nurse. The scene goes along these lines. The patient is recalling
stories of the instruments left in bodies after a procedure when the
absent-minded doctor returns and asks for his misplaced umbrella. It was
described as “cleverly done and highly amusing”.
This was followed by a Waxworks Exhibition Scene and a Recording Room Scene has
Power and Bendon giving an old and new version of “Annie Lawrie” to much
laughter. The scenes are interspersed by dancing and singing acts so the boys
were pretty busy on stage. On another occasion at the Bedford, Camden
Town they play a great part of the 14 scene revue called “S how Life”. One scene has them as a couple
of gas fitters in a Factory Scene but other humerous scenes include
a Customs Office Scene and a Rich Aunt sketch set in a bullfight !
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They worked
together into the thirties and when the partnership ended Bert went on to work
with Billy Hayes as residents of the
Edinburgh Paladium. Billy Hayes was the brother of Mary Oliver
(Margaret Kerr) who had married Neil’s brother Michael McBride (Oliver
and Mack)
So when, Albert McDougall artiste, appeared in the travel documents a second
time, I looked further at the name, age and place of birth. I was a little
intrigued because Neil's stage partner was Bert Bendon. Despite searches
over the years and contact with others who asked if I knew his name etc., I had
found nothing. I'd never confirmed Bert's date of birth, whether he married
etc.
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All these years I thought he was probably Albert Bendon or
Benton. But in the back of my mind, his name was maybe a play on words,
"Bend Down" (said with a Scottish accent) as was common for stage
names.
I spent all day investigating Ancestry and Scotland's People as you do when you
are onto something.
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| Baptism details for Albert McDougall aka Bert Bendon |
I had a rough year of death for Bert from an article in “The
Stage” archives but had never found his death information on Scotland People
because it turns out his name was McDougall! This was confirmed when he
appeared again on the 2nd travel document and another website had Bert and
Power performing at the Glasgow Pavilion in 1922. So they were definitely a performing
pair in this document.
The 2nd document had Bert married to Margaret aged 23. Off I delved and I found Bert McDougall's baptism, giving
his parents.
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| 1901 Census in Shuttle Street |
The next census after his birth confirmed his birth location
and parents. Lo and behold, he lived 6 or 7 tenements from our relatives, the
Kerrs. One of his brothers was a cab driver, most likely for the Kerr Carriage
Hire business, which operated out of Shuttle Street. I digress.
His death certificate was available on Scotland's People and confirmed he was a
retired music hall artiste, still married to Margaret Kirk Scott, and also
matched up his parents with the birth and baptism records. a missing marriage in Scotland's People was found listed in FREEBDM . They married in Camberwell England June Q 1928.
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| Birth announcement in the Stage Archives |
A first son born to Mr and Mrs Bert Bendon in 1/7/1929 is now identified as Ian Ramsay McDougall born in Shettleston Scotland. This was confirmed by Margaret's death certificate. She died 1972 aged 67 in Glasgow.
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| Albert McDougall death certificate corroberates it all |
That brick wall was definitely wobbling and I had the
sledgehammer to break it down.
Did I mention that I recently received a wedding photo for Neil and Louisa?
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| Cornelius McBride and Louisa Stout |
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| Cornelius Neil Mcbride and Louisa Stout marriage 1923 |
There Bert is in the back row, if not
Margaret, I’m still trying to identify the others such as my
great-great-aunt, Neil's mother sister
of my great, great grandmother, and perhaps some of the relatives who were also
music hall artistes.
This beats finding a $20 note in the pocket of jeans you're about to send to
the op shop. I don't care that he's not a relative or that I've spent years on
this. I'm a world-class detective even if I've spent years looking. Finally I wrote
to a Don Ferguson who asked me about
Bert Bendon a few years ago. I let him know how I had solved my brick wall and
asked him what his original question was. I offered him a little additional
proof for his family conundrum about Margaret Knox Scott. Within hours he replied that the family myth was right.
Well it seems I have
knocked down a second brick wall for Don.
Gosh I’m GOOD!!
