Sidney Grapes

Sidney Grapes (6 June 1887 - 28 April 1958) was a Norfolk dialectic comedian, famous for his "Boy John" letters written between 1946 and 1958. 
==Early life==
Sidney Samuel Grapes was born at Potter Heigham in Norfolk on 6 June 1887, the son of Solomon Samuel GrapesCivil register of births, Tunstead, Q1 1849: Potter Heigham baptism register 1813-85, entry for 11 March 1949. and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth (nee Grapes).Potter Heigham Baptism register 1871-1976; 1939 register of Potter Heigham; Civil Registration Birth Index 1887 Q2. 
Grapes' forebears had lived in Potter Heigham since at least the sixteenth centuryEastern Daily Press, 30 October 1902, p.9., and he was to live in the village his whole life. During that time, he witnessed profound changes as the small community developed into a centre for boating and angling.Eastern Evening News,16 August 1906, p.4.
His parent's social status was that of rural traders and craftsmen. His father (who liked to be known as "Samuel"RG 10, piece 1793, folio 4, p.1; RG 11, piece 1918, folio 108 p.8; RG 12, piece 1506, folio 5, p.2; RG 13, piece 1819 p.1; RG 14 piece 11131; Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, 1904 p.399.) was a carpenter, wheelwright, and farmer. History, Gazetteer & Directory of Norfolk, 1890 p.728.His mother was the daughter of George Grapes, a licensed hawker who lived in the nearby village of Ludham. Great Yarmouth marriage reg. 1886-87, entry dated 27 Jan 1887; RG10 piece 1793, folio 95, p.17.As a young woman, she had been in domestic service at Witton Hall, near Norwich.RG11, piece 1959, folio 67, p. 16.
Samuel and Sarah were second cousinsFamily reconstitution using information from ancestry.com who had married only four and a half months before Grapes was born.Great Yarmouth marriage reg. 1886-87, entry for 27 Jan. 1887. When they married, Samuel was 38, and Sarah was ten years younger.Great Yarmouth marriage reg. 1886-87, entry for 27 January 1887. Samuel's age corrected by reference to Potter Heigham baptism reg. 1813-85, entry for 11 March 1849.
Grapes was probably born in his parent's home next to the Falgate Inn.RG 12, piece 1506, folio 5, p.2; RG 13, piece 1819 p.1. His sisters, Gladys Eliza Civil registration birth index, Smallburgh, Norfolk, Q2, 1888; Potter Heigham baptism register 1871-1976, entry for 5 August 1888; civil registration death index, Walsham, Q2 1977. and Mabel Emma Civil registration birth index, Smallburgh, Norfolk, Q2, 1892; Potter Heigham baptism register 1871-1976, entry for 5 June 1892. were probably born there too. This house remained the family residence until 1903, when Samuel bought a villa called "The Limes" for £380.Norfolk Chronicle, 8 August 1903 p.10.
Grapes would have attended the village school: initially, the old school built in 1844, and then the new Board School built in 1894.History, Gazetteer & Directory of Norfolk, 1883 p.632; Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, 1896 p365. As in other places, the village school taught standard English that contributed to the decline of the local dialect.
In August 1907, Grapes played the role of Alick in a historical pageant about the last days of St Benet's Abbey written by Louis N. Parker. He and other rustic characters spoke dialogue in "the Broad Norfolk of pre-School Board days" added by the Rev. Maurice Bird, the Norfolk Field Naturalist.Downham Market Gazette,10 August 1907, 3; Stowmarket Weekly Post, 4 November 1909, 7. Bird's use of dialect may have influenced Sidney's later writings.
The pageant's organiser, the Rev. Charles Wilton Prangley, was a great benefactor to the village, working tirelessly to raise funds to repair the church.Yarmouth Mercury, 12 August 1911 p.8; Lynn Advertiser, 2 November 1928 p.5. He also supported the Social Club where Grapes' early comedy talent was fostered.Eastern Daily Press, 6 March 1908 p.10; Norfolk Chronicle, 7 March 1908 p.6; Yarmouth Independent, 10 January 1914, p.6. On 3 March 1908, Sidney sang songs at an end-of-season Club concert at which the members presented Vicar and his wife with a rose bowl to thank them for their kindness and support.Eastern Daily Press, 6 March 1908 p.10. 
As well as being a talented performer, Grapes was a good organiser. In 1911, he arranged a Coronation concert at Potter Heigham, Yarmouth Mercury, 1 July 1911 p.3. and in 1921, he organised whist drives to raise money for local hospitals.Yarmouth Independent, 5 March 1921 p.6.
Grapes was also a keen cyclist. As a boy, he participated in bike races at the Ludham annual sports event, often winning prizes.Eastern Evening News, 8 June 1901 p.4; Norfolk News, 7 June 1902 p.8; Downham Market Gazette, 23 June 1906 p.6; Eastern Daily Press, 3 June 1907 p.9; Norfolk News, 27 June 1908 p.16. By the age of 20, he had become an agent for Raleigh Cycles,Downham Market Gazette, 22 February 1908 p.7. and he went on to expand this business, becoming a motorcycle agent,Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, 1912 p 414.motor engineer, and garage owner.1934 Kelly's Directory of Engineering, Hardware and Metal Trades - Volume 1 p.573.
During the First World War, he was probably exempted from military service because his engineering work was vital to the local economy.
In January 1915, Grapes sang two songs at a concert in aid of the Belgium Relief Fund.Lowestoft Journal, 6 February 1915 p.6. Performing sketches in the same show was Ella Ostler, a schoolteacher from Lincolnshire who probably worked locally.RG 14, piece 19,549; Boston Guardian, 15 November 1913 p.11. In late 1916, Grapes and Ella were married, probably at Weston, Lincolnshire, where Ella’s father was the stationmaster.Civil registration marriage index, Spalding Q4 1916. 
By 1938, Grapes was a Freemason.Yarmouth Independent , 22 January 1938, p.12. During the Second World War, he served as a Special Constable, and Ella was an APR warden.1939 Register of Potter Heigham.
==Entertainment career as an entertainer==
Grapes' first experience as an entertainer was singing songs at local concerts.Eastern Evening News, 7 May 1907 p.3;
Norfolk News, 7 March 1908 p.6;
Eastern Daily Press, 6 March 1908 p.10.
In his early twenties, he began making a reputation for himself as a comedian. His earliest comic performance may have been at a Church concert in the nearby village of Ludham in April 1909.Norfolk News, 24 April 1909 p.8. By February 1910, the audience at Potter Heigham Social Club were enjoying his "clever impersonations".Norfolk News, 12 February 1910, p.14.
His early performances were limited to places within a five-mile radius of his home.Based on references found in The British Newspaper Archive searched August 2023. His first performance further afield was a Conservative and Unionist dinner held at Great Yarmouth in February 1925.Yarmouth Independent, 21 February 1925 p.4. This engagement came after a hiatus in his career of several years, during which time he may have concentrated on his garage business.
From the early 1930's, his engagements became more frequent and he travelled further afield, going all over Norfolk and into parts of Suffolk.
He often appeared at events for Conservative Associations, his first being at a meeting of the newly-formed Potter Heigham Conservative and Unionist Association in 1912. Of his 121 appearances found in newspapers, 17 (14%) were at Conservative Association events.
Other significant sources of bookings were Bowls Clubs (9%), local businesses (8%), the British Legion (7%), Over-Sixties Clubs (7%), local churches (7%), and Cricket Clubs (6%).
Grapes typically performed at dinners and small gatherings, where his comic stories evoked nostalgia for a lost world. He did not often perform in theatres and when he entered a variety talent show at the Regal Theatre, Yarmouth, in 1935, he won joint third prize with a speciality dancer.Yarmouth Independent, 9 November 1935 p.18.
In the 1940's and 1950's, radio broadcasts boosted Grapes' reputation. A newspaper report of December 1949 noted that he had broadcast on the radio several times,Bury Free Press, 30 December 1949 p.1. and in 1956, he was a guest on "Women's Hour," broadcast from the Assembly House, Norwich.Birmingham Daily Post, 20 July 1956 p.7.
In the 1950's, he often performed at Over-Sixties Clubs, which were opening in great numbers.Diss Express, 10 March 1950, p.3; Diss Express, 21 December 1951 p.5; Lynn Advertiser,13 June 1952, p.4; Diss Express, 19 December 1952 p.5; Diss Express, 12 June 1953 p.6; Lynn Advertiser, 14 January 1955 p.7; Diss Express, 18 March 1955 p.3; Bury Free Press,16 December 1955 p.9.
From 1946, Grapes began writing letters to the Eastern Daily Press using the persona of "Boy John", a farm labourer who told stories about himself and his eccentric relatives and neighbours. Displaying a masterly use of dialect, these stories were enormously popular.Trudgill, Peter, "Dedialectisation and Norfolk Dialect Orthography," in Writing in Nonstandard English edited by Irma Taavitsaine, Gunnel Melchers and Päivi Pahta (2000) p.324. Accessible via Google Books. In about 1959 a selection of the letters was printed as a book.British Library catalogue.
==Death==
Grapes died on 28 April 1958 28 April 1958, aged 70.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar. Ella remained at the same address, Uptop, Station Road, Potter Heigham, until her death on 1 August 1983, aged 98.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar; Civil Registration Death Index. By her will, she left the copyright and future royalties of all the "Boy John" books and articles to the Vicar and Churchwardens of Potter Heigham Church.Will dated 18 September 1981, proved at Ipswich 20 September 1983.
Category:Entertainers
Category:Singing
Category:1887 births
Category:1958 deaths
Category:Comedians