Sidney Grapes

Sidney Samuel Grapes was born at Potter Heigham in Norfolk on 6 June 1887, the son of Solomon Samuel Grapes[1] and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth (nee Grapes).[2]

Grapes' forebears had lived in Potter Heigham since at least the sixteenth century,[3] 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.[4]

His parent's social status was that of rural traders and craftsmen. His father (who liked to be known as "Samuel"[5]) was a carpenter, wheelwright, and farmer. [6] His mother was the daughter of George Grapes, a licensed hawker who lived in the nearby village of Ludham. [7] As a young woman, she had been in domestic service at Witton Hall, near Norwich.[8]

Samuel and Sarah were second cousins[9] who had married only four and a half months before Grapes was born.[10] When they married, Samuel was 38, and Sarah was ten years younger.[11]

Grapes was probably born in his parent's home next to the Falgate Inn.[12] His sisters, Gladys Eliza [13] and Mabel Emma [14] were probably born there too. This house remained the family residence until 1903, when Samuel bought a villa called "The Limes" for £380.[15]

Grapes would have attended the village school: initially, the old school built in 1844, and then the new Board School built in 1894.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] He also supported the Social Club where Grapes' early comedy talent was fostered.[19] 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.[20]

As well as being a talented performer, Grapes was a good organiser. In 1911, he arranged a Coronation concert at Potter Heigham, [21] and in 1921, he organised whist drives to raise money for local hospitals.[22]

Grapes was also a keen cyclist. As a boy, he participated in bike races at the Ludham annual sports event, often winning prizes.[23] By the age of 20, he had become an agent for Raleigh Cycles,[24] and he went on to expand this business, becoming a motorcycle agent,[25] motor engineer, and garage owner.[26]

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.[27] Performing sketches in the same show was Ella Ostler, a schoolteacher from Lincolnshire who probably worked locally.[28] In late 1916, Grapes and Ella were married, probably at Weston, Lincolnshire, where Ella’s father was the stationmaster.[29]

The 1921 census shows Grapes as a motor engineer and employer living with his wife, his wife's mother, and his wife's six-year-old niece.[30] His mother-in-law was part of his household for many years (even though her husband was alive) and died in 1930.[31]

By 1938, Grapes was a Freemason.[32] During the Second World War, he served as a Special Constable, and Ella was an APR warden.[33]

Grapes' first experience as an entertainer was singing songs at local concerts.[34]

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.[35] By February 1910, the audience at Potter Heigham Social Club were enjoying his "clever impersonations".[36]

His early performances were limited to places within a five-mile radius of his home.[37] His first performance further afield was a Conservative and Unionist dinner held at Great Yarmouth in February 1925.[38] This engagement came after a hiatus in his career of several years, during which time he may have concentrated on his garage business.[37]

From the early 1930's, his engagements became more frequent and he travelled further afield, going all over Norfolk and into parts of Suffolk.[37]

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.[37]

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%).[37]

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.[39]

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,[40] and in 1956, he was a guest on Woman's Hour, broadcast from the Assembly House, Norwich.[41]

In the 1950's, he often performed at Over-Sixties Clubs, which were opening in great numbers.[42]

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.[43] In about 1959 a selection of the letters was printed as a book.[44]

Grapes died on 28 April 1958, aged 70.[45] Ella remained at the same address, Uptop, Station Road, Potter Heigham, until her death on 1 August 1983, aged 98.[46] 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.[47]

• [Eastern Daily Press; Remembering the great Sidney Grapes-'Boy John'.]
• [Literary Norfolk: Potter Heigham]