Walter Edward Reginald Pratley, known to his family as Reg, was a Berkshire farm boy with a dream. He wanted to escape the everyday and experience adventure. Hearing stories of his families lost heritage as travellers from his grandmother Lucy Clemstone Pratley awoke his dream. When the fairground came to his village of Appleton near Oxford he befriended them and decided that the fair would never leave him behind again when they packed up and left.
Fate, the Royal Navy, love and the Great War all stood in his way but he survived against the odds and managed to make his dream come true. During the 1920s and 1930s he became a respected Master Showman travelling for the famous William (Billy) Nichols and his fairground empire. His Gallopers were his pride and joy and he named the carved wooden horses after his children. His travelling circuit included London's Forest Gate and annual fairgrounds at Reading, Newbury, Swindon, Abingdon, Banbury, Stratford Upon Avon to name a few and of course Oxford's famous St Giles Fair.
A few months prior to WW2 tragedy struck him and his family. Nothing was ever the same again. This is his story and a story of that time when the fairground reigned supreme for leisure and excitement and was eagerly awaited each year by thousands in towns and villages across the country.
My grandfather's story is truly remarkable and is now preserved as part of fairground and social history from the early 20th Century.
Recenzijos
"Very engaging and absorbing read.I enjoying every minute of reading the fantastic evocations of the many and varied stages of the author's grandfather's life. It has clearly been very carefully researched to provide such an impressive level of detail about so many aspects of his experiences." Amazon Review *****
"All the fun of the fair! David Slattery-Christy brings to life all the romance and magic of the fairground in this vivid tale of his grandfather Reg Pratley..." Amazon Review *****
Author's Foreword
Chapters:
1. A Murder of Crows - 5
2. Appleton - 19
3. Lure of the Fairground - 39
4. The Great Escape - 53
5. Gallopers - 67
6. Devonport & Fate - 81
7. HMS Impregnable - 95
8. Love & War - 117
9. Billy Nichols & The 1920s - 169
10. Galloping Through the 1930s - 197
After the Fair - 233
Gertrude Bartholomew - 229
Pratley Family Tree - 236/237
Bulloch Family Tree - 238
White Family Tree - 239
Bartholomew Family Tree - 240
Reginald Pratley Death Record - 241
Matthew Pratley Death Record - 242
City of London Cemetery - 243
51 B&W Images
David was born in Oxford, England, in 1959. He graduated from London's City University with a B.A. (Hons) Degree in Journalism. In addition he has a teaching PGCE from Lancaster University and an M.A. Arts (Dist) in Scriptwriting from the University of Central Lancashire. He continues his professional development by undertaking Post Graduate research and history courses at the University of Oxford. He has written several plays, including critically acclaimed Naturally Insane! The Life of Dan Leno, about the famous Victorian music hall comedian, presented at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End and on national tour. He has also written theatre history books and novels, screenplays, and works as a theatre producer, director and consultant. He was the Ivor Novello Consultant on the Oscar and BAFTA winning film Gosford Park, Directed by Robert Altman, and the script advisor and guest for the week for BBC Radio 3 special Composer of the Week programmes dedicated to Ivor Novello, for the firs time, with presenter Donald McCloud.
