Alan Carr ? The ED Connection

[sandyman]

Just watched advance copy of the upcoming Who Do You Think You Are? about wonky-toothed comedian Alan Carr. Interesting to see that part of his story revolves around his great grandfather who lived in Whateley Road. A few inconsistencies in the telling of this side of his story but some nice local colour about the Camberwell "Pal's Battalion" in World War One, which paraded down Lordship Lane, Townley Road etc before heading to France. S

ome grainy footage too, though I didn't recognise any locations.

Certainly of interest to local historians out there. Programme goes out on Wednesday.

[drew]

He described it as "Peckham" on the Jonathan Ross show on Saturday night ...

[sandyman]

drew - yes, in the programme he is interviewed in Manze's jellied eel cafe in Peckham even though all the references are to camberwell and dulwich ? i guess it provided the kind of earthy colour they wanted. Sipping Earl Grey in Franklins would not have had the same effect.

[tommy]

And to think he helped me quit smoking

[Ridgley]

Quite a lot of celebrities are born in South London.

[computedshorty]

My eldest brother joined the Camberwell "Pal's Battalion" it was in Floden Road Camberwell.

Alans Gt. Grandaddad deserted although he had signed on in the army, from home in Whatley Road he moved to Crayford where he changed his name from Carter to become lost in the thousands of Vicars Employees.

Although deserting from the Army he did not face death as he would if deserting from the front line.

Very coincidental that Alan once lived a few houses from where his Gt.Grand father stayed in Crayford.

Alan paid a visit to Constance Road, its name has long since been changed to Saint Francis Road to be named after the St Francis Hospital here was one of the homes of his ancesstors.

Thirteen Children in the family.

[mockney piers]

Have you written a book about your personal knowledge of the area at all?

I'll pre order it from Chener's!!

J.R. Hartley is a good pen name, it's pretty much how you look in my mind's eye anyway ;)

[computedshorty]

'My name? Oh, yes, it's J. R. Hartley.'

But the only picture you will find is of Norman Lumsden who played the part of J.R.Hartley, Fly Fishing for the Yellow Pages advert

[ianr]

> My eldest brother joined the Camberwell "Pal's Battalion" it was in Floden Road Camberwell.

Did he survive it, cs?

> Very coincidental that Alan now lives a few houses from where his Gt.Grand father stayed in Crayford.

Wasn't it used to live, rather than lives now? That's what the BBC summary thinks too.

The thing I was left wondering was how the dual names were handled on the part of his ggf's (Henry Carter's) family. His children's births were registered as Carters. Alan Carr's mother, the daughter of Henry's son Cyril, was married as a Carter. Yet Henry in 1916 was on the electoral register as Richard Mercer [not, I think, Edward, as in the BBC summary], and his wife joined him there as a Mercer in 1928, once she had suffrage. Were his family otherwise always using the Carter surname? If so, perhaps he retained just the fictional forename, Richard, rather than the original Henry, thinking that would be enough to evade detection, if he ever came to police attention in some other context. But then the surname disparity with the electoral register would presumably have been an ongoing risk.

[buggie]

They said in the programme that they probably used Carter on the birth certificates as it was unlikely they would plow through all the birth records looking for deserter fathers.

Also was under the impression the only evidence of the name change to Mercer was anecdotal rather than documented.

[Chener Books]

mockney piers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Have you written a book about your personal

> knowledge of the area at all?

> I'll pre order it from Chener's!!

I'd consider this for our next local history book.

John K

[Gimme]

Fantastic. This is the "Celebrities I've seen in Sainsbury's" thread for the older generation isn't it!

Wasn't Arthur Askey seen around here 10 years ago? ;-)

[edhistory]

EDF Rule 1832.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

It was Tommy Trinder, not Arfur.

[Ridgley]

My primary school I went to was on the same street where Vincent Van Gough lived when he was in England a short time. My aunt and uncle live in the house where Marc Boland grew up in Stoke Newington they sometimes have a large group of fans taking pictures of the house.

[Penguin68]

Tommy Trinder died in 1989; Arthur Askey in 1982 (nearly 30 years ago) - if either were seen around here 10 years ago it's rather more a case for Ghostbusters than I Spy.

[StraferJack]

A LOT of planes whooshing overhead today

[katie1997]

You've been in the Lounge this morning as well as this thread then? ;-)

[computedshorty]

Posted by: mockney piers September 15, 04:20PM

Have you written a book about your personal knowledge of the area at all?

I'll pre order it from Chener's!!

J.R. Hartley is a good pen name, it's pretty much how you look in my mind's eye anyway ;)

Over the years we do tend to see members in our minds eye, making it from the items in the posts. I wonder if others have also formed a picture in their minds eye.

I would be interesting to hear from others to see how close they are, or a million miles away.

I was once told they had the impression I was an old git shambling along supported by a Zimmer frame at a snails pace who asks shoppers to "Please reach things from lower shelves fo me."