Take a look at our latest Trading Stories, Working Lives story – Len Collis, a professional musician playing in the music halls, orchestras and his own dance band.
Every now and then in family history research, you have the good fortune to track down a colourful obituary, one that provides a real insight into your ancestor’s life. Such was the case when I traced my relative Len Collis, “a well-known Leicester musician”. Inspired by the snippets in his 1946 obituary in the Leicester Mercury, I set out to uncover more about his musical career.
Download the full story here: Len Collis, a professional musician
You might also like to take a look at the other articles in our Trading Stories, Working Lives series:
John George Collis, a publican in the news
John Collins, a Victorian woolcomber and taxidermist
Naomi Cave, a purse-maker, pub landlady and devoted mother
The Caves of Leicester – Tories or Whigs?
William and Samuel Whittle, yeoman farmers and rabbit warreners of Charnwood
Nathaniel Orringe, miller and baker of Shepshed
Tom Crew, football referee and broadcaster
Samuel Taylor, beadle of Loughborough
Thomas Norman, elastic web weaver
John W Barker & Son, painters and decorators
Mary Ann Norman, Victorian laundress of Paradise Place
John Collins, Victorian fishmonger and game dealer
John and George Firn, monumental masons
Polkey boatmen of Loughborough