Many thanks to Alan Smith for sharing this photo of the school class of 1924 at the Town Mission Ragged School, at Sneinton Market in Nottingham.
The boy with the yellow dot above his head is Cyril Stapleton who went on to become a famous big band leader.
The boy with the red dot above his head is Jacky Pownall, who went on to become a well known Nottingham scrap dealer.
The Town Mission Ragged School building still exists. Ragged Schools began in the 1850s when the Earl of Shaftesbury promoted the idea that children should work less and have at least basic schooling. The year of 1858 is visible in the brickwork. At that time the local lace mills often worked night and day using child labour. After the Education Act of 1870 the school became part of the Nottingham School Board.
Despite having a similar upbringing, the lives of Cyril and Jacky went in different directions.
Cyril Stapleton went on to become the BBC band leader that accompanied the likes of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. His career spanned four decades.
The Pownalls stayed in Nottingham, continuing a family business established in 1870.
Sandra Pownall recalls the 1960s in an article by the Renewal Trust.
“My dad had his scrapyard and second-hand shop on the St Ann’s Well Road in the early 60’s, locally known as Jacky’s, until the demolition of the road. Even today, I occasionally hear the name of Jacky Pownall’s. We were a large family business and well known throughout Nottingham. There are family members still trading today with Podders on Mapperley Plains, Woodborough.
Market stalls on Cavendish Street and Colwick Street circa 1925. The shop was John Pownall’s Marine Store. In 1934 he had moved to Lowdham St and the business was operated more by Jacky Pownall. It was Jacky that became a household name in Nottingham.
There’s some interesting memories of the Pownall’s on the St Anns Well Road Pre-Demolition website which is well worth a look.
Cyril Stapleton’s Career
Horace Cyril Stapleton was born in Mapperley on 31st December 1914. His parents were Horace Stapleton (born 1890) and Annie Mabel Buck (born 1889) who lived on Woodborough Road, Mapperley (house number not known).
Cyril he picked up the violin at the age of seven and soon became a musical prodigy, appearing on local radio at the age of 12. He travelled to the Birmingham studios of the BBC to perform on the radio. As a teenager, he was hired as a musician to accompany the silent movies.
Cyril’s talent was quickly recognised and he travelled to Czechoslovakia to study under the famous violin teacher Otakar Sevcik.
Returning to England and still only a teenager, he found employment playing in the ‘Pit Orchestras’ of local Nottingham cinemas.
The Nottingham Post wrote an article about him in 1932.
In the homely drawing-room of a working-class house in Nottingham, I have just been listening to a Dvorak concerto, played supremely well by 17- year-old, living Franchise Terrace, Westminster Street, he has gained more musical honours and been more widely experienced in his art than any other boy in England.
Nottingham Post 1932
Franchise Terrace was off Westminster Street in St Anns. It was demolished in the 1970s. The nearest of the original roads that remain is Cromer Road and Hungerhill Road.
Musical career interrupted by World War II.
With the outbreak of war, Cyril joined the Royal Air Force late in 1939. He served as an aerial gunner. However, during this time, he organised Camp shows and concerts at various military facilities. He also visited New York City, where he managed to meet the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. During the last year of a five-year stint in the RAF, he eventually joined the RAF Symphony Orchestra, who were based at Uxbridge.
In 1939, Stapleton married Beryl Orde, actress and impressionist, who claimed to drink pints of coffee to compensate for being teetotal! Cyril divorced Beryl Orde in 1950.
He then married Sheila Marie Shardlow in 1951; the marriage was at Paddington Registry Office with the reception at the Dorchester Hotel.
Following the war, Stapleton continued to pursue a classical career playing with three symphony orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of London, and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
He then re-formed his own band and was soon hired again by the BBC. Among the singers he featured in those broadcasts was Dick James, who later achieved fame and fortune as the music publisher for The Beatles.
In 1948, with a string section added to the band, more fame came his way. The band became known as the BBC Dance Orchestra, playing on radio programmes such as ‘Your Hit Parade’ and ‘Golden Slipper’.
In 1957, the BBC disbanded the Show Band, much to the dismay of its many fans. Despite much criticism, the BBC refused to reverse its decision to ‘kill’ the band. Stapleton didn’t waste time and immediately reassembled his own group, went touring to theatres and dance halls up and down the country. He continued to make records and appear on the radio.
He produced and played on many recordings, one being Nick Nack Paddy Wack.
His baby twins appeared on the sheet music to the song Twenty Tiny Fingers, Twenty Tiny Toes.
He also wrote the music and lyrics to Stranger in Paradise, a song many of you will recognise.
The End Of The Big Band Era
Even with the rise of rock & roll in the late 1950s, he continued to find work in the industry, as he tried to understand the new music of pop and rock.
During the 1960s he worked with promising rock bands that crossed his path. In 1965 he became head of A&R for Pye Records, one of England’s three major recording organizations at the time. He continued to tour and record into the 1970s.
Cyril died suddenly on February 28, 1974 aged only 59. He suffered a heart attack while he was slept. Nottingham’s Boy Prodigy was no more, leaving a wife Sheila, three children and a long musical legacy.
Derek Walker
I came across this by accident The scrap metal man Edward Pownall (Ted) was my uncle)
I lived in Mapperley at one time (3 Newberry Close)
I have lost contact with the family as I now live in Stow on the Wold
Editor
Hello Derek.
That’s a great link to this well known Nottingham family.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
We have a Facebook page called Mapperley People if you want to stay connected to what is happening here.