Elsie bambridge biography of albert

Publication

In her Epilogue to Charles Carrington’s biography, Elsie Bambridge wrote, ‘His only attempt at play-writing was in , when he and I together wrote a one-act play called The Harbour Watch, of which Pyecroft was the hero.

Vedrenne and Eadie produced it in a series of matinees at the Royalty Theatre, but it was not a great success’.

My condolences on the approaching departure of the daughter. All sons-in-law are manage descendants of the Devil. And the nicer they are the more devilish it is. This new chapter in my family history is a stand-alone story that came as an unexpected surprise — a spin-off to the main narrative.

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In fact, the play is referred to in Caroline’s diary in July Elsie would then own been twelve.

Although ed in England and the United States in that year, it was not published in Kipling’s lifetime.

The message from the typed script, held in the British Library, is reproduced in the ORG (Vol 4, pages ).

There is also a duplicate of the stage manager’s copy, having stage directions and some line changes added. This is held in the Library of Congress. David Richards suggests that these changes were made without reference to Kipling. Another copy of the script is described in the Kipling Journal June (pages ).

This apparently was Vernon’s have copy, and was interleaved with diagrams and notes on plain sheets.

Elsie would then hold been twelve. The text from the typed script, held in the British Library, is reproduced in the ORG Vol 4, pages This is held in the Library of Congress. David Richards suggests that these changes were made without reference to Kipling.

The location of this copy is now unknown.

The first English edition of the engage appeared in April (Spearman Books). It was edited with an introduction and notes by John and Janet Brooman.

Production

Caroline Kipling’s diaries reveal that arrangements for the production of the play in April were arranged through a visit from Perceval Landon during their travels through France (March 19^th/20^th ).

On 14^th April Carrie’s diary records: ‘Rud to rehearsal of “Harbour Watch”; depressed by the caste [sic]’.

The first movie of the play, at the Royalty Theatre, in Dean Highway, Soho, opened on 22nd April, , with a series of six Tuesday and Friday afternoon matinees (22^nd, 25^th and 29^th April, 2^nd, 6^th and 9^th May).

Carrie’s diary for April 22^nd reports: ‘Rud, John and I to town.

Rud takes John to his first music hall. Rud’s play, curtain raiser The Harbour Watch is produced.

Elsie Bambridge was the only surviving child of Rudyard Kipling. She was able to use the substantial royalties from his books to refurbish the house. Mrs Bambridge bequeathed the house to the National Trust on her death aged 80 in

Several telegrams to say how excellently it was received.

The cast at that first performance was listed as:

Emmanuel Pyecroft, R.N. Mr Luke Forsters

Edward Glass, R.M.L.I. Mr George Tilley

Albert Blashford, R.N.

Mr Lawford Davidson

William Agg Mr Campbell Gulban

Corporal Walters R.M.L.I. Mr W. Lemmon Warde

Jenny Blashford Miss Marjorie Day.

On this occasion, the act was offered as a ‘curtain-raiser’ for the play Thompson, a comedy in three acts by George Calderon and St John Hankin.

A report in The Times on 23^rd April described the plot in some detail.

Regarding the dialogue it suggested ‘You cannot choose but believe every word of it’.

She was the only one of the Kiplings' three children to exist beyond early adulthood. Her obituary in The Times stated she had two missions in experience, "to maintain the traditions of her husband Captain George Bambridge and her father Rudyard Kipling". She disapproved of the many liberties Sinatra took with the text. In the U.

The report adds that, at the end ‘ there was a hearty call for Mr. Kipling, but he was not in the house’.

On 29^th April, Carrie’s diary records: ‘To town with both children … to spot The Harbour Watch.

Good home and excellently done. Rud comes up in the evening and we all go to a music hall’.

In the obituary see for Kipling, in The Times (2^nd February ) it was noted that “his play, The Harbour Watch, was produced at the Royalty Theatre, where the adventure of the drunken maniac [marine?] made everyone laugh”.

However, Elsie admitted, in the epilogue mentioned above, that the participate ‘was not a great success’. Her part in the writing is not acknowledged in the copies or the playbill, and Harbord suggests that she may simply have advised on dialogue for Jenny Blashford.

Carrie’s diary for May 17^th records that [John] ‘Vedrenne calls about plays for the future and other arrangements for The Harbour Watch’.

The perform seems to have been offered at the Royalty again in September (15^th September to 13^th October inc.), and possibly again in September

Kipling certainly attended a rehearsal of the act (letter to Mr Nathan, dated 6^th May , reported by David Richards) but seems never to have attended a performance.

The Play

Pyecroft is on leave, and staying, as he has done before, with William Agg.

Jenny Blashford, a seventeen-year-old girl from the village, tells Pyecroft that her cousin Albert has been at home caring for his mother, but has missed returning to his ship at the end of his leave.

Elsie Bambridge - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia: Elsie Bambridge (née Kipling; 2 February – 24 May ) was the second daughter of British writer Rudyard Kipling. She was the only one of the Kiplings' three children to survive beyond preceding adulthood.

Agg is threatening to report the young sailor unless Jenny agrees to his wedding offer of marriage. Agg is sixty-two. In fact he has enlisted the help of a Marine, but this is Edward Glass, who works with Pyecroft and Jenny to offer Albert the choice of staying in the Navy or buying himself out to marry Jenny.

Sometimes listed as the seventh of the ‘Pyecroft stories’, the text does involve familiar faces.

Private Edward Glass is a character from ‘The Bonds of Discipline’.

These events have had their effect both on the publication and on the content of the various biographies now in print, or available from libraries. Something of Myself concealed much that the public wished to know. A biography was obviously needed, but of this the widow was determined to keep control. First Mrs Kipling, and after she died their daughter Mrs Elsie Bambridge, planned to commission a writer who would work under strict conditions and would be the only person to possess access to the family papers.

William Agg may be the ‘vindictive character’ from ‘Steam Tactics’, though he seems older compared to Pyecroft in this story. If it is the alike character, he also appears in ‘A Tour of Inspection’.

Criticism

The Saturday Review (25^th April ): ‘If Mr Kipling can fill our theatres with the like of Edward Glass, and find actors for their impersonation like Mr Tully, let him by all means wipe away all petty fond records, and write difficult for the theatre during the rest of his writing days’.

The Illustrated London News (30^th April ): ‘It was good to meet with real Tommies and Sailormen.

Mr Kipling gives us the treat of hearing the sort of talk the service actually employs in all its unwarranted simplicity. Blashford, Pye[croft] and Glass use the idiom of their class, and not the mincing phrases of melodrama’.

‘The World’ later suggested that there was some ‘triteness’ but that the dialogue ‘would have proved tame and unstimulating had not Kipling vitalised the old bones with the full-blooded humours of Edward Glass’.

[J.W.]