Thomas – Van Cooten Voices

Who is Annie?

rodney — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 23:49:06 +0000

My cousin, David Pitman, allowed me to copy the following postcard that belonged to his mother Elwyn. The postcard is from someone called Annie to Mr. W. Thomas, who was Elwyn’s (and also my father’s) great grandfather.

Front of postcard from Annie to Mr. W. Thomas

Reverse of postcard from Annie to Mr. W. Thomas

I presume the explanation (“Annie is Puppa Thomas’ niece. Puppa Thomas’ house in M’boro was called “Henor” & he lived in Coventry St.”) in blue pen was written by Elwyn.

The original text reads:

My dear Uncle,
Many thanks for postcard received of Black boys. I am sending you a p.c. of part of our Village the house at the top of the picture is our doctors. We live right opposite there hope all are well.
Love from Annie

Mr W. Thomas
C/o G Horsburgh Co
Maryborough
Queensland
Australia

Who is Annie? Where did she live? Where is the picture of? When was it sent?

The address on the front of the card is Coventry Rd. Kingsbury. A closer look at the street image yields the name “Swan Terrace” on the row of houses, a shop sign “Cadbury’s”, and a sign with a white swan on it,

The additional information on the reverse of the card is minimal. The stamp has been removed, and so only a partial postmark remains, which reads “KINGSB” and “TAX” but no date is visible.

Doing a Google search for “UK post card Coventry Rd. Kingsbury.” and looking at the images returned results in the identical image being found at https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_wow/kingsbury-coventry-road-2, a map location, and a suggested date of 1900-1909. The location is (52.56551891790918, -1.6820562306851514) or https://goo.gl/maps/9au5pQ6DwWGyT8Ss8. Looking at Google Street View the White Swan is still existing, but the rest of Swan Terrace has been demolished.

Google Street View image, Tamworth, Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire

OpenStreetMap Tamworth, Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire

Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1892-1914 map Tamworth Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire

The National Library of Scotland site at https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/ allows current and historical maps to be overlayed. The comparison here shows the current OpenStreetMap map and the Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1892-1914 maps for the same area. Tamworth Road, also labelled Coventry Road, now runs diagonally through where Swan Terrace was, and the hotel has been painted in Tudor style. The doctor’s house still exists, and is more visible in this view as some buildings to the north of the White Swan have been demolished. It’s likely that the house just opposite, where Annie lived, has been demolished, and now forms part of the car park adjacent to the White Swan.

Looking at my family history database I realise that I don’t have any details of the families of William Thomas’s brothers and sisters.

The UK Census 1861 for Little Cowarne, Herefordshire, Wales (PRO Ref: RG9 Piece: 1827 Folio: 50 Page: 8)

Household at Glebe Cottage
Philip Thomas, Head, Mar, M, 43, Labourer, Herefordshire Wool Hope
Elizabeth Thomas, Wife, Mar, F, 38, Dressmaker, Herefordshire Tarrington
Henry Thomas, Son, Un, M, 14, , Herefordshire Wool Hope
Mary Elizabeth Thomas, Daur, Un, F, 11, , Herefordshire Wool Hope
Sarah Thomas, Daur, Un, F, 8, , Herefordshire Wool Hope
William Jas. Thomas, Son, Un, M, 5, , Herefordshire Wool Hope
Philip Thomas, Son, Un, M, 2, , Herefordshire Wool Hope

A further child, Walter, shows up on the 1871 census, but the older children are no longer at home.

1901 census Class: RG13; Piece: 2653; Folio: 52; Page: 9

A quick review of the hints on Ancestry trees shows that Mary Elizabeth Thomas married Charles James at Leominster, Herefordshire on 26 Dec 1870. Their daughter Anne Maria James, born 27 Jan 1876, married Arthur James Wright at Tamworth, Staffordshire. In the 1901 census (Class: RG13; Piece: 2653; Folio: 52; Page: 9) Annie, Arthur, and their infant son Howard are living in Coventry Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire.

In the 1911 Census the family appears with postal address 3 Church View, Coventry Road, near Tamworth Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire. It is possible this is the same address, but given that they now have six children, it is possible that they are living in a larger house nearby to their 1901 address. Annie and Arthur are still living in Tamworth Road, Kingsbury in 1939, possibly in the same residence. Annie seems to have died in the October quarter of 1943.

So the postcard depicts Coventry Road, now Tamworth Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire, and was sent to William Thomas by his niece, Annie Wright (nee James), daughter of William’s sister Mary. It was probably sent between 1900-1910, but possibly later.

Kathleen May Thomas – Musical progress

rodney — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 07:05:44 +0000

Kathleen May Thomas progressed through the examination syllabus of the Trinity College London, and ultimately was awarded an Associate Diploma of the Trinity College of Music, London, in Piano, which qualified her to become a recognised piano teacher.

An article in the Beaudesert Times¹ explains the requirements:

… Up to, and including the year 1913, the syllabus required that a candidate who wished to obtain an Associate (A.T.C.L) Diploma was obliged to pass (a) a practical examination before an examiner of the college, and (b) a paperwork examination on rudiments of music. This entitled the candidate to the use of the letters A.T.C.L. This syllabus was then withdrawn, and the standard raised so that a candidate passing in the above subjects would receive a higher grade certificate (without the letters), and if he or she wished to obtain the A.T.C.L Diploma, it would be necessary to take, in addition to the above, a paperwork examination on “Art of Teaching.” …

The table below summarises Kathleen’s progress, culminating in passing the “Art of Teaching Music” examination, and thus qualifying her to teach. This was quite an achievement, the qualification itself being the equivalent of matriculation or first year University level, and quite comparable with the qualifications of many of the school classroom teachers of the day.

Publication date	Examination date	Examination	Teacher	Result
Wednesday 3 August 1910²	Monday 1 August 1910	Preparatory Piano practical	Miss B. Swift	77
Thursday 8 September 1910³	June 1910	Preparatory Music theory	Miss B. Swift	98
Friday 8 September 1911⁴	10th June 1911	Lower Division (Grade 2) Music theory	Miss B. Swift	88, honours
Thursday 29 August 1912⁵	June 1912	Intermediate music theory	Miss Beryl Swift	87, honours
Thursday 24 July 1913⁶	Monday/Tuesday 21/22 July 1913	Intermediate piano practical	Miss Beryl Swift	77
Thursday 5 March 1914⁷	December 1913	Upper intermediate music theory	Miss Beryl Swift	71
Thursday 16 July 1914⁸	13–15 July, 1914	Senior piano practical	Miss B. Swift	76
Tuesday 13 July 1915⁹	July 1915	Higher local piano practical	Miss B. Swift	66
Thursday 19 April 1917¹⁰	December 1916	Higher theory, Rudiments of Music	Miss B. Swift	60
Saturday 15 June 1918¹¹	10–12 June 1918	A.T.C.L. piano practical	Miss Swift	71
Wednesday 7 May 1919¹²	December 1918	Art of Teaching Music (Teacher’s Diploma)	Miss B. Swift	63 associate pianiste

Courtesy of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Jerwood Library, Kathleen is is listed in the 1920 Calendar of Trinity College London as having been awarded The Associate Diploma: Pianoforte.

Australian Music Examinations

rodney — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 12:58:44 +0000

My paternal grandmother (Nana Van) Kathleen May Thomas was born in 1900, and was raised by her grandparents in Maryborough, Queensland, owing to the death of her mother (and baby) following childbirth in 1902. Young Katie was supported and encouraged to learn the piano from an early age. She advanced quite quickly, and gained her qualifications as a piano teacher. She taught piano until she was 79 years old.

Kathleen May Van Cooten (née Thomas) sitting near her piano circa 1964

As a young student she would have had several choices as to the musical syllabus or examination system that she followed.

In colonial/early federation times the options were:

The Trinity College of Music
The London College of Music
Local University conservatoriums of music, later the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB)

The Trinity College examinations were clearly the best established available in Maryborough in during 1900-1920 when Katie was acquiring her musical skills.

Doreen M. Bridges gives an excellent overview of the scene in Australia in her Sydney University PhD Thesis “THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA 1885-1970” submitted in 1970¹. In it she describes the development of Departments of Music and Conservertoire of Music in Australian Universities, the rivalry between the various examining bodies, as well as the struggle to develop a characteristically Australian music examination and education system.

The Trinity College of Music

Trinity College of Music was founded in central London in 1872 by the Reverend Henry George Bonavia Hunt to improve the teaching of church music. Trinity College London was founded in 1877 as the external examinations board of Trinity College of Music.

A newspaper article in The Telegraph (Brisbane) on 27 June 1882² announces:

We are informed that the Council of Trinity College, London, have determined upon establishing a local centre in Brisbane for conducting examinations in music. The examinations are open to persons of either sex, and the scheme of instruction embraces — 1. Matriculation ; 2. Students in Music ; 3. Associates in Music ; 4. Licentiates in Music ; and 5. Certificates of Competency in Solo Playing or Singing. There are several Musical Colleges now in London ; Trinity College is the first, however, to found a branch in the colonies, and this is due to our townsman, Mr. W. H. Wilson, who has consented to act as honorary secretary.

Advertisements by Brisbane music teachers in July 1882 indicate that they prepare students for the Trinity College, and an paragraph in the Maryborough Chronicle of 4 December 1896³ details a meeting forming a Maryborough centre. Theory examinations were held on 5 June 1897.

An article in the Maryborough Chronicle in 1898⁴ features an article reporting on an interview with Mr. Charles Edwards, the travelling examiner of Trinity College, London. It states that

Mr. Edwards explained that the examinations that he was now conducting throughout Australasia were the first the College had held in the colonies, though it was the fourth year that it had sent out examiners. The general results in Queensland as far as he had gone had been quite equal to those he had found in the best centres in England. In fact, they had been equal to any he had had anywhere except in South Africa, which he visited two years ago, and where the results were really excellent.

Trinity College continues as an examination authority – see https://www.trinitycollege.com/local-trinity with a branch in Australia – https://www.trinitycollege.com/local-trinity/australia. In 2005, Trinity College of Music merged with Laban Dance Centre to form Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance – see https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/.

The London College of Music

LCM Examinations was founded as the external examinations department of the London College of Music (LCM), a music conservatoire which was founded in 1887. In 1991, the LCM and its external examinations board became part of the Polytechnic of West London (which became Thames Valley University in 1992 and was renamed the University of West London in 2011). In 1966 the London College of Music, after a decision of the Council, ceased all operations overseas.

The Brisbane Courier of 27 October 1903⁵ reports that the first examinations in Brisbane had been held.

An advertisement in the Maryborough Chronicle of 2 August 1909⁶ indicated that practical examinations would be held in Maryborough.

Australian Music Examination Board

In 1887 a programme of music examinations was initiated in Australia by the Universities of Adelaide and Melbourne. Subsequently the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) emerged in 1918 as a national body with the purpose of providing graded assessments of the achievements of music students. Later, examinations were also provided for students of speech and drama. Moves in Queensland commenced with the foundation of the University of Queensland in 1910. An article in the Maryborough Chronicle of 15 February 1913⁷ reports the promotion of the establishment of an Australian music examination board, and examinations were to commence in 1913 in centres which included Maryborough⁸.

The Spagnoletti Speaking Instrument

rodney — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 06:21:51 +0000

Great great grandfather William Thomas, in his handwritten autobiography of 1926, refers to his time on the railways in Wales in the early 1870s, and using the “Spagoletti speaking instrument.”

Spagnoletti Code

This turns out to be a form of the Single Needle Instrument developed by Charles Ernest Spagnoletti. I’ve found details of this at Sam Hallas’ page at http://www.samhallas.co.uk/railway/single_needle.htm. He gives an explanation and diagram of the code, which is a representation of morse code.

This confirms William’s recollection of the signalling code he learned as a youth.