Harry Pitts 1928-1994

Harry Pitts 1928-1994Author(s): John PittsSource: Folk Music Journal, Vol. 6, No. 5 (1994), pp. 698-700Published by: English Folk Dance + Song SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4522495 .

Accessed: 12/06/2014 17:02

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

English Folk Dance + Song Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to FolkMusic Journal.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:02:34 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=efdss

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4522495?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


698 Obituary

For this reason there was a time when he was seen by the establishment not only as 'not one of us' but as a major threat, to be opposed, discredited and marginalized as much as possible.

Nevertheless, he had an enormous and devoted following, and he stood like a Gulliver among his Lilliputian detractors. Apart from his immense political influence, one could almost speak of an Edward Thompson school of history, and his work benefitted those operating in many disciplines including that of traditional song - as it will continue to do for generations to come.

The man himself has a secure place in the affections of thousands who read his books or heard him lecture. On a bleak Sunday afternoon in November I993 several hundred people turned out for a commemorative meeting in Halifax, where Thompson lived when he was writing The Making. The speakers included John Saville, historian, Trevor Griffiths, playwright, and Dorothy Greenald (co-dedicatee, with her husband, of the book), who recalled both the rigour and the inspiration of Thompson's teaching, forty-five years earlier. Similar meetings, more celebration than wake, have been held or are planned in London, New York, San Francisco and Barcelona.

Such international fame did not prevent Edward from being, as his wife, Dorothy, put it, a provincial writer; he was firmly rooted and deeply English. I feel greatly privileged to have known him and to have learned from him. My wife and I are proud that in the last months of his life he came to a public reading we were doing of John Masefield's long poem, Reynard the Fox. It turned out that, as a child, Edward had known Masefield, and had been the recipient of signed copies of many of his books.

Edward's passing leaves a strong feeling of void. Happily, we have his books; yet it is very hard to accept that we shall no more hear his strangely hesitant humour, his angry excoriation of folly, his soaring flights of eloquence in the cause of history, poetry and social justice. 'This was the noblest Roman of them all.'

ROY PALMER

698 Obituary

For this reason there was a time when he was seen by the establishment not only as 'not one of us' but as a major threat, to be opposed, discredited and marginalized as much as possible.

Nevertheless, he had an enormous and devoted following, and he stood like a Gulliver among his Lilliputian detractors. Apart from his immense political influence, one could almost speak of an Edward Thompson school of history, and his work benefitted those operating in many disciplines including that of traditional song - as it will continue to do for generations to come.

The man himself has a secure place in the affections of thousands who read his books or heard him lecture. On a bleak Sunday afternoon in November I993 several hundred people turned out for a commemorative meeting in Halifax, where Thompson lived when he was writing The Making. The speakers included John Saville, historian, Trevor Griffiths, playwright, and Dorothy Greenald (co-dedicatee, with her husband, of the book), who recalled both the rigour and the inspiration of Thompson's teaching, forty-five years earlier. Similar meetings, more celebration than wake, have been held or are planned in London, New York, San Francisco and Barcelona.

Such international fame did not prevent Edward from being, as his wife, Dorothy, put it, a provincial writer; he was firmly rooted and deeply English. I feel greatly privileged to have known him and to have learned from him. My wife and I are proud that in the last months of his life he came to a public reading we were doing of John Masefield's long poem, Reynard the Fox. It turned out that, as a child, Edward had known Masefield, and had been the recipient of signed copies of many of his books.

Edward's passing leaves a strong feeling of void. Happily, we have his books; yet it is very hard to accept that we shall no more hear his strangely hesitant humour, his angry excoriation of folly, his soaring flights of eloquence in the cause of history, poetry and social justice. 'This was the noblest Roman of them all.'

ROY PALMER

Harry Pitts 1928-I994

Harry Pitts, dancer and Captain of the Handsworth Traditional Sword Dancers for more than four decades, died suddenly on zo April 1994, aged sixty-five. His death brings to an end a direct link with Billy Siddall's post- war team and, through that, with the old team, of which Billy's father was captain from the i88os until after the First World War.

Harry was born in Sheffield, the youngest of three brothers. The family moved to Handsworth after being bombed out in the Blitz. Upon com- pletion of an engineering apprenticeship, he joined a local iron-moulding company, and remained in this tough, physically-demanding job for the whole of his working life.

Harry Pitts 1928-I994

Harry Pitts, dancer and Captain of the Handsworth Traditional Sword Dancers for more than four decades, died suddenly on zo April 1994, aged sixty-five. His death brings to an end a direct link with Billy Siddall's post- war team and, through that, with the old team, of which Billy's father was captain from the i88os until after the First World War.

Harry was born in Sheffield, the youngest of three brothers. The family moved to Handsworth after being bombed out in the Blitz. Upon com- pletion of an engineering apprenticeship, he joined a local iron-moulding company, and remained in this tough, physically-demanding job for the whole of his working life.



Obituary 699

Harry became leader of the local youth club and organized many social events, including folk and square dances, for which there was a craze at the time. He became interested in all forms of dance, particularly English country dance, and started to attend instructional classes and workshops organized by the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Here he first met Hannah Mawson, a long-time distinguished member of the Society, who was keen to promote the activities of the two local traditional sword dance teams and give them a higher profile. It was her encouragement, and a chance meeting with one of the old Handsworth dancers, that prompted him to join in practices in 1951. Shortly afterwards, accompanied by his future brother-in-law, Clive Turner, Harry was performing in public.

The dance enthralled and excited the two of them and they undertook some research into its history. However, the commitment of some of the older men was diminishing along with their capacity to dance, and it became apparent that an influx of younger members was essential for the sake of survival and future development. Harry, with his youth and enthusiasm, was determined to raise the profile of the dance, and so began his forty years of dedication to that end.

In June I954 the team performed at the York Festival, albeit with only six men instead of the normal eight. Shortly afterwards, Harry took on the role of captain, following the retirement of Ernest Lomas. The dance had lacked firm management for some years and Harry, acting upon choreo- graphic and stylistic principles, effected some subtle changes which are now widely perceived as being characteristic of the tradition. These early initia- tives involved a gradual shift towards uniformity in style and structure, which prompted friendly banter with Maud Karpeles on more than one occasion. A complementary standardization of the music, in conjunction with the figures (with tunes specially chosen to fit), was made in I960, in collaboration with the team's musician, Bernard Kidd. These relatively small changes had the effect of making the dance more precise and 'military'.

It was not until the early I96os that the team established a stable membership, involving new young men who had the same enthusiasm as Harry. A period of consolidation ensued, culminating in invitations from the EFDSS to perform in the Royal Albert Hall in I966 and I970. With the team's high standards of display on this international stage, it is not surprising that Harry's services as course tutor and workshop leader were soon in demand. He promoted sword dance technique and used many and varied traditions as examples. He also worked with Kath Mitchell on several projects, most notably a study of the Poppleton dance.

As leader of the Sheffield Teachers' Folk Dance Club, he was involved in popularizing Wall's collection of Ashover dances. He organized a city- wide network of barn dances for young people and was a regular caller. His wife, Norma, an enthusiastic dancer herself, always gave Harry unstint- ing support and encouragement. He would spend hours scouring dusty country dance manuals to discover or recall a long-forgotten dance that he would then 'revive'. He also devised a number of country dances himself.



700 Obituary

In I986 he was dance choreographer for the Sheffield Crucible Theatre's production of Cider with Rosie, and again in I989 for The Northern Mystery Plays.

However, it is for his long association with the Handsworth team that Harry will be most remembered. His style of dancing was uniquely dignified and controlled, and inspired many to seek an understanding of the longsword tradition and its accomplishment in performance. Always ready to share his experience and knowledge, he responded to the remotest suggestion of interest with enthusiasm and encouragement. He was the dependable and committed leader who never missed a weekly practice.

Harry was a quiet yet warm man. He was the guardian of a wonderful tradition, and it was a source of satisfaction to him that the team continues to thrive. As he had hoped, his son is a member, and sometimes leads the dance. The present men feel immense gratitude and respect for Harry's sympathetic and imaginative leadership over many years, and for kindling in them the sense of pride in the dance that he himself most completely exemplified.

JOHN PITTS

Notes on Contributors

HAZEL FAIRBAIRN works as a freelance musician and a fiddle teacher, specializing in Irish, Cajun, bluegrass, and eastern European styles. She studied Music at the City University, London, before moving to Cambridge in 1987. Research for her Ph.D. thesis was carried out in a number of extended fieldwork visits to County Clare and County Cork over a period of five years.

AUDREY DOUGLAS has a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto. Her interests include medieval and early modern entertainment, urban history and women's studies. She was research editor for Cumberland and Westmorland in the series Records of Early English Drama (Toronto, I986), and is now preparing Salisbury material for publication.

HUGH ANDERSON spent his working life as a teacher and school adminis- trator, and in his leisure time compiled, edited and wrote over sixty books of literary criticism, biography, Australian history and folklore. In retirement, he has been managing editor of Red Rooster Press.



Documents

Harry Pitts 1928-1994