Beryl Ingham

West Ender

West Ender

Passed away 25-11-09
Tackler
And who the hell is she? you ask. Beryl was better known as Mrs George Formby (in reality Mrs Booth - George's real family name). She had started in Show Business in a clog dancing act, with her sister, called "The Two Violets".

Beryl is renowned as the dragon who ruled George with a rod of iron. She was his business manager and, without doubt, the apparent dominatrix of their marriage but she deliberately took the flak for any action which might have made George unpopular, such as leaving or avoiding a function. "Oh I'll have to ask Beryl," George would say, knowing that this would elicit a prearranged "No" from the the wife. "It doesn't matter what they think of me," said Beryl, "But the public must love George."
 
In the first Genus edition of Trivial Pursuits (1984), one of the questions was whose wife was a clog dancer from Acrington, the answer being George Formby.
 
garinda said:
In the first Genus edition of Trivial Pursuits (1984), one of the questions was whose wife was a clog dancer from Acrington, the answer being George Formby.
Click to expand...
ah cheers fer that mate, i knew quite a few inghams differant familys way back n 1 had a daughter who was a bit of a dragon, perhaps a relative?:D
 
Formby's naivety went hand-on-ukulele with an ingenuous common decency. On tour in South Africa in 1946, Formby played to black audiences despite threats from Daniel Malan, head of the National Party and one of the chief architects of apartheid. At the end of one show a three-year-old girl presented "the wife" (Beryl) with a box of chocolates. Beryl gave her a big kiss and handed her on to George for another. Malan had the couple thrown out of the country. "Never come back here again," he bellowed. Beryl gave as good as she got. She told Malan: "Why don't you **** off, you horrible little man?"

Book review: George Formby by David Bret | Arts critics | guardian.co.uk Arts :D
 
She was definitely from Accrington.

George, of course, was born in Wigan but he grew up in Stockton Heath, Warrington. The family home was a quite large house on London Rd which has just been granted planning permission to become a hotel.

Warrington is very proud of George (he's buried in the Borough Cemetery) and the museum had a George Formby exhibition a few years ago. It was fascinating, amongst loads of other things there were several of his banjoleles and 2 of his motorbikes - he loved fast cars and fast bikes. There was even a set of racing colours that he had worn when he was very young and was an apprentice jockey. He did all his own stunts in films - so you'll see him riding horses and motorbikes.

Once they were married Beryl devoted her life to him and through her very shrewd management and his own talent he became a very wealthy man. Most of his money went on cars, houses and - Beryl.
 
I knew she had been born in Accrington as whilst a volunteer on the Lancashire BMD project I saw her birth certificate and I think it was Alliance Street in Baxenden.

The media usually picks up on the fact that she was born in the Haslingden Registration District and don't bother checking any further.

By 1911 the family were in Darwen at the Black Bull Hotel
 
This posting has pleased me no end. My grandma's husband, killed in the Great war, lived at 17 alliance Street and in Mill Street before that, he was seven when Beryl was biorn, but I feel sure that he and his parents/siblings would know the Inghams .Father of that family was a born and bred Basher. He could even have supped in The Welcome in Elephant Street whilst young Beryl and her sister May were practising their dancing upstairs.
I wonder why my grandma never told me that George's wife was an Accy girl. That's another question I will be asking her when I see her again. I have realised that my grandma would have answers to all the family history questions I have got stored up.
 
Remember Beryl, comming to the Moorcock( when I worked there in the 60s ), for lunch a few times after George had died, she was a very stern woman, not inclined to smile much. Mind you in the 60s the Moorcock was the place to be seen if you had brass, James Mason, Rodger Moore, plus a few other celebs, went there plus most of Coronation St, of that time went there. Dont suppose its like that now, havent seen it for 40 odd yrs.
 
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