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Charlie Capel, Dancer, John Bright Street

BillyB

proper brummie kid
Does anybody remember Charlie Capel? He was a champion dancer around the time of the second world war, and ran a dance school with his wife in John Bright Street.
 
Welcome Billy. A couple of adverts from the 1940s. He also seems to have held competitions and events at Walford Road Sparkbrook. Wonder if Edna Nicholls was his wife ? Viv.
 

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Hi Viv! Yes, I think she was his wife. According to the phone directory, they ran the dance school in John Bright Street together until the 1960s. Then it carried on in her name only for a few years (maybe he passed on?).
 
"Embassy Bands" (post #2) were scratch/pickup bands generally operated by a well-known bandleader - in this case, Oscar Rabin - effectively operating as an agent. The Oscar Rabin Band, it is not. I remember being one of bands for the 700th Centenary of Girton College in the 1960s alongside the John Barry Seven and an Embassy Band operated by Lou Preager. By then Preager had stopped playing due to poor health and the Embassy Band was just one of his many business interests.

Maurice :cool:
 
Goodness, well spotted! I've been through the Birmingham newspapers and it looks like they were a regular fixture in the 1930s and 40s. There is reference to them competing internationally too.
 
Marriage on 24th August 1936, parish church Edgbaston,
Frederick Mark Charles Capel was born in 1907 in Chorlton, Lancs, address 94 Ladypool road.
Edna Florence Rosamund Nicholls (b 1913 Kings Norton)address 328 Pershore road , Edgbaston

1939 Flat d , 101 Station Street, birmingham
Edna F R Capel Dance teacher
Frederick M C Capel, Road transport controller.

In 1945 they are in Acocks green .

Edna F R Capel married Charles Ripley in 1957
Edna Florence Rosamund Ripley died in 1999
I have been unable to find death of charlie (Frederick Mark charles)
Added,
just found his death
Frederick Mark Charles Capel died 13th may 1978
680 Avenue de la Mer
,Marelieu, Cannes, France
Probate , bBrmingham 19th april 1979, £15,672.
 
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Does anybody remember Charlie Capel? He was a champion dancer around the time of the second world war, and ran a dance school with his wife in John Bright Street.
My wife attended this dancing school in 1944/1945 and became a beautiful ballroom dancer. I had first taken her to Joe Blowers in Lincoln Rd North to introduce her to dancing but had to leave to join up and she enjoyed Charlie Capelles and the Queensborough club and continued to enjoy dancing for many years.
 
Marriage on 24th August 1936, parish church Edgbaston,
Frederick Mark Charles Capel was born in 1907 in Chorlton, Lancs, address 94 Ladypool road.
Edna Florence Rosamund Nicholls (b 1913 Kings Norton)address 328 Pershore road , Edgbaston

1939 Flat d , 101 Station Street, birmingham
Edna F R Capel Dance teacher
Frederick M C Capel, Road transport controller.

In 1945 they are in Acocks green .

Edna F R Capel married Charles Ripley in 1957
Edna Florence Rosamund Ripley died in 1999
I have been unable to find death of charlie (Frederick Mark charles)
Added,
just found his death
Frederick Mark Charles Capel died 13th may 1978
680 Avenue de la Mer
,Marelieu, Cannes, France
Probate , bBrmingham 19th april 1979, £15,672.
Dear @Alberta, by chance, I am in the South of France visiting my in-laws. I passed by 680 Avenue de la Mer this morning. However, there does not seem to be a number 680. There was a 678, but many of the other numbers / plots seem to be missing. It's quite a posh area! There was also a 608. I was wondering if it might be a transcription error at some point? I'm going to see if I can find a French death certificate. Do you think you could check whether that might be the case? Thank you once again for all your help.
 
Dear @Alberta, by chance, I am in the South of France visiting my in-laws. I passed by 680 Avenue de la Mer this morning. However, there does not seem to be a number 680. There was a 678, but many of the other numbers / plots seem to be missing. It's quite a posh area! There was also a 608. I was wondering if it might be a transcription error at some point? I'm going to see if I can find a French death certificate. Do you think you could check whether that might be the case? Thank you once again for all your help.
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@pjmburns that is extremely kind of you to respond so quickly! Thank you! I still suspect it is a transcription error, maybe in the UK. I'm told that it's unusual around here to have consequtive numbering as the old plot numbers were agglomerated to make larger plots. So it would be unusual to have 678 and 680 adjacent to each other. I'll see what the French death certificate says and will post any update here.
 
I did a google search and the suggestion is that it might be near the river opposite the l'ilot du golf which seems to be a hotel. Opposite there on 2008 streetview there are some properties which seemed to be deerlict and have now gone.
 
I did a google search and the suggestion is that it might be near the river opposite the l'ilot du golf which seems to be a hotel. Opposite there on 2008 streetview there are some properties which seemed to be deerlict and have now gone.
The opposite side is odd numbers only and includes 681. That is now a very fancy hotel which must have been built very recently. However on the even number side there seem to be only older properties.

I have a French friend who is an advocate, so I'm going to see what he thinks.
 
Number 678 is just adjacent to the river. On the other side of the river is Les Suites de Robinson
778 Avenue De La Mer. I can't see they there was a 680 unless 778 was built on part of it (it looks like some of it could be new).
 
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