Forde and Forde – Refined Musical Speciality Artistes – was a brother and sister act of Sid and Wynne Ford. Presumably they felt that Ford with an ‘e’ looked more refined than Ford. It was Wynne Ford who married Lewis Davenport in 1910. The photograph included here is of Sid and Wynne around the time of this act. Item N2911 includes additional information on the Ford family.
After the death of Lewis Davenport’s first wife, Julia, he married again. His new wife Wynne, born in 1891, came from a musical family. Her parents Mr and Mrs Ford had six children. The story goes that Mr Ford went to the music hall one day and saw a novelty music act. He thought that Wynne and her brother Sid could do that, so he built some instruments (he was a skilled woodworker) and they started entertaining. The act became Forde & Forde, Refined Musical Speciality Artistes. In later years Sid performed as Max Prinzen. He also ran Max Ford’s Melody Makers. He can be seen sitting in the middle in the attached photograph of the Melody Makers. Wynne’s sister Ede was also an accomplished accordian player. After marrying Lewis, Wynne maintained her musical skills. For example, The Performer of 2 March 1916 reported on a Magicians’ Club Ladies’ Night entertainment at which Wynne contributed her musical act with a phono fiddle and xylophone.
On 9 February 2012 Anne Goulden gave this talk at the British Music Hall study group in London. It follows Lewis Davenport’s performing career from around 1900 to around 1930 and explains how he juggled his time between his magic business, music hall work, and other performances. On the way it provides an overview of the different types of variety entertainment during the period.