In a full column on the back page of the 26 January 1912 edition of the Lichfield Mercury there was a story headlined with “Cannock Tramp’s Remarkable Career – A Native of Armitage”. It certainly was remarkable and looking at all the details we can piece together his life.
His name was John Bailey and he was born in about 1848 to a family who had worked on the Marquis of Angelsey estates at Beaudesert for many years. His father had been a bricklayer who later became a jeweller, first in Rugeley and then in Birmingham. As a boy he sang soprano in the choir at Armitage St. Johns under the choirmaster Mr T Sharratt. (Thomas Sharratt was also the organist who made and donated the carved oak lectern to the church and in 1871 was Josiah Spode’s steward).
Partly with Squire Spode’s influence he was sent as a chorister to Lichfield Cathedral in about 1856 where Samuel Spofforth and later Thomas Bedsmore were the organists. Whilst there he took part in various competitions at other cathedrals. Bishop Selwyn took an interest in him and when his voice broke in about 1864 he arranged for him to apprentice to firstly a grocer in Welshpool and later as a chef to a restauranter in London. At the age of about 23, so 1871, he returned to Staffordshire to work in the first bakery in Hednesford. Whilst there he performed two solos at the consecration of Hednesford Parish Church and became a Deputy at Lichfield Cathedral which required three months of duty each year.
In the mid to late 1870s he worked as a chef for the 4th Marquess of Angelsey both in Staffordshire and at Plas Newydd. Included in his story is information about the Marquess’ wild son (1875-1905) who later became the 5th Marquess and was notable during his short life for squandering his inheritance on a lavish social life and accumulating massive debts. Around 1880 John worked the summer season in Aberystwyth before working for the late Duke of Sutherland at Trentham Hall for seven years. After an altercation with the Duchess (in about 1888) which involved him physically pushing her out of ‘his’ kitchen he was sacked and then worked at various restaurants at Leigh, Northampton and around the Midlands.
He had married the Duchess’ wardrobe maid and eventually returned to Leigh where he took a job driving a post van to Manchester for the next 16 years. After his wife died in 1905 he returned to Staffordshire and worked at Rawnsley and Littleton pits where he suffered a crippling injury and had to leave. So he tramped about and the article ends with “I’m tired of wandering about,” said Bailey in conclusion, “so I’ve come here, where I’m sure of something to eat, a good bed to lie on, and a warm shelter from the snow.”
It’s an entertaining story and fills out a column. And there’s plenty of good solid facts in there. Yes, Thomas Sharratt was the choirmaster at Armitage and he was also right about the Lichfield organists. He doesn’t give actual dates but says that it was seven years here or four years there etc so my dates are approximate and based around his narrative and his stated age in 1912. He wasn’t baptised at St. Johns but there is a baptism in Longdon in 1846 which would roughly fit with his age and with his family having worked at Beaudesert. With a name like Bailey it is not surprising that I cannot track him down in census records past 1851. The two big errors are the fact that Bishop Selwyn was in New Zealand until 1867 – well after he had apparently met him at Lichfield Cathedral – and Hednesford Parish Church was consecrated in 1868, a few years before his return to the Midlands.
My guess is that the early and later life stories – being in Armitage choir, driving a post van and working at Rawnsley pit – are true but the rest is a tall tale. But a very entertaining one.