The Gathering

I recently acquired a lovely 62 key Wheatstone Aeola Baritone Treble English Concertina, which I'm told used to belong to a musician in Aberdeenshire. He played this & a Treble, but mostly the Treble.

Unfortunately his son doesn't play so, when his father passed away, he sold them & I was lucky enough to get the big one.

Here it is:



Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here might know who this player was, as I'd be keen to learn a little more about him & his music, if possible.

Cheers,
Dick

So far, I've come up with three possible names for the original owner / player.

Peter Hall: Aberdeen

Peter was of course a member of the famous Aberdeen group The Gaugers.
He died in 1996.

George Morris: Oldmeldrum

George was known as the King of Bothy Ballads & he ran the Morris Hotel in Oldmeldrum.
He died in 1958. His son Bill died about 5 or 6 years ago.

Peter Campbell: Tomintoul

Peter played, with other members of his family, as a local Ceilidh Band.
I'm told, he used to appear at the Keith Festival, back in the 70s & 80s.

Perhaps these'll job someone's memory.

Cheers,
Dick

Well, I managed to track down the dealer who sold it to the restorer whom I bought it from.

It turns out that he is actually based in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, which is of course the home of the late, great Concertina player George Morris, the King of Bothy Ballads!

Unfortunately, he was unable to furnish me with the name of the person he bought it from, due to client confidentiality, but he was happy to tell me that he knew for a fact that it hadn't been played for 40 to 50 years, because the person he got it from, had inherited it & wasn't actually a player himself.

Interesting eh, ..... especially when you consider that George Morris, of Oldmeldrum, died in 1958 & his son Bill didn't play.

Of course, that may just be putting 2 & 2 together & getting 37!

It may simply have been owned by an admirer of George's music, who just never got around to learning to play it. Perhaps I'll never get to the bottom of it.

Anyway, you can guarantee that the next time I find myself passing through Oldmeldrum, I shall have this Concertina under my arm & I will be knocking on a few doors!

Cheers,
Dick

It sounds as though your research has paid off, Dick - well done and congratulations!

(18-12-2011 11:04 PM)nigelgatherer Wrote: [ -> ]It sounds as though your research has paid off, Dick - well done and congratulations!

Thanks Nigel.

It seems that Wheatstone only made 64 of these Baritone / Treble Concertinas, between 1920 & 1939, so it's rather interesting to think that at least two of them found good homes in Aberdeenshire.

Anyway, I'd love to think that this fine instrument that George Morris was holding in this photo, is the one I'm playing now.



Cheers,
Dick

I've just learned that in fact Wheatstone only ever made 8 #15 metal ended Baritone / Trebles like mine, which makes me wonder where the other 7 are now.

It also tends to indicate that it was more than just a coincidence, that mine was sold in Oldmeldrum, the home of George Morris.

Anyway, here's another photo of it, my 88 year old Concertina, this time sitting next to a 200 year old Candle stick & resting on a 300 year old Tridarn .... all of a sudden I don't feel quite so old, anymore!



Cheers,
Dick

For the curious amongst you, here's a short video of this Concertina in action.

It may give you an idea of why I was so excited to get my hands on it.

Wheatstone Aeola Baritone Treble English Concertina!

Cheers,
Dick