A Weymouth child prodigy who was an incredible violinist slipped into obscurity in later life, Geoff Pritchard writes.
I remember Fred Coleman in the late 1950s/early 1960s when I was choirboy in Saint Mary's Church choir in Weymouth.
He was a sidesman at morning service and was a slight, rather diffident man who I believe worked as a bus cleaner at the Weymouth bus depot.
Many years later when I was a Council Officer he asked if he could play his violin on the Esplanade, stating his background as a theatre violinist. I passed this to the Entertainments Manager but I don't know whether he did play.
The last time I saw Fred Coleman was probably in the 1990s. He was nearly blind and grown a beard and lived in assisted accommodation in Fairway Court in Westham.
However, he had a rather interesting background. Some papers have been passed to me by Nick Palmer, whose late mother Valerie was given these by Fred about 25 years ago.
Fred had written some details on the back of the papers referring to his time as a “chocolate boy” selling chocolates at a local cinema and then later as a violinist accompanying silent movies and performing at other local events.
The newspaper archive shows a number of documents showing the range of the versatility of “Master Freddie Coleman.”
On Friday 21st July 1922, for example, due to the kindness of Mr Albany Ward the cinema proprietor, a concert and picture display at the Palladium was held for the benefit of a fund instituted on behalf of the widow and six children of the late Mr FW Lodge.
The article states that “there was a good audience and a feature of the evening's entertainment was the violin solo playing of Master Freddie Coleman, a lad of 14 years of age well known in the hall as a seller of chocolates who displayed a promise which surprised not a few.”
In September 1922 a disastrous accident took place when a charabanc came to grief at the hairpin bend on Ridgeway and ended up in a field with numerous casualties, one of whom died shortly afterwards.
READ MORE: The Ridgeway Hill disaster of 1922
Two concerts were held to raise funds for those casualties and their families and Fred took part.
In October 1922 he was described at a show at the Palladium as “a wizard on the violin, playing a selection from its repertoire.”
Three years later an account in the Southern Times describes a peoples’ service organised by the Baptist Church at the Alexandra Hall with Mr F. Coleman taking part.
These services were very popular and attended by between 800 and 900 people. He kept busy with other organisations such as the Oddfellows and the Poor law Institution.
It is difficult to know what became of him in the intervening years but in the 1939 register of people in the country Fred Coleman was shown as a gardener at Herrison Hospital.
I recall that on some Sunday evenings in the 1960s he would walk up Wyke Road and put religious tracts through the letterboxes of houses on the way. I believe that he attended All Saints Church for the 6.30pm evening service.
In the early 1950s, advertisements show that he appeared at St Peter’s Church, Dorchester and St Mary’s, Weymouth in concert with John Daubeney, organist at St Mary’s and two singers, the latter concert being in aid of the organ fund.
Kelly’s directory 1973 edition shows him as living at 44 Ranelagh Rd which appears to have been divided into flats.
In 1987 the Echo reported that Fred had made a tape of his memories and him playing the violin. Does anyone know where this exists?
Obviously, he had tremendous talent as a violinist and one wonders why he did not turn professional with such a wonderful ability.
Frederick Coleman died in July 2002 aged 94 and his funeral was held at St. Mary’s Church.
Can any reader shed any further light on this talented person?
Anyone who has further information about Fred Coleman, or knows what became of the recording mentioned in 1987, is invited to get in touch and help shed light on the life of this gifted local performer. Call 01305 830973 or email joanna.odonnell@dorsetecho.co.uk
