Bob Roberts (folksinger)
Encyclopedia
Bob Roberts was a British
folk singer
, songwriter
, storyteller
, bargeman, author
, and journalist
. He was the last captain of a British commercial vessel operating under sail
, and brought to an end a centuries old tradition.
where his parents taught in the village school. Roberts's father, who was brought up in North Wales, ran the church choir as well as playing the piano
, church organ, melodeon
, concertina
and fiddle for village dances. These musical interests led Ralph Vaughan Williams
to visit him at the village.
Roberts attended Wimborne Grammar School on a choral scholarship. After leaving school at 17, he eventually became a journalist at the Orpington Gazette, before moving to work as a sports reporter for the Daily Mail
on Fleet Street. Robert found it difficult to settle at job at the Mail, and twice took off on long sea voyages. Finally he left the newspaper to work on a Thames sailing barge
. Apart from a short stint as a sub-editor at the East Anglian Daily Times
in the late forties, Roberts would work on eight barges over the next 35 years, initially as a mate and on his final five boats, as skipper. His other voyages at sea would take him to the West Indies, Ascension Island, West Africa and Brazil.
In 1940 Roberts married his wife, Amelia or ‘Toni’, whom he’d first met in the late 1920s and in 1949 they moved to Pin Mill, on the River Orwell
. And it was while working at East Anglian Times that F.T. Everard and Sons offered Roberts the captaincy of the Cambria, the Thames Sailing Barge he was to make famous.
Working as a bargeman allowed Roberts to collect songs from bargemen and others he met along the East Anglian coast, which he added to his repertoire of his own songs. Working on barges also affected Roberts literary output, because even as a skipper his wages didn’t support his family, which included two daughters. So, he supplemented his income by writing books and articles, often while waiting for good sea-going conditions.
Roberts had a good selection of songs by the 1950s when he met the folklorist Peter Kennedy
. Kennedy was making field recordings for the English Folk Dance and Song Society
and the BBC
, and together they recorded some of Robert’s folk singing contacts for the BBC folk programme As I Roved Out.
From the 1950s onwards, Roberts appeared in folk clubs and festivals. He gained the reputation as a great story teller, distinctive singer and charismatic personality. In 1966, Roberts read five sea-faring stories on the BBC children's programme Jackanory
.
As Thames Barges became increasingly economically unfeasible, Everards offered to sell Roberts the Cambria, which he ran as owner-skipper between 1966 and 1970 when it was finally sold to the Maritime Trust. He then bought a replacement, a small motor coaster called the Vectis Isle, in which he carried various cargoes (china clay from Cornwall, coke, soya beans, grain, scrap metal, etc.) around the UK and over to the Continent.
In the seventies Roberts and his wife moved to live on the Isle of Wight where he made his last two records, as well joining in sing-alongs. After Toni died in 1978, Roberts married his second wife Sheila (née Blackburn).
Bob Roberts died in 1982 at the age of 74.
Breeze for a Bargeman, Solent Records SS054, 1981
Ballads, Complaintes et Shanties des Matelots Anglais (Various Artists: Chants de Marins IV – 2 tracks), Le Chasse-Marée SCM005, 1984
Sea Songs and Shanties (Various Artists - 14 tracks recorded by Peter Kennedy), Saydisc CD-SDL 405, 1994
Hidden English (1 track), Topic Records TSCD600, 1996
My Ship Shall Sail the Ocean (the Voice of the People
series Vol. 2 - 1 track) , Topic Records TSCD652, 1998
To Catch a Fine Buck Was My Delight (The Voice of the People series Vol. 17 - 1 track) , Topic Records TSCD668, 1998
Last of the Sailormen, Bob Roberts, Seafarer Books 0953818047
Coasting Bargemaster, Bob Roberts, Seafarer Books 0953818012
Rough and Tumble, Bob Roberts, Seafarer Books 0953818098
A Slice of Suffolk, Bob Roberts, Terence Dalton Ltd 0861380207
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
folk singer
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, storyteller
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
, bargeman, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He was the last captain of a British commercial vessel operating under sail
Sail
A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
, and brought to an end a centuries old tradition.
Life
Alfred William Roberts was born in the village of Hampreston, DorsetDorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
where his parents taught in the village school. Roberts's father, who was brought up in North Wales, ran the church choir as well as playing the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, church organ, melodeon
Melodeon (organ)
A melodeon is a type of 19th century reed organ with a foot-operated vacuum bellows, and a piano keyboard. It differs from the related harmonium, which uses a pressure bellows. Melodeons were manufactured in the United States sometime after 1812 until the Civil War era...
, concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
and fiddle for village dances. These musical interests led Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
to visit him at the village.
Roberts attended Wimborne Grammar School on a choral scholarship. After leaving school at 17, he eventually became a journalist at the Orpington Gazette, before moving to work as a sports reporter for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
on Fleet Street. Robert found it difficult to settle at job at the Mail, and twice took off on long sea voyages. Finally he left the newspaper to work on a Thames sailing barge
Thames sailing barge
A Thames sailing barge was a type of commercial sailing boat common on the River Thames in London in the 19th century. The flat-bottomed barges were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and narrow rivers....
. Apart from a short stint as a sub-editor at the East Anglian Daily Times
East Anglian Daily Times
The East Anglian Daily Times is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich.It started publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the Ipswich Express, which had been published since 13 August 1839...
in the late forties, Roberts would work on eight barges over the next 35 years, initially as a mate and on his final five boats, as skipper. His other voyages at sea would take him to the West Indies, Ascension Island, West Africa and Brazil.
In 1940 Roberts married his wife, Amelia or ‘Toni’, whom he’d first met in the late 1920s and in 1949 they moved to Pin Mill, on the River Orwell
River Orwell
The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England. Its source river, above the tidal limit at Stoke Bridge, is known as the River Gipping. It broadens into an estuary at Ipswich where the Ipswich dock has operated since the 7th century and then flows into the North Sea at Felixstowe...
. And it was while working at East Anglian Times that F.T. Everard and Sons offered Roberts the captaincy of the Cambria, the Thames Sailing Barge he was to make famous.
Working as a bargeman allowed Roberts to collect songs from bargemen and others he met along the East Anglian coast, which he added to his repertoire of his own songs. Working on barges also affected Roberts literary output, because even as a skipper his wages didn’t support his family, which included two daughters. So, he supplemented his income by writing books and articles, often while waiting for good sea-going conditions.
Roberts had a good selection of songs by the 1950s when he met the folklorist Peter Kennedy
Peter Douglas Kennedy
Peter Douglas Kennedy was an English collector of folk songs in the 1950s. Peter's father, Douglas, was EFDSS director after Cecil Sharp....
. Kennedy was making field recordings for the English Folk Dance and Song Society
English Folk Dance and Song Society
The English Folk Dance and Song Society was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society. The EFDSS, a member-based organisation, was incorporated as a Company limited by guarantee in 1935 and became a Registered Charity The English Folk...
and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and together they recorded some of Robert’s folk singing contacts for the BBC folk programme As I Roved Out.
From the 1950s onwards, Roberts appeared in folk clubs and festivals. He gained the reputation as a great story teller, distinctive singer and charismatic personality. In 1966, Roberts read five sea-faring stories on the BBC children's programme Jackanory
Jackanory
Jackanory is a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap o' Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 24 March 1996,...
.
As Thames Barges became increasingly economically unfeasible, Everards offered to sell Roberts the Cambria, which he ran as owner-skipper between 1966 and 1970 when it was finally sold to the Maritime Trust. He then bought a replacement, a small motor coaster called the Vectis Isle, in which he carried various cargoes (china clay from Cornwall, coke, soya beans, grain, scrap metal, etc.) around the UK and over to the Continent.
In the seventies Roberts and his wife moved to live on the Isle of Wight where he made his last two records, as well joining in sing-alongs. After Toni died in 1978, Roberts married his second wife Sheila (née Blackburn).
Bob Roberts died in 1982 at the age of 74.
Music
Songs from the Sailing Barges, Topic Records 12TS361, 1978Breeze for a Bargeman, Solent Records SS054, 1981
Ballads, Complaintes et Shanties des Matelots Anglais (Various Artists: Chants de Marins IV – 2 tracks), Le Chasse-Marée SCM005, 1984
Sea Songs and Shanties (Various Artists - 14 tracks recorded by Peter Kennedy), Saydisc CD-SDL 405, 1994
Hidden English (1 track), Topic Records TSCD600, 1996
My Ship Shall Sail the Ocean (the Voice of the People
The Voice of the People
The Voice of the People is an anthology of folk songs sung by Traditional singers and musicians of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.There are 511 recordings on 20 CDs, compiled by Dr Reg Hall, a historian at Sussex University...
series Vol. 2 - 1 track) , Topic Records TSCD652, 1998
To Catch a Fine Buck Was My Delight (The Voice of the People series Vol. 17 - 1 track) , Topic Records TSCD668, 1998
Books
Breeze for a Bargeman, Bob Roberts, Seafarer Books 0954275063Last of the Sailormen, Bob Roberts, Seafarer Books 0953818047
Coasting Bargemaster, Bob Roberts, Seafarer Books 0953818012
Rough and Tumble, Bob Roberts, Seafarer Books 0953818098
A Slice of Suffolk, Bob Roberts, Terence Dalton Ltd 0861380207