Owners / Managers

Sir Walter De Frece

Sir Walter De Frece, the husband of Vesta Tilly, came of a long theatrical line. As the chairman of a syndicate known as the Variety Theatres Controlling Company, he was concerned with the direction of a number of halls in the south of England. One of his chief characteristics was a talent for songwriting. Many of these songs are famous. The majority, including Jolly Good Luck to the Girl Who Loves a Soldier, were performed by his wife. He also wrote Dan Leno's celebrated Waiter Song. Like Sir Alfred Butt, his interests in later life diverged to Conservative politics which eventually occupied his entire time..

From EARLY DOORS by Harold Scott