Roy Palmer (folklorist)
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Roy Ernest Palmer (10 February 1932 – 26 February 2015) was a singer, teacher, folklorist, author and historian who wrote more than 30 books on folklore and folk song. In 2003 he was awarded the Gold Badge, the
English Folk Dance and Song Society The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dan ...
's highest honour. He had much experience of performing to an audience, setting him apart from better known folk song scholars and anthologists who collected material but were less concerned with singing it.


Life

Born in 1932, Roy Palmer was educated at the Grammar School,
Coalville Coalville is a town in the district of North West Leicestershire in Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. In 2011, it had a population of 34,575. It lies on the A511 road, A511 between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junct ...
, and at
Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
. While at college he met
Harry Boardman Harry Boardman (1930–1987) was an English folk singer who was born in Failsworth, Lancashire. He sang both unaccompanied and accompanying himself on the Anglo concertina or banjo. "Boardman has specialised in the lore, songs and dialect poe ...
, a folk singer whose left-wing views he shared throughout his life. He taught for many years in grammar and comprehensive schools around the Midlands and was headmaster of the Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School in Birmingham for eleven years. In the 1960s he began recording and publishing traditional folk songs. A collection of his recordings are in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
and other materials are archived at the
Library of Birmingham The Library of Birmingham is a public library in Birmingham, England. It is situated on the west side of the city centre at Centenary Square, beside the Birmingham Rep (to which it connects, and with which it shares some facilities) and Baske ...
. He met the BBC producer Charles Parker whilst organising informal folk song evenings for CND in Birmingham during the 1960s. The two men joined with other local enthusiasts to establish the Birmingham and Midland Folk Centre in order to sing folk songs, appraise each other's singing, collect and research songs and produce documentary dramas. He took early retirement, making time to explore his deep passion in all aspects of folk culture - its lore, dialect, crafts, arts, plays and above all, its songs and music. From 1970 to 2007 he produced a steady stream of books, articles and reviews, exploring social history through the medium of folk song and street ballads. In 2003 was awarded a gold badge, the highest honour bestowed by the
English Folk Dance and Song Society The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dan ...
, and in 2004 he received an honorary MA from the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
. He was a long-standing member of
The Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a registered charity under English law based in London, England for the study of folklore. Its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London home of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. It w ...
, chairman of the 'Friends of the Dymock Poets' for seven years and on the editorial board of ''Folk Music Journal'' for 20 years.


Bibliography

* ''Room for Company'', Cambridge University Press, 1971: * ''Love is Pleasing'', Cambridge University Press, 1974: * ''Songs of the Midlands'', EP Publishing, 1972: * ''Rigs of the Fair'' (Roy Palmer and Jon Raven), Cambridge University Press, 1976; * ''Folk Music in School'' (Robert Leach and Roy Palmer), Cambridge University Press, 1978; * ''Feasts and Seasons - Spring'' (Anthony Adams, Robert Leach, Roy Palmer), Blackie, 1978; * ''Feasts and Seasons - Summer'' (Anthony Adams, Robert Leach, Roy Palmer), Blackie, 1978; * ''Feasts and Seasons - Autumn'' (Anthony Adams, Robert Leach, Roy Palmer), Blackie, 1977; * ''Feasts and Seasons - Winter'' (Anthony Adams, Robert Leach, Roy Palmer), Blackie, 1977: * ''Rose Shamrock Thistle Leek'' (Bryan Lester and Roy Palmer), Ricordi, 1989 * ''The Folklore of Shropshire'', Logaston Press, 2004; * ''Britain's Living Folklore'', David & Charles, 1991; * ''Folklore of Gloucestershire'', Westcountry Books, 1994; * ''Folklore of Leicestershire and Rutland'', Wymondham: Sycamore Press, 1985 *--do.-- Stroud: Tempus Publishing, 2002: * ''Folklore of (old) Monmouthshire'', Logaston Press, 1998: * ''Folklore of Hereford and Worcester'', Logaston Press, 1992: * ''Folklore of the Black Country'', Logaston Press, 2007; * ''Folklore of Radnorshire'', Logaston Press, 2001: * ''Folklore of Shropshire'', Logaston Press, 2004: * ''Folklore of Warwickshire'', Stroud: Tempus, 2004 (First published Batsford 1976); * ''Folklore of Worcestershire'', Logaston Press, 2005; * ''Herefordshire Folklore'', Logaston Press, 2002: * ''The Sound Of History'', Oxford University Press, 1988; * ''A Ballad History Of England'', Batsford, 1979; * ''Strike The Bell: transport by road, canal, rail and sea in the nineteenth century through songs, ballads and contemporary accounts'', Cambridge University Press, 1978; * ''The Valiant Sailor'', Cambridge University Press, 1973: * ''The Oxford Book of Sea Songs'', Oxford University Press, 1986: * ''Boxing the Compass Sea Songs and Shanties'', Heron Publishing, 2001: * ''A Touch on the Times'', Penguin, 1974; * ''Poverty Knock'', Cambridge University Press, 1974; * ''The Painful Plough'', Cambridge University Press, 1972; * ''The Rambling Soldier'', Penguin Books, 1977: * ''Everyman's Book of British Ballads'', London: JM Dent and Sons, 1980: * ''Everyman's Book of English Country Songs'', London: JM Dent and Sons, 1979: * ''Folk Songs collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams'', London: JM Dent and Sons, 1983; * ''Secret River'' (Roy and Pat Palmer), Green Branch Press, 1998; * ''Let us be Merry'' (Gwilym Davies and Roy Palmer), Green Branch, 1996: * ''A Taste of Ale'', Green Branch, 2000: * ''What A Lovely War - British Soldiers Songs'', London: Michael Joseph, 1990; * ''Ripest Apples'', The Big Apple Association, 1996: * ''Working Songs'', Herron Publishing, 2010:


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Roy 1932 births 2015 deaths English folklorists English folk singers English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers People from Leicestershire