Last month, Derbyshire Record Office was delighted to accept the donation of five rather extraordinary albums of photographs and news-cuttings (D8089) assembled by Alan Turner (1902-1965). Turner was Managing Director of the Ernest Turner group, which included the Spa Lane Mills in Derby. However, the principal focus of the collection is not textile production, but theatrical productions. Alan Turner’s eponymous Opera Society/Company put on numerous performances in London in the 1920s and 1930s, before relocating to Derby in later years. Here is a sample of some of the fantastic photographs and ephemera in the first volume:
It wasn’t just opera, though Continue reading