| Collection | Tait Miles collection of Sid Field memorabilia |
| Admin history | David Miles and Elizabeth Tait (now retired) are both huge fans of comedy and have collected various memorabilia through the years. Sid Field was a well regarded comedian and was often referred to as the "Guvnor". Dave and Elizabeth considered his humour ageless and never bettered.
Sid Field was born in Ladywood, Birmingham in 1904. He started doing impressions as a child for friends in his backyard, and even busked in his local town as Charlie Chaplin. At age 12 he performed for the first time professionally with "The Kino Royal Juveniles" in July 1916. After this he toured provincial music halls for almost 30 years, building his skills as a comedian, impersonator, and actor.
In the 1940s Field rose to fame after a successful run performing as 'Slasher Green' in London's West End. He began to appear on stage more regularly, in plays such as 'Piccadilly Hayride' and 'Strike it Again'. He continued to perform as a comedian and character actor on both stage and screen, including appearances at the Royal Variety Performance in 1945 and 1946, a headline act at the London Palladium in 1948, and in the film 'London Town' in 1946. In 1949 he played his first "straight role" in Mary Chase's Pulitizer Prize winning play 'Harvey'. It was while performing this play that Sid Field sadly passed away after a heart attack at his home on 3rd Febraury 1950. |