Sidney Samuel Grapes (6 June 1887 – 28 April 1958) was a dialectic comedian from Norfolk, England, famous for his "Boy John" letters written between 1946 and 1958.

Early life Sidney Grapes was born at Potter Heigham in Norfolk on 6, June 1887. His parents, Solomon Samuel and Sarah Elizabeth, were second cousins who had married only four and a half months before he was born.Civil register of births, Tunstead, Q1 1849: Potter Heigham baptism register 1813-85, entry for 11 March 1949.Potter Heigham Baptism register 1871-1976; 1939 register of Potter Heigham; Civil Registration Birth Index 1887 Q2.Great Yarmouth marriage reg. 1886-87, entry for 27 January 1887. When they married, Samuel was 38, and Sarah was ten years younger.Great Yarmouth marriage reg. 1886-87, entry for 27 January 1887. The marriage entry records Samuel's age as 37. However, the Potter Heigham baptism register records his date of birth as 25 January 1849 (entry for 11 March 1849).

His parents' social status was that of rural traders and artisans. His father (who liked to be known as "Samuel"RG 10, piece 1793, folio 4, p.1; RG 11, piece 1918, folio 108, p.8; RG 12, piece 1506, folio 5, p.2; RG 13, piece 1819 p.1; RG 14, piece 11131; Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, 1904, p.399.) was a carpenter, wheelwright, and farmer.History, Gazetteer & Directory of Norfolk, 1890, p.728. His mother was the daughter of George Grapes, a licensed hawker who lived in the nearby village of Ludham.Great Yarmouth marriage reg. 1886-87, entry dated 27 January 1887; RG10 piece 1793, folio 95, p.17. As a young woman, she had been a domestic servant at Witton Hall, near Norwich.RG11, piece 1959, folio 67, p. 16.

Grapes' family lived next to the Falgate Inn until 1903, when Samuel bought a villa called "The Limes" for £380.RG 12, piece 1506, folio 5, p.2; RG 13, piece 1819, p.1.Norfolk Chronicle, 8 August 1903 p.10.

Grapes attended the village school and then set up his own business. By the age of 20, he was an agent for Raleigh Cycles,Downham Market Gazette, 22 February 1908, p.7. and he went on to expand this business, becoming a motorcycle agent,Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, 1912 p 414. motor engineer, and garage owner.1934 Kelly's Directory of Engineering, Hardware and Metal Trades - Volume 1 p.573.

Grapes' forebears had lived in Potter Heigham since at least the sixteenth century,Eastern Daily Press, 30 October 1902, p.9. and he was to live in the village his whole life.

In January 1915, Grapes sang two songs at a concert in aid of the Belgium Relief Fund.Lowestoft Journal, 6 February 1915, p.6. Performing sketches in the same show was Ella Ostler, a schoolteacher from Lincolnshire who probably worked locally.RG 14, piece 19,549; Boston Guardian, 15 November 1913, p.11. In late 1916, Grapes and Ella were married, probably at Weston, Lincolnshire, where Ella’s father was the stationmaster.Civil registration marriage index, Spalding Q4 1916.

The 1921 census shows Grapes as a motor engineer and employer living with his wife, his wife's mother, and his wife's six-year-old niece.RG 15, piece 9609, sch. 115. His mother-in-law was part of his household for many years (even though her husband was alive) and died in 1930.Spalding Guardian, 22 March 1930, p.11.

Career as an entertainer In August 1907, Grapes played the role of Alick in a historical pageant about the last days of St Benet's Abbey written by Louis N. Parker. He and other rustic characters spoke dialogue in "the Broad Norfolk of pre-School Board days," added by the Rev. Maurice Bird, the Norfolk Field Naturalist.Downham Market Gazette,10 August 1907, 3; Stowmarket Weekly Post, 4 November 1909, 7. Bird's use of dialect may have influenced Sidney's later writings.

In his early twenties, he began making a reputation for himself as a comedian. His earliest comic performance may have been at a Church concert in the nearby village of Ludham in April 1909.Norfolk News, 24 April 1909, p.8. By February 1910, his act at the Potter Heigham Social Club included "clever impersonations."Norfolk News, 12 February 1910, p.14.

His early performances were limited to places within a five-mile radius of his home.Based on references in The British Newspaper Archive searched August 2023. His first performance further afield was a Conservative and Unionist dinner held at Great Yarmouth in February 1925.Yarmouth Independent, 21 February 1925, p.4. This engagement came after a hiatus in his career of several years, during which time he may have concentrated on his garage business.

From the early 1930s, his engagements became more frequent, and he travelled further afield, going all over Norfolk and into parts of Suffolk. He typically performed at dinners and small gatherings, where his comic stories evoked nostalgia for a lost world. He did not often perform in theatres, and when he entered a variety talent show at the Regal Theatre, Yarmouth, in 1935, he won joint third prize with a speciality dancer.Yarmouth Independent, 9 November 1935, p.18.

In the 1940's and 1950's, radio broadcasts boosted Grapes' reputation. A newspaper report of December 1949 noted that he had broadcast on the radio several times,Bury Free Press, 30 December 1949, p.1. and in 1956, he was a guest on Woman's Hour, aired from the Assembly House, Norwich.Birmingham Daily Post, 20 July 1956, p.7.

From 1946, Grapes began writing letters to the Eastern Daily Press using the persona of "Boy John," a farm labourer who told stories about himself and his eccentric relatives and neighbours. These comic tales display a masterful use of dialect and were enormously popular. In about 1959, a selection of the letters was printed as a book.British Library catalogue.

Death

Grapes died on 28 April 1958, aged 70.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar. A Funeral service was held on 1 May 1950 at Potter Heigham Church where he was church warden. The service was followed by cremation St Faith's.Eastern Daily Press, 2 May 1950. After his death, funds were donated for a memorial, and a Vestry was erected in the church and dedicated to his memory. Ella remained at the same address, Uptop, Station Road, Potter Heigham, until shortly before her death on 1 August 1983, aged 98.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar; Civil Registration Death Index. She died at the Fairhaven nursing home in Peterborough. Her funeral service was held at Potter Heigham Church on 4 August, followed by cremation at Earlham Crematorium.Eastern Daily Press, 2 August 1983

By her will, she left the copyright and future royalties of all the "Boy John" books and articles to the Vicar and Churchwardens of Potter Heigham Church.Will dated 18 September 1981, proved at Ipswich 20 September 1983. Her name was added to the vestry in the church after her death.

References

External links Eastern Daily Press; Remembering the great Sidney Grapes-'Boy John'. Literary Norfolk: Potter Heigham