Charlie Philpot was born in 1877 in Cratfield, a small village near Halesworth in northeast Suffolk, and the family moved into Halesworth itself before Charlie was three years old. Charlie told grandson Reg Reader that he first started to learn to play from his father, James Philpot, when he was three, and he told Russell Wortley that the 'Mountains of Mourne' was the first tune he learned. Reg reflected: ‘He was an only child so I supposed he got a lot of attention, and he was left-handed which maybe helped him to rattle the tunes out because, my God, he did rattle them out.’
After the war, he continued to play in pubs locally (he was a good stepdancer too, apparently) and enjoyed the company of fellow musician Ernie Seaman from Darsham, but by the time Reg remembered him, in the early 1940s, he rarely played anywhere except at home, where he was sometimes joined by George Bailey and George Carver on banjo and mandolin. Reg did recall the occasion of his grandparents’ golden wedding party in 1953, when Charlie played in the Griffin public house, together with the landlord on fiddle.
Charlie died in 1965.
His daughter told Keith Summers, when interviewed in the 1970s: ‘He loved all those old reels, jigs, marches, and he knew a terrific number of music hall songs.’
Keith's survey of the traditional music making in East Suffolk was published under the title 'Sing, Say or Pay!' in 'Traditions Music' magazine in 1977 and is now available on line. Follow this link to read his interview with Charlie's daughter and Reg Reader.
Charlie Philpot was recorded by Russell Wortley in 1962 for further information follow the link:
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