Jepson piano tuners in Brighton

[cliveh]

I was in touch with a Canadian friend of mine yesterday, and it made me think about three great-uncles of mine, who were piano tuners in Brighton.
The oldest brother, George Jepson, was born in 1893 and became blind in childhood following an accident. He attended the Royal Normal College and learned how to tune pianos. He was blessed with perfect pitch and he became famous in Brighton for his abilities. He had two younger brothers, Harry (1900) and Walter/Wallie (1903), who were also piano tuners - Wallie living in Jersey from the 1930s. As a youngster, I remember Wallie giving me a lesson in piano tuning, and I still have some of his tools, as well as some passed down to me from George. They all worked for Lyon and Hall in Brighton, which survived as a music shop in Western Road, Brighton, until (I think) the 1980s when it was destroyed by fire. My Canadian friend's father, Robert Waller, was the manager at Lyon and Hall in the 1930s.
I wondered if anyone else on this list had memories or knowledge of piano tuners in Brighton during the early 20th century, or of Lyon and Hall (originally in Kings Road, later in Western Road). If so, I would love to hear from you.
Best wishes
Clive Henly

[keith.tritton]

Well, my grandfather (Frank Prockter) was a tuner with Lyon & Hall between the wars and he used to cycle round Sussex to do his work. He eventually became general manager, I think shortly after L&H were bombed. A great treat for me when I went to stay with my grandparents was to visit the shop and listen to records in the cubicles - but Grandad's taste was for classical opera, so if anybody still has a scratchy LP of Madame Butterfly that they bought from L&H, they now know who listened to it first.

Keith Tritton