To gain an understanding of Tommy Handley’s immense status
in the hearts of the British people watch the British Pathé newsreel reporting
his funeral in 1949. The scenes of thousands lining the route and assembled at
the crematorium would nowadays only be seen for royalty. Yet here they were paying
homage to a comic. Of course, he was to them much more than a gagster, for throughout
the darkest days of the war his radio show ITMA had brought cheer to
millions and had symbolised the dogged determination of the nation to soldier
on whatever fate threw at them.
Tommy Handley was born at 13 Threlfall Street L8 on 17th
January 1892, the son of John and Sarah (née Pearson). In his biography of Handley Ted Kavanagh refers
to his father as a ‘dairy farmer’ but census records cite the slightly more
humble occupation of ‘cow keeper’. His father died, aged just 31, while he was still a baby. The 1901 census
finds Handley and his mother, with older brother John, living in their
grandmother Hannah Pearson’s house in Aigburth at 10 Brentwood Avenue L17. By
1911 they had moved the short distance to No. 26 in the same road. Tommy
Handley was shown as a clerk working for a “baby carriage manufacturer”. In
electoral records from 1919 until about 1924 he lived with his mother and
brother at 9 Milner Road L17 before moving to London. His mother continued to
live there until the 1940’s, moving to a house bought by her son at 2
Riversdale Road L17. The site of the house is now a small housing development,
Handley Court.
From an early age he was attracted to performing and had a
fine voice, singing in the choir of Toxteth Congregational Church were his
uncle, Mr Kelly, was the choirmaster. His first real step forward was joining
an excellent amateur dramatic society who performed in St Anne’s Paris Hall. After
the outbreak of the First World War he joined a concert party to entertain at
forces camps, canteens and hospitals around the city. On one occasion he was unable
to attend a concert at St Michael’s in Aigburth so asked a friend to stand in
for him – the friend was a very short man named Arthur Askey.
On 11th November 1917 he was enlisted into the
Royal Naval Air Service and posted to a kite balloon section at the Crystal
Palace. However, it was not long before the powers that be realised that Handley’s
best contribution to the war effort lay in lifting morale and he spent most of
his time in the forces in a concert party.
After the war Handley toured with a variety of shows and, having
come to the attention of Jack Hylton, his career blossomed, especially after he
began working for BBC radio. The show with which he will always be linked, ITMA,
was first broadcast on 12th July 1939. The title referred to the
phrase “It’s that man again” which was often used about Hitler in the
1930’s when he perpetrated some new outrage. In fact the phrase had been borrowed
from the USA, where it was used pejoratively by the Republicans about F.D.
Roosevelt. Initially the show was set on a ship with Handley as the controller
broadcasting to the world. At first it was not a great success and was
cancelled after the war broke out in September. However, when the BBC moved its
operations to Bristol, the show was given a second chance. This time Handley
was depicted as the head of the Ministry of Aggravation and Mysteries, where he
worked in the Office of Twerps. Apart from an 18-month spell when the show was
taken on a nationwide tour, it continued to be broadcast until 1949, attracting
audiences as high as 15 million. It spawned a host of catchphrases such as “can
I do you now sir ?”, “don’t forget the diver”, “after you Claude, no after you
Cecil”, “I don’t mind if I do” and “it’s being so cheerful that keeps me going”.
The cast included many unlikely sounding characters, including Mona Lott, Ali
Oop, Mrs Mopp, Colonel Chinstrap. When Hattie Jacques joined the cast in 1947
she portrayed Ella Phant and Sophie Tuckshop. The Liverpool-born actor Deryck
Guyler played Frisby Dyke, taking the name from a Liverpool store.
Handley died suddenly on 9th January 1949, aged
56. He had married (Rosalind) Jean Allistone in 1929, they had no children.
