Wikipedia

Elsie Smeaton Munro

Elizabeth "Elsie" Smeaton Munro (1880 – 20 December 1961) was a Scottish writer, singer, and performer.

Elsie Smeaton Munro
Born
Elizabeth Smeaton Munro

1880
Glasgow
Died20 December 1961
Glasgow
Other namesElsie S. M. Bilsland
Occupation(s)Writer, singer
SpouseWilliam Inglis Bilsland
FatherJohn M. M. Munro

Early life

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Munro was born in Glasgow, the daughter of John M. M. Munro and Margaret Dunlop Smeaton.[1][2] Her father was a noted electrical and civil engineer, as was her older brother, Donald Smeaton Munro.[3] Her younger brother, Ion Smeaton Munro, was a diplomat, journalist, and book collector.[4][5] Neil Munro was a relative.[6]

Career

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"Hitherto I Have Performed it Myself"; a W. Heath Robinson illustration for Munro's "Six Dead Secrets" in Topsy-Turvy Tales (1923), from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Munro starred in a 1904 production of La fille de Madame Angot in Glasgow in 1904.[6] She wrote a comic operetta, The Kink, performed in Glasgow in 1910, with music by George Henry Martin.[7][8] Her short plays Rosemary and The Cottage of Content were performed in Glasgow in 1916, as a wartime benefit for the Limbless Sailors' and Soldiers' Hospital.[9]

Munro wrote scripts for the Children's Hour programme on BBC Radio,[6] and gave recitals and reports for broadcast.[10][11] She also wrote two books, Glasgow Flourish (1911), and Topsy-Turvy Tales (1923), a collection of "utterly ridiculous"[12] fairy tales called "refreshingly original" in The Publishers' Circular.[13]

Publications

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  • Glasgow Flourish: Short Sketches (1911)
  • Topsy-Turvy Tales (1923, illustrated by W. Heath Robinson)
  • "Passing Sheep" (poem, in a 1971 anthology of Scottish verse)[14]

Personal life and legacy

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Munro married engineer William Inglis Bilsland in 1913.[2] Her husband died in 1953,[15] and she died in 1961, at the age of 79.[6] The Elsie Smeaton Munro Collection of Theatre Memorabilia is in the Scottish Theatre Archive at Glasgow University Library.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Beaton, Duncan. "The Notable Descendants of John Munro" The Kist 45(Spring 1993): 4.
  2. ^ a b "Marriages". Kirkintilloch Gazette. 27 June 1913. p. 2. Retrieved September 22, 2023 – via The British Newspaper Archive, via The Wikipedia Library.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Death of a Distinguished Scottish Engineer" The Electrician (January 8, 1926): 41.
  4. ^ Munro, Ion Smeaton (1933). Through Fascism to World Power: A History of the Revolution in Italy. A. Maclehose & Company.
  5. ^ "An Important Collection of Jacobite Books". Lyon & Turnbull. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  6. ^ a b c d "Elsie S. Munro" The Stage (4 January 1962): 37; via The British Newspaper Archive, via The Wikipedia Library
  7. ^ "Glasgow Musician's Death; Composer of Songs and Operas". The Scotsman. 24 April 1936. p. 9. Retrieved September 22, 2023 – via The British Newspaper Archive, via The Wikipedia Library.
  8. ^ "'The Kink': Clever Operette by Glasgow Artistes". Daily Record. 16 December 1910. p. 3. Retrieved September 21, 2023 – via The British Newspaper Archive, via The Wikipedia Library.
  9. ^ "Athenaeum Theatre (advertisement)". Daily Record. 1916-12-20. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-09-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Glasgow (programme listings)". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 November 1927. p. 2. Retrieved September 22, 2023 – via The British Newspaper Archive, via The Wikipedia Library.
  11. ^ "Today's Glasgow Wireless Programme". Paisley Daily Express. 8 July 1926. p. 2. Retrieved September 22, 2023 – via The British Newspaper Archive, via The Wikipedia Library.
  12. ^ Bonner, Mary Graham (1925). A Parent's Guide to Children's Reading. Funk & Wagnalls Company. p. 25.
  13. ^ "Mssrs. John Lane Ltd." The Publishers' Circular and Booksellers' Record 119(November 17, 1923): 627.
  14. ^ Hamilton, William Hamilton (1971). Holyrood; a garland of modern Scots poems. Internet Archive. Freeport, N.Y., Books For Libraries Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-8369-6314-4.
  15. ^ Fairfull-Smith, George. "March 1953: Death of William Inglis Bilsland" Glasgow's Cultural History (July 2022).
  16. ^ "Elsie Smeaton Munro Collection of theatre memorabilia, c1900-1962". University of Glasgow Collections, Scottish Theatre Archive. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
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