Tommy Handley - "It's That Man Again!"
Thomas Reginald Handley is better known as Tommy Handley, the Liverpool-born comedian who entertained the nation and boosted morale through the darkest days of the Second World War, when millions tuned-in to his radio show It’s That Man Again.
Though Tommy’s career as an entertainer has been well documented in various biographies and articles, very little has been written about his family history. When he was quizzed by radio producer Ted Kavanagh, about whether he had family connections in show business, Tommy quipped that his family were all dairy farmers in Liverpool. Mr. Kavanagh was left nonplussed by this response, uncertain whether Tommy was being serious, or whether this was just more of his cheeky Scouse humour!
Of course, what Tommy was alluding to was the fact that his father and grandfather had both been cowkeepers in Liverpool. His grandfather had previously been a farmer in Garsdale, from where the family originated.
But, with a celebrity having such a novel family history, why has more not been written about it? The answer to that question probably lies in the complexity of the Handley family’s genealogy. For, not only is the Handley family tree littered with the same handful of forenames, repeated generation after generation, but also there existed a doppelganger Handley family! This ‘other’ Handley family were contemporaries of Tommy’s family, made the same move from Garsdale to Liverpool to keep cows (in Tagus Street) and even indulged in the same set of forenames. A genealogist’s nightmare!
So, here is my attempt to trace Tommy Handley’s family history. Unsurprisingly, my emphasis is on the family’s involvement in the practice of keeping cows and running a city dairy in Liverpool. Let’s begin with Tommy’s great-grandfather, Thomas Handley.
Though Tommy’s career as an entertainer has been well documented in various biographies and articles, very little has been written about his family history. When he was quizzed by radio producer Ted Kavanagh, about whether he had family connections in show business, Tommy quipped that his family were all dairy farmers in Liverpool. Mr. Kavanagh was left nonplussed by this response, uncertain whether Tommy was being serious, or whether this was just more of his cheeky Scouse humour!
Of course, what Tommy was alluding to was the fact that his father and grandfather had both been cowkeepers in Liverpool. His grandfather had previously been a farmer in Garsdale, from where the family originated.
But, with a celebrity having such a novel family history, why has more not been written about it? The answer to that question probably lies in the complexity of the Handley family’s genealogy. For, not only is the Handley family tree littered with the same handful of forenames, repeated generation after generation, but also there existed a doppelganger Handley family! This ‘other’ Handley family were contemporaries of Tommy’s family, made the same move from Garsdale to Liverpool to keep cows (in Tagus Street) and even indulged in the same set of forenames. A genealogist’s nightmare!
So, here is my attempt to trace Tommy Handley’s family history. Unsurprisingly, my emphasis is on the family’s involvement in the practice of keeping cows and running a city dairy in Liverpool. Let’s begin with Tommy’s great-grandfather, Thomas Handley.
Thomas Handley (1804-1880)
Thomas Handley was a farmer at West Paradise, Garsdale, near Sedbergh, which in those days was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. On 19th June 1824, he married Elizabeth (Betty) Harper. They had (at least) eight children, listed on the 1841 census as follows: Richard (age 15), Joseph (age 15), John (age 14), Mary (age 12), Margaret (age 10), Thomas (age 8), Nanny (age 5) and Rowland (age 2). Two of these, Joseph and Thomas, went on to become cowkeepers in Liverpool.
Joseph Handley (1825-1900)
On 1st April 1848, Joseph married Isabella Greenwood, in Dent. They went on to have seven children. Their first child, Ann, was born in Garsdale; the next four children (Thomas, John, Richard and Betsy) were all born in Latchford, Warrington; and, the youngest two (Mary and Jane) were both born in Liverpool.
This geographical movement of the family is also reflected in the census records. In 1851, Joseph was a Farm Labourer, living with his young family in Knutsford Road, Grappenhall, Warrington. But by 1861, he was a cowkeeper in Liverpool living and working at 1 MARGARET STREET. However, his tenure as a cowkeeper was relatively short-lived, as by the time of the next census, in 1871, he had relocated to Mostyn in Flintshire, where he was employed as a Coachman. Nevertheless, this relocation did not completely break Joseph’s ties with the cowkeeping community in Liverpool, as two of his daughters went on to marry cowkeepers.
On 24th September 1871, Ann (Annie) Handley married Thomas Sedgwick at St Stephen The Martyr’s church in Liverpool. Thomas was a cowkeeper with a dairy at 42 HIGHGATE STREET. (Ann appears at this address in the 1871 census, working as Thomas’s housekeeper). Then, on 11th October 1886, Mary Handley married Edward Harper at Christ’s Church, Mostyn, Flintshire. Edward, the son of Henry Harper, was a cowkeeper at 1 WELLINGTON ROAD, Wavertree.
The 1891 census records Edward Harper at Wellington Road, and along with his wife, Mary, and his daughter, Agnes, there were also members of Edward’s extended family on his wife’s side: his widower father-in-law, Joseph Handley; his brother-in-law, Thomas Handley; his nephew, Joseph Sedgwick; his niece, Sarah J Handley; and, his nephew, Joseph E Handley. Clearly, Wellington Road dairy was a busy place!
Thomas Handley (1834-1905)
On 23rd December 1857, Thomas Handley (then, a Farmer living in Warrington) married Agnes Thompson (of Threlfall Street) at St Michael’s Church, Toxteth. The 1861 census has Thomas as a cowkeeper living in ALBION STREET, Everton, along with Agnes and their young children, Eliza (age 2) and John (age 1).
By the time of the 1871 census, the family were running a dairy at 5-7 THRELFALL STREET. This would be the family’s home for the next two decades, until Thomas eventually retired. The 1881 census records Thomas and Agnes at this address with their eight children: Elizabeth (age 22), John (age 21), Thomas (age 19), Mary (age 18), Agnes (age 16), William (age 14), Richard (age 9) and Catherine (age 7).
In 1891, Thomas and Agnes were living with seven of their children at 11 Sefton Grove. Thomas’s occupation was given as Retired Farmer. By 1901 Thomas was a widower, living at 32 Chelwynd Street, along with the four youngest of his children. He died in 1905 and was buried at Toxteth Cemetery.
Of his eight children, it was his two eldest sons, John and Thomas, who continued the family’s cowkeeping tradition. In 1885, Thomas married Sarah Ann Hughes and, for the next thirty years, they kept cows and ran a busy dairy at 46-50 LARK LANE.
John Handley (1860-1898)
John married Sarah Ann Pearson on 5th September 1888 at the church of St Michael-in-the-Hamlet. John took over from his father the running of the dairy at Threlfall Street, though by the time of the 1891 census, the property was referred to as 13-15 THRELFALL STREET. Their first son, John, was born in 1889 and their second son, Thomas Reginald (Tommy), was born in 1892. Sadly, John did not get to see his sons grow up, as he died prematurely in 1898, when Tommy was just 6 years old.
Probably because of the young age of her sons, Sarah Ann did not continue with the dairy business at Threlfall Street. For, by 1901 (census) she had moved in with her mother at 10 Brentwood Avenue, Aigburth, where the boys grew up.
So, when Tommy Handley claimed to have come from a family of dairy farmers in Liverpool, he wasn’t joking. Indeed, he had a number of cowkeepers in his family tree: his father (John), his grandfather (Thomas), his uncle (also, Thomas) and his great uncle (Joseph).
Thomas Handley was a farmer at West Paradise, Garsdale, near Sedbergh, which in those days was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. On 19th June 1824, he married Elizabeth (Betty) Harper. They had (at least) eight children, listed on the 1841 census as follows: Richard (age 15), Joseph (age 15), John (age 14), Mary (age 12), Margaret (age 10), Thomas (age 8), Nanny (age 5) and Rowland (age 2). Two of these, Joseph and Thomas, went on to become cowkeepers in Liverpool.
Joseph Handley (1825-1900)
On 1st April 1848, Joseph married Isabella Greenwood, in Dent. They went on to have seven children. Their first child, Ann, was born in Garsdale; the next four children (Thomas, John, Richard and Betsy) were all born in Latchford, Warrington; and, the youngest two (Mary and Jane) were both born in Liverpool.
This geographical movement of the family is also reflected in the census records. In 1851, Joseph was a Farm Labourer, living with his young family in Knutsford Road, Grappenhall, Warrington. But by 1861, he was a cowkeeper in Liverpool living and working at 1 MARGARET STREET. However, his tenure as a cowkeeper was relatively short-lived, as by the time of the next census, in 1871, he had relocated to Mostyn in Flintshire, where he was employed as a Coachman. Nevertheless, this relocation did not completely break Joseph’s ties with the cowkeeping community in Liverpool, as two of his daughters went on to marry cowkeepers.
On 24th September 1871, Ann (Annie) Handley married Thomas Sedgwick at St Stephen The Martyr’s church in Liverpool. Thomas was a cowkeeper with a dairy at 42 HIGHGATE STREET. (Ann appears at this address in the 1871 census, working as Thomas’s housekeeper). Then, on 11th October 1886, Mary Handley married Edward Harper at Christ’s Church, Mostyn, Flintshire. Edward, the son of Henry Harper, was a cowkeeper at 1 WELLINGTON ROAD, Wavertree.
The 1891 census records Edward Harper at Wellington Road, and along with his wife, Mary, and his daughter, Agnes, there were also members of Edward’s extended family on his wife’s side: his widower father-in-law, Joseph Handley; his brother-in-law, Thomas Handley; his nephew, Joseph Sedgwick; his niece, Sarah J Handley; and, his nephew, Joseph E Handley. Clearly, Wellington Road dairy was a busy place!
Thomas Handley (1834-1905)
On 23rd December 1857, Thomas Handley (then, a Farmer living in Warrington) married Agnes Thompson (of Threlfall Street) at St Michael’s Church, Toxteth. The 1861 census has Thomas as a cowkeeper living in ALBION STREET, Everton, along with Agnes and their young children, Eliza (age 2) and John (age 1).
By the time of the 1871 census, the family were running a dairy at 5-7 THRELFALL STREET. This would be the family’s home for the next two decades, until Thomas eventually retired. The 1881 census records Thomas and Agnes at this address with their eight children: Elizabeth (age 22), John (age 21), Thomas (age 19), Mary (age 18), Agnes (age 16), William (age 14), Richard (age 9) and Catherine (age 7).
In 1891, Thomas and Agnes were living with seven of their children at 11 Sefton Grove. Thomas’s occupation was given as Retired Farmer. By 1901 Thomas was a widower, living at 32 Chelwynd Street, along with the four youngest of his children. He died in 1905 and was buried at Toxteth Cemetery.
Of his eight children, it was his two eldest sons, John and Thomas, who continued the family’s cowkeeping tradition. In 1885, Thomas married Sarah Ann Hughes and, for the next thirty years, they kept cows and ran a busy dairy at 46-50 LARK LANE.
John Handley (1860-1898)
John married Sarah Ann Pearson on 5th September 1888 at the church of St Michael-in-the-Hamlet. John took over from his father the running of the dairy at Threlfall Street, though by the time of the 1891 census, the property was referred to as 13-15 THRELFALL STREET. Their first son, John, was born in 1889 and their second son, Thomas Reginald (Tommy), was born in 1892. Sadly, John did not get to see his sons grow up, as he died prematurely in 1898, when Tommy was just 6 years old.
Probably because of the young age of her sons, Sarah Ann did not continue with the dairy business at Threlfall Street. For, by 1901 (census) she had moved in with her mother at 10 Brentwood Avenue, Aigburth, where the boys grew up.
So, when Tommy Handley claimed to have come from a family of dairy farmers in Liverpool, he wasn’t joking. Indeed, he had a number of cowkeepers in his family tree: his father (John), his grandfather (Thomas), his uncle (also, Thomas) and his great uncle (Joseph).
the threlfall street dairy
The censuses of 1871 and 1881, record Thomas Handley being at 5-7 Threlfall Street. However, after his son, John Handley, took over the business, the 1891 census records the address as 13-15 Threlfall Street. Tracing the property on successive street maps of the area covering the latter half of the nineteenth century, suggests that we are talking about the same property; presumably, therefore, re-numbering took place sometime between 1881 and 1891.
The Dairy at 13-15 Threlfall Street.
Indeed, the property at 13-15 is the only one on Threlfall Street that appears to be suitable for a cowkeeping dairy business. Although the property no longer exists, the historic street maps show that it had a large footprint incorporating a house, yard and various outbuildings, able to accommodate a reasonable-sized herd. It was more than likely purpose-built for keeping cows as it had a long history of use by a succession of dairymen after the Handley family:
1901 — Thomas Pickard
1918 — Thomas Pickard
1926 — Joe Stephen Morgan
1938 — Morgan Bros.
1955 — Morgan Bros.
1964 — J E Boyd