Lloyd , Albert Lancaster , 1908-1982 , folklorist

Born in London in 1908, Albert Lancaster (Bert) Lloyd was orphaned at an early age and spent his early years working on sheep stations in Australia and subsequently on Antartic whaling ships. Both these occupations were probably the catalyst for his interest in folk-song. Though Lloyd had no formal training as an ethnomusicologist, he built up a formidable personal knowledge of the world of folk-song in the British Isles and in eastern Europe. He combined a working career in journalism and broadcast with life as a folk performer, and also taught at Goldsmiths' College from 1971. Lloyd published The singing Englishman (Workers' Music Association) in 1944, and this work became the best introduction to folk-song before the later Folk song in England, written in 1967. The latter established him as the leading authority on his subject. Another strand of his work, that of work songs, is reflected in the collection of miners songs Come all ye bold miners published in 1952 and enlarged in 1978. Lloyd was also a founder member of Topic Records, and besides writing many sleeve notes also performed on many of the recordings. Bert Lloyd died in 1982.