Lindsay/Two Bold Singermen and the English Folk Revival, 6. Mr Moeran Comes Collecting

In the early twentieth century, composer and collector Ernest Moeran travelled around Norfolk gathering songs from local singers. He collected songs from Sam Larner’s uncle, James Larpin, in Winterton during 1915 and collected two songs and one tune from Harry Cox at Potter Heigham in 1921. This was the first time Harry’s repertoire came to the attention of scholars and established him as a talented source of ‘traditional’ music. Sam did not come to Moeran’s notice, probably because he was at sea, but he continued to sing – “… in every port in the British Isles …” he claimed.