| George Bramwell Evens | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1884 |
| Died | November 20, 1943 |
| Show | Out With Romany, Children's Hour |
| Station(s) | Home Service |
| Network | BBC |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Spouse(s) | Eunice Evens |
| Children | Glyn K. Evens, Romany June Evens |
The Rev. George Bramwell Evens (1884- November 20, 1943) was, under the pseudonym Romany (and sometimes The Tramp), a British radio broadcaster and writer on countryside and natural history matters - quite possibly the first to broadcast on such issues. He was also a Minister of the Methodist Church.
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His mother was a true Romani, born in a caravan (or 'vardo' in Romani).
He is most famous for his Out With Romany programmes on the BBC's Children's Hour, describing travels in his own vardo, with Comma the horse, his spaniel Raq and his young friends Muriel and Doris. Although the programmes were all pre-scripted and performed entirely in the studio, the impression given was of Romany and his friends going for a walk in the countryside and spontaneously discussing the plants and animals they came across.
The vardo is now preserved in Wilmslow, Cheshire by Macclesfield Borough Council.
As a Methodist minister, his ministries included Goole; the Methodist Central Hall, Carlisle (1914–26); Huddersfield (1926–29); and the King Cross Methodist Chapel, Halifax (1929–39), after which ill health forced him to give up the ministry. He moved to Wilmslow, where he died, leaving his wife, Eunice, son Glyn and daughter, Romany June.
The Romany Society, originally formed in 1943 and re-founded in 1996, celebrates his life and work. Its patron is Terry Waite.
The BBC radio programmes were all broadcast live, and only one recording survives - dated October 1943, just a month before his death. In November 2006 this was released on CD by Valley Stream Productions.
The books were analysed, from a collector's point of view, in the January 2002 edition of Book and Magazine Collector magazine.
(Credited to G. Bramwell Evens)
Published by the University of London Press in 1951.
Written by Romany's son, Glyn K. Evens.
Written by Romany's wife, Eunice Evens.
Written by Romany's friend, H.L. Gee.
Written by Phil Shelley, Publications Officer for the Romany Society, and illustrated by Ray Hollands.