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This article is supplied by Joan M. Cocozza, Henbury, Bristol. 1994 The Life and Diaries of Olive Isabelle HarcourtBorn in Boulogne, France, on April 7th 1868, into a well-known Birmingham family of Brassfounders, Olive Isabelle was the youngest child of Edwin and Isabella Harcourt (nee Hawkes). When barely eighteen months old her father died of Typhoid fever.
Olive Isabelle Harcourt Circa 1873. Photograph by Maler Buchner, Stuttgart. In Olive’s early childhood the family moved to Germany where they lived for twenty years or so. During this period they travelled widely in Europe and often returned to England. Olive studied at the Dresden Conservatoire where she was a pupil of the world famous singing teacher, Aglaja Orgeni. Making her singing debut at the Hotel de Rome in Berlin in 1893 and in England the following year, her performances were highly praised and widely reported. After her English debut, at the Queen's Hall, London, Olive continued to appear in concerts throughout the country. A scrapbook of newspaper cuttings, reviewing many of the concerts in which she appeared, has survived the years.
Taken in Dresden in 1890.
In the early 1900’s Olive became engaged to Wallace Macartney. Wallace, son of John - Chief Magistrate of the State of Madras, India, served with the Madras Police Force. When on leave, Wallace, his mother, Jane, Olive and sister Florence toured the Continent. In 1906 having been diagnosed with cancer of the face and neck, Wallace, not wishing to inflict Olive with an ailing husband decided that marriage was out of the question. Wallace died in London in 1910. Jane Mcartney died in 1919 and both are buried in Highgate Cemetery. In 1910 Olive returned to Germany where, at Dresden Conservatoire, she studied the lute. Accepting an invitation to give concerts in Canada, Olive, using the professional name of Isabelle Eden, spent much of 1912–13 in Canada where she visited old acquaintances and relatives and made new friends including the Street family.
It was on May 28th 1913, when she left Canada that Olive began her diary. The first entry describes how Olive and Florence were escorted through the customs in Toronto; travelling by train they crossed the border to Niagara from where they began their American tour. On their arrival in England, Olive and Florence went to Eastbourne, the home of their brother and sister-in-law, Louis a musician and painter, Thirza a pianist. Throughout the diaries, visits between the family, their daily lives, illnesses and deaths are recorded in great detail. Descriptions of Eastbourne during wartime paint a vivid picture of this costal town. In 1914 the sisters returned to London taking up old friendships. Dr. Ellis Powell, editor of the 'Financial News' and family were very close friends and Olive Harcourt heard first hand of the Marconi Blackmailing case and of Ellis Powell's correspondence with Lloyd George. The Powell's son, Sidney, became a filmmaker and the youngest daughter, Agnes, an actress. Agnes or Ellis Powell as she liked to be known became a household name when she played the role of Mrs. Dale in the B.B.C.’s daily radio programme “Mrs. Dale's Diary.” In April of that year the Street family of Toronto, Edmund, his mother, Eleanor and sister Amy arrived in England and arranged to meet Olive in London. Olive’s account of her relationship with Edmund is written about most movingly and in great detail. Olive and Florence spent June and July of 1914 in Dresden where they had retained rooms for some thirty years. However, the visit was cut short when mobilization was ordered. Although friends begged them to remain in Germany the sisters decided to return to home. Olive has written about that time and how they managed to get back to England. Unbeknown to Olive, sometime after leaving for Dresden, Edmund decided to visit Germany. However, before he was able to meet up with Olive, he too had to make a hasty retreat when Germany was on the move. At the outbreak of war, Edmund Rochfort Street re-joined the army serving with the Sherwood Forrester’s Regiment. In 1915, he was awarded the D.S.O. and promoted to the rank of Major. On October 15th 1916 Major Street was wounded in action and died a few hours later. After Edmund’s death, the Army Chaplain, the Rev. “Tubby” Clayton, in a letter to Mrs. Street wrote that her sons “… help and sympathy were largely instrumental in the beginning of Talbot House.” (Popularly known as Toc H) Several years after the war, the Prince of Wales, after a visit to Canada returned with Major Street’s sword. During the anniversary celebrations of Toc H the Prince placed Edmund’s sword beside the Lamp of Remembrance in the Church of All Hallows, Barking-by-the-Tower, London. After being taken by a friend to visit wounded soldiers, Olive offered her services to the Red Cross. In 1916 the sisters moved to Dorset where Olive worked as a Voluntary Aid Detachment at 'Beaucroft', a hospital for wounded soldiers. She recorded the daily life of the establishment, details of the men, their injuries and experiences. On many occasions the sisters gave or joined the men in concert often singing to them in German. It was at Beaucroft she received a letter from Mrs. Street informing her of Edmund’s death of which Olive wrote - “Heard that my darling died last Sunday. Just bowed down with grief. …” In her diaries many of the soldiers recorded their name, rank and home address, some adding a verse or note of thanks. Photographs of the staff and men and post cards from them are included in the books and the whole makes a graphic picture of the times. After the war the sisters eventually settled in Bristol where they had relatives. It was here in 1895 Olive had given a concert raising funds for the Immigrant’s Society. Among the people to become her closest friends were the artist, poet and wit, Donald Hughes and his wife, Hope. Throughout her life Olive Harcourt's interest in music, Theosophy, Spiritualism and writing is recorded. She lectured on the subjects of music and Theosophy and her talks were reported, often at length, in local newspapers. She also wrote articles, a book and short stories many of which were published throughout the world. During the 1920's, several times she broadcast from the BBC's Cardiff studio. Olive gave tuition in German and did a good deal of translation work. In the 40's and 50's she worked mainly in Hebrew. On December 23rd., 1957 Olive Harcourt died at her home in Clifton, Bristol aged 89. She was buried, as her sister, in a nightgown made and embroidered by her mother. She rests in the same grave with her brother and sister in Canford Cemetery, Westbury-on-Trym. Florence died in 1927 aged 76 and Louis in 1938 aged 89.
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