His early formative years were no different from those of thousands of other young lads at the time. He was nearly two years old when the First World War broke out, and at its total conclusion, early in 1919, he was only a six year old, and too young to be aware of the economic situation which was to bring unemployment, poverty, hunger and starvation until, when he reached his 19th birthday, there were over three million people unemployed — and at a time when the population was less than half of what it would be 50 years later.
The poverty of the 1930’s was unbelievable in the industrial North of England, but it brought out the best in a community spirit. Folk who had any food left after a Sunday lunch, for example, would take it to a neighbour who was less well off. The writer remembers an old lady neighbour bringing in to his home whatever rice pudding was left over from her Sunday dinner (lunchtime on Sundays was a “dinner” time and the main meal of the day).
In 1933, as “Hendy”, Rowntree’s apprenticeship ended, so did his job, as the economic depression swept the North. He was unemployed for about twelve months. Singing kept his spirits buoyant.
Popular songs of the day were about exotic places, such as Hawaii, Mexico, Madrid, the Rocky Mountains — and prairies, cowboys, ranches and so forth...
Economic depression, poverty and hunger were regarded (in popu- lar songs) as quite normal and acceptable, in such numbers as “We’ve got the moon and sixpence - and bread and cheese and kisses!” or "Just a little room, or two, would more than do, a little man and wife. We could be so happy with the little things in life”.
Chick Henderson had always enjoyed singing and he knew all of the popular songs of the day from an early age. Every village and town boasted more than one dance band. The better bands featured vocalists, whilst others often afforded an opportunity to known good singers to do the job, voluntarily on occasion.
"Picture to the left is Chick’s first official ‘handout’ photograph 1936"
Hartlepool lads and lasses visited their “Tanner Hops” — (a “tanner” being the admission fee — the equivalent of six old pence, or 2½p in today’s currency — “Hop” being a slang word for a public dance). Their town, how- ever, boasted a ballroom, as well as the usual Church Halls, Community Centre Rooms, or Labour Party huts. The Rink, to give the ballroom its correct title, was a large spacious converted skating rink, hence its name — and the town of Sunderland, 30 miles north, boasted a similarly named ballroom.
When local youths reached the age of eighteen or so, they graduated to the Rink Ballroom. Chick was one of them. Having acquired a reputation as a good “crooner”, he was allowed to sing his favourite songs there. In February 1934, a new song was published, called “I’ll be faithful, I’ll be true”. For some reason, the song is not listed in Leslie Lowe’s “Directory of Popular Music”, and this book is regarded by some as the song title Bible. The number was extremely popular, and the recording by Bertini and the Tower Ballroom Dance Band, made for Woolworth’s “Eclipse” label in January 1934, sold far in excess of the usual 5,000 pressings maximum of the average dance band of the day.
Joe Loss recorded the song with his Band, for Edison Bell, and Jimmy Mesene took the vocal. Chick Henderson took a liking to the song, probably having bought the Bertini version on “Eclipse”. It became his ‘pièce de résistance’.