My Search for Montagu Pyke. Britain's First Cinema King

Notes from the author A"Black Box uncovered.A"Part 1I have reproduced Montagu's recollections, written around 1934-35, he died in the September of 1935 and his writings cover a life lived. During his heyday, he was the subject of various publications including Vanity Fair and various gossip columns of national newspapers. Today Montagu would still have the same exposure only the names of the publications would have changed. Montagu's recollections form Part 1 of the book.I inherited at the age of 10, a black tin box with the name Montagu Pyke on the front contained various items; newspaper cuttings, a few letters, photos of people I didn't know, two pocket watches, 1 cufflink and a set of gaming chips, one picture of a young boy on a card with a slide mechanism that made his face move from a serious pose to a broad smile; I played with it thought it was great, then lost itA...forgive the boy. An envelope addressed to my father was home to Montagu's memoirs, I have read Montagu's adventures numerous times over the years, it transported me to a different life in London that I had never experienced first hand, except in films shown at the cinema. Many families have no statistical records, written recollections, no anecdotes passed down from generation to generation and my own experience, researching this first Pyke family book, has made me realise how important family records are even when the news is not always what you expected. History forms part of our human heritage, personal accounts, told by the people who were there rather than the official histories. 'I can't believe it! What will history say? What will History say?'History, sir, will tell lies as usual.'From the A"Devils DiscipleA" by George Bernard Shaw Part 2The second part of the book forms my recollections and further research into my immediate family history. To my own astonishment, I have written my part from memories I have of my early years and taking the reader to 1980 - stay awake at the back please.Thanks to research, bloody mindedness, personal and professional help from Jan of, Genealogists A"meet the family.A" I have learnt more about my family and the journey that has led me here and is still growing with more information becoming available through the explosion of the media revolution.