Scenes from the Past

Abstract

In the mid 1930s in the United Kingdom, before the National Health Service was instituted, hospitals depended greatly on the efforts of charities and celebrities to fund needed projects. A new x-ray room in one Scottish hospital was financed through the efforts of the immensely popular Scottish Music Hall singer and entertainer, Sir Harry Lauder. At the opening ceremonies for the new facility, Sir Harry was invited to have his hand x-rayed, as had been the custom at similar events (despite the known hazards of radiation), and he signed the radiograph. During World War I, Sir Harry performed for the troops at the front and in hospitals. His only son, Captain John Lauder of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, was killed in action in 1916. Sir Harry founded the Harry Lauder Fund for disabled war servicemen and raised £1 million—an enormous sum in those days. Because of his numerous humanitarian efforts, he became the first popular entertainer to be knighted in 1919—the first knight of the Music Hall. Beloved by his countrymen and befriended by heads of state and prominent people worldwide, Sir Harry Lauder toured the United States 22 times (beginning in 1908), as well as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. A great favorite of Sir Winston Churchill for whom Sir Harry’s songs were the greatest inspiration, Lauder was again invited to entertain