About Us

My name is David Simpson and one of my interests is genealogy.

Some of my ancestors were fairground folk and Bob Pender (Robert Lomas) was my 1st cousin 3 times removed.

Several people have said that Bob Pender and Robert Lomas were one and the same person and I wanted to prove this and part of the original purpose of this site was to investigate that premise. The starting point for the connection was a reprint of an article by Cary Grant about his life.
The following extract points to the first source of useful information:

"..and one day Bob Pender announced the longed-for news that he'd booked an engagement for himself and a company of eight boys to appear in a Charles Dillingham production at the Globe Theatre in New York City!
And who do you think was one of those eight boys selected to go? I was. I. That's who.
In July, 1920, we sailed for America on the S.S. Olympic and cloud eight"

From this starting point I was able to begin some research on the Pender Troupe. Has it been proven that Bob Pender and Robert Lomas are the same?
I believe so, have a look at Proving that Bob Pender and Robert Lomas are the same person.

Whilst searching the Internet for information on Bob I found some posts on the Fairground Heritage Trust forum. Sadly this forum appeared to disappear in early 2009.

I have tried to take the various pieces of information and present them in a more cohesive format.

This site would not have been possible without contributions from a number of people including:

Rosie Jones
Pat Palmer
Diane Hatwell
Victor Watts
Poppy
Jon Harrington
Lesley Harrington
Linda Ayling