Alice E. Gillington facts for kids

Alice Elizabeth Gillington (1863 – 22 May 1934) was a British author, poet, and journalist. She used different names for her writings, such as Alice E. Gillington, Betty Gillington, and The Romany Rawny.

Alice first published poetry with her sister, May Byron. Later, she chose to live in a caravan with Romani people, often called Gypsies. She became very interested in their culture. Alice joined the Gypsy Lore Society and wrote books about Romani life. She also collected their traditional stories, songs, and singing games.

Early Life and Family

Gillington's father worked at a hospital for mental health.

Alice Gillington was born in 1863 in Audlem, Cheshire, England. Her parents were John Maurice Gillington and Sarah Dumville Gillington. Alice was the second of four children. Her older sister was Mary Clarissa Gillington. She also had two younger brothers, George and John.

Her father, who was from Dublin, wanted to be a clergyman. He worked as a clerk at the time of Alice's birth. Her mother was born in Huyton, Lancashire. The family later moved to Bisley, Surrey. This was because her father found a job as a chaplain at the Brookwood Hospital. This hospital cared for people with mental health conditions.

In 1892, Alice and her sister published a book of poems together. They dedicated this book to their parents. Some of these poems had been printed in other books before. Alice also wrote other poems, like The Doom-Bar. This poem was about a sand bank in Cornwall. Her poems were included in a larger collection called A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895.

Living with Romani People

Alice Gillington became very interested in the Romani culture. In 1903, she put together a collection of their traditional stories. A few years later, she joined the Gypsy Lore Society. This group studies the history and culture of Romani people. Important people like Augustus John and John Sampson noticed her work there.

Alice slowly began to live a different life. She moved into a caravan. By 1911, she was fully living as a nomad in "The Brown Caravan." Her brother John lived nearby in "The Yellow Caravan." Alice continued to live this way for the rest of her life. She often camped with different Romani groups. Sometimes she camped a little apart from them, but her brother was always close by.

While living with Romani communities, Alice published many collections of their folk songs and singing games. These are traditional songs and games passed down through generations. She tried to share these songs with the Folk-Song Society. She sent them to a person named Lucy Broadwood. Even though she wasn't always successful, another person, Robert Andrew Scott Macfie, encouraged her. He asked her to keep collecting these important songs.

He wrote to her, saying it was good that she would not change the songs. He wanted the exact words the Romani people sang, even if the language or rhythm seemed unusual.

Alice kept her life with the Romani people private. She wanted to keep it separate from her old life. She once wrote that she never wanted her Romani friends to know she wrote about them. Alice Gillington passed away from a stroke on May 22, 1934, in Poole, Dorset, England.

Selected Works

Alice Gillington wrote several books and collected many traditional songs and games.

Books

• Poems, with M. C. Gillington (1892)
• Two poems in A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895, by Edmund Clarence Stedman (1895)
• Gypsies of the Heath as The Romany Rawny (1916)

Collections

These are collections of songs and games that Alice E. Gillington put together:

• Eight Hampshire Folk Songs (1907)
• Old Hampshire Singing Games (1909)
• Old Isle of Wight Singing Games (1909)
• Old Surrey Singing Games and Skipping-Rope Rhymes (1909)
• Old Christmas Carols of the Southern Counties (1910)
• Breton Singing Games (1910)
• Songs of the Open Road (1911)
• Old Dorset Singing Games (1913)