Victor Silvester

Victor Marlborough Silvester (25 February 1900 14 August 1978) was an English dancer, writer, musician and bandleader from the British dance band era. He was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first half of the 20th century, and his records sold 75 million copies from the 1930s through to the 1980s.

Early life Silvester was born the second son of a vicar in Wembley, Middlesex, England. thumb Ardingly CollegeHowever, the release of his service records in 2000 revealed that he had been discharged from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as underage on 12 September 1916, after just a week of service. However, he immediately joined the First Aid Services (i.e. the Red Cross and St John Ambulance), and served with them in France from 1 October 1916 to June 1917, before transferring to the First British Ambulance Unit For Italy. On 4 September 1917 at Sella di Dol near San Gabriele, while acting as a stretcher bearer to evacuate wounded Italian servicemen during a heavy bombardment by the Austrians and Germans, he was injured in the leg by a shell burst, but refused medical treatment until the other wounded had been attended to. For his gallantry on this occasion he was awarded the Italian Bronze Medal of Military Valour in a decree by the Italian Minister of War dated 30 November 1917. In a letter to Silvester's parents dated 20 September 1917, his Commandant in the First British Ambulance Unit, the noted historian G. M. Trevelyan, wrote: "He is certainly one who will be deservedly loved wherever he goes in life, and he is besides made of sterling stuff."

After the war he studied at Worcester College, Oxford for a year. He decided to resume a military career when he was offered a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, but he quickly decided it was not for him. He also studied music at Trinity College, London, having already had private piano lessons as a child.

Career in dance His interests had meanwhile turned to dancing. He was one of the first post-war English dancers to feature the full natural turn in the slow waltz. This innovation was a factor in his winning the first World Ballroom Dancing Championship in 1922 with Phyllis Clarke as his partner. Silvester had his own BBC television show through the 1950s, called BBC Dancing Club, Charlie Pude, Jack Phillips, Billy Munn, Victor Parker (also accordion), Ernest "Slim" Wilson (who was also Silvester's main arranger, and with whom he co-wrote several pieces), Eddie Macauley and Ronnie Taylor. Silvester's drummer for over four decades was Ben Edwards, crucial for supplying the strict tempo. Sometimes there might be four saxophones altogether, two alto and two tenor, including in latter years Tony Mozr, Percy Waterhouse and Phil Kirby in addition to Pogson, all doubling on clarinet as required. On some recordings, the Ballroom Orchestra was augmented with 15 strings and woodwind, when it became 'The Silver Strings'. During the war, when Oscar Grasso was in the forces, the classical violinist Alfredo Campoli took his place, using the name 'Alfred Campbell' for contractual reasons. His obituary in The Times noted, "Turn on a radio in Famagusta, Cape Town or Peking and one would be likely to hear his music issuing from the speakers".

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1957 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre. The "red book" and the Andrews script book he was presented with were restored by bookbinder Christopher Shaw, in an episode of The Repair Shop broadcast on 5 January 2023.

Silvester was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1961. He died while on holiday in the south of France, at the age of 78. First edition included waltz, foxtrot, quickstep and tango, plus mention of blues, one-step, black bottom and paso doble. In the Second World War and after, there was some space given to such as samba, rumba, "rhythm dance" (a way for beginners to get round the ballroom) and "quick waltz" (= Viennese waltz). Editions in the mid-1950s would have included the jive and cha-cha-cha. By 1977, the book included the full set of ten dances used in international competitions, plus rock n' roll and disco dance (brief notes only). Recent edition: London: Ebury, 2005 edition, revised and augmented by Bryn Allen: . Victor Silvester, Theory and Technique of Ballroom Dancing. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1932; 2nd ed 1933 and other editions. Victor Silvester (with foreword by Philip J. S. Richardson), The Art of the Ballroom. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1936. Victor Silvester, Old Time Dancing. Herbert Jenkins, London. 1949 and later editions. Victor Silvester, Dancing for the Millions: A concise guide to modern ballroom dancing. London: Odhams Press, 1949. Victor Silvester Sequence Dancing. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1950, and later editions. Victor Silvester, More Old Time Dances. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1951. Victor Silvester, Modern Dancers' Handbook. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1954. Victor Silvester, c.1955. Victor Silvester's Album. Victor Silvester, Dancing Is My Life: The Autobiography of Victor Silvester. London: Heinemann, 1958. Walter Whitman and Victor Silvester, The Complete Old Time Dancer. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1967. Victor Silvester, Modern Ballroom Dancing: History and Practice. London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1977. Victor Silvester, Old Time and Sequence Dancing. London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1980.

Also published were sheet music arrangements.