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Williams, Alfred

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Alfred Williams was born in South Marston Wiltshire in 1877 and died in 1930.  Although he lacked formal education, he was very well-read and wrote several books of poetry.  He collected the words of over 800 songs in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, a selection of which were published in Folk Songs of the Upper Thames.  A fuller account of his life can be found here.

Although Williams collected the words of over 800 songs, including nearly 200 in Gloucestershire, he lacked the ability to note the tunes.  Note that all the songs and biographical notes are available on the Wiltshire County website, and so the songs and performer notes link through to that site.

Songs Collected: