Albert and the lion

In the music halls of the1920’s Stanley Holloway used to recite a monologue entitled ‘Albert & The Lion’; what many of the modern day residents of Earl Shilton may not be aware of is the incident concerning ‘the Earl Shilton lion’.
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In 1930/32 a travelling circus was entering Earl Shilton via Hill Top when the door on a cage containing a lion fell open, allowing the lion to stroll out and wander along Keats Lane; apparently quite a few people were involved in recapturing the creature and several appear to have recounted the tale I am about to recall, however I prefer this version as it involves an Albert.

In 1956 I began my employment as a trainee clicker at Grewcocks boot & shoe factory in Church Street. One of the employees in the clicking room was an elderly gentleman called Albert Thorn. During a tea break I asked Albert if he recalled the incident with the lion; he then proceeded to recount the following tale...

‘Remember the lion? You bet I do! One day I was taking my whippet, Rosie, for a lunchtime walk, we went along Keats Lane and down the Green Lane alongside the Dog & Gun, crossed the top of the first field and climbed over the stile into the field leading to the ‘jitty’ (an enclosed footpath) by the side of Highfield Mills; about halfway across this field Rosie passed me going back the way we had come.
I thought,’ that’s odd,’ when I spotted this b****y lion walking towards me! But I’ll tell you what; I beat the dog back to the stile!!!!

Apparently the lion was soon recaptured, unharmed, although several schoolchildren, who had ignored the warning to keep away from the area, received a caning from their headmaster!

Ted Orton 2007