Thomas Bidgood

Thomas Bidgood (7 October 1858 – 1 March 1925) was an English conductor, composer and arranger. Life Thomas Bidgood was born in Woolwich, Kent. His father was William John Bidgood, a master plumber, and his mother was Jane Bidgood, née Williams. His early musical training included learning the violin at the London Academy of Music, taught by Signor Erba, and singing in the church choir. He also learnt a number of wind instruments after going to concerts given by the band of the Royal Artillery. He played the E Tenor Horn (althorn) and E Bass in the band of the 9th Kent Artillery Volunteers. With his wife Emily, Bidgood had two children, but this marriage did not last. He set up home with Rosetta Butler (née Casselden), and they settled in West Ham under the surname of Barnard and had four sons. By 1911, they had moved to 162, Harringay Road, Tottenham, where they stayed until Bidgood’s death on 1 March 1925 at that same address. According to a coroner’s report written on 3 March 1925, Bidgood committed suicide by gas poisoning “while of unsound mind” and is buried in an unmarked grave in Tottenham Cemetery. He left an estate valued at £100, and his widow, Emily Louise, had the admi