F. Girton

Private F. Girton was a soldier serving with the North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot when the Regiment was posted to the Eastern Frontier of the Cape Colony between 1860 and 1863, shortly after the Xhosa cattle-killing movement and famine (1857-1858). He came to the Cape Colony as a private. At first, the Regiment was posted to Grahamstown but was later transferred to Keiskama Hoek (Keiskammahoek) in 1862.

Private F. Girton was a member of the section of the Dramatic Club known as the Amateurs of the Band and acted in 14 productions during his stay at the Eastern Frontier all of which were with the Amateurs of the Band. All the roles which he portrayed were male.

Contribution to SA theatre

July 30 and August 1, 1860: Starred in the Corps Dramatique (Band of Amateurs) two-act "comediatta" (sic) (probably commedia dell’arte, which, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, is an improvised kind of popular comedy in Italian theatres in the 16th – 18th centuries and is based on stock characters.) production of The Review, or The Wags of Windsor. (Dubbs).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, No 2, Grahamstown, September 15, 1860, page 17.)

July 30 and August 1, 1860: Starred in the Band of Amateurs produced farce, The Irish Tutor. (Charles, Mr Tillwell's son).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, No 2, Grahamstown, September 15, 1860, page 17.)

September 20 1860: Acted in the Band of Amateurs produced two-act drama, Time Tries All. (Matthew Bates).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, No 3, Grahamstown, November 1, 1860, page 30.)

May 28, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band production of a “serio-comic, bombastic, operatic Interlude, in one act" by J.R. Planché, Amoroso, King of Little Britain. (Mollidusta).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, Supplementary Number, Keiskama Hoek, August 12, 1862, page 240.)

May 28, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band production of a one-act farce, The Omnibus or A Convenient Distance. (Mr Dobbs).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, Supplementary Number, Keiskama Hoek, August 12, 1862, page 240.)

May 28, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band production of The Irish Tutor. (Charley, Mr Tillwell’s son).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, Supplementary Number, Keiskama Hoek, August 12, 1862, page 240.)

June 5, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band production of The Spectre Bridegroom, or A Ghost in Spite of Himself. (Mr Nicodemus).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, Supplementary Number, Keiskama Hoek, August 12, 1862, page 240.)

June 19, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band's production of a two-act melo-drama, Robert Macaire, or The Two Murderers of Lyons. (Charles).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, Supplementary Number, Keiskama Hoek, August 12, 1862, page 241.)

June 19, 1862: Acted in George Wood's one-act farce, The Irish Doctor, or The Dumb Lady Cured from Moliere's Le Médecin malgré lui. (Dr Fiantie).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, Supplementary Number, Keiskama Hoek, August 12, 1862, page 241.)

July 21, 1862: Acted in the Band Amateurs production of a one-act farce by J. M. Morton, The Irish Tiger. (Mr Bilberry).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, Supplementary Number, Keiskama Hoek, August 12, 1862, page 241.)

September 24, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band performance of George Dibdin Pitt's two-act melo-drama, The Eddystone Elf. (Mark Traverson, a retired merchant).

([[North Lincoln Sphinx[[, Vol 1, No 14, Keiskama Hoek, December 10, 1862, page 270.)

October 8, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band’s production of H. Danvers' one-act interlude, The Conjugal Lesson. (Mr Simon Lullaby).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, No 14, Keiskama Hoek, December 10, 1862, page 270.)

October 8, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band’s production of Edward Ball’s' two-act “melo-drama”, The Floating Beacon or Norwegian Wreckers. (Angerstoff, Captain of the Beacon).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, No 14, Keiskama Hoek, December 10, 1862, page 270.)

November 12, 1862: Acted in the Amateurs of the Band production of John Baldwin Buckstone's two-act domestic melo-drama, Luke The Labourer. The play is set in a village in Yorkshire. (Wakefield, a decayed farmer).

(North Lincoln Sphinx, Vol 1, No 14, Keiskama Hoek, December 10, 1862, page 271.)