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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Albert Chevalier
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(1861–1923) Actor who became a star of the *music hall, singing sentimental *cockney songs. My old Dutch is addressed to the 'dear good old gal' he has been married to for forty years; 'duchess', abbreviated to Dutch, was *rhyming slang for 'wife' (from the duchess of Fife, daughter of Edward VII), but Chevalier always maintained that he called his wife this because her face reminded him of an old Dutch clock. This song, like many of his best (including Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road), was written by himself with music by his brother-in-law, Charles Ingle.
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