Sir Harry Lauder

SIR Harry Lauder was born in Portobello near Edinburgh. He started his career as a comedian on the music hall stage, but made a name for himself as a singer of Scottish songs, many of which he composed himself, including Roamin' in the Gloamin.

In 1919 he was knighted for his work entertaining troops during the First World War.

His appeal was not confined to Scottish audiences as some of Lauder's biggest successes were on the London stages and music halls and his popularity abroad was immense, especially in the USA and Commonwealth countries where he toured annually after 1907. Roamin' in the Gloamin (1928) was the best-known volume of his memoirs.