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73:. He was one of five children born to John Collins, an agricultural labourer of Irish descent. Patrick attended St. Werburgh Catholic School in Chester but left at the age of ten to go travelling with his family. He was married twice, first to Flora Ross in 1880 (she died in 1933) and then to Clara Mullett, his secretary, in 1934 (she survived him). Flora gave him a son, Patrick Ross Collins (born 7 March 1886), who continued the family business. Pat Collins, Ltd. was created in 1899, when Collins had established a round of fairs in the
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61:, both in travelling shows and in cinemas. At one point, he was running four separate fairs a week and owned thirteen cinemas and several skating rinks.
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industry; in fact, the "Pat
Collins Funfairs" company still bears his name. He was also an early presenter of
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Councillor in 1918, an
Alderman in 1930, and Mayor of Walsall in 1938. In 1939 he was made a
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in
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based on traditional holidays or 'Wakes' from August to
October.
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53:(1938), but he is chiefly remembered for his involvement in the
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Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography retrieved 21-09-2008
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Patrick
Collins died at his home, Lime Tree House, in
100:of the Borough of Walsall. He also won a place as
340:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
69:Collins was born 12 May 1859 at a fairground in
355:Mayors of places in the West Midlands (county)
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260:contributions in Parliament by Pat Collins
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37:(12 May 1859 – 9 December 1943) was a
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80:He served as the president of the
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370:Burials in West Midlands (region)
269:Parliament of the United Kingdom
82:Showmen's Guild of Great Britain
84:from 1920 to 1929. Residing in
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243:Pat Collins "King of Showmen"
115:, retaining his seat in the
315:National Fairground Archive
218:The Times, 7 August 1939 p7
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360:Politics of Staffordshire
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206:25 September 2008 at the
30:Memorial clock in Walsall
191:All the fun of the fair
241:www.funofthefair.co.uk
229:"The Story of Walsall"
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187:17 April 2009 at the
121:1924 general election
119:but losing it in the
113:1922 General Election
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365:People from Bloxwich
285:Member of Parliament
22:Pat Collins in 1921
278:Sir Richard Cooper
90:borough of Walsall
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302:Succeeded by
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350:UK MPs 1923–1924
345:UK MPs 1922–1923
275:Preceded by
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59:moving pictures
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335:1943 deaths
330:1859 births
258:1803–2005:
169:Who was Who
55:fairgrounds
324:Categories
171:, OUP 2007
142:References
129:W. Preston
204:Archived
185:Archived
136:Bloxwich
86:Bloxwich
289:Walsall
255:Hansard
111:in the
109:Walsall
102:Liberal
98:Freeman
94:Liberal
88:in the
71:Chester
51:Walsall
43:Walsall
41:MP for
39:Liberal
123:to a
47:Mayor
298:1924
294:1922
287:for
107:for
65:Life
49:of
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150:^
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127:,
105:MP
296:–
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180:*
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