KGA To HSJ No. 18

KGA To HSJ No. 13

Kenneth George Allsop met Harry Simon Johnson in 1943 whilst they were both serving in Burma during the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. Surviving under canvas bashers through the relentless monsoons, the two were united through their shared passion for jazz music. Their platoon had a battered old gramophone on which they would tirelessly play their extremely limited collection of records at any given opportunity, a priceless boost of morale in the squalid conditions. Harry and Ken returned to England in 1944, the former residing in Birmingham and the latter in Nottingham. The pair found their communication limited to mail as they were only very rarely able to meet. They began making cassette tapes for one another, on which they would record their favourite 78s and talk the other through the music being played, as if presenting a radio show. Ken and Harry sent hundreds of tapes to one another, each numbered and catalogued with an entire track list accompanying every cassette. This method of communication continued religiously until the 2nd of May 2001 when Ken passed away. This profile is dedicated to publishing these tapes, allowing Ken and Harry's music to live on.