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Refugee leads ‘first class orchestra’

Posted in Articles on 01 Mar 2022

Monsieur Pierre Dechaine, a Belgian refugee from the First World War, was a talented violinist who in 1922 found himself directing the orchestra of the Central Picture Playhouse in Friar Street, Reading. The cinema had opened in March of the previous year, accommodating an audience of 1400.

As we can see from the Reading Standard, 10th June 1922 (reproduced with kind permission of Reading Library); it boasted a café next door – ‘Reading’s Popular Rendezvous’. It must have been an exciting new venue to watch the silent movies of the day. Orchestras, pianists and organists were an essential part of the viewing experience during the silent era, enhancing the narrative and adding emotion to a story.

Pierre Dechaine directed the orchestra when films showing included Peacock Alley, The Cheater Reformed and the Love Light, featuring one of the great stars of the silent era, Mary Pickford.

A recent enquiry to the BRO about Pierre’s time in Reading led to this discovery. We found a number of articles and advertisements in the British Newspaper Archive online.

Our enquirers knew that Pierre was a refugee and violinist who had lived in Brighton and Reading, but nothing of his job at the Playhouse. In 1916 the Reading Mercury newspaper describes him as a gold medalist of the Liege Conservatoire, which has provided more leads on his little known life in Belgium prior to him becoming a refugee.

This photograph, c.1920, is believed to be of the Rosary Orchestra, which played in venues around Brighton. Pierre Dechaine is in the centre, wearing glasses (reproduced with kind permission of Steve Mace).

Our enquirers have subsequently engaged the services of a Belgian genealogist who is finding out more about Pierre’s musical training and background.

But, what of his life in Reading? We know from newspaper articles that Pierre was in the town between 1916 and 1922. It appears that he moved between Reading and Brighton during this period – somewhat typical for a musician. 

Not only did Pierre direct the orchestra at the Central, in 1916 he had been 1st violinist at the Grand cinema in Broad Street which we can see here from the Reading Mercury, 3rd June 1916 (reproduced with kind permission of Reading Library). 


Pierre must have been well known within the musical community of Reading, as he performed at numerous concerts over this period, including at a Christmas fete for Belgian children as seen in the Reading Mercury, 8th January 1916 (reproduced with kind permission of Reading Library).

Whilst living in Reading, Pierre’s wife Josephine (also a Belgian refugee) contracted influenza and died on 23rd January 1919, aged just 25. She is buried in London Road Cemetery and has no gravestone. Pierre re-married not long after in Brighton. A couple of years after, he was back in the town directing the orchestra at the Central Picture Playhouse and performing at various concerts. He died in Brighton in 1938, at the age of 46.

Britain was home to 250,000 Belgian refugees during World War One. The majority of these returned home when the war was over, but some, like Pierre, remained. You can find our more about this subject in this online article.

Do you have an ancestor who was a refugee? Or perhaps a musician? Newspapers offer a window into the world of all kinds of people who are not always represented in other sources. We have free access to the British Newspaper Archive online here, so why not see what you can discover? You can find out how to make a visit on our website.