A new archive of music memorabilia at Kingston University

A new archive housed at Kingston University, will preserve a slice of musical showbusiness memories. The collection documents seven decades of musical showbusiness history, and details the work behind musicals that have graced the silver screen, Broadway and the West End by the late musical composer and Ivor Novello award-winner David Heneker, who died in 2001.

Mr Heneker wrote songs for some of the longest-running musical comedies to be shown on the London stage after the war, and was the first British writer to have two shows on Broadway running for more than 500 performances. 

He was best known for his musical, Half a Sixpence, which was the last West End show to transfer to New York before Andrew Lloyd Webber's shows in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

Check out some of the photographs and memorabilia from the collection here!