Harold Fraser-Simson

Fraser-Simson[1] was born in London, the second child and eldest son of an East Indies merchant, Arthur Theodore Simson and his wife, Jane Anne Catherine née Fraser, of Reelig, Scotland.

As a young man he joined a ship-owning firm in London before turning to music as a full-time occupation in his early forties.

[5] Fraser-Simson's biggest success was the score for the operetta The Maid of the Mountains, which played at Daly's Theatre in London in 1917 and finally closed after 1,352 performances.

Music or scenes from all of these have been included as background in many films set in this period, and they remain intensely evocative of the "Great War" years.

[8] After The Maid of the Mountains, Fraser-Simson wrote music for more operettas and musicals, including A Southern Maid (premiered in Manchester in 1917 and produced at Daly's in London after Maid closed in 1920); Our Peg (1919, with a libretto by Harry Graham and Edward Knoblock at Prince's Theatre); Missy Jo (1921 touring); Head over Heels (Adelphi Theatre, 1923); Our Nell (1924, Lyric Theatre – a rewrite of Our Peg replacing Peg Woffington as principal character with Nell Gwynne), The Street Singer, based on the 1912 film of the same name (1924, 360 performances at the Lyric, starring Phyllis Dare); and Betty in Mayfair (1925, Adelphi Theatre).

Fraser-Simson published six volumes of songs setting verses from Milne's When We Were Very Young, including "Christopher Robin Is Saying His Prayers".