Jeff Wise (1906-1979)

Jeff – his real name Joseph –  Wise was the son and grandson of South Kyme blacksmiths.

He was second youngest of a family of four daughters and three sons.

He married Vera May Morley at Grantham in 1947 and the couple lived at Belton Avenue.

Jeff came to Grantham and opened his first dance studio in the New Somerby Institute (St Anne’s Hall) on Harrowby Road.

He then bought the old Foresters Hall, George Street, in the late 1940s and turned into Jeff’s Academy of Dance – locally known as Jeff’s Club.

He and his staff gave lessons during the day and ran a popular dance hall in the evenings.

The ballroom had a sprung floor and for many years, dancers learned to the sounds of the Mainstreamers with Lettie Smith on piano, Nobby Clarke on drums and Les Davey on saxophone.

It was strictly ballroom. Jeff would go berserk and stop the band if anyone began jiving or twisting.

Compiled with the assistance of Peter Reichelt