A violinist lost amid a turbulent love life

The indefatigable Elbie Lebrecht has come across this tombstone with an unusual violin relief in Willesden Jewish Cemetery. It is the final resting place of the once-famous Albert Sandler, who died aged 42 in August 1948.

The reported causes of death were liver failure and domestic turbulence.

Here’s a sample of his life story:

He and his wife Raymonde were married in 1924, and their first and only child, a daughter named Mona, was born in 1931. However, the marriage dissolved in scandalous fashion in 1935, when Albert sued Raymonde for divorce on the grounds of adultery. Her partner in the affair was Clarence Johnstone, a black singer who formed half of the hugely popular vaudeville act Layton and Johnstone. The judge in the case urged the jury to “get out of their heads any idea of vindictiveness because of colour, and consider [Raymonde’s] value as a wife and mother, and whether any provision should be made for the care of the child.” Court deliberations were prolonged and covered in detail in The Times and other prominent newspapers, where it was revealed that Raymonde and Johnstone had continued their affair after Mona’s birth, despite Johnstone’s having written Albert a letter with his “word of honour” to stop associating with Raymonde after she became pregnant. The decision was ultimately in Albert’s favour, with the judge awarding him not only the divorce, but custody of Mona and £2,500 in damages. Perhaps in part due to ongoing public speculation into his personal affairs, Sandler also broke off a subsequent engagement to a London gown shop model named Edith Bronstein;…

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