Comment: Bruce Bairnsfather was the artist who produced the original WW I cartoon after which the restaurant was named. He also was the playwright for the original play of the adventures of Old Bill and his friends, Bert and Alf, in the trenches of the first World War. The play had different versions; in 1917, a successful musical based on the character Old Bill, "The Better 'Ole," opened in London at the Oxford Music Hall, where it ran for over 800 performances, starring Arthur Bourchier as Old Bill. In 1918-1919, it ran successfully in New York City at several different theaters, where Charles Coburn starred as Old Bill. It was made into a 1919 silent film and a 1926 Warner Brothers sound film, the 1926 version staring Syd Chaplin, Harold Goodwin, Jack Ackroyd, Edgar Kennedy, and Charles K. Gerrard. The 1926 version has been restored and is available on DVD.

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Comment: The Better 'Ole Restaurant was said to have been in operation since shortly after WWI. This picture likely shows the original restaurant.

Source identified by Ken Spooner.

The Library of Congress photograph is from the Wittemann Brothers Collection. Mr. Herman L. Wittemann's Brooklyn-based company, later known as the Albertype Company, produced over 25,000 photoprints which were used in postcard and souvenir booklets from about 1890 to 1952.

Comment: Interior view from a post card, labeled "Drawing Room Better 'Ole Tea Porch"

Comment: From a Post Card. Labeled "Better 'Ole Tea Porch."

Comment: The Better 'Ole Restaurant was long identified by a large sign by the adjacent railroad tracks clearly visible to the railroad passengers. I would very much like to obtain a picture which shows this sign.

Original post Card was in color. However, reds have so faded that image renders better in grayscale.

Comment: From the Bellport High School yearbook, 1956

Comment: Interior of the Better 'Ole, said to be the early 1950s.

Comment: The red 2-story wood frame section seen in this photograph may have been the original structure. It is located at the east end of the present restaurent complex, and appears as if it could have been a residence. There appears to have been a structure at this location in 1903 as indicated on the USGS map. 19th century census records and maps suggest that it may have been the residence of Joshua Carman.