Toastmaster London
I was doing a little reading the other day about some of the original toastmasters in London. A name that cropped up several times was William Knightsmith. Having developed from the original Master Of Ceremonies role at the beginning of the twentieth century, the attire worn by a toastmaster was scaled back somewhat from the more flamboyant clothing of the Masters, to the point where a black coat became the standard. Indeed the Master Of Ceremony would originally have wielded a large staff, whereas the modern toastmaster became associated with the more toned down wooden gavel and block.

Anyway, going back to our London toastmaster, William Knightsmith grew tired of being addressed as a waiter, the confusion arising from the lack of distinction in the black coated uniform worn by both the toastmaster and the waiting staff. Upon his wife's suggestion Knightsmith decided to wear a different colour coat, and immediately had one tailor-made to match the exact style of the traditional coat, but in red. As you might expect the initial reaction to this change was one of derision and resistance, even The Prince Of Wales thought that "Pink should not be seen at dinner". Nonetheless it was later accepted and would become the norm.

As a final interesting point about the red colour worn by toastmasters (it is also the colour worn by and associated with huntsmen), you will no doubt have noticed that earlier in this article that the colour is referred to as "pink" and not red. This is simply attributed to the original tailor who first made the jackets, Mr Pink!

I would never expect to have a career as illustrious as William Knightsmith, as he served three generations of monarchs, and it took him to various countries of Europe and North America. I prefer to offer my toastmaster services throughout London, Cambridge, Kent, Essex, East Anglia and Surrey.

Wedding Toastmaster
Master of Ceremonies
Toastmaster London
Toastmaster Essex
Toastmaster Kent