He was intimate with Southey, who spoke of his knowledge of the Middle Ages as marvellous, and he was in close correspondence with Lingard, the historian, who was godfather to one of his sons.
Alice Dunning Lingard (July 29, 1847 - June 25, 1897) was an English actress who performed both in England and in the United States, and was the wife of mimic and comic William Lingard.
As a musician and orchestra leader, Pratt worked with artists including Emma Abbott (serving as her manager for a time), Emma Thursby, Anna Bishop, Robert Heller, Alice Dunning Lingard, Ema Pukšec (Ilma de Murska), and Clara Louise Kellogg.
In 1886 major additions were made by Richard Lingard Monk in Accrington brick; these were in Jacobean style.
Lingard also authored the very popular Catholic hymn to the Virgin Mary titled Hail Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star.
Wilder's nemesis in the boardroom was David Corbett (Alan Dobie), though he was supported by his long-suffering wife Pamela (Barbara Murray, with Ann Firbank standing in for a few episodes when Murray was unavailable), his Sales Director and confidant Don Henderson (Jack Watling) and ever-reliable secretary Miss Lingard (Norma Ronald).
Lingard is chiefly remembered for the well-known vaudeville song, "Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines", sometimes shortened to simply "Captain Jinks."