When I came to Lutterworth I joined the Choral Society looking forward to singing. I had had ten years as conductor at Wigston and I came for a rest. However, after only one year Harry Hyman moved to Leicester and I was invited to take over the baton. I passed it on some 27 years later.

They were indeed happy years. My aim was that the singers should enjoy themselves, have the opportunity of tackling works new to them and the pleasure of performing with first-class soloists. I hoped that the audience would also enjoy the music. So we moved through The Rebel Maid and Tom Jones to The Creation, Hiawatha and with a deep breath to Rossini’s Stabat Mater. I stuck with the English version with its inept words but to my delight there came the request from some members that we do the Latin original, which we performed just four years later. Nowadays the choir takes for granted that we use the Latin text, be it the Gloria, Te Deum or the Requiem.

I always hoped for a membership of sixty and some years later we hit the target. It remains much the same, except that we have a larger proportion from the wider district. We have always had comings and goings as people move in and out of the area, but we keep a core of regular members and I was grateful for their loyalty.

I pay tribute especially to the succession of officers of the society who did the organising and left the musical direction to me. I thank those who gave their services as practice accompanists and deputy conductors, mentioning only one by name – Peter Ward who took over the baton so ably for the year 1976/77 when I was sidelined.