Gerald David Burton BA, MSc (Econ)
1944–2008 Co-founder of the St Hugh Singers
Gerald died peacefully – at his home, as he wanted – of lung cancer at around seven o’clock on the
morning of 26 August. He had been ill for several months.
Many have written in tribute to Gerald, and this webpage of the St Hugh Singers – (which he
and I jointly founded) provides a medium in which those tributes can be given a wider coverage.
Also on this page can be found the full text of his memorial service on 10 November.
Gerald and I first met 40 years ago, and were close friends for most of them. He was best man at both
my weddings and, quite apart from our deep interest in church music, we shared both a somewhat
whimsical sense of humour and a near obsession with spotting typographical errors, which we would
with glee relay to each other over our mobile phones. I will miss that – and him.
Robin
We were so saddened with your news
of Gerald’s death – more particularly
because we did not know he was ill.
My connection with him is really as a
fellow tenor with the London Chorale,
which Mary and I joined in 1977, and
were members for about 10 years We
moved back to Scotland in 1990 but
kept in touch with old friends –
Gerald visited us about 14 years ago,
for a long weekend, and had ‘a go’ on
Dunblane Cathedral’s new Flentrop
organ (I was a member of the choir
then).
We saw him several times in Wells
when the Dunblane choir did a week’s
summer services stint there a few
years ago. He would also phone me
from time to time with a civil
engineering terminology translation
query. He spoke often over the years,
with affection, about your St Hugh
Singers. So – a sad passing of a great
chap.
Bill & Mary Craig
Gerald at the Dunblane Cathedral ‘Flentrop’
1
On the Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond
Gerald, Bill and Bach
The earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains,
Except the Highland piers and lochs –
For they are all MacBrayne’s.
Anon. – but compare Church Hymnary #73
(metrical version of Psalm 24)
Gerald
Gerald was a gentleman and will be
greatly missed by all St Hugh Singers.
Alison Hodkinson
Gerald and I joined the choir of St Mary’s
Lowgate Hull in 1950, and were together
members of choir and altar guild until the
early ’60s. All good wishes for the future
of the St Hugh Singers.
Arthur Ireland
Jill, and I were very close friends of
Gerald for many years from the time he
arrived in Wells until our moving to Sark
in 2001. We shared the driving duties to
the pub for a late evening drink most days,
and we had his company at many social
events surrounding our lives in Wells and
the Cathedral. It was a greatly valued
friendship.
Brian Garrard
Josie and I were very saddened to learn of
Gerald’s untimely death, although it was
anticipated and must have been a blessed relief.
Speaking as one tenor of another, my abiding
memory is of how he would permanently monitor
all that was going in the tenor line and be ready
with firm by gentle advice. I suspect this service
spilled over into other parts as well from time to
time!
Amongst all his musical activities, he was a
member of the Grove Singers in High Wycombe
and once engineered an invitation for us to join
them in a tour of N Italy. We were privileged to
sing High Mass in St Mark’s Venice on the
occasion and the memory of that day will always
live with us.
Brian Tomlin
The funeral service was beautiful – very clear,
very simple, and it was great to hear Chewton
Mendip filled with the sound of those rousing
hymns from a congregation which knew how to
sing!
Christopher Booker
(parishioner of Litton where Gerald played)
Last weekend we were with the Grove Singers,
which is a group formed out of the remnants of
London Chorale plus some new people. A number
of us there who had sung with Gerald in London
Chorale before he went to Wells, and so there was
much talk about him. I organised a card from all
of us, though sadly it won’t have reached him in
time.
Elizabeth Arndt
2
http://www.communitypartners.co.uk/ferry_calmac.html
We have very fond memories of our times spent
in Gerald’s company. He was a lovely gentle man
and had a great sense of humour. I am writing to
tell you also that last week we sent a card to
Gerald and enclosed a photo of him that I took in
Gibralter on 1998 The picture is of Gerald dressed
as an Arab in a towelling dressing gown etc. and
he looked really good and very funny.
Ellen and Robin Horton
It was a privilege to have known Gerald and his
fantastically dry sense of humour, not to mention
his musical talent and frighteningly good general
knowledge.
Fiona Care
It was interesting to read about you and Gerald
founding the choir. A few years ago we very
much enjoyed Gerald’s visit to Wellington. He
persuaded me to go and watch the cricket Test
between NZ and England. I enjoyed every minute.
Richard Acey
I too send my sympathies to Gerald’s family and
friends. The service sounds comforting and
entirely appropriate. I hope those present found it
so.
Helen Perkins
There once was a tenor named Gerald:
He hymned, he psalmed, he carolled.
He called us together:
‘Sing Hell for leather,
St Hugh Singers will never be equalled!’
Sent to Gerald 23 July 2008
Jackie Etheridge
I spent a couple of hours with Gerald just before
leaving for the USA on business early in August,
and we laughed and chatted together about our
genealogy adventures in past years. With best
wishes and happy memories of a fine gentleman
Martin Ladd (cousin)
He was a delightful man and we always enjoyed
meeting him and chatting. He was a mine of
information and he sang so beautifully too.
Jenny and Geoff Mason
Woman: Our Dennis is off school with diarrhoea,
which is all down our street.
Gerald
Jenny and I are both very sad to hear of Gerald’s
death. He was an inspiration to us and, I expect, to
many other people both in and outside the St
Hugh Singers.
David Billam
We knew Gerald very well through our
membership of the London Chorale for many
years. We shared many happy hours with Gerald
in rehearsal, concerts and on tours overseas. We
were able to meet up with Gerald here in Sydney,
Australia on a couple of occasions. We mourn the
loss of someone who contributed a rich
individuality to our lives.
Jo and John Fauvet
He will be sorely missed, the end of an era in
some ways. He was a gentle, humorous, talented,
humble man and I am pleased to have known him.
Judy Craig Peck
Although I didn’t know him so well as many
others in the St Hugh Singers, I enjoyed very
much the weekends that I attended, and they were
greatly enriched by having Gerald present – for
his musical talents, his lovely personality, and
Christian faith, which shone through.
Karen Gedd
Although Helen & I have been very peripheral to
St Hugh over recent years, our memories of
Gerald have all been happy ones. That must say
something about a person.
Stephen & Helen Earwicker
3
Just got the sad news about
Gerald, we spent last Christmas
together.
Jorge Daniel Valencia
Although I am a fairly new choir member, I am
extremely grateful to the St Hugh Singers,
particularly the founder members, for enabling me
to partake in the spiritually uplifting experience of
sharing religious music in such historic and
beautiful settings.
Anne Wilkening
Gerald was a sort of cousin of mine. It is all the
saddest thing since I only really discovered him
properly last year at the Cousins’ Reunion at
Wells. He so generously let me stay at Vicars’
Close and there was so much I wanted ask him
about musically. I too have an obsession with
church/choral music and more particularly
renaissance consort stuff – of which in the
‘Colonies’ of course we know nothing!
Gerald seems to have had a very singular attitude
to life, I guess some might say eccentric, but
endearingly so.
Polly Barnes
When we were boys, I became aware of his
tenacity and attention to detail when I asked him
why he was reading a dictionary (He had got to
the letter P). ‘I’m trying to increase my
vocabulary’, he explained. I expect he did exactly
that.
Rob Barnes
Gerald kept his humour to the end and is probably
cracking jokes from his book to St Peter who is no
doubt laughing as we all did.
Geoff and Sally Walker
Whosoever looketh on a plate of bacon and eggs
to lust after it hath committed breakfast with it
already in his heart.
Gerald
I did visit Gerald a couple of times after he’d
returned home the week before. I was singing in
Wells for the week and he gave me such a warm
welcome. He was so interested in what we were
singing and when I told him about the huge
visiting American choir who took over on our day
off, he had some very witty (and dare I say
accurate) observations to make!
Sheena Wilkins
I’m really sorry to hear about Gerald. He was a
lovely man.
Shelagh Carter
I am very sorry about Gerald’s illness and death.
What a loss.
Kerry Beaumont
4
I met Gerald in London, in a choir we both sang
in, probably about twenty years ago. I was just
starting out as a translator, working from Dutch
into English.
Gerald was already a seasoned translator at that
time, and he invited me to his office, where he
gave me a great deal of invaluable advice. I also
caught a glimpse of him at work and I remember
being astounded at the speed with which he could
produce a text: the translation would fly onto the
page as if by magic. He immediately – and with
characteristic generosity – offered me some work:
he was in the middle of translating a book on
Indonesian cookery and was happy to share the
job (years later he said that it had been one of the
few jobs that had caused him nightmares, as he
worried that he might have got the quantities of
chilli powder wrong...).
Over the years we became friends and colleagues;
we worked for some of the same clients and
would occasionally share translation assignments.
When Gerald moved to Wells, we stayed in
contact and continued to collaborate from time to
time. Gerald was the best translator I ever met,
and I picked his brain far more often than he
picked mine. He was always cheerful and chatty
on the phone, always made time for my queries
and was simply a mine of information on the most
unlikely topics.
After I moved to Holland, Gerald visited me on
several occasions. The last time I saw him he
complained of being very tired. But I never
thought I wouldn’t see him again.
I will miss his friendship, his good humour and
his expertise.
Judith Wilkinson
While I hardly knew Gerald, having only recently
sung with the St Hugh Singers, I could tell the
affection in which he was held, and I benefitted
(and hope to continue to benefit) from the fact that
the two of you founded St Hugh.
Stuart White
I’ll always remember him as a very professional
translator and nice person to co-operate with.
Rikki Holtmaat
... a delight to have known Gerald – such a kind
and funny man, apart fom his obvious attribtutes
as very useful tenor. People like him really enrich
other people’s lives.
Rona Liggitt
Gerald is very much missed by his friends at The
Ploughboy Inn, Green Ore, in Somerset. He was a
founder member of the Green Ore Independent
Traders Society, known to the cognoscenti as the
GITS, and as such contributed to many late hours
in the Ploughboy, setting the world and, in
particular, the Government, to rights with much
humour and good banter. We shared his interest in
Telegraph howlers and indeed those of other
organs of the press. His keen appreciation of his
local hostelry and its fine beers was exemplary,
particularly when he was able to reach the top of
Mendip with a heavy fall of snow being
deposited, whilst lesser mortals found it
impossible to leave their homes in the rain on the
Levels below. On one occasion he honoured us
with some splendid singing in the bar, which all
appreciated.
He is missed and not forgotten.
Bryn Davies
He drank so prodigiously that not only were his
sorrows drowned; his joys didn’t stand an earthly
either.
Gerald
I first knew him years ago when he and I shared
the same singing teacher (Richard Austen) and for
a time we used Gerald’s studio in London for
lessons. I met him again when I joined the ECS.
He was always great fun – and a great singer! He
will be missed by many.
Judith Dunworth
Although I did not know Gerald well, having
come to the St Hugh Singers fairly recently, I
always enjoyed conversations with him and am
glad to have known him.
Jane Warren
5
http://www.ploughboyinn.com/http://www.ploughboyinn.com/
While I’ve not seen Gerald since leaving
England in 2001, he is still very much a close,
dear friend and now especially close in our
hearts with your sad news.
While living next door to Gerald in Vicars’
Close, he and I spent many evening hours over a
game of scrabble or, occasionally, chess. At this
time, I had suffered from a small stroke. I credit
much of my recovery to Gerald’s sharp
gamesmanship! While I was no match for him in
chess, we did share victories in Scrabble.
The photo above was taken at our house in late
2000, shortly before Donna and I left the Close.
We had invited choir members and their
significant others over to our place for a massive
Scrabble game. This was taken toward the end
of the game – you can tell by the look on
Gerald’s face that Gerald and his partner were
comfortably in the lead.
Sundays were always a contest to see who could
solve the Daily Telegraph puzzle before the
other could, such was my time spent during the
sermons!
We were close confidants and were able to share
our frustrations living on the Close. Of all the
people I came to know while living in England,
it was Gerald to whom I was most drawn. He
was trustworthy to the core and had a purity of
heart that made me feel very much at ease
whenever I was present with him.
Christian Van Dyck
I am so sorry to hear of Gerald’s passing away. We
knew each other well during our London years. We
collaborated on Dutch translations and became
good friends. Gerald used to come to my house in
Leytonstone for games of chess and we often met
for lunch near his printing business in Homer Row.
Occasionally I attended one of Gerald’s choral
performances and much admired his marvellous
voice.
He was a lovely man and I strongly recall his
dimpled smile. Many a time have I thought back to
those days of quiet friendship and I will continue to
do so.
Tony Akkermans
During the almost 30 years I knew Gerald he never
changed. Nothing seemed to faze him and he never
lost his sense of humour even during his final
illness. A talented musician he will be greatly
missed in musical circles and especially by the St
Hugh Singers. Always ready to do a good turn for
anyone, Gerald was one of those people of whom it
could be said the world was a better place for the
contribution he made to it.
Hilary Spurgeon
He was a lovely gentle and kind man, and I endorse
all the tributes which have been made to him.
I have such happy and very proud memories of
belonging to St Hugh. It has been a privilege to
have been associated with the chor, and the music
and friendship have been a huge influence on my
life.
Clare Harris
6
Those of you who visited Gerald in his earlier
first-floor flat in Vicars’ Close may remember
the penguin beaming benevolently from his
sitting room-window onto those passing in the
street below. (I have often wondered what
overseas tourists made of this.) Over the years
Penguin acquired a friend, and I am happy to
report that, before he died, Gerald entrusted
them to the care of my daughter Bethan. Here
they are, basking in the non-arctic sunshine by
my garden pond.
Robin
My girls remember him as the ‘penguin man’.
Frikki Walker
Debbie and I have known Gerald since he
arrived as a Lay Clerk in Wells in the mid 80s
(where Chris was a virger), and were among
those privileged to help him celebrate his
birthday in his early days at Wells, when we
clubbed together to sponsor a penguin for him
at the Cotswold Wildlife Park!
He sang in the cathedral choir for our wedding
in the cathedral in February 1989, and we
remember singing Compline in the Close
Chapel on Friday evenings with him and his
then colleagues, before adjourning to The
Fountain for some sustenance! Gerald was a
unique person and one of the nicest we have
known. We have always had a soft spot for
him.
Chris Crooks
Gerald and Ceridwen
Gerald and Bethan, now guardian of the penguins
7
We are saddened to think that Gerald will no
longer be a part of our choral activities and choir
tours. He was a dear friend and musical colleague
for almost 35 years, from the time he first joined
the London Chorale in the 1970s when I was
Musical Director.
On our return from living and working in
Australia, and establishing the English Concert
Singers, Gerald would often help out by
performing as a soloist or as a valued member of
the tenor section of the ECS. He also assisted as a
singer in a number of choral workshops and
summer schools of the British Choral Institute.
He was a true friend, and nothing appeared to be
too much trouble if he agreed to do something for
you. I remember particularly when he had a
printing business in London and he agreed to
compile and print an extensive Souvenir
Programme of a Festival of Scandinavian Music I
was directing at that time. I was so impressed with
the meticulous care he took to ensure that the
spelling and correct accents were given to the
many unusual names of the Swedish, Norwegian,
Danish and Finnish composers and the titles of
their works represented in the Festival.
We not only valued his fine musical contribution
to our choral activities but also appreciated his
clever and dry sense of humour. He clearly
enjoyed the social side of choir tours and events,
and we remember with joy his witty participation
in numerous choir cabarets; in particular, his
performance at Chris’s 60th birthday dinner at
LSO St Luke’s in London was a highlight.
Like his friends and musical colleagues, we will
greatly miss Gerald’s contribution to our lives and
our music making, but so many happy memories
will linger on!
Roy and Chris Wales
Let me relate an image I have of Gerald. His sad and early
death has bought this to the front of my mind.
One Saturday evening on a St Hugh Weekend, Gerald
sang to us at least some of RVW’s setting of the Songs Of
Travel. I am particularly fond of them and find the words
of Robert Louis Stevenson so evocative. I will treasure
that image as I recall the words and remember Gerald,
who I found to be a fun, kind, articulate and generous
person – a description which falls well short of the real
man.
BRIGHT is the ring of words
When the right man rings them,
Fair the fall of songs
When the singer sings them.
Still they are carolled and said –
On wings they are carried –
After the singer is dead
And the maker buried.
Low as the singer lies
In the field of heather,
Songs of his fashion bring
The swains together.
And when the west is red
With the sunset embers,
The lover lingers and sings
And the maid remembers.
We shall miss him.
Sally Walker
8
The Cathedral Church of St Andrew in Wells
Service of Thanksgiving
for the life of
Gerald David Burton 1944–2008
Monday 10 November 2008
2.00 p.m.
Welcome
The Chancellor
Hymn
Angel-voices ever singing
round thy throne of light,
angel-harps for ever ringing,
rest not day nor night;
thousands only live to bless thee
and confess thee
Lord of might.
Thou who art beyond the farthest
mortal eye can scan,
can it be that thou regardest
songs of sinful man?
can we know that thou art near us,
and wilt hear us?
yea, we can.
For we know that thou rejoicest
o’er each work of thine;
thou didst ears and hands and voices
for thy praise design;
craftsman’s art and music’s measure
for thy pleasure
all combine.
In thy house, great God, we offer
of thine own to thee;
and for thine acceptance proffer
all unworthily
hearts and minds and hands and voices
in our choicest
psalmody.
Honour, glory, might and merit
thine shall ever be,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
blessèd Trinity.
of the best which thou hast given
earth and heaven
render thee.
Introduction
The Chancellor
We meet in the name of Jesus Christ, who died and
was raised to the glory of God the Father. Grace and
mercy be with you.
All And also with you.
Father in heaven, we praise your name for all who
have finished this life loving and trusting you, for the
example of their lives, the life and grace you gave
them, and the peace in which they rest. We praise you
today for your servant Gerald and for all that you did
through him. Meet us in our sadness and fill our
hearts with praise and thanksgiving, for the sake of
our risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
All Amen.
9
Anthem
Great Lord of Lords, supreme immortal King,
O give us grace to sing
Thy praise, which makes earth, air, and heaven
to ring.
O Word of God, from ages unbegun,
The Father’s only Son,
With Him in power, in substance, Thou art one.
O Holy Ghost, Whose care doth all embrace,
Thy watch is o’er our race,
Thou Source of Life, Thou Spring of
peace and grace.
One living Trinity, One unseen Light,
All, all is Thine, Thy light
Beholds alike the bounds of depth and height. Amen.
Text: H.R. Bramley 1833–1917
Music: Charles Wood 1866–1926
New Testament Reading Colossians 3: 12–17
Dr Anthony Crossland
former Cathedral Organist & Master of the Choristers
Hymn
Now thank we all our God,
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things hath done,
in whom his world rejoices;
who from our mother’s arms
hath blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts
and blessèd peace to cheer us and
keep us in his grace,
and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills
in this world and the next.
All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given,
the Son, and him who reigns
with them in highest heaven,
the One eternal God,
whom earth and heaven adore;
for thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore. Amen.
Tribute Dr Robin Rees
THE Line to heaven by Christ was made, With heavenly truth the Rails are laid;
From Earth to Heaven the Line extends
To Life Eternal where it ends.
So begins The Spiritual Railway, an epitaph in the
south porch of Ely Cathedral. Yes, life is sometimes
likened to a journey, but let me tell you instead of
some events that took place around train journeys that
Gerald and I made together in the course of our 40-
year friendship.
We first met on Ealing Broadway station one autumn
morning in 1968. The fact that we spoke to each other
at all is highly unusual for commuters, but, even more
remarkably, we discovered we were both students at
London University’s Bedford College. During that
first journey, through Paddington and on to Baker
Street, it became clear that there was another link
between us, one that was to prove decisive: we shared
a deep interest in church music.
Having attended a summer course run by the Royal
School of Church Music at Lincoln Cathedral, I
thought that this was something that Gerald might
well enjoy, so in 1975 he came too. During the
week’s course we had the privilege of singing the
services in the cathedral. The fact that the sopranos
and altos were all teenage girls was, I have to say, not
entirely a disincentive either. Gerald and I attended
the Lincoln course for about ten years, and each year
we would meet at King’s Cross station before taking
wine with our three-course lunch on the journey
north. One year, on our return to King’s Cross,
Gerald, I and a large number of the girls sang on the
platform – symbolically and very loudly – the
Dismissal from the Rose Responses. In 1979, Gerald
and I founded a group which meets for one or two
weekends a year to deputise for cathedral choirs.
Since most of its founding members had attended the
Lincoln course, we called the group The St Hugh
Singers in honour of St Hugh of Lincoln.
10
http://www.lincolncathedral.com/
Over the years, the group has sung in 34 cathedrals,
and celebrates its 30th anniversary at York next year.
A month or so before each weekend we would travel,
usually by train, to visit a member of the cathedral
clergy, and discuss every conceivable detail of each
service, so as to avoid our being caught out by some
subtle local variation during the actual service. Each
cathedral assumed it was self-evident that there was
only one valid interpretation of the rubric – theirs.
This of course was rarely the case, and our
questioning sometimes had to verge on interrogation
in order to elicit the answers we were seeking. Indeed
on at least three occasions we arrived for our weekend
at the cathedral to find that the member of clergy
whom we had met only two months earlier had in the
meantime moved on to another appointment. Was it
something we said?...
One such exploratory trip was to Ely, where we first
saw the epitaph I mentioned earlier. It was on an
incredibly cold January day in 1985, and it seemed
even colder inside the cathedral than outside. To pass
the time on the journey back to Liverpool Street – and
to take our minds off the cold – we made our own
selections for the radio programme Desert Island
Discs. Unfortunately our choice of records has been
lost in the mists of time.
However, I do recall that when it came to our choice
of book, we both felt we could do a lot worse than the
English Hymnal – though it had to be the 1933
edition! – or the Savoy Operas of W. S. Gilbert, as so
many of life’s issues are addressed within those
volumes.
One May weekend in 1982 Gerald and I had been
invited to stay with friends in Taunton. When we met
on the Friday morning at Paddington, he told me that
he had just heard that his mother had been found dead
at her home. For anyone this would be a time of great
sadness, but I sensed that this was in some way
overwhelmingly so for Gerald.
In the spring of 1987 I saw advertised in Church
Times a vacancy for a Vicar Choral here at Wells, and
suggested that Gerald apply. It is probably fair to say
that in more senses of the word than one his
application was successful.
I always enjoyed my visits to him at Wells in general
and at Vicars’ Close in particular – so much more
appropriate for someone like him than his former flat
in central London.
In recent years we enjoyed travelling on two nearby
preserved railways. One was the East Somerset: I
remember the glee in Gerald’s voice when telling me
that, until the line’s closure in the 1960s, it used to
run through Wells and down to Witham where, 800
years earlier, St Hugh (to whom our singing group is
dedicated) had been Prior. The other was the West
Somerset Railway, to the seaside at Minehead,
rekindling memories of the summer holidays of our
childhood.
In describing these train journeys that Gerald and I
made, I have said nothing about his personality: his
gentle modesty and quiet acts of kindness. For both
my weddings I asked him to be best man, and I was
not disappointed – especially when it came to his
speech. When I married Helen four years ago, who
but Gerald, with a totally dead-pan expression on his
face, would dare to say:
This is the right age for Robin to marry, whilst he has the
wisdom of youth and the energy of old age.
Having mentioned the Savoy Operas and English
Hymnal, let me close by quoting from them. On at
least one occasion Gerald played the part of Colonel
Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard. In the light of
Gerald’s early death, Fairfax’s words take on a new
poignancy:
Is life a boon?
If so, it must befall,
That Death, whene’er he call,
Must call too soon.
Yet I am reminded that, whenever things got difficult,
Gerald would say:
Plough on regardless.
If we take that as an encouragement to us as well as to
himself, I think Gerald would approve of a similar
sentiment expressed by Percy Dearmer in the final
verse of his hymn Jesus, good above all other:
Lord, in all our doings guide us;
Pride and hate shall ne’er divide us;
We’ll go on with thee beside us,
And with joy we’ll persevere!
11
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Hymn
O praise ye the Lord! Praise him in the height;
rejoice in his word, ye angels of light;
ye heavens adore him by whom ye were made,
and worship before him, in brightness arrayed.
O praise ye the Lord! Praise him upon earth,
in tuneful accord, ye sons of new birth;
praise him who hath brought you his grace from
above,
praise him who hath taught you to sing of his love.
O praise ye the Lord, all things that give sound,
each jubilant chord re-echo around;
loud organs, his glory forth tell in deep tone,
and, sweet harp, the story of what he hath done.
O praise ye the Lord! Thanksgiving and song
to him be outpoured all ages along:
for love in creation, for heaven restored,
for grace of salvation, O praise ye the Lord. Amen.
Tribute Mrs Angela Harris
GERALD, MY BROTHER
Gerald was born in Hull to find that he had an older
brother, Roger and a much older half-brother,
Geoffrey. His annoying sister would come along later.
He attended a church school and passed his
scholarship to Hymers College at age 11. He studied
science in the VIth Form but did not want to continue
with science even in ‘the new scientific age’. He went
to work in the printing trade. Our parents ran a shop
and Gerald had a heavy old printing press there with
which he printed small items.
After a brief stay in London he returned to Hull to
complete more ‘A’ levels including languages as he
decided to go to university after all. He entered
Bedford College, London University to study Dutch
Language and Literature. This was followed by 2
years at the London Business School, Regents Park,
where he gained an MSc in Economics (Business
Studies), nowadays an MBA.
After the Business School he worked as a corporate
banker at National and Grindlays Bank in Fenchurch
Street. He decided that wasn’t for him and he started
his own printing business. In 1974 he bought a small
flat in one of the elegant white terraces in London
W2. He had many visitors who used to ‘do London’
from there. He developed a sideline in translating
from Dutch to English. This grew and eventually he
gave up the printing to concentrate on his new career
of translating – at first by fax and then by email.
Gerald was involved with music for all of his life,
learning to play the piano as a young boy and singing
in the school and church choirs. His first piano
teacher was Miss Footey about whom he used to
giggle and say that she put flour on her face instead of
face powder. He learned the ’cello from a kindly man
called John Keenan and befriended him and his wife.
His music teacher at Hymers College was Graham
Watson and Gerald visited him over the years.
Graham Watson and Ron Styles also taught him the
organ. Our church choirmaster, with the illustrious
name of Albert Hall, also taught Gerald piano and
organ.
Starting as a choirboy at St. Mary’s Lowgate in Hull
Gerald sang in choirs ever since. He played the organ
at St Saviour’s in Hull where the vicar happened to be
Dutch. (Latterly of course he played the organ at
churches near Wells.) On moving south he was
recruited to play the organ at Ealing Green Church
and later at other churches in central London.
He joined the London Chorale and thus began his
many foreign trips with choirs. Music is a great social
engine and he took advantage of this, singing in many
venues and countries. Gerald sang with many choirs
and later operatic groups and sang solo parts in choral
works. His commitment to the choir in this Cathedral
lasted for 10 years, the last few of those years as
Vicar Principal, a post he held with skill and
diplomacy, I gather.
He had his parallel careers of translating and music.
He would try to reduce his translation work but
people always came back to him as he was reliable
and accurate. He never knew what would come his
way – legal and technical material, and he had to
learn about many subjects. But that was partly why he
liked it. He always had a thirst for knowledge and was
an avid reader. He wrote a guide to translating Dutch
which is to be published soon and he has collaborated
with his Dutch friend Aart in creating a Legal
Lexicon – many hours of work and many phone calls.
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Gerald delighted in languages – English, Dutch and more. Last February he was pleased to have a witty little letter on comparatives published in the Telegraph. He wrote a pamphlet called ‘Cloth Ears: the destruction of English’ subtitled ‘Don’t mess with my language.’ This makes interesting reading, bemoaning the fact that we don’t use English properly, including me! His mother used to tell the story that when he was 6 years old a fellow train passenger tried and failed to catch him out with difficult spellings and she had been unaware of the extent of his skill.
Family and friends were important to him. He played the organ at family weddings and sang at our wedding. He related well to the young and the not so young and made friends of all ages.
I learned recently that he took part in soirées for special birthdays, making music as part of these evenings. Last year the second of our cousins’ reunions took place, this time organised by Gerald here in Wells. Who could forget his witty and superbly timed speech?
He was a dutiful and kind godfather to Stacey – he related well to children, playing imaginative games with them when their parents had lost interest and I have learned that he would take children on the big fairground rides when their parents opted out.
Gerald was pleased to move to Wells and enjoyed his life here. When first shown the Cathedral and Vicars’ Close he said to himself, ‘I want this job’ – and he got it.
As well as travelling with choirs he had holidays with family and friends – to Japan twice with his brother and sister-in-law, to Australia and New Zealand with me and to other places here and abroad. He visited 21 countries at least.
Genealogy was a big interest and he researched our 4 family trees. His interest started with a small collection of family silver and as a teenager he annotated the church registers at St Mary’s Church in Hull. His searches took him to several counties and he discovered sites such as a fortified manor house, connections to Charlotte Bronte and coastguards in Devon. He met distant relatives, historians and authors sometimes by walking into pubs and asking! That was of course the only reason he went into pubs! He asked me to publish the family trees and that is a promise that I will fulfil.
Gerald’s wit is remembered by many – his asides in choir practice, his superb best man’s speech for Robin and Helen, his quips on postcards and ‘Gerald jokes’
some of which are on the website.
Gerald wrote some memoirs and although unfinished I did find the beginnings of ‘100 oddities of Gerald’s life’. Here are three of them:
- I once saw a cricketer who played in the same side as W.G. Grace.
- I can type faster than anyone I know. [True].
- I am excellent at reading upside down. [The text!]
I can add that as a boy he took a garden spade to dig on the beach on our seaside holidays. He never did anything by halves.
Finally, to some comments that people have written about Gerald:
- [From a cousin], ‘I will remember Gerald for his dry wit and his teenage attempt to read a dictionary to improve his vocabulary!’
- ‘Dependable, always good company.’
- ‘He took the high spirits of the choral scholars in his stride and we were very fond of him.’
- [From New Zealand] ‘The good times we had in his company.’
- ‘We remember a recital when he sang Songs of Travel by Vaughan Williams. It was wonderful.’
- ‘A kind and good person with a propensity for giggling’.
- ‘I much admired his marvellous voice’.
- ‘Gerald’s sharp and creative mind.’
- ‘A real Englishman but affected by the Dutch language and style of life.’
- ‘Direct about his wishes but in a polite way.’
- ‘Sense of humour, personal warmth and friendship.’
- ‘He always seemed content with his life.’
- ‘His self-effacing manner, team spirit and droll sense of humour.’
- ‘Such a full life.’
- From New Zealand ‘Only Gerald could relate a joke so well, with his dry humour, clever wit and excellent brain’.
- ‘A very kind and special person.’
- [From our cousin in Canada] ‘Academic, musician, traveller, translator, fun-loving wit.’
- [And from America] ‘He was trustworthy to the core and had a purity of heart that made me feel very much at ease.’
This weekend candles have been lit in memory of Gerald in Notre Dame Cathedral, and in Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Holland, Australia, Canada and the Czech Republic.
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Anthem
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there
was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I
heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with
them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away.
Text: Revelation 21
Music: Edgar Bainton 1880–1956
Prayers The Chancellor
Merciful Father and Lord of all life, we praise you that
we are made in your image and reflect your truth and
light. We thank you for the life of your son Gerald, for
the love he received from you and showed among us.
We thank you for his delight in music, for his
friendship, his love and for all that he will always mean
to us. Above all, we rejoice at your gracious promise to
all your servants, living and departed, that we shall rise
again at the coming of Christ. And we ask that in due
time we may share with our brother that clearer vision,
when we shall see your face in the same Christ our
Lord.
All Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth was heralded by
angels’ song and whose death for sinners is extolled by
the music of heaven: grant that those who use voices
and instruments which show forth your glory may also
display in their lives that harmony which echoes your
eternal praise; for your own name’s sake.
All Amen.
Almighty God, thank you for this ancient place of
prayer: for the faith that has blossomed here, and for the
worship in all seasons offered here; for the lives that
have been touched in this place and the commitment
stirred into life here. As we build on the faith of those
who have gone before us, and wonder about those who
will come after us, bless all who come here, may your
angels speak to us with the music of your love; for you
are God of renewal and steadfastness, now and for ever.
All Amen.
O Lord God, when thou givest to thy servants to
endeavour any great matter grant us also to know that it
is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same
until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true
glory; through him who for the finishing of thy work
laid down his life for us, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
All Amen.
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
All Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy
name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but
deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the
power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Commendation
Almighty God, in your great love you crafted us by
your hand and breathed life into us by your Spirit.
Although we became a rebellious people, you did not
abandon us to our sin. In your tender mercy you sent
your Son to restore in us your image. In obedience to
your will he gave up his life for us, bearing in his body
our sins on the cross. By your mighty power you raised
him from the grave and exalted him to the throne of
glory.
Rejoicing in his victory and trusting in your promise to
make alive all who turn to Christ, we commend Gerald
to your mercy, and we join with all your faithful people
and the whole company of heaven in the one unending
song of praise: glory and wisdom and honour be to our
God for ever and ever.
All Amen.
Nunc dimittis The choir
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace
according to thy word;
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples,
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory
of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy
Ghost:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be
world without end. Amen Text: Luke 2: 29–32
Music: Collegium Regale, Herbert Howells 1892–1983
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Organ Voluntary
Nun danket alle Gott Sigfrid Karg-Elert 1877–1933
During the voluntary, family and friends will process to the Camery Garden for the
Interment of Ashes.
There will be a retiring collection for the Laura Crane Trust.
From the family album Pictures provided by Gerald's sister, Angela
Gerald and Angela New Zealand
2002
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http://www.lauracranetrust.org/
From this Aged 10
1955
To this Vicar Choral at Wells
1987–97
And this
The only known photograph of, in Gerald's words, his ideal choir
2006
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The Last Word
Though enormously saddened by his death, we can at least rejoice in having known
Gerald, and in the fact that he is no longer suffering. Most important of all, however, is to
remember the ultimate message of our Christian music-making – that death is not the end.
Let us give the last word to Gerald, whose dry sense of humour we so enjoyed. The
following is the final recorded example of it, spoken less than 48 hours before he died.
One of his visitors casually mentioned that on a journey back to Wells earlier that day she
had driven past Stonehenge. Gerald instantly replied:
Yes, that’s probably the best thing to do with it.
Photo by Fiona Care, October 2007
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