Telford male choir call it a day after 74 years

But today members of the GKN Telford Male Voice Choir revealed they were calling it a day.

They have admitted defeat in trying to attract new members who could continue the tradition for generations to come.

One of the last acts of the choir was for members to visit the company that supported them for so many years in the town.

Barry Mansell, 79, from Shawbirch, is chairman of the choir and said it was fitting the choir should make a last visit to GKN.

He said: "The current committee and choir members would like to take this opportunity to thank GKN for their sponsorship and help over the years."

"The decision to disband was taken because of declining membership. In 1960s and 1970s we had more than 80 members, but now have only 18 and most of those are in their seventies and eighties.

"Over the past two years we spent £700 and held numerous open evenings to try and recruit new members, but without success.

"It was a difficult decision to make as the choir has had such a long and illustrious history."

The choir was founded on 26 March 1941 at the then Joseph Sankey and Sons Hadley Castle Works. Formed by a few singers, mostly from the Steel Furniture Department, the choir members delivered their first concert at the works ballroom on September 21 1941, with the cost of admission at 2p.

As they were formed during the dark days of World War Two, the choir felt preservation of morale was of prime importance. They contributed to this by giving daytime concerts for colleagues and friends in the works canteen, keeping spirits up with their love of music.

In those early years one of the major organisational headaches was transport. Nobody had a car, so buses had to be provided for the choir and friends when they gave concerts.

Through its 74 years of existence, the choir has sung at many famous venues, including the Royal Festival Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and the National Exhibition Centre.

Terry Wright joined the choir in 1964 has vivid memories of one concert they performed at the Royal Festival Hall.

He said: "We performed a piece called The Creation, which was based upon the creation story as told in the book of Genesis."

"As we sang, all the lights were gradually turned off when we got to the part where God says 'let there be light', all the lights were put back on."

"The sudden flood of light was like a lightning bolt hitting the audience and many of them leapt out of their seats."

In 1982 the choir represented England at the Montreux Musical Festival in Switzerland. They were the only English male voice choir invited to attend and were awarded a silver cup for their participation.

In 1986 they embarked on a European tour, visiting Holland, France, Luxembourg and Belgium. They also performed a concert at RAF Rhiendahlen to raise money for the families of RAF band members killed in a road accident.

The final performance given by the choir was on December last year at St Georges Sports and Social Club in Telford, where they sang Christmas carols.

Over the years the choir has raised thousands of pounds to help local and national charities, and church funds.

Mr Mansell said that the choir's assets had been divided between Severn Hospice, Hope House, The Air Ambulance and Hadley Methodist Church.

He said: "Our organ has been donated to Hadley Methodist Church, while the choir's music sheets have been shared between Newport Male Voice Choir and Hadley Orpheus Male Voice Choir.

"I am really sad to see the choir disband, but it has left me with a lot of memories and when I look back I remember all the good times we had."