We were sad to learn of the death of one of our former members, Bill Waghorn, who passed away at the Rusthall Lodge Care Home on December 7th. Bill joined the Orpheus 50 years ago and was an accomplished tenor. He became chairman and remained in that post for 13 years. He became a Life Member so his name continued to be listed in our concert programmes even after his retirement. Another of our life members Ray Hoff, recalls " Bill and I go back a long way, both being at BT Engineering in the early 50's and coincidently met up again when we joined the choir" In 1988 the Orpheus celebrated it's 50th Anniversary from it's the formation in 1938. To mark the occasion a concert was held on May 14th at the Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall, entitled 50 Years Of Song we were joined by the Band of the Royal Artillery Ensemble and The Carlton Male Voice Choir. Click on the file below the photograph to listen to one of the pieces featured in the concert, the Orpheus singing a rather poignant song 'Always There' made popular by the TV series,Howards Way.
From our archives, this photo taken at the Assembly Hall on the day of the concert, Bill in the centre of the front row
As a resident of the Rusthall Lodge Care Home Bill became the Chairman of the resident's committee. They met once a month to share ideas on events and other relevant topics. In December the choir always came to sing carols and Bill always enjoyed this, reminiscing on 'how it used to be'!