These young singers were no doubt suffering a little stage fright as they performed in their school hall.
They were not only facing the judgement of their parents, but also one of Oxford’s leading choirs.
Pupils at St Christopher’s Junior School at Cowley, Oxford, were appearing in concert in 1970 with the Oxford Welsh Glee Singers.
However, despite first-night nerves, everyone agreed afterwards that the youngsters had performed well.
They are pictured in full voice, looking intently at their conductor, as the audience looks on.
Note how smartly dressed they all are, the boys in white shirts and ties and girls in pretty dresses, with the back row standing on the customary benches to give them extra height.
The concert included a surprise guest – former pupil Betty Hardy, who was visiting Oxford from her home in the United States.
Her name did not appear on the programme, but she was invited to sing at the last minute, taking a spot due to be filled by Glee Singers’ soloist Haydn Evans. Mrs Hardy and Mr Evans sang duets before she left Oxford to live in California in 1955.
Mr Evans happily stepped aside to allow her to entertain the audience with We’ll Gather Lilacs in the Spring and I Can Give You the Starlight.
Four pupils also performed solos during the evening – Kevin Thompson (guitar), Janet Parteger and Neil Biggs (piano) and Ann Smith (violin).
The school and the Glee Singers had a close affinity because the choir used the school premises for their weekly sessions.
As we have recalled, the choir was formed by some of the hundreds of Welshmen who migrated to Oxford with their families at the time of the Great Depression looking for work at the Morris Motors’ car assembly factory and at the neighbouring Pressed Steel car body plant.
A group of young, lonely expatriate Welshmen were drowning their sorrows over an evening pint at the Cape of Good Hope pub at The Plain when they began to singing melodies reminding them of home and chapel.
So many fellow Welshmen wanted to join that it was suggested they formed a choir, which has appeared under various names over the years, among them Cowley Male Voice Choir, the Oxford Welsh Prize Glee Singers and finally the Oxford Welsh Male Voice Choir.
How many of the young choristers above can we name? Write in and say.
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