Picture Gallery - 1960s

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1961

In front of the Chapter House Door.

Back row (left to right): Lionel Dakers (organist), Stuart Smith (assistant organist), Rev. Peter Nourse (succentor), Nicholas Helliker, David Acres (brother of Timothy Acres), Nicholas Hatswell, ?, Daryl Youé, Lawson, Wyatt, Dawson, Very Rev. Marcus Knight (dean), Cathedral School Headmaster

Middle row (left to right): ?, Cooper, Stretton-Downes, Price, Barry Sharpe, Hodge, Harry Williamson, Richard Brown, Lane

Front row (left to right): Andrew Haydn, Batten, Pettsingh, Piers Vokes-Dudgeon, Martin Peyton-Jones (head chorister 1960-61) (died in an accident in Taunton in his early teens), Lewis, Charles Hook, Derek Horne, Norrish

With thanks to: Nicholas Hatswell (treble 1958-1962) for this photograph; Piers Vokes Dudgeon (treble 1958-1962) (now Piers Dudgeon) for information about its date and about Martin Peyton Jones; Mione Hordern (nee Nourse), daughter of Rev. Peter Nourse for information about her father; Harry Williamson for information about names.

1961 - 1st January

A potential chorister being auditioned by Lionel Dakers.

The boy is Jonathan Ridge, who became a treble. His brother Adrian was also a treble, but tragically died in a canoe accident at a weir on the River Exe while a boy.

The photograph was taken in the nave looking across the old (replaced in the 1970s) wooden choir stalls towards the north porch.

A print of this photograph exists in the entrance hall of the cathedral school.

Source: Photo by Erich Auerbach/Getty Images http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/3438039/Hulton-Archive

With thanks to Colin Brownlee, of In Quires and Places, for alerting me to this image and to David Acres (treble 1960-66) and Gordon Pike (treble 1960-66) for information about the Ridge boys.

1962

Photograph taken in the Chapter House, with its east wall and the two black boards displaying lists of deans and bishops, behind the boys.

Back row, left to right: Charles Hook, Lawson, Nicholas Hatswell (later moved to Australia, where he currently lives), Daryl Youé, Piers Vokes Dudgeon, Nigel Price, ?, Paul Stretton-Downes, Harry Williamson (his father Henry wrote Tarka the Otter), David Cooper

Middle row, left to right: Andrew Hyden, Richard Wyatt, Nicholas Helliker, Jonathan Hodge, Watana Petchsingh (from Thailand), Batten

Bottom row, left to right: Barry Sharpe, David Acres (still sings in the choir as an alto dep), James Norrish, Derek Horne, Philip Dawson, Robert Lane (older brother of Adrian Lane), Richard Brown

With thanks to David Acres (treble 1960-1966) for this photograph. Names provided by David Acres, Nicholas Hatswell (treble 1958-1962), Harry Williamson (treble 1959-1963.

1962 - Radio Times

Midnight mass from Exeter Cathedral.

Believed to be the first ever televised broadcast of such a service.

Comments from Allan Johns, a tenor in the choir at the time:

"I remember the choir being literally engulfed by wires and we became almost unbearably hot by the end of the service on account of the very powerful (arc) lamps that were installed!

Midnight Mass had stopped before this date. This was a one-off for the TV. We only did the Bishop Grandisson service during my time, including the Midnight service on the day in question only."

With thanks to Allan Johns (tenor 1960-1963) for the photograph of this page from The Radio Times.

1962

A posed photograph of the choir, in the quire stalls looking towards decani. The six lay vicars in the choir (with secondaries or 'Sunday men' also present at weekends), arranged three per side, have all been placed on decani for the sake of the photograph.

From left to right:

Back row: Lionel Dakers (organist), Cathedral School Headmaster, Rev. John Dams (precentor)

Decani men: George Dinneen (bass), Tommy Hughes (bass), Christopher Teuten (alto), Malcolm Russell (alto), Ronald Kitchen (tenor 196?-1978, died 2006), Ralph Price (tenor)

Decani trebles: Hook, Dawson, Stretton-Downes, Hodge, Piers Vokes Dudgeon, Daryl Youé, Nigel Price, James Norrish, Richard Cooper

Cantoris trebles (back of heads): David Acres, Nicholas Hatswell, Wyatt, Richard Brown

Source: Life in the Cathedral (1963). With thanks to David Acres, Nichoilas Hatswell and Harry Williamson for information about names

1962

Harry Williamson (treble 1959-1963)

From Harry: "A posed photograph outside the South Entrance near where the choristers robed. This was when the collars were changed from the original starched Edwardian style to the softer modern 'bib' which was a lot more comfortable." [The bibs continued in use until the early 2000's, when they were replaced by ruffs. The cost of cleaning the collars had become prohibitive.]

Source: Harry Williamson, 2020 (now living in Melbourne, Australia)

1963

Harry Williamson (treble 1959-1963)

From Harry: "I have a roll of 35 mm film taken by BBC Plymouth as a final shot from one of my dad's documentaries [Henry Williamson, of Tarka the Otter fame], in 1963. Henry really loved the peace and music in the cathedral and after telling a particularly harrowing story to camera, he asked if they could film the choir singing something. I think Lionel Dakers suggested we make a recording of 'My beloved Spake' by Patrick Hadley which we were rehearsing. It was filmed without a congregation in the choir, and the last minute ended with a closeup of myself. (I remember the huge camera was a bit daunting but I tried not to look at the lens.) In the end, the film was about a minute too long so I was completely cut out of the film. The rest of the choir is shown closeup as the camera made a tracking shot, and then it faded. My father was kindly given the out take reel, which I was given as a consolation prize. The photograph here is one frame from the film."

Source: Harry Williamson, 2020 (now living in Melbourne, Australia)

1963

Chapter Meeting in the east end of the Chapter House.

Left to right: ?, Canon H. Balmforth (Chancellor - lived at No. 6 The Close until he died in about 1975), Very Rev. Marcus Knight (dean), Mr Lyon (standing - chapter clerk), The Ven. Archdeacon Edgar Hall (Hall House, part of the Cathedral School is named after him), Revd Richard Babbington (Archdeacon of Exeter)

Source: Life in the Cathedral (1963). With thanks to Kate Burhouse for information about some of the names (her father was Rev. Harry Rann, Succentor c.1963-1977)

1965

This was taken in September 1965 as the Friends of the Cathedral’s Christmas card of that year.

Jon Hodge left after Christmas and David Acres became head chorister. Bob Lane’s voice broke so Chris Rogers became “Centre” on Dec and deputy head chorister.

The invisible boys should contain Edwards and Rendell plus two others (names anyone?).

Mr Dinneen left the choir in the summer of 1965 when he took up a full time teaching post at Dartington College of Arts. He was Dec bass and a professional singing teacher. He died in 1994 (information from Irene Dinneeen, his daughter, October 2014).

Christopher A. Hall (treble, 1961?-65, at the front right) sadly died just after Christmas in December 2017, aged 65. He had suffered from a brain tumour and then had a stroke. (information from Robert Lane)

With thanks to Robert (Bob) Lane (treble) for providing this image and details about names

1968

Front cover of LP recording.

From left to right:

Back row: Don Callaway (bass), ?, ?, ?, ?, Ralph Price (tenor), Paul Evans (bass), Lionel Dakers (organist), Chris Teuten (alto), Lionel Atherton, ?, John Pedlar (tenor), Ronald Kitchen (tenor 196?-1978, died 2006), Chris Gower (assistant organist), Tommy Hughes (bass)

Middle row (boys):
far left: L. or Chris Michelmore, ?, Jonathan Cawthra, ? ... 4th from right: John Hardy (went on to read music at Oxford)

Front row (boys):
far left: possibly L. Clark; 5th from right: Edwards; 4th from right: Lister; 3rd from right: Andrew Macpherson (now Professor of Medicine and Director of Gastroenterology at the University Hospital of Bern, Switzerland); 2nd from right: Griffiths; extreme right: Mark Hampshire

With thanks to Colin Brownlee, of In Quires and Places, for providing this image.

Thanks for information about names to David Maconochie (joined the choir the following year, treble 1969-).
David commented in an email of October 2014, that the treble in the middle row, second from right, was an outstanding tennis player, "well he used to beat me anyway".

And to Andrew Macpherson for identifying himself!