Jacqueline Veazey (1970-72)Jaquie was a good singer with a lot of personality. She covered only two roles If I remember correctly, Inez and Mrs Partlet. She was of dark complexion, maybe she had Greek or Italian antecedents, I don't know, but she looked as if she might. as there was a 'Maria Callas' touch in her features. Jon Ellison once remarked that there was a similarity in her features to Alf Oldridge, and to tell the truth we could see it when Alf played the Judge. That's all it was but it didn't go down too well with Jaquie, especially with Elli nicknaming her 'Alf'. I believe she married after she left but that is all I know for now.
Paul Waite (1973-77) Paul is another I have lost sight of post-Carte. A good singer and performer he had come to the Carte via Opera For All and Touring Opera I think. He was good friends with Eddie Rolles and several of us would meet up for dinner and chat once in a while, which always ended with a good laugh. I remember Paul, a keen fisherman, in Eastbourne, I think it was, fishing off the pier. He caught a huge crab and brought it back, ostensibly to cook it for dinner, but the girls would have none of it and made him throw it back. He used to tie fishing flies in the dressing room as part of his hobby and he once made the mistake of telling Brian Peach that fishing was more skillful than golf as anybody could hit a ball with a stick. Peachy took him out on the golf course - and changed his mind. Where he went after the Carte perhaps someone will let me know.
Michael Wakeham (1958-61)I mention Mike here as I had the occasion to work with him before I joined the Carte in a performance of Messiah in Walsall. I was a friend of the tenor who was singing that evening and he asked me to go along and join in the chorus. Mike's was a light Baritone yet he made a great impact with his aria 'Why Do The Nations'. I later worked in concert with him on several occasions and he also married a girl with whom I was working in Phantom of the Opera. They live in West London.
Pauline Wales (1959-74, 1974-75) . One of the most popular of mezzos Pauline's voice was a 'warm and caressing sound' (these words were used by Will Cowley to describe Pauline's singing and I can only concur). She left the company shortly after marrying Thomas Lawlor and they went to live in Lewes, Sussex where Tom was singing with Glyndebourne Opera. They adopted a daughter but the marriage alas ended in divorce. She re-married, again to another Baritone, Richard Howarth and they both continue in music running two choirs in Nottinghamshire, to great success, and also appearing in concert from time to time.
James Walker (a.m.d., 1961-68/m.d.,1968-71) This diminutive Australian worked for Decca Records and the International Ballet before joining the D'Oyly as assistant MD. taking over from Isidore Godfrey on his retirement. I don't think Jimmy was very happy in the company as he could be a little erratic when on the podium, which could only sometimes be attributed to his liking for whiskey. However, when Jimmy was on form the evenings could be electric. Like most Australians he like to call a spade a shovel but would sometimes be taken aback when someone reacted in like fashion. John Reed told me that Jimmy had come into his dressing room once and reacted to the heavy scent of cologne with, "Blimey, something stinks awful in here!" to which John quickly replied, "That's because your nose is very close to your bottom Jimmy." This reference to his diminutive size resulted in him not speaking to John for several months. He returned to Decca when he left the Carte but I think since then he has passed on.
Jill Washington (1980-82) The lovely Jill hails from The Potteries, in fact Stoke On Trent in Staffordshire. Being a Stafforshire man myself I naturally am biased but Jill's crystal clear soprano was an ideal Carte voice and perfect for her performances as Christine in Phantom Of The Opera, which is where I met her. I have since sung with her in many concerts and it is always a delight. She is married with a son and lives in North London..
Paul Weakley (1979-80) Paul has a fine ringing tenor voice which unfortunately never reached it's goal in the Carte. I met him in concerts of The Magic Of D'Oyly Carte and he always seemed to be an enthusiastic performer. He retrained after leaving the company and became an insurance salesman, though I don't know if this still pertains. I know he still sings in concert and in Opera, usually in the South of England. He is married but more than this I don't know.
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Nicholas Weatherall (1973-74)He was tall, slim, sang tenor and wore glasses off stage. Sorry Nick but my memory won't bring back anything else.
John Webley (1966-71)John Webley, or Webbers to his friends was a sensitive and musical performer with a rich Baritone voice reminiscent, in tone at least of Scot Walker, for those that remember him. John had a wicked sense of humour and when he and his friends, John Ayldon and Pauline Wales, got together there would be riots of laughter. Like Alan Styler, John became ill with testicular cancer and received chemotherapy which made him lose his hair for which he wore a wig until his own hair regrew. He returned to the company and took up his roles again but, while we were playing the Festival Hall, it became obvious that the cancer had returned as the glorious quality of his voice began to dim. He died in the september of 1971 ages twenty four.
Kevin West (1975-79) Kevin was another ex-Carter I met after I'd left the company. Again, it was working for The Magic Of D'Oyly Carte. I believe Kevin has carried on in singing but of his whereabouts and circumstances I have no idea.
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Hilary Western (1970-71) Hilary stayed with the Carte one season and, probably realising that her future lay elsewhere tried her luck in Grand Opera and a series of Musicals. She was a 'quirky' sort of person, happy with the unusual. I remember being quite amused to learn that her boyfriend at the time had been a monk. I wonder if it had been Hilary's influence which decided him on a new line. I believe Hilary works and lives in Bedfordshire.
Patrick Wilkes (1976-79) Paddy Wilkes I met during various concerts with Magic of D'Oyly Carte. His was an unremarkable baritone so it is perhaps no wonder that after leaving the Carte he decided to retrain and became a Probation Officer. He married Patricia Anne Bennet and they had, I think, two sons. They are now divorced though still living in Preston.
Malcolm Williams (1973-74) Malcolm came to the Carte having begun a career in Grand Opera touring with Glyndebourne and singing withe Welsh National Opera. His was a sweet, soft-grained voice though, he told me, it was giving him some problems after an infection had weakened his vocal cords. He continued singing after he left the Carte but the last I heard was that he was having to supplement his earnings by driving a cab part time. Such are the vagaries of this lifestyle! He still lives in South Wales.
Marjorie Williams (1969-75) Matj was a pretty lady with a good soprano voice. She excelled as the Plaintiff when called to go on and she particularly enjoyed working with Jon Ellison as the Learned Judge. Marj married Colin wright and had a family, though what became of them subsequently I don't know.
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Doreen (Lynn) Williamson (1970-73)Doreen, sister of Howard Williamson, was known to us all by her family nickname of 'Tweeny', a corruption of 'Queeny' I'm told. She was good fun and a good worker and was married for a time to Mark Nelson. After she left she went into musicals, notably the West End production of Annie. She told me that one night after a performance she had been taken to dinner by the Musical Director, her then boyfriend, when in walked Andy Williams, whom the boyfriend knew. Andy came over to their table and chatted for a while. As he began to leave he leant over Doreen's shoulder and whispered, "Lovely Tits!" A man of exquisit taste! I think she remarried but need more info.
Howard Williamson (1965-73) Howard was a frenetic sort of chap, nervy though not nervous, and was a good performer if light of voice. He was a good patter understudy but sorely missed his wife when on tour. He had the dressing room in an uproar one evening when he began to soak his 'wedding tackle' in a pint tumbler of iced water, believeing it would help relieve the tension. It did with us anyhow. Sadly, after he left the company it was found that Howard had a particularly virulent form of Multiple Sclerosis. The last I saw of him was in Cambridge circa 1983 when after an aborted attempt to get a fund-raiser reunion of ex-Carters organised some of us decided to meet up there anyway. Howard was then only able to walk with sticks and his legs were very weak. He died soon after.
Colin Wright (1969-75) Colin's was a mellifluous lyric tenor with a wide range. He was slight of build, just right for the Carte, and played his parts well. I remember him, with particular relish, making an entrance, ostensibly in Pirates Act 1, as Frank Spencer, beret, raincoat and all. Well, it was last night of the London season where almost anything went. He was married to Marjorie Williams but after they left the company I lost touch with both of them.
Norman W. Wright (1969-71) Norman had a very pleasant Tenor voice though he was unlucky never to be given any cover work as it was already being shared by myself, Barry Clark and Hugh Bishop. He was another nervy type who always had to check and recheck that he had locked his car. One evening, after a Mikado at Sadlers Wells the usual dash for the lift ended up with far too many aboard for that old machine, consequently it broke down between floors. This was not a pleasant situation to be in though we knew it would be fixed within ten minutes. However it was then that we learned of Norman's claustrophobia, and I think it came as a bit of a shock to him too. He married Christine Palmer, the great Contralto, and went to live in or near Burton on Trent, or somewhere there. The last I saw of both of them they were sitting on a panel judging the Heart of England Singing Competition circa 1981.
David Young (1968-69) David was one of the first people to help me when I joined the Carte. This one-time policeman was useful to have around sometimes like when we were stoped by a police car for speeding in Park Lane. The policeman was Welsh and when David began talking about singing and the Carte the Welshman was overjoyed as he once had a relative who had been in the Carte. I never found out who. David became a chorister at Covent Garden for many years before he retired, to run the corporate facilities at the Concert Artistes Association in London.
This addendum lists all the later choristers and a few previous I either know little of or have some bearing on my Tales. Further information on these, or any of the others would be welcome.
Addendum
Helene Witcombe (1977-82) Helene was another of those I met doing the Magic Of D'Oyly Carte concerts. She was an attractive woman who acted as secretary for the concert organisation, I think, and I was astonished to hear she was dying from cancer as she always looked so full of life.
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Memories Of The D'Oyly Carte
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