Parkside Colliery Male Voice Choir
Parkside Colliery started producing coal in 1964 and at the time it was forecast as having sufficient reserves for 100 years of mining. It was, therefore, reasonable to assume that everyone at Parkside considered they had a job, with many years of employment at the colliery. Thus, it was important, at that time, to generate an “Esprit de Corps” at the colliery and to unite the workforce under one banner — PARKSIDE. This was not a Family or Village pit with a local community but a new colliery with men drawn from a very wide area. Community life away from the colliery was virtually non-existent. Several events were held over the first years to try to create a community spirit at and away from the colliery. There is no doubt that this was uppermost in Horace Smith’s mind when he announced his idea of starting a Male Voice Choir at Parkside.
In 1969 Horace Smith, Deputy Colliery Mechanical Engineer and an avid Male Voice enthusiast, had the idea of starting a Colliery Male Voice Choir. He discussed it with the then Colliery Manager Bill Holdsworth and his immediate boss Bill Bullen, Colliery Mechanical Engineer. Both men agreed to give all the support they could. Notices were put up around the colliery advertising a meeting and inviting the interested to come along and discuss the possibility of starting a choir.
The Meeting
The meeting took place in the Colliery Rescue room and was well attended by both surface and underground workmen. Horace won the day and it was agreed to put the “wheels in motion” to form the PARKSIDE COLLIERY MALE VOICE CHOIR. Bill Holdsworth agreed to become President, Bill Bullen - Chairman, Wilf Shaw (Cost control officer and Choirmaster of St Luke’s Church, Stubshaw Cross) – Conductor, John Croston (stores) - Pianist, Jimmy Scarborough (Assistant Surface Mechanical Engineer) - Treasurer, Joe Genner (Safety Officer) - Secretary, Horace Smith – Public Relations Officer (PRO). St Thomas’s Church Hall, Ashton in Makerfield was hired and the first rehearsal took place on 27 January 1970.
Two concerts were then arranged before the choir offered themselves to the public:
22.8. 1970 Wigan Co-operative Society Hall, for retired Miners
27.9. 1970 Platt Bridge Methodist Church
The first Official Committee Meeting took place at the Colliery
On Thursday 11 June 1970 at 10am, where it was agreed to hold the Inaugural Concert in Ashton Library Lecture Hall on Wednesday September 30 1970 at 7:30pm. During this meeting Derek Taylor took over as Choir Secretary and Wilf Shaw became the Treasurer.
Future Committee meetings were then held in the Cross Keys at Bolton Road until 1974 when they again reverted to the Colliery Conference Room until the Colliery Closed. The first choir blazer badge depicted the coal board emblem and motto E TENEBRIS LUX (Out of Darkness, Light) with the initials CISWO underneath. This was used until 1983 when our present badge, depicting an oil lamp, pick and shovel, still with the same motto, was donated by the Colliery Welfare Committee.
On Boxing day 1970 the choir was asked to tour the wards of Wrightington Hospital and bring some Christmas Cheer to the patients. It has now become a tradition and we have been visiting the Hospital every Boxing Day morning for over thirty years. Arrangements were made in 1971 for the first Celebrity Concert to be held at the Queens Hall, Wigan on Saturday 22nd of May.
Except for the years (1982 — 1986 inclusive) the choir have hosted a Celebrity concert every year with famous Bands; Grimethorpe, Wingates, Fairey, Carlton Main, Frickley, Manchester Police, Foden’s Motor Works. The Marple Band, CWS (Manchester), Golborne Prize and BNFL and stars; Kathleen Lewis, Maryetta and Vernon Midgley, Wendy Picton (Euphonium), Iris Williams, Amanda Roocroft, Anthony Mee (2), the Manchester Boys Choir, the Three British Tenors (2), Miriam Bowen & Joanne Thomas, and Jane Doran. The first Annual General meeting was held in St Thomas’s Church Hall on 25 May 1971. Mr Bullen (Chairman) thanked Mr Horace Smith for his efforts in getting the choir started, Mr Handel Jones (Conductor) thanked the members for their efforts and said he had no doubt they would progress to the top of the tree. The choir gave twelve local concerts that year in addition to attending the North Wales Music Festival, held in the Miners Welfare Club, Point of Ayr Colliery. Margaret Brown - Pianist and Stan Talbot - Bass entered individual classes and were both “Highly Commended”
In 1972 the choir joined the National Association of Choirs Later that year a recording was made at Starphonic Sound Studios, Manchester, at a cost of £37. A thirty-seven minute tape was produced from which it was proposed to extract a “piece” for Radio Manchester and the rest to make a record in the future. The record was never made but the choir did broadcast on BBC Radio Manchester at 8.OOpm on Tuesday 28 November. The first of many over the years. In June the choir traveled to Leeds to record the ITV show “Stars on Sunday”. The show was very popular in the seventies and the massed choirs were shown at the opening and closing of the programme.
June 9 1973. Returning from an outing nearly saw the end of the choir, the coach overturned, crashing into a ditch and landing on it’s roof. There were thirty-seven passengers on the coach and twenty-seven received treatment for minor injures, only one was detained in hospital, with a dislocated shoulder.
Quote from a newspaper at the time
”As diesel oil flowed from the shattered fuel tanks, the singers freed their pianist Miss Margaret Brown, who was trapped on the back seat. Other passengers lined up to sing hymns as a rescue team worked.”
In June 1974 the choir auditioned for Hughie Greens “Opportunity Knocks” at Manchester. It was not used that year but Hughie asked for its return in 1975 for another audition, this time dressed in overalls and wearing pit helmets and lamps. Unfortunately, the show came off the AIR before it was shown. 11 December 1975 Horace Smith died, In his memory a Silver Bowling Cup was purchased and called “THE HORACE SMITH TROPHY”. It is played for every year and Jack Lowe won it no less than 8 times. Saturday 24 April 1976 the choir travelled to London, to appear at the Royal Albert Hall for the thirtieth reunion of the Burma star Association.
In 1977 the choir was invited to sing at the closing ceremony of the National Coal Board’s first Mining Festival, at the Opera House, Blackpool on Sunday 6 November. The choir walked in from the back of the hall wearing Pit Helmets, lamps and overalls.
At the 1980 Annual General Meeting John Myers was appointed as Conductor. John was an experienced conductor, he acquired his first real taste for choral conducting when he became the deputy Conductor of Ashton MVC more than 30 years previously. He was also involved with other choirs and Operatic Societies in the area, not only as Musical Director, but also as a singing and acting member. Outstanding Experiences in the following years were: 1981 Forum Hall, Wythenshaw, Combined Choirs and Guest Semprini 1982 & 1984 Manchester Free Trade Hall. 500 voices 1983 & 1985 Radio Manchester Carol Concert, Manchester Free Trade Hall 1986 & 1987, GMex Centre, Manchester 1000 voice. 1988 &1990, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Massed Choir 1990 Preston Guild Hall, Combined Male Voice Choirs for the Lancashire Association of League of Hospital friends. 1991 the choir was awarded a Certificate of Merit - For Outstanding Service – to that Association. 1989
At the Choir AGM. in 1990 Conductor John Myers resigned. Neil Williams was appointed Conductor from Monday 18 June
Memorable concerts with Mining connections were:
Sunday 14 September 1980 at St Thomas’s Church Golborne when a Stained Glass Window was dedicated to the ten Miners who lost their lives in the Golborne Colliery explosion on the 18th March 1979. Again at the same church for the 10th Anniversary Service on Sunday 19 March 1989. Yet again at the same church in 1999 for the twentieth anniversary.
1990, Trentham Gardens, Staffordshire, to entertain Disabled Miners.
1990, St Helens Parish Church to mark 450 years of Mining in the area, the service was taken by the Most Rev. Derek Warlock, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool, Right Rev. David Shepherd, Anglican Bishop of Liverpool and Rev. Dr. John Newton, Free Church Moderator
1992, Morning Service for the Institution of Mining Engineers, at Blackpool.
* 1992, St James Church, Haydock Dedication of a Memorial to commemorate the “Wood Pit” disaster of 7 June 1878.
* 1992, Coal Heritage day, Chatterley Whitfield, Mining Museum, Staffordshire.
* 1993, St Oswalds Church Ashton-in-Makerfield, Funeral Service of Lord Gormley (former President of the National Union of Mineworkers).
In 1991
as part of our 21st year Celebrations we made our second recording “COMRADES”. This was a mixture of traditional and more modem items. It proved so popular that we quickly followed it up with a third “CHANGES” this time taking a break from the more traditional Male Choir numbers, by producing Music to entertain all age groups. The fourth recording “REQUESTS” was made in 1996, and included items requested by concert audiences. “ALWAYS” the fifth recording was produced in 1999.
1995
in addition to normal concerts we sang for the “PARADE OF WAAFS” on VE Day at Southport Theatre, and the “BURMA STAR” Association VJ Service in the Floral Gardens, Southport.
1996 - We opened our Concert Programme with a ‘D’ Day Normandy Veterans Association Concert at Highfield, St Matthews, followed by a memorable concert at Wigan Baptist Church with Joanne Moore (Soprano) and Richard Lea (Organ). 1997 we made our first tour of Cornwall with joint concerts at Newquay, Tintagel and Nankersley. It was in this year that we decided to bring on board Associate Members and they have been a tremendous benefit to the Choir financially and supportively. In 1998 we had a reciprocal visit from the Tintagel Male Voice Choir. A concert at Southport Floral Hall for the Convention of Ancient Order of Foresters and a Celebrity Concert with “The Three British Tenors”
In 1999 we hosted the Newquay MVC and undertook a tour of Bournemouth and Swanage, three concerts. Copies of “The History of Parkside Colliery” was presented to the Choir by the author Geoff Simm.
Festivals
The choir had, from 1972, entered at least one competition each year in places such as, Freckleton, Morecambe Bay, Blackpool, Southport and Wigan, usually coming away with a second or third place. In 1981 at Wigan we were awarded first place in the Male Voice Section but in 1983 it was decided that competition work was too time consuming and that it would be better to concentrate our efforts in entertaining the public.
Over the years the Choir have sang in many places, London, Blackpool, Southport, Leeds, Preston, Manchester, Liverpool, the list goes on and on, but probably the place we look forward to the most is Wales. In 1991 we were invited to give a concert in Holy Trinity Church, Mostyn Street, Llandudno to replace a Welsh choir. In 2003 the choir will sing at that same church for the 13th consecutive year in the “Sunday Night at Eight” series.