Jack Roberts
Jack has been a stalwart member of Loveny MVC for the best part of 50 years and he was recently honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Jack recently also celebrated his 90th Birthday and is still an active member of the choir.
During the presentation of Jack's Lifetime Achievement Award by our Choir President and former MD Nick Hart, we were reminded of the huge part Jack played in the growth and success of Loveny in the 1980's. Jack was the choirs press secretary for many years, and with his inimitable writing style in the age of print media he ensured the choir regularly featured in the local newspapers. He always managed to slip in the phrase 'One and All' the title of a popular Loveny song, arranged by Nick, which we still sing today.
Jack's Story
Everybody has a story about how they joined a choir, and each one is different. This is mine: a tale that begins with an unexpected invitation, moves through years of singing and friendship, and, despite a few detours along the way, returns to Loveny.
My First Experience of Choir Singing (1976)
It all began in September 1976, when two other Bodmin policemen and I were more or less tricked into joining the Police Choir—but that is another tale. At the time, I was perfectly content as a Beat Policeman in Bodmin, with not the slightest thought of choirs of any kind. Then, one day, my Inspector cornered me and asked what commitments I had the following day and what shift I was on. He told me he wanted me for something special, that my Sergeant had already agreed, and that I was to work the 2–10 shift. I was to carry on as normal, take my meal break at 6.00 pm, and return in casual, comfortable clothing.
Naturally, I assumed it was some sort of undercover work—perhaps sitting in a pub keeping an eye out for gambling or under-age drinking. My Inspector refused to give even the slightest clue, simply telling me to be ready at 7.00 pm. As it turned out, he had also approached two other Bobbies, and none of us could make a sensible guess. We were completely in the dark. At that time, the Bodmin Jail was almost like a club, with licensed gambling and even strippers, so we all secretly hoped that would be our destination.
Sadly, it was not to be. We were bundled into a Panda Car and set off, which immediately told us there would be nothing undercover about the evening—otherwise we would hardly have arrived in a police car. We were more than a little disappointed.
It was not until we were driving out of Bodmin towards St Austell that he finally gave in to our questions. “Well, to begin with, tonight, and on similar occasions, you can forget the ‘Sir’. My name is Graham, so call me that—or Gray, if you wish—and allow me to be the first to congratulate you all on joining the Cornwall Police Choir!”
As so often happens, once we had been coaxed into joining a rehearsal, all three of us were hooked for life. One has since been called away to sing in “God’s Choir”, but the other two are still singing.
Joining Loveny (1979)
My path to Loveny came a little later. In 1979, I attended the Wadebridge Musical Festival, and it happened to be Choir Night. Loveny was competing, and they sang “Goin’ Home” and “Keep in the Middle of the Road”, a typical Nick Hart spiritual. I was thoroughly taken by the Choir—and, of course, by Nick.
As I plodded the beat around Bodmin, I got into the habit of popping into various places for a smoke, and I spoke to quite a few people about Loveny. Naturally, word spread that a Bodmin Bobby might be a potential recruit, and before long David Wherry came knocking on my door. That was sometime in the summer of 1979.
Leaving and Returning (1985–1990)
Between 1985 and 1990, with Loveny’s blessing, I gathered a small team of Bodmin men—including the deputy MD—and we resigned from LMVC to revive the old disbanded Bodmin Choir. The venture was a success, but in April 1990 I rejoined Loveny and have been a member ever since, apart from a little over a year when I sang with Mevagissey instead. I cannot now recall exactly which year that was, but I soon returned after a new MD was appointed.
Jack sings in the Baritone Section of the choir, and many of his fellow singers have reflected on the help and support Jack gave them when they joined the choir.
Some of our members from the Bodmin area also remember Jack as a 'Beat Bobby' in Bodmin.
That could open up whole new set of stories.