Ian Ord-Hume – In memoriam – 26^th December 2011

I was saddened to hear today of the sad news of the death of Ian, with whom I worked at the Parish Churches of St John the Evangelist, Woodley and later at St Paul’s, Wokingham.

Ian and I were both members of Woodley Parish Church for many years and we acted as joint organists and choirmasters there from about 1972. Prior to this, I was a chorister there and Ian was an important member of the serving team under the guidance of the vicar, the Rev H W H Wilkinson and his successor Rev John Eastgate. At Woodley, we supported the church’s fine Sarum-style liturgy with the best music we could, and we built up the choir there with enthusiastic RSCM support. At its height we had almost thirty treble choristers and developed a creditable ATB section, some of whom have since been involved in the choir at St Paul’s.

Sadly, the liturgical traditions at Woodley began to get eroded gradually in such a way that Ian became frustrated and eventually resigned his position there. After a relatively short break he took up the vacancy of Organist at St Paul’s. Not long afterwards I was persuaded by Tony Kemp to become his assistant at All Saints, Wokingham, where he was the Director of Music. He had just lost his assistant, Janet Lowe and was in need of someone to help him run the fine music tradition there. After a year there I, too, joined Ian at St Paul’s where he was developing rather a fine musical tradition which, whilst not on the large scale of All Saints, was supported by an arguably more sympathetic liturgical tradition as well as a most appreciative and supportive rector and congregation.

What was surprising to me, perhaps, was that Ian was running a girls section within the choir; something he had resisted at Woodley. This developed into a most successful unit when combined with the boys, and a young ATB department was also flourishing. The one adult bass, Reg, was soon joined by some other more experienced gentlemen. Some, like John Eves and Alan Crew came over from Woodley and some like John Clifford from the immediate locality. Others, like Tony Helmsing, travelled great distances to be a part of the music scene which was developing at St Paul’s. Combined with some excellent ex-trebles and some older girls like Rebecca Heape, Gaynor Pring, Elizabeth Ord-Hume, Elaine Crew and Beth Griffiths bolstering the Alto section, the choir soon became a really successful one.

All this was down to Ian’s infectious commitment and enthusiasm. He was by no means a professional musician – this was a love; almost an obsession for him – music was of great interest to him, possibly his favourite pastime. Coupled with his love of good liturgy and his dedication to the people who sang and played for and with him, Ian has been a great influence for good to successive generations of singers and worshippers for almost forty years.

Like many others I will miss him greatly. I will remember the late nights at his home in Hanwood Close in Woodley as we put the church and world right over Coffee and Stilton until the early hours. I shall miss his wonderful cartoons which were a regular feature in Woodley Parish Magazine for years. I shall miss not only his friendship, but also the camaraderie of all the singers, parents and friends who attended both churches as well as the friendship of his former wife Meg and the girls. I shall miss the Cathedral visits and the many afternoons at St George’s Chapel, Windsor after busy wedding Saturdays. Thankfully, I will continue to be able to remember Ian through his music, some of which we perform from time to time here in Sheffield, and continue to enjoy the love and friendship of the many folk who have come together as a result of the many years we spent together making music and sharing our wider Christian family with one another.

Here’s a tribute to a great man of vision, lover of people, literature, art and music. One who will be sadly missed by all who have ever had the privilege to know him: Ian Ord-Hume; a good Christian, a true and valued friend.

My love and prayers go out to all his family at this sad time.

Douglas Jones

30^th December 2011