People
50 years of happy helpful people
Some of the people who have been part of our 50-year history
Arnold Jones founded our society in 1974.
Arnold Jones was the founder of Wolverton and District Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He was the musical director and the driving force behind the Wolverton Light Orchestra for almost 28 years and around 200 concerts. More…
Fred Cornford was a founder member of our society in 1974.
Fred Cornford was a founder member of the Wolverton Gilbert and Sullivan Society in 1974. In addition to being a very fine bass singer he was the society chairman for the vital early years. More…
Bert Coleman was a founder member of our society in 1974.
Bert Coleman was a founder member of the Wolverton Gilbert and Sullivan Society in 1974. In addition to being a very fine bass singer he was the society business manager for the vital early years. More…
Angela Bowen was in our very first production.
She played the part of Buttercup in our 1975 HMS Pinafore. She went on to star in our shows right up until 2015 with occasional breaks for family – and opera. More…
Mike Crofts was Musical Director of the Society for 26 years.
Mike Crofts joined us as musical director in 1994 for a very successful production of HMS Pinafore with Sylvia Hope-Urwin directing. His inspiration and support took the society through 26 years of wonderful shows. More…
Yes. That really is Clarence as Pirate King in 1984.
He was a founder member of our society and an exceptional recruiter. Ask nearly anyone who joined in the first 30 years how they heard about us, and you’ll get the same answer: ‘Clarence asked me’.. More…
Graham Breeze joined us in 1998
The photo shows him in our 2019 Iolanthe, a show he starred in and directed. In fact Graham directed us for 22 years, a process that apparently didn’t age him a single day! More…
Kim Bennett has been with the society since 1979.
Kim joined us in 1979 for Ruddigore. She soon proved to be an excellent singer with a pure soprano voice. This is her as Casilda in The Gondoliers. More…
Ros Whatmore joined us in 1991 as accompanist for Yeomen
Ros Whatmore joined us as an accompanist in 1991 for our production of Yeomen of the Guard. She had already played for us a few times at rehearsals and in the pit orchestra. More…
Cath debuted with us in back in 1995
Cath’s fine singing voice and acting skills gave us some memorable performances as The Queen of the Fairies, Mad Margaret and, of course, Dame Carruthers. More…
Wayne’s greatest contribution to our society was as treasurer for many years.
Wayne’s stage appearances were far too few. He is a magnificent character actor. Here he is as Sir Richard Cholmondley with Roger Whatmore as Jack Point in our 2003 Yeomen of the Guard.. More…
Alan Bennett has been with the society since 1979.
Alan joined us in 1979 for Ruddigore. His remarkable voice and acting skills saw him rapidly become an indispensable lead character in many of our shows. More…
Tricia Goldsmith joined us in 1981.
She sang many leading G&S soprano roles in the following years. Her last role with us was Josephine in the HMS Pinafore of 2002. More…
He was in the chorus of nobles in that first production of The Mikado. His talent was quickly realised and he went on to sing most of the lead G&S tenor roles, starting as Earl Tolloller in our inaugural 1977 Iolanthe.More…
Jean Bates is a founder member of our Society
Jean is a founder member of the Wolverton G&S. Never one to seek the limelight, here is Jean second from the right, looking suitably concerned as some pirates approach in 1993. More…
Kath Jones is another founder member of our society.
She was Arnold’s sister-in-law and a keen singer so she never thought twice about joining. It was just something she wanted to do. Here she is next to brother-in-law Arnold Jones. More…
Robert Skears has been with us since 1994
Although not appearing on stage with us since 2002, Robert has nonetheless turned up for every performance since then.
More…
The first company from our 1975 HMS Pinafore.
And here they all are. This is the company assembled for that very first production of HMS Pinafore in May 1975 at Wolverton College of Further Education. More…
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