Jim Page

“90 up for cultural community heavyweight Jim

If you’ve any knowledge of Bromsgrove’s thriving cultural scene and its many music and literary organisations, the name Jim Page will be familiar to you.

And if you’re an Old Bromsgrovian, you’ll certainly have looked up to the junior school’s hard-working headteacher. Jim still sees some of his former students now: “When they ask if I remember them, I tell them I can remember their surname but not their first name,” he admits.

At 90 that’s good going and when Completely Bromsgrove spoke to Jim on the phone during a minor household drama involving a lack of electricity at the Bromsgrove home he shares with wife Frances he was full of fascinating stories and optimism for the future.

Jim’s enduring passion is live music and he can’t wait to start attending concerts again.

“My hearing is going a little but when you’re in a concert hall focusing on an orchestra you hear every note. I’m a regular at CBSO concerts at Birmingham Symphony Hall and probably attend 15 concerts a year. I don’t listen to records, I prefer the feeling when you’re on the edge of your seat.”

Before then, there’s the small matter of Jim’s 90th birthday party on June 2, which will take the form of a tea party. “We’ve sent out formal invitations and are delighted that everyone we’ve asked apart from two people will be able to come,” said Jim, father of twin sons, Stephen, who is based in London, and Oliver, who lives in Italy.

Born and bred in Somerset, Jim arrived in Bromsgrove as a young English teacher in 1960. He’d already spent two years teaching in London before deciding to apply to the new junior school.

“I didn’t actually have any teaching qualifications,” he admitted. “I studied law at Oxford but to be honest I wasn’t clever enough to pursue it as a career. I always enjoyed English and had a hankering to teach so I bought a copy of the Times Educational Supplement and started applying for jobs.”

Jim retired in 1989 at the relatively young age of 58 - “I’ve been retired for longer than I actually worked!” – which gave him more time to devote to his leisure activities and membership of various groups and organisations.

Probably his best-known role is as chairman of the Housman Society for 30 years. The society led the campaign to get A E Housman in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey and organised the annual commemoration ceremony at Housman’s statue in Bromsgrove High Street on March 26, the poet and classical scholar’s birthday.

“We’d invite a local or national character to attend. Among them was Enoch Powell, who was a very divisive figure as a politician. Housman taught Powell when he was at Cambridge.”

Jim’s other roles included regional secretary of Making Music, a membership organisation for amateur groups of all musical genres, representing over 10,000 musicians and promoters of all levels and experience. He edited and published 49 newsletters – “I didn’t get to reach 50” and his dedication to the organisation was recognised in 1992 when he received an award in memory of English conductor Sir Charles Groves.

In 1963 Jim founded Bromsgrove Concerts, whose aim is to bring music alive and music lovers together with a varied and imaginative programme. The organisation is still thriving and gained a national reputation for its weekend events devotes to the music of Beethoven (twice), Shostakovich and Janacek.

To cap a long list of achievements, Jim was awarded an MBE for services to local and national voluntary arts organisations in 2001, collecting his honour from Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace - and exchanging a few words about her recent visit to Bromsgrove - with Frances, Stephen and Oliver proudly looking on.

Everyone at Completely Bromsgrove would like to wish Jim a very happy birthday and thank him for his outstanding contribution to the town’s cultural life and spirit.