Frederic Waine

1911-1974

The death of Frederic Waine on 16th May, 1974 was a loss to Church music.

He was a music scholar at Clifton College, and a Scholar of Hertford College, Oxford. After teaching at Winchester and Uppingham, he came to St. Peter's as Director of Music in September, 1940; and within ten days he was called into the Royal Navy as a Rating. It was characteristic that he should happily record this change by drawing the contrast between hearing boys say "Goodbye, Sir" one day and the greeting of a Petty Officer, "Come here, boy!" the next day.

But Freddie was to become a Lieutenant Cornmander, serving at sea from the wide dangers of the Pacific to the bitter and merciless Russian convoys. The sensitive musician knew the grim realities of war at sea: yet one of his delightful ways of reminiscing was to do a silent sketch of himself trying to play a piano in a destroyer rolling in a massive sea. No words; just skilled timing as the piano seemed to move away at the vital moment, or to threaten the would-be player as it lurched the other way.

When Freddie returned to St. Peter's he was soon to join the former Commander Eddie Jeffs in starting a Royal Navy Section of the newlyconstituted Combined Cadet Force; and the two of them brought their distinctive skills and the quiet assurance of the Senior Service into making a remarkably fine section which, in the days of the big compulsory CCF, led every march-past with almost disdainful precision.

But in his main work as Director of Music, Freddie gave to those of us who sang in the choir a real joy in working hard to achieve the high standards he demanded. He drove us and persuaded us. If we were bad, which we often were, he told us so politely but firmly, and led us along with his skill and enthusiasm, lightening almost every practice with an anecdote from the world of music or with a gentle joke centering on one of us.

After a few years as Warden of the Royal School of Church Music, Freddie returned to live near York, where he was active in music until the end of his life.

It was the happy idea of the present Director of Music, Mr. Keith Pemberton, to bring together at short notice a number of those who had sung in choirs under Freddie: masters, Old Peterites and at least one member of the Minster choir. The sense of urgent dedication made rehearsal relatively easy, and all who were at the Memorial Service on June 1st will long remember the moving Russian Contakion of the

Departed . . . "All we go down to the dust; and weeping o'er the grave we make our song: alleluya."

D.G.C.