HMS TRINIDAD AND THE MUSIC
OF GEORGE LLOYD Part 2
By Tom Lambert
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George Lloyd on the right, next to him is the fellow
whose life he saved by pushing him up the ladder of
the TS after the torpedo struck |
George Lloyd, highly traumatized, and close to death, as
were other survivors of HMS Trinidad, was brought back to
England and there sent to what may well have been a purpose
built hospital close to Aberdeen in Scotland. During the voyage
home, their original ship, HMS Trinidad was, sunk by orders
of the Senior Naval Officer, as too badly damaged to warrant
the danger of keeping any crew aboard her and it was only
possible for her to move at the slowest speed making her a
sitting target for the enemy who were in continuous evidence.
When she finally went to the bottom she was flying the poignant
message which read, ”I am sailing to the Westward” This was
an allusion to a well known saying of the time, Going West,
which meant that you were done with, finished, no use to anyone.
Such is war, one of the most up to date cruisers, a fine fighting
vessel, destroyed in its first few months at sea.
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Stand Easy. Just prior to joining the Trinidad. The
poignant thing about this picture is that, within a
few months, all but three of these men would die a horrible
death at their Action Station, the Transmitting Station
of HMS Trinidad
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At Newmacher, as the hospital was called, George was considered
to be irreparably damaged and that he would be institutionalised
for the rest of his life. His wife, a doughty Swiss lady,
thought otherwise, though she was horrified when first seeing
him, by the condition he was in. His muscles had collapsed,
he was a shapeless mess, and, though barely coherent, told
his wife that she should not come again to see him as he could
not bear it for her to see him as he was. After weeks of arguing
with the authorities she was allowed to take him from the
hospital, and return south where she set about restoring the
balance of his body and mind to normality. After the war they
spent a long time in Switzerland and a very therapeutic period
in the South of England where they established a good business
as a specialised Market Garden. It was a very long time before
the noises in George's head dissipated sufficiently for him
to begin composing again. That he did, and to such good effect,
is illustrated by the 12 Symphonies 3 operas, 2 piano concertos
and two violin concertos as well as a wide variety of music
for military and brass band, piano music and song. He received
a commission from the Festival of Britain authority for those
celebrations. Other composers to receive similar commissions
were Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten, both of whose
operas have entered the repertoire. George’s work suffered
greatly at the hands of the opera company chosen to perform
it which was in a great deal of strife with leading singers,
and generally in its administration and so never made anything
like the impact of the others. At this time, George was not
in good health and was unable to give it the attention that
may have saved it. Both his piano concertos were given performances
by two outstanding pianists, John Ogdon and Kathryn Stott;
the violin concertos also have been given performances by
internationally renowned players. At least one of the symphonies
(the 6th,in 1981) has been performed at the Henry Wood Promenade
concerts receiving rapturous applause.
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George Lloyd in later years, taken some time in the
last decade of the 20th century whilst visiting Hong
Kong to conduct the Symphony Orchestra
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George was a conductor of great flair and was really appreciated
by the orchestras that appointed him. Maybe some of you will
be lucky enough over the years to play in the Hong Kong Symphony,
an internationally renowned orchestra for which George wrote
special music and with whom George was a regular Guest Conductor.
He also conducted regularly, the Albany Orchestra of New York,
a first rate professional orchestra and one that has recorded
much of George’s repertoire. All of his work is available
on disc and the sheet music is available on hire from the
email address provided at the end of this article.
Towards the end of his life he lived near Regents Park in
London. He was one of the first on the scene when the dastardly
IRA almost destroyed the Guards Band and wrote special music
for their memorial service. It was subsequently played at
the service in memory of our own musicians who lost their
lives in a similarly cowardly attack by the IRA. George died
at a great age and has been accorded the title of great man.
He was too and it is my fond hope that you fine young musicians
of today's Band Service will seek him out and make his music
better known. It deserves to be.
Website
Emails: library@georgelloyd.com, albany@georgelloyd.com
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