Bancroft, Henry Hugh

Composer

b Cleethorpes, Lincs 1904, d Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 1988. After studying at Grimsby (FRCO 1925) he emigrated to Canada in 1929 as Organist and Choirmaster of St Matthew’s Anglican Ch in Winnipeg; in 1938 he moved across the city to a similar post at All Saints’ Ch, remaining until 1946. There he developed a men’s and boys’ choir which gained national acclaim, notably for its traditional Anglican chanting. From 1946 to 1948 he served at Christ Ch Cathedral in Vancouver, during which time he conducted the Vancouver Bach Choir; he then moved to Sydney, NSW, Australia for a post at St Andrew’s Cathedral until 1953. While there he often accompanied the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and became a founder member of the Australian Coll of Organists. Following his return to Winnipeg (1953–57) and a brief stay in Nassau, Bahamas, he began his final and longest single period of employment in 1958 as Organist/Choirmaster at All Saints’ Cathedral Edmonton, staying until his retirement in 1980. In 1968 he taught music theory and organ playing at the Univ of Alberta, and in 1970 he made recordings on the Edmonton organ he had designed. Lambeth DMus 1977; Hon LL.D (Edmonton) 1980. He was a posthumous contributor to the Canadian Presbyterian hymnal The Book of Praise, 1996–7. No.147