George entertains the members with Suzie in March 1993

george child

George on stage in Blackpool

I was saddened to learn recently of the passing of long-standing member, George Child. I believe George passed away last October 2024. I must admit that I don’t think I ever had a conversation with George, but I was well aware of him as Archivist for the GFS and of course for his most popular song. I am also well aware that whilst the date of him joining the GFS is not known, the fact that he was Archivist in 1982 suggests that he would have joined sometime in the latter half of the 1970s and he was still a member with unbroken membership in 2024, the year of his passing. A membership of something like forty-five or more years is something to be really proud of. George became prominent in 1982 when elected to the committee as the Society Archivist. In his early days in that role, he was concerned that the meagre archives that he inherited when he took on the role, were not much to display at the forthcoming conventions so George persuaded fellow members to donate a part of their own collections for the benefit of all of our Society. Thanks to his efforts, a good selection of archives was always available at the Blackpool conventions. I well remember attending a convention in 1992 when in the Winter Gardens a varied selection of Formby memorabilia would be laid out on one very long table. In the days before the Winter Gardens when the GFS was based at The Imperial Hotel between 1961 - 1990, George was responsible for the renovation of an old piano which was available for use at the hotel for Society meetings but was terribly out of tune. The local piano tuners would not go near it. George discovered a blind piano tuner called Felix Hutley and persuaded Felix to take a look at the piano. To everyone's surprise Felix, after working on the piano, had it sounding like new again. This must have been a great relief for the concert organisers, players and the audience enjoying the concerts. George retired from the Archivist role in 1990, by that time he had increased the collection of Formby memorabilia substantially. I understand that in George's private life, he had also donated much of his time to charity work but even though I have not seen him for some years, he supported the George Formby Society to the end. Many older members will look back with pleasure when George would perform his and many other members' convention favourite, Suzy Sitting In A Shoe Shine Shop. I extend belated but sincere condolences to George's family. Peter Pollard 08/01/2025

George’s last notes as archivist