joe sadler
Having been away for a few days, I returned home to hear the sad news that Blackpool member Joe Sadler has passed away. Joe and his wife Marga joined the GFS in September 2010 and by the following year, Joe was making his presence felt both in The Vellum and within the Imperial Hotel conventions. He obviously enjoyed his new surroundings within The George Formby Society and would write mini-reports in The Vellum on many of the conventions he attended and they were always worth reading. Joe did not waste time in getting a banjo uke and appeared on stage for the first time in September 2012. Joe was also attending the Blackpool branch meetings as well and eventually took over as MC. His love for the GFS and the people in it was obvious. It was all good stuff until in November 2016, Joe's beloved wife Marga passed away. Thankfully Joe found a way to keep going and it was in early 2018 that he was appealing in The Vellum for someone to help him restart the Blackpool branch which had closed sometime earlier. In January 2019 Joe was able to hold the first meeting of The Cleveleys branch. Later that same year, Joe was elected to the committee of the GFS and by 2020 he was also the archivist for the Society. He continued to write for the magazine with his "From The Vaults" articles when he would highlight some of the many archives held in his care. Within this same period, Joe was also in charge of the sound desk at the conventions. To sum this man up, thirteen years ago he found our Society and immediately embraced it and continued to support it virtually to the end of his life. Such members are few and far between and Joe will be sadly missed by all who knew him. On behalf of all members of the GFS, I extend heartfelt condolences to Joe's family PP 30/06/2023
Having been away for a few days, I returned home to hear the sad news that Blackpool member Joe Sadler has passed away. Joe and his wife Marga joined the GFS in September 2010 and by the following year, Joe was making his presence felt both in The Vellum and within the Imperial Hotel conventions. He obviously enjoyed his new surroundings within The George Formby Society and would write mini-reports in The Vellum on many of the conventions he attended and they were always worth reading. Joe did not waste time in getting a banjo uke and appeared on stage for the first time in September 2012. Joe was also attending the Blackpool branch meetings as well and eventually took over as MC. His love for the GFS and the people in it was obvious. It was all good stuff until in November 2016, Joe's beloved wife Marga passed away. Thankfully Joe found a way to keep going and it was in early 2018 that he was appealing in The Vellum for someone to help him restart the Blackpool branch which had closed sometime earlier. In January 2019 Joe was able to hold the first meeting of The Cleveleys branch. Later that same year, Joe was elected to the committee of the GFS and by 2020 he was also the archivist for the Society. He continued to write for the magazine with his "From The Vaults" articles when he would highlight some of the many archives held in his care. Within this same period, Joe was also in charge of the sound desk at the conventions. To sum this man up, thirteen years ago he found our Society and immediately embraced it and continued to support it virtually to the end of his life. Such members are few and far between and Joe will be sadly missed by all who knew him. On behalf of all members of the GFS, I extend heartfelt condolences to Joe's family PP 30/06/2023
1941 - 2023
joe sadler