The president retires
End of An Era
FIFTEEN YEARS
After fifteen years in the role of President of the GFS, Honorary member
Gerry Mawdsley has decided to retire from the role. A member of the
Society for almost fifty years, in that time, Gerry has had many notable
achievements.
NO STRANGER TO THE STAGE
He joined the George Formby Society early in 1972 and was already an
accomplished performer of Formby songs and the banjo-ukulele, having
been a player since he was fifteen years old.
No stranger to the stage, he also performed in clubland with a comedy band
called Laughing Stock and was a member for seventeen years. In that time
he introduced his uke into the band's repertoire and amongst other skills, he
could entertain with conjuring tricks, card tricks and he was an expert fire
eater!
THE FIRST BLUE PLAQUE
In 1984 Gerry, born in Wigan, approached Wigan Council to ask their
permission to erect a Blue Plaque to commemorate the birthplace of
George Formby at 3, Westminster Street. It took many years of Gerry
working in the background before Wigan Council finally granted permission
and then, even though the birthplace of George had by this time been
demolished, in 1998 the Blue Plaque was erected.
WESTHOUGHTON GFS
In 1999 Gerry and three friends formed the Westhoughton branch of the
GFS, a branch that after 22 years is still enjoying good support.
Gerry was a regular convention visitor and involved himself in MC work,
and many other roles. In the year 2000 he offered to share his skills with
others at the convention weekends when he became a popular teacher of
the Formby style of playing and following on from this, he created a very
popular tuition DVD which still sells well in the GFS Shop.
MARGERY & GLADYS
In the year 2003 Gerry was selected with other leading players of the GFS,
to appear in the TV film production, "Margery and Gladys" starring
Penelope Keith and June Brown.
A NEW CAMPAIGN
In 2005, Gerry launched a new campaign. This was to have a statue of
George Formby erected in Wigan. In that same year, he was elected to the
committee of the GFS for the first time.
Work to get the statue to become a reality was difficult and unpredictable
but Gerry continued to push in the hope that one day it would happen.
ELECTED TO PRESIDENT
In 2006 Dennis Taylor retired as President and Gerry was unanimously
elected to take his place. Gerry's wife Vivien was co-opted to the committee
as the secretary of the Society in the November following on from Gerry’s
September election. His new role as President put him in a great position to
push even harder for the statue and after enlisting the aid of Wigan
councillor Gareth Fairhurst, positive results started to happen.
In late 2007 the statue project came to fruition and was finally unveiled in a
new shopping centre in Wigan. A very memorable day was enjoyed by
many GFS members both at the unveiling and then afterwards at a special
concert in a Wigan hotel.
FRANK SKINNER in search of GEORGE FORMBY
In 2010 another momentous occasion took place when Frank Skinner was
recruited to make a TV special on the life of George Formby. Frank and the
TV crew visited Blackpool for a memorable convention weekend. “Frank
Skinner In Search of George Formby” which was created by the late Daniel
Wiles, received nationwide acclaim and proved to be a golden period for the
GFS with membership increasing to record levels.
THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
Over the years, Gerry has continued to work on behalf of the GFS and has
been instrumental in many of the Society's finest moments, but the most
notable achievement must be the concert at the Royal Albert Hall to
entertain H.M. The Queen on the occasion of her 92nd birthday.
Gerry and Vivien had the unenviable task of organising the GFS role in this
event, which was broadcast around the world and was a massive success
with Gerry and Vivien being present on stage at the end of the show with
the Queen, Prince Charles and the other stars of the show.
This occasion led to a friendship for Gerry and Vivien with TV comedian
Harry Hill who then recruited members of the Society to appear on one of
his popular TV shows.
The Royal Albert Hall concert for our Queen, four blue plaques, the statue
of George Formby in Wigan, a wonderful concert in Blackpool Opera House
with comedian Jim Davidson, many years of work supporting the GFS, The
Vellum magazine and of course fifteen years of being President of our
Society have given GFS members everywhere so many memorable
moments. On a personal note, I wish to thank Gerry for all his support to me
and Kathryn during the nine years of our shop management.
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP
In 2016 a well deserved Honorary membership was awarded for his support
of the Society and his achievements throughout many years.
Always immaculately dressed when on duty at convention
weekends, his Sunday evening "chats" when introducing the artists
and organising the popular auctions will be sadly missed.
On behalf of all members of our Society, I would like to wish
Gerry and Vivien a happy retirement and a well-earned rest.
Peter Pollard - 22/08/2021