Alfred Ernest Floyd

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(5 January 1877 - 13 January 1974) was an English-born organist and choirmaster in Australia, later known as a radio broadcaster. He has been described as Australia's oldest radio disc jockey when he retired at 95.

Career

Born in Aston, Birmingham, England, in 1877, Floyd's family moved to Cambridge in 1890 where he attended the Leys School and became a pupil of the organist of

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. He completed a bachelor of music degree at Oxford in 1912, doctor of music at Cambridge in 1918, and took the position of organist and choirmaster of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where he was employed between 1915 and 1947. He lectured with the

Workers' Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

and Council of Adult Education, and was music critic of '' The Argus'' newspaper. In the 1940s he worked for the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

(ABC), with his programme ''Music Lovers' Hour'' broadcast into the 1970s. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1948, and awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

and the ABC's Silver Medallion in 1971. In July 1972, aged 95, Floyd announced he would be retiring from his radio programme after 28 years on air. He stayed on as a musical consultant for the ABC, and planned to broadcast again. He died in Melbourne on 13 January 1974, eight days after his 97th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floyd, Alfred Ernest 1877 births 1974 deaths Australian organists Australian broadcasters English emigrants to Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire