George Posford, born Benjamin George Ashwell (23 March 1906 – 24 April 1976), was an English composer and conductor.

Early life

Benjamin George Ashwell was born in 1906 in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He was educated at

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

in Somerset and Christ's College at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He studied law, but would become known for his musical achievements, after a song he co-wrote with Rodney Hobson was successfully interpolated in an early 1930s touring version of the show ''Lavender'', which pointed him towards a new career. After Cambridge, Ashwell studied composition and orchestration at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

Ashwell became a professional composer in 1930, and would be known as George Posford. He initially specialised in

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

work, before moving into theatre. He composed many songs, often with librettist-lyricist

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, ...

. For radio, they wrote ''Goodnight Vienna'', which then became a 1932 film (the first British musical to be filmed), starring

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in British cinema for 2 ...

and

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1890 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Gr ...

(known in the US as ''Magic Night''), and a stage show. Posford and Maschwitz then wrote ''The Great Hussar'' (1933), which, revised and with additional music by Bernard Grun, opened at London's

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

as ''

Balalaika The balalaika (, ) is a Russian string instrument, stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck, and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perf ...

'' (1936), where it ran for 570 performances. The hit song, hastily written by Posford and Maschwitz, was "At The Balalaika". The 1939 film version starred

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs ...

and

Ilona Massey Ilona Massey (born Ilona Hajmássy, June 16, 1910 – August 20, 1974) was a Hungarian-American film, stage and radio performer. Early life and career She was born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (now in Hungary). Billed as "the new Die ...

. Some of Posford's melodies and themes appeared in the films ''

The Good Companions ''The Good Companions'' is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929, it follows the fortunes of a Concert Party (entertainment), concert party on a tour of England. It is Priestley's most famous novel and established hi ...

'' and ''

Britannia of Billingsgate ''Britannia of Billingsgate'' is a 1933 British musical comedy film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Violet Loraine, Gordon Harker, Kay Hammond and John Mills. A family who work in the fish trade at Billingsgate Market encounter a film c ...

'' (both 1933), and '' Invitation to the Waltz'' (1935). Posford also composed for the concert platform: these works included ''Transatlantic Rhapsody'' (commissioned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

for the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

in 1936) and ''Broadcasting House''. Maschwitz, Posford and Grun also composed ''Paprika'' (1938), which flopped, but a revised version, ''Magyar Melody'', ran at His Majesty's Theatre for 105 performances. To the original score was added "Mine Alone", composed by

Manning Sherwin Manning Sherwin (January 4, 1902 – July 26, 1974) was an American composer. Born in Philadelphia, Sherwin attended Columbia University before embarking upon a long career in musical theatre and films. His most enduring composition is the music ...

, which outlived the show. Posford and

Harry Parr-Davies Harry Parr-Davies (24 May 1914 – 14 October 1955) was a Welsh composer and songwriter. He was born Harry Parr Davies in Briton Ferry, Neath, South Wales, and was educated at Neath Grammar School. He was considered a musical prodigy, hav ...

composed ''Full Swing'' (1940), starring

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End ...

and

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, C ...

, which had 468 performances during the London blitz. Posford wrote a number of wartime revues for the duo. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

and the London Fire Service. He was subsequently involved in the Overseas Recorded Broadcasting Service. After the war, Posford co-composed ''Evangeline'' (1946) with Harry Jacobson. Starring

Frances Day Frances Day (born Frances Victoria Schenk; December 16, 1907April 29, 1984) was an American actress and singer who achieved great popularity in the UK in the 1930s. Her career began as a nightclub cabaret singer in New York City and London. ...

, this was a reworking by Maschwitz of

James Laver James Laver, CBE, FRSA (14 March 1899 – 3 June 1975) was an English author, critic, art historian, and museum curator who acted as Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1938 and 1959. He was also ...

's ''Nymph Errant''. In 1951, Posford was again in collaboration with Maschwitz, writing '' Zip Goes a Million''. Starring

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

, the show ran for 544 performances at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

, and the songs included the title song, "Ridin' Into Town", "The Thing About You", "It Takes No Time To Fall In Love", "Nothing Breaks But The Heart", "I Owe You", "Big Business", "Trouble With My Heart", "Thou Art For Me", "Ordinary People" and "I'm Saving Up For Sally". Posford and Maschwitz also collaborated on ''Happy Holiday'' (1954), a musical version of Arnold Ridley's ''The Ghost Train''. Among the songs from this show was "Sew A Silver Button On the Moon". Staged over Christmas, the show was unsuccessful.

Personal life and death

Posford married actress

Rène Ray Irene Lilian Brodrick, Countess of Midleton (née Creese, known as Rene Ray, 22 September 1911 – 28 August 1993) was a British stage and screen actress of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and also a novelist. Acting career Ray made her screen débu ...

in August 1936. He died on 24 April 1976 in

Worplesdon Worplesdon is a village NNW of Guildford in Surrey, England and a large dispersed civil parish that includes the settlements of: Worplesdon itself (including its central church area, Perry Hill), Fairlands, Jacobs Well, Rydeshill and Wood S ...

, Surrey, aged 70. He had a house built for him in

Rustington Rustington is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex. Rustington is approximately at the midpoint of the West Sussex coast and midway between Chichester and Brighton. The A259 runs along the north of Rustington, west ...

, West Sussex, called Sark House, where

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

was a regular guest.

Tributes

An album of his works, ''Room Five-Hundred-and-Four: The Music of George Posford'' (named after his song of the same name) was recorded by Frank Barber and released by EMI Columbia in 1960.

Works

;Musical theatre * ''Goodnight, Vienna'' (1931) * ''

'' (1936); co-composed with Bernard Grün * '' Evangeline (1946 musical)'' (1946); music also by Harry Jacobson * ''Her Excellency'' (1949); co-composed with

* '' Zip Goes a Million'' (1951) * ''Happy Holiday'' (1954) ;Film scores * ''

Goodnight, Vienna ''Goodnight, Vienna'' is a 1932 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Anna Neagle and Gina Malo. Two lovers in Vienna are separated by the First World War, but are later reunited. Based on a radio opere ...

'' (1932) * ''

'' (1933) * ''

'' (1939) * '' Magyar Melody'' (1939) * ''Full Swing'' (1942) ;Orchestra * ''Transatlantic Rhapsody'' (1942)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Posford, George 1906 births 1976 deaths English film score composers English male film score composers English musical theatre composers People from Folkestone Musicians from Kent 20th-century English classical musicians 20th-century English composers 20th-century English male musicians