In the photo at the top, Roy Turner the Chairman of Rhyl Urban District Council 1957-58, is making a speech opening the Floral Hall on the promenade. The lady in the rather fetching hat is Roy’s wife June; sitting next to her is Albert Edwards the Clerk to the Council, then Councillor F.S. Williams. Standing the other side of Roy is Tom Leigh the council’s publicity manger.Roy and June were deeply involved with Rhyl & District Amateur Operatic Society (now Rhyl & District Musical Theatre Company). In the nearest picture, taken in 1964, June is doing a photoshoot inside the Floral Hall to promote the Society’s show ‘South Pacific’ which was staged at Easter that year in Rhyl Pavilion.
The show was produced by Freddie Collier and featured songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein such as ‘A Cockeyed Optimist’ and ‘Some Enchanted Evening’. June (soprano) played the lead Nellie Forbush and her partner in the scene above playing Emile de Becque is Clwyd Pierce (baritone) who was from a Rhyl family of bakers and caterers.
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WED 20th JAN 2010 UPDATE: Peter Trehearn has identified the man standing far right in the middle picture. He is none other than Rhyl council’s parks and gardens superintendant Mr. John McCartan who was mentioned in a previous post about the Floral Hall. Peter says of him, “He constructed the Garden of Remembrance and presumably created the Floral Hall. Rhyl gardens were at their peak under McCartan."
THU 25th FEB 2010 UPDATE: With regard to Tom Leigh above, his grandson Stephen Buckley has been in touch to say that Tom was Rhyl council’s publicity manager and entertainments manager based in the town hall. Also, Tom was a sports reporter for a couple of newspapers. I wonder what he did in his spare time. The family now operate a crane hire company in Glan Conwy; the company was established in 1964. Thank you, Stephen.
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