Reginald Thatcher
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Sir Reginald Sparshatt Thatcher (11 March 1888 – 6 May 1957) was an English musician, composer, teacher and musical administrator. He was assistant music-master at
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...
, 1911; director of music,
Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...
, 1914; director of music at Charterhouse School, 1919 and Harrow School, 1928–36. He was appointed as
Sir Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...
's deputy in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
music department in 1937, and was principal of the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), London, from 1949 to 1955.


Life and career

Thatcher was born at Midsomer Norton, Somerset,"Obituary: Sir Reginald Thatcher", ''The Times'', 7 May 1957, p. 13 the son of a
brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...
at Welton, Midsomer Norton, and one of fifteen children. He was educated privately, and then won an open organ scholarship to the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music 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 performanc ...
, London."Thatcher, Sir Reginald (Sparshatt)"
''Who Was Who'', online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2017 From there he progressed to Worcester College, Oxford, as organ scholar in 1907. He graduated in 1910, and then took a doctorate in music.Rutland, Harold
"Sir Reginald Thatcher"
''The Musical Times'' 98, No. 1373, July 1957. p. 394 After leaving Oxford Thatcher's first post was assistant music master at
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...
, from 1911. Thatcher was appointed director of music at the
Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...
in 1914, but during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he joined the army, and was awarded the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...
and the OBE. In 1915 he married Ruth Trethowan; they had one daughter and one son. The latter was killed in action in 1942. After the war Thatcher served successively as director of music at Charterhouse School (1919–28) and Harrow School (1928–36). In 1937
Sir Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...
, who combined the roles of director of music at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and chief conductor of the
BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...
, was in need of a deputy to take over day-to-day administrative work, leaving him freer to concentrate on the orchestra. Thatcher, an old friend from their university days, became Boult's deputy director. Thatcher's nature was unassertive and sensitive, and although, with Boult's support, he was several times offered the post of director, he always refused.Boult, Adrian. "Sir R Thatcher", ''The Times'', 13 May 1957, p. 15 During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, when the BBC had to be evacuated from London, Thatcher organised three successive moves for the music department, first to Evesham, then
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and finally to
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
. As ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' put it, "he left for the quieter life of the RAM in 1943". At the RAM Thatcher first held the post of warden; he was promoted to vice-principal in 1945, and on the death of the principal, Sir Stanley Marchant, in 1949, Thatcher was appointed as his successor. ''The Times'' obituarist said of his tenure: The obituarist added that Thatcher's term of office at the academy was "marked by the urbanity towards staff, students, and strangers that he had inherited from Merchant". Thatcher was the composer of the anthem, ''Come ye faithful''. Portraits of him by
Walter Stoneman Walter Ernest Stoneman (6 April 1876 – 14 May 1958) was an English portrait photographer who took many photographs for the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London. Career as a photographer Stoneman was born in Plymouth, Devon, on 6 ...
and
Elliott & Fry Elliott & Fry was a Victorian photography studio founded in 1863 by Joseph John Elliott (14 October 1835 – 30 March 1903) and Clarence Edmund Fry (1840 – 12 April 1897). For a century, the firm's core business was taking and publishing photo ...
hang in the National Portrait Gallery, London."Sir Reginald Sparshatt Thatcher – Person – National Portrait Gallery"
www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2017. His portrait was also painted by Rodrigo Moynihan. Thatcher was knighted in 1952. Ill health led him to retire in from the RAM 1955, and he died at his home in
Cranleigh Cranleigh is a village and civil parish, about southeast of Guildford in Surrey, England. It lies on a minor road east of the A281, which links Guildford with Horsham. It is in the north-west corner of the Weald, a large remnant forest, the m ...
, Surrey, two years later, at the age of 69. His widow survived him, and died in 1981."Lady Thatcher", ''The Times'', 18 June 1981, p. 16


Notes


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thatcher, Reginald 1888 births 1957 deaths Alumni of the Royal College of Music Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford BBC people Composers awarded knighthoods Instructors of the Royal Naval College, Osborne People from Midsomer Norton Principals of the Royal Academy of Music Royal College of Music British Army personnel of World War I Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Military Cross Teachers at Harrow School