Choir ‘legend’ Kelvin singing until his last breath aged 99
A Bathampton resident who earned an MBE for his outstanding contribution to musical causes over the decades has died at the age of 99.
Kelvin Thomas died peacefully in his sleep at Bath’s Royal United Hospital on Friday, June 14.
His family said he developed a passion for singing from a very young age and it was something that never left him.
“He loved to sing and he loved music,” said his daughter Rhiannon. “He was singing right to the end. It was his life’s passion.”
Mr Thomas was born in Cardiff on September 14, 1919, to Charles and Lena Thomas. The family, including siblings Olga, Hazel, Hilary, himself and Alan, moved to Bath in the mid-1920s.
For the rest of his life, he lived in Bath and Bathampton but remained a very proud Welshman.
From a very young age, Kelvin developed a love of singing. He sang at a school, at church and even featured in the same concert as American singer and actor, Paul Robeson, at Colston Hall in Bristol.
“His mum and dad were very musical. That is where it came from. He was a soprano at the age of five or six. Their family all played and sang and we all played and sang as well,” said Rhiannon.
“Dad had such a wonderful voice. He was so talented.”
Aside from singing, playing the piano and violin, Kelvin worked as a coal merchant at his dad’s business, at a family-run garage and as a chief estimator at engineering firm Stothert & Pitt.
On October 3, 1942, he married Megan Jones at Walcot Chapel in Bath. They couple were married for nearly 70 years until Megan’s death seven years ago. They had five children: Glyn, Bronwen, Rowena, Arfon and Rhiannon.
Mr Thomas founded the Silver Ring Choir in Bathampton in 1951 - a choir he conducted until 1990.
The choir featured regularly on the BBC, winning many contests.
They toured the globe, performing in Germany in 1961, behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary in 1971 and the United States in 1976 for the choir’s silver anniversary.
Mr Thomas, who was a member of Bath’s twinning movement and a founder of the Bradford on Avon Choral Society, was also behind relocating the Bathampton Methodist Church to Holcombe Lane in 1972.
His contributions to musical groups and charity earned him an MBE in 1981.
“He was very proud of his MBE. He was also made a professor of music as well,” his daughter said.
“He was singling until his last breath. The weekend before he died, he broke into a Welsh song in front of hospital staff.”
Mr Thomas wrote several books, composed his own music and he wrote his own poetry.
“He was a legend. He had such a presence. He was a very kind gentleman. The nurses said he was a gentleman too. My dad was very polite and kind,” Rhiannon said.
Mr Thomas has 19 grandchildren and 29 great-great grandchildren.
“They loved him very much. He was such a wonderful family member to them and they all kept in touch with him regularly,” Rhiannon said.
A funeral date has not yet been confirmed.