Family Video Archive… Annice – Voice of the Dales
In the mid 1980s, Yorkshire Television made a documentary about a lady called Annice Sidwells, a talented operatic singer with a beautiful and special contralto voice. Annice lived in Settle, North Yorkshire, but the documentary was based around the unlikely story of how a singer from a small-town amateur operatic society made it big in the early days of wireless radio, travelling down to London to perform live on national radio. The romantic angle was added to the story when her boyfriend of the time came to take her home, away from the smog, back to Settle, and marry her.
The man was Matt Haygarth, my grandfather, who died at the age of 50 and I never met. Annice, my grandmother was a wonderful and special lady with an unrivalled joy for life, and I feel very lucky to have this film about her life!
Thank you so much for sending me this link and sharing this wonderful video. You should be proud to have known such a wonderful woman and to have her life documented so beautifully to share with your family and friends.
Cheers from across the Pond,
Lisa Drew (contralto)
Minneapolis, MN USA
What a touching story and a very compelling tale. Thank you for posting this. An enjoyable watch. I like the narrator.
I’m so glad you have blogged this wonderful story of your grandmother, my very lovely mother in law , whom I have been privileged to have known
Annice lives on in Lily!
Well done Dave on getting this onto the web!
I have seen the video of Annice and remember her and the family; especially daughter Sylvia who is my lifelong friend. I too sang in Settle in the same Opera Society with Annice and Jack Brassington. I remember playing Gianetta in Gondoliers when I was only 16 years of age. Annice played th Duchess of Plazaro and Jack played Marco. It fulfilled a childhood ambition of mine to sing with them as I remebered seeing them singing with the Society when I was very young. Subsequently I have been involved in singing throughout my life; music is indeed a great happy and social experience.