Garstang resident Elsie Hartley's musical 100th birthday

Although she has lived in Garstang for 33 years, Elsie was born in London. She trained as a pianist at The Royal College of Music and at the beginning of the Second World War, she gained a position with the Canadian Pay Corp, which evacuated to Lancaster in 1940.Whilst there, she met Kenneth Hartley through mutual friends and they shared a passion for classical music and ballroom dancing. Married in 1946, they moved to London in 1950, then to Kent in 1955 with a son and a daughter in tow. Elsie was always heavily involved in music, both as a piano teacher and conducting and organising WI choirs in her area and blessed with a fine voice and perfect pitch she also joined the National WI Choir. Her son followed his mother into the music world as a professional musician.After Ken’s retirement in 1985 they moved to Garstang. Ken was the co-founder of Garstang Recorded Music Society while Elsie continued her conducting of the WI Choir for many years.In the last 10 years Elsie discovered a love of poetry and is still an active member of the Poetry Appreciation Society as well as the 3LS and the Friendship Group.