The history of talented musician Luther Greenwood

This week’s column features a rare artefact from the archive of the late Henry Nelson.

Henry was a huge supporter of all local performing arts and here we see his personal patron’s ticket for the Luther Greenwood Memorial Festival for 1972 and ’73.

Luther Greenwood was born in 1881 at 2 Greenwood’s Terrace (demolished in 1975) and soon became a truly talented musician with his first trophy being awarded to the Mount Zion Choir in 1908.

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Watersider Luther went on to conduct the Colne Orpheus Glee Union, with him proudly at the helm for the royal visits to Colne in 1913 and 1938 and over 50 first prizes won during those halcyon Orpheus years.

Musical genius Luther sadly died in 1946 and, two years later, in 1948, the very first Luther Greenwood Memorial Festival was held in the Municipal Hall and is still going strong today, thus ensuring Luther’s name lives on in perpetuity.

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