ENID STAFFORD (NEE ARKLESS)

Enid was born in Jarrow on the 23rd of February 1940 to parents Stan and Peggy (Margaret) Arkless and grew up in the adjacent town of Hebburn. Now both in the County of Tyne and Wear.

At an early age she was encouraged by her parents to be involved in Music by having piano and singing lessons.

She attended the local St. Oswald’s and Clegwell schools.
At the age of fifteen she left Clegwell school and took up employment at the famous music shop in Newcastle J G Windows, where her duties included selling records made from shellac or vinyl, (Cassette tapes and CD’s were at that stage not yet invented) playable at speeds of 78, 45 and 33 RPM to customers who came from far and wide to get their latest musical fix from Windows, often asking for her by name as she loved her customers and treated them with the kindness she was capable of. She loved that job and her heart and soul were invested in it. She loved the connection with customers many of whom were visiting Show Business stars appearing in the local night clubs at the time.

As a result of her time at Windows she made many friends and made a point of keeping in touch, even though, for others, employment at Windows had terminated in favour of employment elsewhere. It is quite likely that some of the attendees today are some of those friends

As mentioned earlier she had piano and singing lessons and she became very accomplished in both disciplines and they came in useful when requested to play piano in the local social clubs, with the small bands that existed at that time and not a guitar in sight.

She formed a small band, The BLUE PANTHER skiffle group, consisting of her friends and played guitar, as skiffle was popular at that time, they entertained the local groups such as women’s institutes. Singing songs like Maggie May. The only great problem was that without their own transport, getting on a bus to go to a gig with a tea chest was a bit of an ordeal. The highlight of that short music career was an appearance on the “Six Five Stage Show” at Newcastle City Hall hosted by Pete Murray. They were featured in Newcastle Chronicle at the time.

However a greater attraction came along as an invitation came to become a member of the Hebburn Musical and Operatic Society, a local group whose specialty was presenting and performing Grand Opera productions annually in Hebburn Technical College. She was involved in many of the famous operatic works by Verdi etc. With an occasional Gilbert and Sullivan operetta thrown in. The Society have not done an actual stage production for a number of years but still exists as a small choir presenting two concerts a year in the local St. Aloysius catholic church hall. The Technical College has since been demolished.

At about 1963 she decided to go to the place in Newcastle where a lot of Tyneside partnerships were formed, the Oxford Galleries, a dance hall with a band led by the leader Don Smith. On the same evening, a young handsome Newcastle man decided to attend the same venue. They both met and over time romance blossomed, culminating in them becoming Mr and Mrs Tom Stafford on Saturday July 31st 1965 at St. Marks Church in Jarrow. An association that was to last sixty years.

In that same year she was invited by friends to take part in a stage production for the newly formed Caprian Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society in Gateshead but she declined the invitation as she was busy with seeing wedding plans coming to fruition.

The following year, the invitation was accepted and membership with the Caprians began.
Having performed in a number of Musical shows and Pantomimes, presented in Gateshead Little Theate and the Dryden Centre, the opportunity came to take over as to the Society Musical Director. She took to the task with relish and that connection lasted thirty-nine years her final show being the Musical ‘Chicago’ that she adored.

Throughout their marriage of sixty years, Tom and Enid did what most couples do having holidays etc, but the bulk of the time was spent on their hobby which was Opera, Musical shows and pantomimes. Tom served thirty-nine years as Caprian Chairman and Enid as stated previously, thirty-five years as Musical Director. These jobs were Honorary, since the company constitution forbid Company members from receiving any payment for their work.

She began to feel ill in July of this year and determined that the cause was due to the high temperatures experienced during the resultant heat wave. However that was not the case and her very exciting life came to a painless end in Sunderland Royal Hospital on Friday 8th August.

The announcement of her death came as a great shock to many of her friends and family. When hearing of the results of tests, she said “Oh well, I’ve reached the ripe old age of Eighty Five, the end of a life well lived.”

It was truly a life well lived, she touched the hearts of a great many people and will be sadly missed.
Husband Tom