Norman Bartlett picuted here with the National President of the Royal British Legion – Lt General James Bashall CB.CBE.
It’s a common, albeit strange fact that within Male Voice Choirs we often have little or no idea of the lives that have been lived by our fellow choristers. In the case of our oldest chorister, Top Tenor Norman Bartlett (aka Leg-ends!), we all knew he had been in the navy during the war, but most were unaware of just how involved he’d been until he appeared on television on Saturday August 15th, reciting the Closing Prayer of the VJ 75th Anniversary Remembrance Service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. He found himself in the illustrious company of Prince Charles, Lady Camilla and TV presenter Sophie Raworth amongst many famous celebrities.
How proud every one of us was to see Norm standing ramrod straight at 94 years old, delivering the prayer with poise and feeling, every word enunciated clearly and correctly. No mean feat for anyone and Norman should be extremely proud of himself for carrying out this great honour with such confidence. He will chastise me for calling him a hero, but truth be told just standing before the nation on TV delivering such a poignant prayer is heroic in itself, without any talk of his war exploits!
Norman himself was born on 24th March 1926 in Paddington, London and joined the navy in 1942, at just 16 years old! A full Naval career followed, sailing aboard ships such as the awesome destroyer ‘Bar Fleur’ – the largest destroyer in the fleet at that time. Norman served right across the world, including the fearsome North Atlantic run, the Western Approaches before finally facing the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean.
Our MD, Kevin Jacot has used his considerable skills to co-ordinate a video of clips and photographs of the memorial, including a recording of Norman delivering the Final Prayer. Kevin writes: “Wasn’t it wonderful to see Norman reading to the nation? I’ve lifted some images from the broadcast and added Mansions of the Lord and Stout Hearted Men to create a five minute film for your enjoyment!”
Click here to watch the video compilation
Mike Morgan: Chairman
August 19th 2020