Harry Morley (OW 1949)

24 September 1931 to 31 March 2026

The Waynflete Office has been informed by his daughter Nicola of the death of Harry Morley, aged 94. We send our deepest condolences to Harry’s family and friends, and are grateful to Harry’s daughter Beryl for these words about his life:

Harry was born in Ilkeston Derbyshire; he moved to Oxford with his family at the age of seven.

His life as a chorister began at New College School. At the age of eleven he passed the entrance exam and was awarded a scholarship at Magdalen College School.

He often spoke about the good times he had, one of which being meals with the boarders during War times and the swapping of food. This led to all kinds of combinations being eaten, most peculiarly sardines with marmalade!

Harry enjoyed a variety of sports, from lunchtime play to serious sports after school.

He also talked about having Wednesday evenings as free time. This changed when on VE Day all the boarders and choristers celebrated by singing, shouting and dancing. The following morning at practice most of the choristers had strained their voices! H K Andrews was furious and called the school, telling the headmaster that since the school couldn’t be trusted to supervise the choristers effectively, in future there would be no more free Wednesdays. This was still the case when Harry left the school several years later.

One of his highlights was singing Madrigals for General Montgomery, from the Minstrel’s Gallery in the College dining hall.

Sadly, in 2021 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. He passed away in March 2026, aged 94, surrounded by his loving wife Beryl and four daughters.