A MAN from South Australia has fulfilled a long held ambition by playing a Father Henry Willis organ at Davidstow Church.

Gavin Perry, a retired 73-year-old engineer, and his wife Janette live at Hindmarsh Island, South Australia.

Gavin has two hobbies, tracing his family history and an interest in church organs, and it was these two elements which brought them to Davidstow while on holiday in the UK.

Gavin’s great-great grandparents, James Cook and Ann Trezise, married at St David’s in 1844.

On his mother’s side the Cook family was from Davidstow and Trewen, whilst his father’s side hailed from Zennor near St Ives

A talented organist, Gavin spent the best part of two hours displaying his skills from a repertoire of selected organ music and hymn tunes. The rafters shook with his rendition of that great hymn How Great Thou Art with all the organ stops out.

Taken aback by the excellent welcome he and his wife received he donated £100 to the organ restoration fund, which sees the church needing obtain over £17,000 for the works to be completed.

The Father Henry Willis organ at St David’s dates from 1876. It is a classic pipe organ with virtually no additions or alterations since its installation.

It is in surprisingly good condition for its age and lack of attention. It was last overhauled in 1945 but needs to be updated in the near future.

Henry Willis was born on April 27, 1821 in London. From an early age he showed great interest in music in general and organs in particular. As a young teenager he displayed his ingenuity by inventing and developing organ pedal couplers, and was to become an active teenage church organ player.

He went on to build organs for major buildings including the Royal Albert Hall and St Paul’s Cathedral, as well as many other cathedrals including Truro, while he is also credited with building thousands of smaller ones including the one in Davidstow.

As a mark of high appreciation of his great abilities, in his seventies he was named ‘Father’ within the organ building business.