Fifty-eight years ago today the funeral of Ralph Vaughan Williams was held at Westminster Abbey. As a close friend of the composer and his wife Ursula, Simona was a guest at the funeral and wrote about her feelings on his death and about the service. I have no idea if this has ever been published, certainly there is no evidence of it having been so in her papers, so rather than summarise her prose I've decided simply to post it as written in 1958.
Read MoreLast time I visited my parents I spent an afternoon going through more of Simona's papers and photographs; among them were a number of letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams written during the two years of their friendship.
Read MoreSixty years ago today Simona first met Vaughan Williams. I found her account of their meeting among the papers associated with the book. My father thinks it may have previously been published by the Vaughan Williams society, but we don't have any evidence one way or another, and therefore no certainty. So this may be its premier!
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