This profile was written for the Central Somerset Gazette in February 2004.
Michael Kidd, the composer from Ashcott whose music is a feature of the Street Parish Church Valentine Concert in Street Parish Church, has divided his life between aeroplanes and music.
“Aviation was my life,” he says. After serving in the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Marines during World War II, he joined BOAC as one of just six trainees, and rose to become Station Manager for the Corporation all over the world.
Biggest airlift ever
One of his most interesting postings took him to India in 1947, the year of partition, when he took part in the biggest human airlift ever, the flying of refugees to and from the new nations of Pakistan and India, Mike himself
flying in Dakotas designed to carry 28 people. By removing the seats they were able to take an average of 69 people each trip. He remembers refugees lighting fires in the cabin to cook their chapatis. He is proud that there were no accidents and no loss of life, except for one memorable flight, this time with a Bristol 170, capable of carrying 119 people, when one woman died en route and another had a baby; this meant that on arrival the pilot was able to report the same total of living people on board as when they started.
On leaving BOAC Mike joined Eagle Airways as Traffic Superindendant and in 1959 formed his own company to train professional pilots. By 1968 he had contracts to train BOAC and BEA pilots and several foreign governments, as well as training hundreds of pilots through the flying scholarship scheme for the Fleet Air Arm, and RAF and the Army Flying Corps. His flying school was based at Carlisle Airport, which Michael himself ran. Incidentally, Mike’s son keeps up the family tradition, flying members of the Royal Family by helicopter.
Music and a fairytale
Wherever he went in the services, Michael Kidd played the organ for the service church. After the war, wherever he played the organ he formed a choir. In all he was a church organist for 60 years, beginning as a lad of eleven playing for children’s services. So when ill health compelled him to leave his beloved aviation, he turned his hobby of music into a profession. How his compositions first came to be published is like a fairy-tale. He ended one of his recitals with a composition of his own, and by chance an executive from the leading music publisher Boosey and Hawkes was in the audience. He approached Michael and said “Boosey and Hawkes would like to publish that piece.” It was later arranged for orchestra and played by professional orchestras in England and Northern Ireland, and on one occasion by the Somerset Youth Orchestra in the Brewhouse, Taunton.
Boosey and Hawkes went on to commission other music and Michael wrote film scores and music for radio and television. Among many other commissions were one from the Royal Navy, and one from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute for a march, ‘Away Lifeboat’, to mark its 150th birthday. The late Queen Mother heard ‘Away Lifeboat’ played, and asked to meet the composer. Later Mike’s wife Pat was surprised to hear comedian Charlie Chester appeal on his radio programme for the composer to come forward. The RNLI wished to own a copy of the score.
Footnote for fun
When the Kidds moved to Somerset, Mike teamed up with a male voice choir, the Men of Mendip, who gave many concerts in Somerset churches. Dean church’s pews had been revarnished ready for Harvest Festival shortly before the Men of Mendip concert there, and when the first hymn was announced no one was able to stand to sing. They had stuck to their seats. Mike at the organ was surrounded by bullrushes and grapes, and was disturbed to find that the grapes had been arranged too near the organist’s light, and kept exploding in the heat.
