Local band mourns loss of "larger than life" character

Thursday 08 March 2018

The Caesarean Ceilidh Band and the Helier Morris Men are mourning the loss of their beloved fiddler of 35 years, a "larger than life character" who passed away recently at the age of 77.

Richard (Graeme) Bennett, a father of three sons and grandfather of four children, joined the Helier Morris Men in 1980 when he and wife Irene moved to the island. He passed away on Monday 26 February.

Sharing the news on social media, the Helier Morris Men wrote: "Please raise a glass to one of life's great characters, our fiddler of 35 years, Graeme who passed away on Sunday. There was certainly never a dull moment when he was around and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him. RIP old friend." 

Miles Spencer, who joined the Morris Men in 1983 after getting roped in in a pub, and played with Graeme for over 30 years, certainly agrees with that description. He told Express: "He was certainly.a larger than life character. He would not take 'no' for an answer. There was always a joke about him, as he took on the role of leader and bank man over the years, that we expected of others the same dedication as he gave. He would tell you 'I'll put you down for a yes,' because that's just the way he was."

Pictured: Graeme (in the middle with glasses) with the Morris Men at the wassailing festival in 2017.

A former structural engineer, Graeme was "quite a sportsman in his days" and played a lot of hockey. A constant member of the Morris Men, he "wanted to do everything and anything" with them. He was as devoted to the Caesarean Ceilidh Band, created in the early 80s, as well as the Jersey Lillies. "Graeme always had an instrument in hand," says Miles, but his playing style created some comical moments. Miles explained: "He always played too fast, we would have to tell him to slow down. He was never a dancer so he did not always understand that you have to slow down to allow people to get their feet together.

"He had a certain style! He had a couple tunes he would play at the most inappropriate moment, such as 'I'm dreaming of a White Christmas' which he would play on May Day or in the middle of summer. He was always full of beans!"

A good musician, Graeme was also a very colourful character. Miles says: "You were guaranteed to have a story. Graeme would talk to anybody, whether when we were playing in the street or in another country. Once when we went on a French trip with the band, he brought along a Polish-English dictionary with him. I don't know why but that's what he would do!"

Please raise a glass to one of life's great characters - our fiddler of 35 years, Graeme who passed away on Sunday. There was certainly never a dull moment when he was around and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him. RIP old friend. pic.twitter.com/jQGmsKDylc

— Helier Morris Men (@HelierMM) February 27, 2018

Graeme left his fellow musicians and Morris Men with a lot of lifelong memories. "I'm not sure if all of them are printable," admits Miles with a smile. "A few years ago, he almost got us all arrested while we were in London. We were outside Windsor and he insisted in singing 'The Laughing Policeman' to a policeman. We were laughing for the first 30 seconds, but not so much when we realised the policeman was getting grumpy. We had to pull Graeme away!"

At the end of the 90s, the band feared the worst for Graeme as he suffered from kidney failure, which led him to get a kidney replacement. Miles remembers: "We thought we would lose him then but it worked well. Because of that he was a became a big support of the Jersey Kidney Patients' Association."

While the five other musicians on the band, Liz and Trevor Keeler, Brenda Gale, Sue Annan, Vanessa Moore and Miles, already have a fiddler ready to take the stage, Graeme's shoes will be hard to fill. "I don't think you can replace him straight away," says Miles. 

Video: Graeme's fiddling in action. (Sue Annan)

To honour the memory of their friend, the Morris Men have decided to dedicate their next performance on May Day to Graeme.

A funeral service for Graeme will be held on 9 March at 12:00 at the Crematorium Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to the Jersey Kidney Patients' Association.