1936 – 2021
We are very sorry to announce that Lionel Carley, President of The Delius Society since 2005, passed away just before midnight on Tuesday 28th December.
His heart had troubled him for some months and he had lately been treated as an in-patient at Cheltenham General Hospital.
In addition to his Presidency of the Society, of which he was a founder member, Lionel contributed extensively to the work of the Delius Trust, both as Archivist from 1966 onwards and as an Advisor since 1991.
He wrote a number of major articles and oft-quoted books, mostly on Delius, including the two-volume Delius – A Life In Letters which remains unique as a source of information on the composer’s life and mind.
Yet he wore his erudition lightly, and his many friends in the UK and overseas valued him not only for his knowledge and approachability, but also for his kindness and good humour.
Article and photograph reproduced with kind permission of the Delius Society.