Organist marks 82 years of service to the church

When 94-year-old Roy Jukes first began playing the organ in church, the Second World War was still underway, man had not yet landed on the moon, and Queen Elizabeth II was a young woman. Roy himself was just 12 years old. He didn’t know then that more than 80 years later he would still be playing.

It was a chance conversation with the Churchwarden at St Nicholas’ Church in Portishead where Roy still plays the organ, that prompted him to reflect on the fact that this year marks 82 years since he first started playing the organ in church. 

Roy’s modesty shines through as he quietly looks back over 8 decades to something that has not only brought him great joy, but also brought immense pleasure to all those who have had the privilege of hearing him play, “It’s my gift. If I was fortunate enough to be given it, then I’ve always used it for the Church.”

Roy first began to play the organ as a young boy at his family home in Staffordshire. “There was an organ in my house, and as a child I messed about with it. So, my father said he might as well take me to a local tutor and do the job properly. 

“By the time I was 10 or 11, I was playing short voluntaries before the morning service. Occasionally the organist failed to turn up and I would continue and play for the hymns. Eventually my father came back from a trustees’ meeting to tell me that I was appointed organist, that was on my 12th birthday!”

Over the years, music has become a lifelong ministry for Roy. “I was organist and choir master in Aldridge. I was running three choirs at the time; a junior choir, a senior choir, and the local Catholic lady’s choir.”

In 1970 Roy came to work at the Nautical School in Portishead. Whilst Roy and his wife were hoping to make the move quietly and take a rest from the musical work, his friends had other ideas. A former choir member was the new Deputy Principal of Clevedon School. She mentioned Roy’s musical achievements,and the job of church organist was waiting for him when he arrived. So he carried on playing the organ at the Nautical School and in church. He continues to this day at St Peter’s Church in Portishead. 

Roy even met his wife Edna Mae, through his love of music, and music has taken him all over the world. With choirs under his direction, he toured America, New Zealand, and Hawaii.  

After 84 years at the organ bench Roy has no plans to draw the final stop yet, he says, “It’s been a way of life, really. It’s something I’ve always done and something that has given me great joy.” Asked if he has a favourite piece of music, he says it is hard to pick just one, but points to The Prayer to Our Lady from the “Gothic Suite” by Léon Boëllmann, which he says he enjoys very much. 

Christmas Eve this year Roy marks another remarkable milestone, when he and Edna Mae celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. Roy says the support she has given him throughout their married life has been central to all he has achieved, he simply says, “It is one of the main reasons I am still keep going – I simply couldn’t have done without her.”