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on 4 January 1938 to grocery store manager father Thomas Leslie (Les) Rawle and mother Edith, who was a pianist and singer. Rawle learned the piano at the age of four. He also played the recorder and violin at school. In 1945, Rawle took his first piano music examinations at the
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Rawle was responsible for establishing the Yamaha organ dealer network and Yamaha Music
Schools in the UK. He gave numerous concerts and workshops in the US, Australia and Europe. In May 2001, he played on "Western New York's mightiest Wurlitzer theater pipe organ" in
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is a town in New York where all of the
Wurlitzer organs were produced). The organ was officially opened in June 1968 by Gerald Shaw. However, the instrument was sold to a fellow enthusiast in 2015 to be restored and installed in a new purpose-built location in
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After school, Rawle attended the Acton
Technical College. However, he did not complete his studies and, instead, pursued a career in insurance at the London and Lancashire Insurance Company. He worked there for two years, from 1952, before being called up for
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parades. He would also play, on a voluntary basis, the
Wurlitzer Organ at the Ritz Aldershot on a Saturday morning, for the Children's Matinee, and the Compton organ at the Empire Cinema on a Sunday.
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Rawle was involved in a £40,000 project to restore the
Granada Tooting Wurlitzer organ, described as "one of the most significant restoration projects in the UK". In April 2007, Rawle, along with
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stand, where he was approached by a representative of Kemble Pianos. He was offered the position of
Musical Director of Kemble (Organ Sales), a role he would continue in until his retirement.
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90:. The installation of the Wurlitzer organ, which originated from the Granada Theatre Wandsworth, was complete on 30 October 1960, when an opening concert took place.
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to watch and study the aeroplanes; he would construct balsa wood model aeroplane kits. In the 1980s, Rawle took flying lessons with the London School of Flying at
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and Kevin Morgan, gave the reopening concert to an audience of over one thousand. However, some months later, the organ suffered a flood, rendering it inoperable.
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After demobilisation, having returned to his work at the London and
Lancashire Insurance Company, Rawle played at the Saturday Children's Matinee at the Ritz,
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Rawle was a member of both the
Theatre Organ Club and the Cinema Organ Society. Rawle and his father founded the London and South of England Chapter of
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71:. Rawle attended Lady Banks Junior School before going to the Bourne Secondary School. He continued to have music lessons from Martin David at the
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In 1959, his parents installed the UK's first residence organ in the purpose built family home, named
Wurlitzer Lodge, on Doncaster Drive in
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79:. Upon reaching piano grade 8, Rawle was then eligible to study organ playing. He practiced the organ at St Pauls Church in
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in 1954 for his basic training. At
Aldershot, Rawle focused on clerical and musical duties, including playing at the
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256:. The couple had three children, Elizabeth, Richard and Georgina. The family settled in Berry Lane,
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101:. When the Regal closed, the management offered Les the organ, which in turn was donated to the
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In 1971, Rawle attended the Annual Music Trade Fair in London, and took an interest in the
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184:", the latter a song which would have been popular when Betjeman was a young man.
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27:(4 January 1938 – 14 November 2023) was a Welsh organ builder and organist. A
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703:"LEN RAWLE – UP, UP AND AWAY INTO THE WIDE BLUE YONDER | Stories Of London"
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Rawle married Judith Anne Rodgers (born 1939) on 12 September 1964, in
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660:"LEN RAWLE – FOUNDING THE UK CHAPTER OF THE ATOS | Stories Of London"
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Rawle's father, Les, was responsible for tuning and maintaining the
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681:"LEN RAWLE – MARRIAGE & LIFE AT TONAWANDA | Stories Of London"
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on 11 June 1969. In 1973, he appeared in the TV documentary film
60:, before setting his sights on the organ after initially hearing
516:"BBC Radio 2 - The Organist Entertains, Thanks For The Memory"
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playing the organ at the Methodist Central Hall, Tonypandy.
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graduate, he was particularly noted for his restoration of
562:"LEN RAWLE – THE YAMAHA STORY – 2 | Stories Of London"
541:"LEN RAWLE – THE YAMAHA STORY – 1 | Stories Of London"
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Rawle was particularly noted for his restoration of
389:. General Gramophone Publications Ltd. p. 123.
383:Mackenzie, Sir Compton; Stone, Christopher (1974).
440:"LEN RAWLE – ORGANIST SUPREME | Stories Of London"
469:"LEN RAWLE – WURLITZER LODGE | Stories Of London"
492:. South Wales Echo. 2 March 2004. Archived from
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773:Members of the Order of the British Empire
585:. Buffalo News. 8 May 2001. Archived from
408:"Len Rawle MBE – The Cinema Organ Society"
156:Rawle was on the first radio programme of
302:Rawle died on 14 November 2023, aged 85.
297:Member of the Order of the British Empire
113:, South Wales; Rawle often played there.
35:, such as at Harrow, Tooting and Woking.
728:British Pathé newsreel about Rawle, 1960
490:"Young organist's skills hit right note"
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616:Empire Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ
280:As a child, Rawle enjoyed visiting
242:The American Theatre Organ Society
226:, which he later installed in his
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783:21st-century Welsh male musicians
43:Leonard George Rawle was born in
16:Welsh organ builder and organist
597:– via HighBeam Research.
504:– via HighBeam Research.
222:, and the former organ of the
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103:American Theatre Organ Society
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67:In 1948, the family moved to
768:British pipe organ builders
149:, at the Commodore Cinema,
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73:Guildhall School of Music
266:Empire, Leicester Square
224:Empire, Leicester Square
204:Wurlitzer theatre organs
153:and the Regal Kingston.
33:Wurlitzer theatre organs
248:Personal life and death
159:The Organist Entertains
54:London College of Music
29:London College of Music
778:21st-century organists
748:British male organists
640:. Rochford-compton.com
361:. Cinema-organs.org.uk
295:Rawle was appointed a
763:People from Tonypandy
583:"Reporter's Notebook"
178:Chattanooga Choo Choo
105:and installed in the
589:on 21 September 2014
496:on 21 September 2014
216:Gaumont State Cinema
206:. He maintained the
176:. Rawle performed "
683:. 28 February 2023
618:. Empire Wurlitzer
333:Theatre Organ Club
128:Aldershot Garrison
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329:"Other News"
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758:2023 deaths
753:1938 births
644:3 September
638:"Len Rawle"
593:3 September
500:3 September
365:3 September
258:Chorleywood
228:Chorleywood
164:BBC Radio 2
151:Hammersmith
140:passing out
49:South Wales
737:Categories
386:Gramophone
306:References
169:Metro-Land
39:Early life
612:"History"
299:in 2012.
270:Tonawanda
254:Sevenoaks
210:organ in
208:Wurlitzer
136:battalion
132:Hampshire
45:Tonypandy
20:Len Rawle
622:10 April
147:Richmond
99:Edmonton
88:Northolt
709:8 April
687:8 April
665:8 April
567:8 April
546:8 April
525:8 April
474:8 April
446:8 April
413:8 April
338:8 April
292:plane.
286:Elstree
275:Suffolk
220:Kilburn
197:Buffalo
180:" and "
58:Cardiff
290:Cessna
230:home.
212:Woking
189:Yamaha
117:Career
111:Barry
711:2024
689:2024
667:2024
646:2014
624:2023
595:2014
569:2024
548:2024
527:2024
502:2014
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448:2024
415:2024
367:2014
340:2024
520:BBC
268:. (
130:in
56:in
24:MBE
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