‘THE best yet’ was the accolade heaped on Pembroke and District Male Voice Choristers when they made a return to the impressive Warren Church, Castlemartin, on Friday, October 26.

There was high praise for the programme from Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Lort Phillips of the Warren Church Trust, for which the concert was a fundraiser.

The choir, under the guidance of Conductor Christine Lloyd with Jenny Griffiths the accompanist, was making its second visit in 18 months.

In a setting so close to the Army ranges at Castlemartin and with the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War so near, remembrance was a strong theme in the programme. A medley of First World War songs and two others with remembrance at the heart were included in a varied and much-appreciated programme.

There was a notable ‘first’ for the choir with the debut duet by Jenny Griffiths and second bass Dean Maiden. They won warm applause for ‘I Watch The Sunrise’, evoking memories among long-serving choristers of earlier times when soloist Joan Lewis and choir founder member Owen Jones joined for the same duet.

Baritone Ron Rees, in his second-half solo spot, delighted with the Lennon and McCartney classic, ‘Yesterday’.

In welcoming the audience, Choir MC Phil Lloyd was especially pleased to see Mrs Lottie Harries of Pembroke who for over 25 years was the interpreter at Castlemartin Ranges during the years when units of the German Army were based there.

Mrs Harries was accompanied by daughter Julia and her family members from Augsburg, Germany, and son David.

Adding to the international flavour was Australian visitor Karla Ogg from Queensland. Karla is a friend of chorister Alan Kent and his wife, Brenda, having first met at a musical evening in Tenby some years ago.