The last weekend of October 2018 marked the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the NETOA by Eric Lee, James Alderson and Jack Temple back in 1968 and the actual anniversary was marked by a celebration dinner at Whitworth Hall attended by an enthusiatic group of Friends on the Friday 26th.

We were pleased to welcome our President, Nigel Ogden, who opened the organ in 1986, to play the Wurlitzer in front of a full house for our first 50th Anniversary Concert on Sunday 28th October; when John Heslop was also able to show some of the results of his ‘trawl’ through the photographic archives in two all-too-brief tributes to those who had volunteered their services to make everything happen over the years and to the organists who had provided such wonderful music to entertain us during 50 years.

In November the second Anniversary Concert was held, this time with two organists who have had long associations with both the organ and the NETOA, Joe Marsh and David Lowe, at the console.  Two further slide interludes were included, this time covering the New Victoria theatre in Bradford and the Wurlitzer and then a reminder of just some of the many jobs carried out to keep the NETOA running over that 50 year period and the people who contributed their time and labours to the cause!