 49" and "Blue Hills", and is also noted for his large oeuvre of light orchestral and brass band compositions, as well as his arrangements of popular stage musicals.During the 1950s and 1960s he directed his own Latin-American percussion ensemble called "The Marimberos" on BBC radio and was, for a while, conductor of the Sydney Thompson Old-Time Orchestra for the programme "Take Your Partners"

He was born in Reigate, Surrey and studied at Blackheath Conservatory.Between 1935 and 1948 he was a theatre organist and dance band arranger.