Musical stalwart who helped form Leominster Accordian Club is mourned (From Hereford Times)

Musical stalwart who helped form Leominster Accordian Club is mourned

7:00am Sunday 25th April 2010 in

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A DESERT Rat who helped his wife form the Leominster Accordian Club has died at the age of 90.

The club meets regularly in the town and Paul Lewis, who favoured the harmonica, played with it until recently.

He and his wife Nancy formed the club 15 years ago and were surprised at the number of young people interested in the music.

The couple, who lived at Leysters, would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary later this year.

Mr Lewis was a Desert Rat during the Second World War.

He was on a Territorial Army course on the day war was declared and had been due to return home.

Instead his group received a message saying “don’t pack your bags” and they went straight into battle with the Royal Signals Regiment.

Mr Lewis served in Egypt, Italy, Sicily and North Africa.

While he was serving at the sharp end his wife Nancy joined the ATS and was based at Donnington, engaged in sending out armaments to troops.

Later Mr Lewis became an accountant and company director of a Cardiff firm, before retiring to the Leominster area.

He is survived by his wife and daughters Veronica, Valerie and Pat.