Posted on 6 February 2010
Representatives from the Musicians Benevolent Fund visited The Elgar Birthplace Museum on 5 February to mark its long-standing association with Sir Edward Elgar. Communications and Fundraising Manager, Rebecca Kingdom-Kruszewski (pictured left with Elgar Musuem representative Mary Duffy), presented the museum with unique Fund materials, detailing its link with Elgar, which will be displayed all year round.
Sir Edward Elgar was the first president of the Musicians Benevolent Fund. The Fund, founded in 1921 in memory of the celebrated tenor, Gervase Elwes, was originally known as the Gervase Elwes Memorial Fund. Elgar was an admirer of Elwes and his work and after his friend's death in a railway accident in the USA on 21 January 1921, Elgar agreed to become the figurehead of the new charity.
Nearly 90 years later, the Musicians Benevolent Fund has grown to be the largest charity of its kind in the UK in providing essential help and support to musicians and their families.