John Whitworth - Telegraph He was educated at Kimbolton School and won a scholarship to King's College, Cambridge; but when war broke out he volunteered for the RAF, serving as a mechanic working on Spitfires. He crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth in only five days and was posted to Canada, where he joined the choir of Kingston Cathedral in Ontario; later he was back in Europe salvaging aircraft and was in Paris on V-E Day to enjoy the street celebrations. Whitworth resumed his formal education in 1946, becoming a choral scholar at King's. While there he was often cast in what he called "the heavy female roles" for Consolidated Operas Incorporated, a group of students who took over each others" rooms to perform complete operas. However, he was rejected by the University Madrigal Society. On coming down he was appointed lay vicar at Westminster Abbey under William McKie, a post he held until 1971. Finding that his stipend of £400 a year would not stretch far, Whitworth tried his hand at teaching maths, but he soon discovered that shouting at boys in the morning and singing services in the afternoon was not to his taste. Instead he took up a wide range of concert work, including recitals for the BBC. In 1965 Whitworth was also appointed organist and choirmaster at St Paul's, Covent Garden, where the rector enjoyed taking services for animals. He recalled how, on one occasion, a myna bird shrieked "Sylvia, Sylvia" during the worship. That same year he was also appointed Professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He left the capital in 1971 to join Leicestershire county council, an authority that understood the benefit of investing in music-making at all levels. He trained youth choirs, gave guidance to music teachers, started a Chinese-instrument orchestra, encouraged Indian music and staged concerts of medieval works. He also edited Their Words My Thoughts for OUP, a hymn book used in primary schools. The war years had fired up his enthusiasm for aircraft, and he collected Spitfire memorabilia as well as assembling countless Airfix models. He was also passionate about vintage cars, owning at various times a 1929 Morris Oxford Tourer Empire and a Rolls-Royce Phantom II from the same year, as well as dozens of others. He was famously forgetful, with several fellow singers recalling how they would have to nudge him just before an entry. On one occasion he locked his socks in a piano in Spain, causing a major hunt for them just before a performance. Though self-effacing, he was also a highly amusing mimic, and was celebrated among his friends for his imitation of Clara Butt singing Land of Hope and Glory. In 1963 John Whitworth married Patricia Fitzgerald, an artist and teacher with whom he shared a passion for animals. She survives him, as do their three daughters. John Whitworth, born December 27 1921, died July 11 2013