4 minute read
Profile: Rachel Bea
It turns out that I was lucky enough to be at the first forties concert that Rachel Bea ever sang at! It was at one of the Macmillan Coffee mornings held by Di Wheatley at the Ironhorse and the Blitz Dancers performed at the same event. It was this fortuitous liaison that led to a succession of events for this singer, as the Blitz Dancers introduced her to a variety of forties events including the 1940s weekend at Holme and more locally Baston in the Blitz!
This had followed on from the ‘Holiday at Home’ that the Methodist Church in Deeping St James had put on for local residents – they asked Rachel, a member of the congregation, if she would lead a singa-long and they loved it!
Her vintage and velvety tones are perfect for the songs of the era and her singing career has grown over the last four years with private gigs and concerts, including again at the Ironhorse with Alison Bruce (pictured below) as part of the first Deepings Literary Festival. This summer was set to be her busiest yet.
Growing up in Barnsley in a theatrical family, Rachel wanted to act from an early age, taking after her paternal grandmother, Winnifred Hamby. Describing her as a ‘bit of a diva in her day!’, Rachel recalls that she would take part in two or three shows each year at her local Methodist Church, commanding big audiences and much applause. Rachel’s dad, Peter Hamby, was an engineer by trade but loved to play the guitar and was a keen member of folk groups in the 1970s, but he disliked performing in front of an audience and so enjoyed this aspect of the performance by watching Rachel as she embraced the family tradition. When it was time to embark on a university career, drama was the natural choice and Exeter University was the venue as the west country was a second home; Rachel’s maternal family came from from the south west. After graduation Rachel and her partner moved to Peterborough in search of a teaching career. Rachel worked from home at first in IT and then she took a teaching qualification at Homerton College, Cambridge. Her love of music and drama continued and she became an enthusiastic member of Peterborough Operatic and Drama Society (PODS) where she performed in many productions including Hairspray, Annie Get Your Gun (she was understudy lead and did two shows in the role of Annie), The Witches of Eastwick, 9 to 5 and most recently Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Now with a child, Beatrice, of her own, Rachel is a teacher in early years at Linchfield Community Primary School. While not embracing the whole forties lifestyle which is the case with some reenactors, Rachel does like to shop from the vintage stands at some forties festivals where dresses are made from authentic patterns of the day, and she has a cardigan knitted to a forties pattern of which she is particularly fond! There are also a plethora of websites to cater for this growing market and Rachel also buys online. Her hair is worn up in victory rolls - a technique which she has now perfected and so she no longer has to get up especially early to tease her locks in the right way. For school she tends to wear fifties dresses with petticoats under - bringing history to life in the classroom for her young charges! And at home too: her retro patterns and furniture echo her love for vintage.
Last year a family friend won a taster recording session in a silent auction and presented it to Rachel who has gone on from the taster session to begin production on an album with the Steel Works Studio in Sheffield of popular songs in a swing style. In addition to this she has also recently recorded an album of 40s standards ‘Memories of the 40s’ which is available to purchase for £7.50. Contact Rachel on her email sing_along2002@hotmail.com to purchase your copy.
The resonance between today and the war years is obvious; indeed The Queen alluded to it when she addressed the nation: ‘Better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.’
And Rachel Bea has risen to the challenge of entertaining ‘the troops’ with her online concerts - one in aid of a charity Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice that is close to her heart and she supports again and again. It can be viewed here: visit www.facebook.com/ rachelbeasings to view upcoming events.
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