George Posford

George Posford, born Benjamin George Ashwell (23 March 1906 – 24 April 1976), was an English composer and conductor.

Early life Benjamin George Ashwell was born in 1906 in Folkestone, Kent. He was educated at Downside School in Somerset and Christ's College at Cambridge University. He studied law, but would become known for his musical achievements, after a song he co-wrote with Rodney Hobson was successfully interpolated in an early 1930s touring version of the show Lavender, which pointed him towards a new career. After Cambridge, Ashwell studied composition and orchestration at the Royal College of Music in London.

Maschwitz, Posford and Grun also composed Paprika (1938), which flopped, but a revised version, Magyar Melody, ran at His Majesty's Theatre for 105 performances. To the original score was added "Mine Alone", composed by Manning Sherwin, which outlived the show.

Posford and Harry Parr-Davies composed Full Swing (1940), starring Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hulbert, which had 468 performances during the London blitz. Posford wrote a number of wartime revues for the duo. During World War II, he was in the Royal Corps of Signals and the London Fire Service. He was subsequently involved in the Overseas Recorded Broadcasting Service.

Personal life and death Posford married actress Rène Ray in August 1936. He died on 24 April 1976 in Worplesdon, Surrey, aged 70 and was interred in the churchyard of St Edward The Confessor in Sutton Green.

Tributes An album of his works, Room Five-Hundred-and-Four: The Music of George Posford (named after his song of the same name) was recorded by Frank Barber and released by EMI Columbia in 1960.

Works Musical theatre Goodnight, Vienna (1931) Balalaika (1936); co-composed with Bernard Grün Evangeline (1946 musical) (1946); music also by Harry Jacobson Her Excellency (1949); co-composed with Manning Sherwin Zip Goes a Million (1951) Happy Holiday (1954)

Film scores Goodnight, Vienna (1932) The Good Companions (1933) Balalaika (1939) Magyar Melody (1939) Full Swing (1942)

Orchestra Transatlantic Rhapsody (1942)