John Farmer
- Born: 16 Aug 1835, Nottingham 110,111,112,113
- Baptised: 21 Aug 1835, Nottingham (St Nicholas) 114
- Marriage: Elizabeth
- Died: 17 Jul 1901, Oxford at age 65
- Buried: Jul 1901, Oxford 115
General Notes:
John Farmer was music master at Harrow School from 1862 to 1885. In 1864 he wrote the music for a series of School Songs and their singing has become a long standing tradition which survives to this day and enshrine the Harrow life and tradition. The words were by Edward Ernest Bowen, a fellow master at the school. The most famous of these songs are "Forty Years On" and "Willow the King" but there were many more. Winston Churchill, a pupil at the school from just after Farmer's time there, enjoyed greatly the tradition and returned to hear the singing; an extra verse to "Forty Years On" was added in his honour.
After leaving Harrow, he became He became organist at Balliol College, Oxford, and founded the Balliol Concerts. His works during this time include the oratorio Christ and His Soldiers, which was popular with smaller choirs, and several stage works which were intended for amateurs.
John married Elizabeth. (Elizabeth was born circa 1841 in Switzerland 116.)
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