Born in
Newquay in
Cornwall, Willcocks began his musical training as a chorister at
Westminster Abbey from 1929 to 1934, following a recommendation by the then Master of the King's Music, Sir
Henry Walford Davies, to
Ernest Bullock. From 1934 to 1938, he was a music scholar at
Clifton College, Bristol, where his teacher was
Douglas Fox, his most important musical influence. There, he met
David Briggs, a
choral scholar (bass). Willcocks and Briggs would later be colleagues at King's, from 1959 to 1974, as Organist and Master of the Choristers and as Headmaster of
King's College School, the school attended by the choirboys of King's College.
Military service With the outbreak of the
Second World War, he interrupted his studies in music to serve in the
British Army. He was
commissioned as a
second lieutenant in the
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) on 15 February 1941, and was awarded the
Military Cross as a
temporary captain for his actions during the
Battle of Normandy on the night of 10/11 July 1944, when he was serving with the 5th Battalion, DCLI as battalion
intelligence officer. The battalion, part of the
214th Infantry Brigade of the
43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, was ordered to hold
Hill 112 in Normandy, France, as part of
Operation Epsom. He carried out his duties outstandingly overnight, helping inflict severe casualties on the German forces by calling in artillery support to break up counter-attacks. The battalion suffered over 250 casualties during the night, including the
commanding officer and one of the
company commanders. This left Willcocks in command of the battalion headquarters, which by then was the furthest forward part of the battalion. He rallied the men, enabling the battalion to stand firm and reorganise. The award was
gazetted on 21 December 1944.
Musical career Willcocks returned to Cambridge in 1945 to complete his studies, and in 1947 was elected a Fellow of King's College and appointed Conductor of the
Cambridge Philharmonic Society. In the same year, he became the organist at
Salisbury Cathedral and the conductor of the Salisbury Musical Society. He moved to
Worcester Cathedral in 1950 and remained until 1957, during which time he was organist of the cathedral, principal conductor of the
Three Choirs Festival in 1951, 1954, and 1957, and conductor of the
City of Birmingham Choir. From 1956 to 1974 he was also conductor of the
Bradford Festival Choral Society, whilst continuing as guest conductor for their carol concerts into the early 1990s. From 1957 to 1974 he held the post for which he is probably best known, Director of Music at
King's College, Cambridge. He made numerous recordings with the
college choir. (Among the most notable recordings was one of Thomas Tallis's
Spem in alium, made in 1965.) The choir toured extensively, giving concerts worldwide, as well as garnering further acclaim internationally through television and radio appearances. Under the baton of Willcocks,
Cambridge University Musical Society performed
Benjamin Britten's
War Requiem in 1963 in (Perugia) Milan, La Scala, and in Venice. The choir subsequently performed the work in Japan, Hong Kong, Portugal, and the Netherlands. In 1960, he also became the musical director of
the Bach Choir in London. and was created a
Knight Bachelor in 1977 in the
Queen's Silver Jubilee Honours. He held honorary degrees in England After stepping down from the Royal College, Willcocks resumed conducting and editing scores as his primary activities. A 1990 profile in
The New York Times noted that he had made nine visits to the United States in the previous year, including conducting Evensong at
St. Thomas Church in
Manhattan and conducting the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir. On 15 May 2010, a celebration of his contribution to music took place at the
Royal Albert Hall in London, where pieces selected by Willcocks were performed by singers who are part of
the Really Big Chorus. Special guests included choristers from King's College Choir, Cambridge, who performed three pieces. He died at home in Cambridge on the morning of 17 September 2015. == Recordings and broadcasts ==