Dr. L. D. A. Hussey, O.B.E., President of the London Banjo Club, died in King's College Hospital on February 25th, after a short illness.
"Doc" was one of the banjo's greatest ambassadors; he always carried his instrument with him on his many journeys and had delighted audiences with his playing in many strange lands. In 1913 he went on an Expedition to the Sudan and made friends with the Nyam-Nyam cannibals by playing his banjo, which fascinated them.
He was the meteorologist with the Shackleton Expeditions of 1914-1921 and Shackleton himself wrote: "Hussey's banjo music was a great morale booster and provided essential relief to starving men with frayed nerves." After their ship the Endurance had sunk, the Expedition drifted on ice floes for six months and made slow progress in open boats to the safety of Elephant Island. During this journey they lost most of their equipment—but not Hussey's banjo. One of the doctor's most prized possessions was that banjo, still strung with its original strings and bearing the signatures of all the members of the Expedition on the vellum.
Dr. Hussey took his banjo to Russia during the latter part of World War I. During the Second World War he served in the RAF, playing his banjo at many concerts at RAF stations, including Iceland. After the war he became ship's surgeon on the SS Class Macaulay, sailing to South Africa and Australia. Once again he always carried his banjo with him.
He joined the London B. M. and G. Club in its early days, soon after World War I, and was a close friend of the late Joe Morley. When the club was re-formed after World War II, as the London Banjo Club, Dr. Hussey was elected President, a position he held until the time of his death. Except when he was away at sea, he played a prominent part in the Club's concerts and broadcasts and many will remember his voice in several "In Town Tonight" programmes. "Doc", with his charming modest manner, was always belittling his own playing but ever ready to give praise to others, yet with his clean picking and clear tone, his solos were always a joy to listen to.
He will be sadly missed by all past and present members of the London Club and by his many friends in the banjo world.
—JOHN MURRELL.