As incredible as it may seem, Joe Morley, the man who provided countless devotees of the banjo with immense pleasure, and still continues to do so, has no permanent headstone on his grave, absolutely nothing but grass. A situation that I am certain you will agree is totally unacceptable. It is a position that WE can now rectify once and for all.

To finally remedy this unacceptable situation, the 60" issue of ’The Banjo’ launched a fund to provide Joe Morley with a proper, lasting memorial - an inscribed white marble headstone with shaped plinth.

Joe Morley’s life was ‘The Banjo’, at the end he had very little for a lifetime’s work when his name and music were known throughout the world where the banjo was played. His contemporaries failed Morley while he was in their midst and were penny-pinching at the last in not ensuring that his grave was provided with a decent headstone.

We need no reminder that the flourishing banjo firmament that we now all enjoy would be immeasurably poorer but for the efforts of Joe Morley and the lasting legacy of his banjo music.

NOW is our opportunity as a combined membership to give something back to Morley’s memory and put matters right after a delay of sixty-three years since his untimely death, so please donate to his fund.

The stone will be in place in time for a formal ceremony of dedication at:

11 am, SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15^th  2001

at Streatham Park Crematorium