A NELSON girl won one of the world's top scholarships as a singer, back in 1966.
Contralto Gillian Sarple, who lived in Bath Street, was awarded a grant to study in Munich for a year.
A keen singer from an early age, she went to work in a Co-op office when she left Walverden Secondary School in 1956, so that she could go to singing lessons on Tuesday afternoons, early closing day, and on Saturdays, After five years of training in Manchester, Gillian was accepted to study at the Royal College of Music in the city, before moving on to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
During her two years there, she won three of the country's top awards and gained a teacher's degree in music.
Gillian sang at the German Embassy for her audition and the award for her study was made by Bavarian authorities.
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