"ONE of the best songbirds the town has ever had" has died.

Beryl Jones joined Swindon’s premier musical theatre company SALOS in 1967 and went on to bag leading roles in several productions.

Her first role in a SALOS show was in the chorus in Glamorous Nights, then she starred as the leading lady in Gypsy Princess. She performed for the last time in Carousel in 1998 when she was 70 – she also starred in Summer Song, Fiddler on the Rood, and Bless the Bride.

Beryl died in February at the age of 90. Her funeral will be held at Kingsdown Crematorium on Monday, March 26.

Sheila Harrod of the Kentwood Choir was a close friend of Beryl’s.

She said: “She was the Queen of Song, one of the best soprano singers this town has ever had.

“She was very elegant, she looked like a film star, and she lived to sing.

“I was very proud to have her in one of my choir shows at the Wyvern many years ago,

“Beryl was a great friend of mine and it was an honour to be in SALOS with her.”

Beryl’s sister-in-law Margaret Jones recalled some of her fondest memories. She said: “Beryl met the Queen and Prince Philip when they opened the Wyvern Theatre.

“She was a great help to many of the younger members of SALOS, she was very encouraging and a great mentor to them.

“She was well-loved by many, and her husband Stan was one of the founding members of SALOS.

“When she first joined, she was a wardrobe mistress for a few years.

“After they discovered that she had this amazing, beautiful singing voice, she starred in the lead roles of 15 shows and she was in the chorus for several others.

“She was really kind and generous and would help anyone out, she was a very nice lady, everybody loved her.

“We had a party for her 90th birthday last October, Sheila Harrod sang with her and John Holmes played the organ, it was lovely.”

Sheila added: “It was wonderful to see her enjoying her birthday., I’ll never forget it.

“One of her favourite songs was an operetta called Vilia, even at 90 she nailed the high note at the end.”