Marjorie Helyer’s compositions have been in the ABRSM piano syllabus on a few occasions. The first one I have found is Silver Trumpets in 1951 for the Grade 1 syllabus. In 1961 there were two of her pieces in the piano syllabus, Stepping Stones from Highdays and Holidays in Grade 1 and Scarecrow from Sleepy Hollow Farm in Grade 2. Dragonflies was in the Grade 1 piano syllabus in 2009 - 2010 and Haymayking is in Grade 1 in the 2021 - 2022 syllabus. The last two pieces are from The Greenwood Tree.
Marjorie was born in Southampton on the 13th October 1907.
In the 1911 Census, Marjorie is living with her parents, Louis Augustus Helyer, aged 40, an assistant manager in the Petroleum industry who was born on the Isle of Wight, Louisa Elizabeth Helyer, aged 38 who was born in Hampshire and her sister, Doris Irene Helyer who was born on the 8th July 1899 and died on the 26th April 1979 in the New Forest area. They are living in a seven room house in Hornsey, London.
There are a few newspaper articles available from the early 1930s describing Marjorie Helyer’s success in her piano exams. One discusses Marjorie winning a gold medal for pianoforte playing at the 1931 Bournemouth Musical Competitions, and that on three separate occasions, gained the Silver Medal of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. From what I can gather, these medals were given to those who scored the highest marks in the examination in a particular time period. Possibly the gold medal was awarded for the highest marks gained and the silver medal for the second highest marks gained.
According to the rolls, in 1929 Marjorie was living in Kings Heath, Birmingham.
In the 1939 Register the family are living in Birmingham; her father is now retired. Both Marjorie and her sister are working as shorthand typists.
Marjorie Helyer wrote many piano pieces during the period between the 1950s and 1980s and these were often sets of pieces with titles such as The Old Mill, Over Hill and Dale, The Greenwood Tree and Flights of Fancy.
This is from the Stainer and Bell website regarding Marjorie Helyer’s book The Greenwood Tree, Ten Pieces for Piano which was first published in 1952.
Four men scythe hay into rows : a woman brings their lunch. Date: 1860s from Alamy.com
The tradition of writing short programmatic piano pieces for children, more or less invented by Schumann in his Kinderszenen of 1836, is among the most enduring traditions of Western music, having survived every change of style and fashion over the years. The twelve piano pieces by Marjorie Helyer in The Greenwood Tree are conceived in the mood of Schumann, translated perhaps to an English landscape, with haymakers, dragonflies, the merry cricket, the silver birch, the rabbit’s playtime and the village green all portrayed in sound. As well as being beautifully written for small hands learning their way around the keyboard, these pieces also provide valuable preparation in sharpening imaginative responses to a a broad range of more complex music, to be encountered by young pianists in due course.
On ebay UK there is a letter being auctioned written by Marjorie Helyer where she is discussing the cover of a new set of piano pieces, The Magic Ladders.
From her death certificate. Died Salisbury 3rd June 2006. Died in the Salisbury District Hospital, her occupation is retired primary school teacher, her cousin Peter Helyer is the informant and her usual address is 4 Godley Road, East Harnham, Salisbury. The death notice was registered on the 6th June 2006.
The death notice in the Salisbury Journal dated 15th June 2006 - Died peacefully at Salisbury District Hospital after a short illness, on Saturday 3rd June 2006 aged 98 years. Sadly missed by her first cousin Dora Canton and second cousin Peter Helyer and family. Funeral service has taken place.
References
Ancestry