Obituary: Founder of Rochdale Youth Music Festival, Yvonne Noble dies

Yvonne Noble, the founder of the Rochdale Youth Music Festival and a Former Women of Rochdale has died, age 94.

Mrs Noble, who was living in Huddersfield at the time of her death, died peacefully at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary on Monday 6 October.

Mrs Noble, who helped to launch the Rochdale Youth Music Festival with her late husband Jim, was well known across Rochdale for her charity work and for her work in the now disbanded Welfare for the Elderly organisation.

She also ran a youth club in Sudden and helped to organise trips to Rochdale’s twin towns of Tourcoing, France and Bielefeld, Germany

Mrs Noble was born on 26 March 1920 in Islington, North London. She was the eldest daughter of Lionel and Elizabeth Barlow.

In June 1943, she married Cecil Edwin ‘Jim’ Noble and after the war the couple moved to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. During this period, the couple’s sons Ian and Richard were born.

The family moved to Rochdale in 1956 when Jim was appointed youth organiser for Rochdale Council. Mrs Noble would assist her husband with many of the activities he organised and went on to become leader of St Aidan’s Youth Club at Sudden.

Mr and Mrs Noble then set up the Rochdale Youth Music Festival in the late 60s – now known as the Rochdale Youth Festival of Performing Arts, which continues today.

Mr Noble died in 1978 but Mrs Noble continued to run the music festival and also took a part time job with the council.

In the mid 1980s she became chairwoman of the Welfare for the Elderly group. This was a voluntary role which saw her help organise events and activities for pensioners in Rochdale - she continued in this position until the age of 90.

In 1999 she was named as Rochdale’s Woman of the Year in recognition of her work.

In September 2012, due to Illness, Mrs Noble moved to Huddersfield to be closer to her son Richard.

Mrs Noble is survived by her sons Ian and Richard, daughters-in-law Wendy and Linda, her grandchildren and her great granddaughter.

Her funeral will take place at Huddersfield Crematorium, Fixby Road, Fixby at 12:30pm on Friday 17 October. The family ask that bright clothes are worn.

A memorial service in Rochdale will be held at a later date.