The society that helps keep alive memory of entertainer George Formby whose fans include the Queen and Brian May

By 1939 George Formby was the most popular and highest paid entertainer in the British Isles.

Hailed as one of the finest rhythm ukulele players, he helped write and record more than 200 tunes, accompanying ditties like When I’m Cleaning Windows and With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock on his banjolele – both banned by the BBC.

The George Formby Society aims to keep his memory and music alive – getting together people of all ages and musical abilities to play the ukulele.

Last week people travelled from Lancashire, Midlands and Durham to the George V Working Men’s Club in Castleford to socialise, play music and discuss their hero.

Andrew Poppleton, the society’s president and who runs the Castleford branch, says most of the society’s 800 or so members come from across the M62 – Lancashire and Yorkshire.

And although there aren’t too many Yorkshire connections to the Formby story there is one highly significant one: it was in Castleford that Formby met his wife Beryl Ingham.

“She persuaded him to tidy himself up and wear an evening suit and to use a ukulele in his act,” said Andrew.

For the last decade there’s been a resurgence in the instrument’s popularity and it’s now played more by primary school children than recorders. With soft nylon strings and simplified fretboard, the small Hawaiian lute is something children as young as four and five can learn.

Mr Poppleton, who teaches at Shay Lane primary school in Castleford, said: “You can buy a really cheap ukulele for £20 and within a couple of weeks you can play a couple of songs. The difference is when you see some of the banjo playing that Formby did – that is more technical.”

Indeed Formby's style of playing was all his own, highly syncopated, full of split strokes the likes of which the general public hadn’t heard before

He was a favourite of the Royal family – the Queen remains a fan to this day – and he gave private performances at palaces, especially for Queen Mary.

Mr Poppleton played with members of the society at the Royal Albert Hall for the Queen’s 92nd birthday.

Other fans include Beatle George Harrison, and one of Mr Poppleton’s proudest possessions is one of his wooden ukuleles. Queen’s Brian May is also a fan, as is Billie Eilish and Frank Skinner.

“I’m a big Beatles fan and when you listen to Eleanor Rigby you can see the same sort of ideas that Formby had in Madame Moscovitch,” said Andrew.

Mr Poppleton hopes that with the amount of people turning to the instrument George Formby’s memory will live on. The branch meets every second Wednesday in the month at the George V Working Men’s Club in Castleford, and it can be found on Facebook.