What glorious times we had singing with him! I shall never forget one day in the hall when we were left to do just that whilst all the mistresses went to a meeting. We were singing the Marseillaise when a tremendous thunderstorm [began] and the world became quite dark and we all went on singing to the thunder and the flashes although we couldn't see him at all up on the platform.

(Margaret Jepps, writing in 1969)

The first thing I remember about Mr Von Holst is that he insisted willy-nilly on dispensing with a "chaperone", a mistress seated near him on the platform keeping watch over us and quite obviously unnecessary. He had been preceded by a shy and shaggy young man, his friend who taught us some difficult and rather dull songs. He should have known better since he was a folk-song specialist. His name was Ralph Vaughan Williams.

(Violet Kelsy-Smith, left 1907)

Gustav Holst came for one day a week for senior singing and choir. One day he brought [his daughter] Imogen aged eighteen months; she sat on the Hall table and conducted.

(Nora Edmed, 1906-1915)