HE was 11 years old when he first joined the choir of St Andrew's Episcopal Church, in St Andrews, Fife, in St Andrews diocese. That was 82 years ago, which means that Melville Reid became a choirboy in the far-off days of 1932, and hung up his robes for the last time only on Easter Day this year.

The sole break in that time was the six-year interval when he served as a medical orderly with the Royal Army Medical Corps, during the Second World War. Otherwise, he attended choir practice every week, and sang morning and evening in church on Sundays. He has served, he says, under nine rectors, and "about 20 directors of music".

Besides singing tenor, Mr Reid has been a prolific composer of music. At the reception to mark his retirement which followed the Easter Day eucharist, the choir sang his setting of "O little town of Bethlehem" before the Rector, the Revd Professor Trevor Hart, thanked Mr Reid for his long contribution to the life of St Andrews.

The whole congregation, he said, looked forward to seeing Mr Reid sitting regularly in the body of the congregation from now on.