Wilbert Grund (1922 – 2010) Obituary
by Ian Holmes
B&F October 2010
Many older readers will be saddened to learn of the death of Wilbert Grund, who was manager of Bell Accordions, Aycliffe from the early 1950s, until 1974 when he returned to his native Sweden. This news was given to us by his elder son Eric who telephoned in early August. Wilbert, or Willy or Bill as he preferred to be called, died peacefully in his sleep on 29th July. He was a truly remarkable man, widely recognised as one of the leading experts in accordion design, manufacture and maintenance, although he described himself as a light engineer.
Bill was born and grew up in the small town of Alvdalen in the Dalarna region of Sweden. On leaving school, he became an apprentice with the Hagstrom accordion company on Alvdalen’s main street. Later he worked on the instruments of many leading players, including those of Carl Jularbo and his son, Ebbe. Indeed it was Bill who created the distinctive V and inverted V design on the bellows of their accordions. Over the years, this design has been much copied and, in fact, it is often used on instruments by present Italian manufacturers.
In 1948 Alvin Hagstrom decided to begin assembling accordions at Ayclyffe, near Darlington, and Bill was appointed manager, although at that time he could speak little English. Unfortunately, the factory proved uncompetitive and it closed within two years, mainly due to several broken promises of regulation change by the then Board of Trade.
Mr Arthur Bell of Bell Accordions required a quality repair and maintenance service and Bill retuned to Aycliffe around 1951 where he set about recruiting qualified staff, among whom was the German-born tuner, Erwin Fritsch. Geoff Holter later joined in 1957.
Having purchased a Hohner Morino 4 voice piano accordion in 1958, I was somewhat disappointed to find the basses used too much air. I had a notion that if the cassotto block was reduced and a higher set of reeds fitted, the problem would be solved. Having discussed this idea with Bill, he thought it feasible and he agreed to modify the basses as I had suggested. He did a splendid job and when completed, there was a marked improvement in the compression. This instrument was traded in for my Swiss manufactured 5 voice Morino N which I purchased from him in 1968.
Some interesting facts about the man :
When he moved to Darlington in the early 1950s, his home became one of the first in Britain to have micro-bore central heating installed.
He discovered a substitute for beeswax which did not ‘spark’ when heated and did not dry out.
He designed and built a machine which speeded up the process of removing old beeswax and cleaning reeds.
He hand-made a new copper grill for Jimmy Shand’s accordion, which greatly improved the sound projection. Ian Kirkpatrick, himself a Shand Morino player, remembers it as a true work of art.
To convert straight-tuned instruments in order to give a three-in-line tremolo, he made new reed blocks with a circular saw, so finely set, that no dressing was required. He also used the circular saw to make a thumb groove down the edge of the treble keyboard for Jimmy Shand.
Back home in his somewhat isolated but luxurious log-cabin, high above Alvdalen, he himself installed a combination of solar and ground-sourced central heating.
Mickie Ainsworth recalls when he worked for Hohner, Bill was a helpful, efficient and pleasant colleague.
He was happy, that despite several name-changes, the business he started in Aycliffe continued so successfully under the guidance of Geoff Holter.
He told me he once informed a constantly complaining customer, “Sometimes a problem can lie with the player and not their instrument.”
Returning to Sweden in 1974, he became manager of a plastics company which specialized in moulding car components but he continued to work on accordions in his spare time.
Having begun to play the 5-row accordion, I sought a top-quality instrument for Scandinavian music. Bill invited me to Sweden where I met his sons Eric and Michael together with their families. He supplied me with a double-cassotto Balloni Burini special, manufactured to his own exacting specifications. This instrument has been much admired.
At our Silver Wedding party in 1983, he was delighted to finally meet Bobby MacLeod, with whom he’d only had brief telephone conversations.
During my holidays with him each year, we went to the world’s largest accordion festival at Ransater and he introduced me to many of his friends who were top players from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, several of whom still keep in touch.
On one occasion, I was most impressed when I tried an accordion he’d hand-built for a jazz-playing friend.
Over the years, Bill often stayed with us : his most recent visit was in 2006.
A visit he made in 1998 is particularly memorable for, as a surprise, I drove him to Auchermuchty, where once again he met his friend of many years, Jimmy Shand. The mutual admiration was obvious and each regarded the other as a genius. Also in that year he met my olf workmate, Gordon Ross, who had just completed work on a new violin, which had highly ornate hand-made purling together with intricate engraving. Bill was overwhelmed by the quality of the instrument. So much so that he purchased it and he regarded Gordon as one of the finest craftsman he’d ever been fortunate enough to meet.
We feel privileged to have known Bill, had him as a friend and to have shared so many times with him. Ah the memories! As the song (almost) says, “When we see his likes again?”
Bill was born and grew up in the small town of Alvdalen in the Dalarna region of Sweden. On leaving school, he became an apprentice with the Hagstrom accordion company on Alvdalen’s main street. Later he worked on the instruments of many leading players, including those of Carl Jularbo and his son, Ebbe. Indeed it was Bill who created the distinctive V and inverted V design on the bellows of their accordions. Over the years, this design has been much copied and, in fact, it is often used on instruments by present Italian manufacturers.
In 1948 Alvin Hagstrom decided to begin assembling accordions at Ayclyffe, near Darlington, and Bill was appointed manager, although at that time he could speak little English. Unfortunately, the factory proved uncompetitive and it closed within two years, mainly due to several broken promises of regulation change by the then Board of Trade.
Mr Arthur Bell of Bell Accordions required a quality repair and maintenance service and Bill retuned to Aycliffe around 1951 where he set about recruiting qualified staff, among whom was the German-born tuner, Erwin Fritsch. Geoff Holter later joined in 1957.
Having purchased a Hohner Morino 4 voice piano accordion in 1958, I was somewhat disappointed to find the basses used too much air. I had a notion that if the cassotto block was reduced and a higher set of reeds fitted, the problem would be solved. Having discussed this idea with Bill, he thought it feasible and he agreed to modify the basses as I had suggested. He did a splendid job and when completed, there was a marked improvement in the compression. This instrument was traded in for my Swiss manufactured 5 voice Morino N which I purchased from him in 1968.
Some interesting facts about the man :
When he moved to Darlington in the early 1950s, his home became one of the first in Britain to have micro-bore central heating installed.
He discovered a substitute for beeswax which did not ‘spark’ when heated and did not dry out.
He designed and built a machine which speeded up the process of removing old beeswax and cleaning reeds.
He hand-made a new copper grill for Jimmy Shand’s accordion, which greatly improved the sound projection. Ian Kirkpatrick, himself a Shand Morino player, remembers it as a true work of art.
To convert straight-tuned instruments in order to give a three-in-line tremolo, he made new reed blocks with a circular saw, so finely set, that no dressing was required. He also used the circular saw to make a thumb groove down the edge of the treble keyboard for Jimmy Shand.
Back home in his somewhat isolated but luxurious log-cabin, high above Alvdalen, he himself installed a combination of solar and ground-sourced central heating.
Mickie Ainsworth recalls when he worked for Hohner, Bill was a helpful, efficient and pleasant colleague.
He was happy, that despite several name-changes, the business he started in Aycliffe continued so successfully under the guidance of Geoff Holter.
He told me he once informed a constantly complaining customer, “Sometimes a problem can lie with the player and not their instrument.”
Returning to Sweden in 1974, he became manager of a plastics company which specialized in moulding car components but he continued to work on accordions in his spare time.
Having begun to play the 5-row accordion, I sought a top-quality instrument for Scandinavian music. Bill invited me to Sweden where I met his sons Eric and Michael together with their families. He supplied me with a double-cassotto Balloni Burini special, manufactured to his own exacting specifications. This instrument has been much admired.
At our Silver Wedding party in 1983, he was delighted to finally meet Bobby MacLeod, with whom he’d only had brief telephone conversations.
During my holidays with him each year, we went to the world’s largest accordion festival at Ransater and he introduced me to many of his friends who were top players from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, several of whom still keep in touch.
On one occasion, I was most impressed when I tried an accordion he’d hand-built for a jazz-playing friend.
Over the years, Bill often stayed with us : his most recent visit was in 2006.
A visit he made in 1998 is particularly memorable for, as a surprise, I drove him to Auchermuchty, where once again he met his friend of many years, Jimmy Shand. The mutual admiration was obvious and each regarded the other as a genius. Also in that year he met my olf workmate, Gordon Ross, who had just completed work on a new violin, which had highly ornate hand-made purling together with intricate engraving. Bill was overwhelmed by the quality of the instrument. So much so that he purchased it and he regarded Gordon as one of the finest craftsman he’d ever been fortunate enough to meet.
We feel privileged to have known Bill, had him as a friend and to have shared so many times with him. Ah the memories! As the song (almost) says, “When we see his likes again?”