(Gervase Henry Cary-Elwes)

(b. 15 November 1866 – d. 12 January 1921)

Gervase Elwes was an English tenor of great distinction, who exercised a powerful influence over the development of English music from the early 1900s up until his tragic death in 1921 due to a railroad accident in Boston at the height of his career.

Elwes died aged 55 in a horrific accident at Back Bay railway station in Boston, Massachusetts, in the midst of a high-profile recital tour of the United States. Elwes and his wife had alighted on the platform when the singer attempted to return to the conductor an overcoat which had fallen off the train. He leaned over too far and was hit by the train, falling between the train and the platform. He died of his injuries a few hours later.