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The exact date of Lionel Solomon's birth in Swansea, Wales, is not known at present, but it was probably circa 1900-02. He was the eldest son of six children whose father, Samuel, was a picture frame maker. Samuel's brother Jacob, known as Jack, ran a local orchestra at one time and Lionel's two younger brothers, Mervyn and David (known as Donald) played violin and flute respectively.

Lionel's forebears were intellectually accomplished Jews from the Baltic States who became imbedded in the fertile culture of Wales. In Lionel's own case it was his interest in music that fashioned his career. He learnt to play the flute as a boy under the instruction of semi-professional musicians and was soon performing in public with the help of a Mr Barnett, a noted local musician, who published a book of his recent compositions after the First World War and devoted it to his young protege. During the war Lionel took over his father's business while he was away on active service. He then turned professional and left Swansea to train at a London school of music. His rapid development was nearly his undoing, however, for on studying flute with professional teachers for the first time, he discovered that his technique had been unorthodox from the start. To make any headway he would have to start all over again! He gradually overcame these difficulties, however, and worked as a freelance musician, sending home money to help his family.

In 1930 Lionel's father died, leaving him as the main family breadwinner. Undaunted, he worked even harder than before and took every job going. He even used his younger brother David (Donald) as a stand in when he had to fulfill other duties, thus doubling the family's income. Lionel became familiar with all styles of light and serious music during those days. He played with many of the major London orchestras, but preferred freelance work which was more enjoyable - and more profitable. His ambition was to be a popular soloist and a serious musician, and decades before the renowned James Galway did so, he demonstrated his confidence by purchasing a golden flute. With his wife Frankie (Frances Seymour), a rising young singer from the Doyle Carte Opera Company, he formed a classy night club act for flute and soprano.

To further his musical career Lionel searched through the British Museum's collection of scores and "discovered" many flute pieces known to scholars but unknown to practising musicians, mainly because the scores were out of print or had never been published before in the UK. The result was that he earned the gratitude and respect of other flautists including James Galway.

During the 1930s Lionel's favourite employer was the BBC who paid generously in cash and also stumped up for repeats. In 1936 Lionel was a member of the orchestra in the very first public broadcast on BBC Television. Throughout the years of the Second World War Lionel and Frankie performed with ENSA, the Forces' entertainment service, and when peace was restored Lionel resumed his freelance activities with light music orchestras, but also giving recitals on BBC Radio's serious music channel, the Third Programme. Being so versatile he was in high demand as a session player and band musician. It seems that he first performed with Mantovani in 1947 (an interview with Mantovani in 1973 disclosed that Lionel had been with him for 26 years). In the 1950s he became a regular member of the freelance fraternity which performed with the augmented Mantovani Orchestra. "Monty" engaged the best of the London session musicians, and appreciated Lionel's ability as a classical soloist in such pieces as the Mozart "Flute Concerto". His beautiful solo work in "Greensleeves" was another much admired feature of his work for Mantovani.

In the first published photograph of Mantovani's "New Sound" orchestra in 1953 Lionel is present, sitting beside the Johnsons, oboist Aubrey and clarinettist Frank. Lionel admitted in a radio programme that he always gave Mantovani's work priority, and so for all the important domestic occasions he was on call - including the Royal Variety Performance in November 1958, the Elstree film sessions in the winter of 1958-59, the British tours and recording sessions, and even a prestigious visit with the British musicians to Japan and Canada in 1963.

Mantovani knew how to pick musicians and make them feel valued. In his tour contracts Lionel negotiated an extra fee for playing the piccolo and the story goes that "Monty" allowed his manager to query this so that he could say in Lionel's hearing, "Pay him, he's worth every penny." He cherished him so much that he was one of the select few British musicians chosen for touring in America and Canada. "Monty" knew that he could be relied upon to reproduce the arrangements as he wanted and an added bonus was his versatility. Lionel proudly recalled that Mantovani never interfered with his playing, not once telling him that he might like him to do things another way.

Lionel's other activities included playing on backing tracks for artists and for commercials when Independent Television made its bow in the mid 1950s. In the following decade Lionel's career reached its peak. There was plenty of work and his photograph appeared in a musician's year book alongside the two foremost concert flautists of the day. Towards the end of the decade he began to cut down on his hectic schedule of engagements. On one occasion, however, this was a decision forced upon him when he has a serious disagreement with his lawn mower and had to drop out of the 1969 British tour at short notice. He was replaced for the first date at St Albans by Gordon Heard and for the subsequent venues by Chris Taylor.

Eventually Lionel moved to Pagham, near Chichester, and accepted less work in London. He was still on the Mantovani pay-roll, however, and his name appears in the personnel list for the last British tour in 1974. When he retired from performing, he agreed to do some flute teaching at nearby Lancing College and found that he enjoyed it thoroughly. Soon he was teaching in two schools and at a college in Chichester. Once a year he would return to his native Wales to tutor the Welsh Youth Orchestra Summer school - he kept this up for several years. Through the final years of the 1970s Lionel lived in contented retirement. His beloved wife Frankie passed away in 1980 and Lionel died in October 1981.

In conclusion, it can be said that Lionel was a happy and gregarious individual who loved the camaraderie of a touring band. He also appreciated his family and his local pub! A picture of him emerges, smiling while puffing his pipe, and he used this benign contentment to great effect while playing poker with the boys, the way musicians do. No-one could read his face and he often made a killing! He also had the knack of appearing to take life easy while actually working very hard. He so loved life - and all its little details - that his favourite expression in the Welsh accent he never lost was "Well, isn't that marvellous."