It was a regret that stayed with him throughout his life. Until his dying day John Alan Fewkes wished that his school had allowed him to learn a musical instrument. A music teacher failed to respond to his early interest and Mr Fewkes went on to pursue a career in manufacturing socks, teaching himself to learn music only after he retired.

Now, a year after his death, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester has been astonished to discover that Mr Fewkes has bequeathed it £2.2 million, almost his entire estate. He had no links with the college apart from a friendship with a former secretary, and the gift is its largest one to date.

The interest on £2.2 million will provide scholarships for as many as 15 students a year at the world-class conservatoire alumni include Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the composer, and John Ogdon, the pianist, as well as musicians with the London Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles.

Speaking to The Times, Professor Jonty Stockdale, the college's new principal, expressed "disbelief but joy" at the generosity of a man he never met.

He said: "Students and their families already make substantial sacrifices to pursue a career in music, and these scholarships will provide much-needed financial support to assist with ... fees and the purchase and upkeep of musical instruments."

After leaving the independent school, Rossall School, in Fleetwood, Lancashire, Mr Fewkes studied textiles and sock manufacturing at the Leicester College of Art and Technology, starting up a business for school outfitters with his brother, Roger, in 1964.

His proudest achievement was receiving the Royal Warrant in 1976, supplying school socks for the royal children.

Commenting on why the bequest was made to Manchester, Roger Fewkes said that they had done some business in the city. He also went to concerts at the college.

Recalling his brother's early passion for music — their mother was a classical dancer and their grandmother an organ student — he said that the music teacher was interested only in choral music: "John was no chorister. If you weren't in the chapel choir, this man had no interest in you at all, whatever your skill ... [John] was destroyed, but he was not bitter. He thought, 'I haven't got a future in music' and put it to the back of his mind."

Such was Mr Fewkes's natural gift that after he retired he learnt to play the piano and saxophone well enough to perform at private functions in a dance band alongside professional musicians.

Learning to read music was easy for him, far easier than learning English, his brother recalled. "He was always baffled by players who cannot read music," he said.

Mr Fewkes specified in his will that the bequest was to support students of wind, brass and percussion — his favourites.

He certainly did not bear any bitterness towards his school, to which he left 10 per cent of his estate. He never married or had children. Everything else he owned has gone to the college — along with his beloved saxophone.

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