I should mention that I was wrong to say that none of the phonograph recordings Vaughan Williams used to check notation from singers found by George Gardiner 'seem to have survived'.

One, at any rate, (probably) does. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library has a cylinder recording of The Banks of Green Willow which appears (from the tune and words) to be David Clements, from whom Gardiner got the words in August 1906; it was probably Charles Gamblin who originally noted the melody, but that may have been later on; Gardiner increasingly worked ahead of his musical collaborators as his collecting proceeded.

RVW re-transcribed the tune in January 1909; apparently directly from Mr Clements in the first instance, afterwards correcting the transcription from the recording, which can be heard on the English Folk Dance and Song Society cd A Century of Song.