WELSH GUARDS BAND

Waipawa Mail, Volume LXVII, Issue 102, 12 May 1939, Page 3

WELSH GUARDS BAND

I TO ARRIVE IN OCTOBER ALL PICKED MEN. LONDON, April 20. I Endcr th. command of Lieutenant ■l.s. Ch ler, L.R.A.M., A.R.C.M., ■ p. 5.11., 4n members of the Welsh ■ finnrds' I: nd are due to reach WelI limrton In i lie Rangitiki on October I Hth. 1 i and has been engaged to , ■ play at Centennial Exhibition ■ ami it wi!i remain in New Zealand ■ for about ix months. It will he ■ away from England for nearly nine ■ months, one of the longest periods I that any British band has been away ■ from its regiment. I All m.sobers of the hand, which is ■ one of the “big five” military hands I of the British Army, are picked men. I Some o' them have been trained at I the Hoval College of Music, others I have ben .elected from the best line I regiment-, and many have passed I through the Military School of Music. Hilda’ bands are not now permitI ted to enr ■■ the various annual band I eoinpetiti' •. -: instead, they are inI speeted hv the Military School of I Music, which has six “rankings” I to award. “Outstanding” is the I highest comment it can make, and I this was recently awarded to the I Welsh Guards’ Band. THE PERSONNEL. The pet omel chosen to play in New I Zealand will comprise 12 clarinets, six I cornet-. : r horns, four trombones, I four tnl, three euphoniums, two I flutes, two oboes, two drums, and one bassoon rhe 12 clarinet players will also plav the violin or the saxophone when i .'[tired. One of the men, Musician A. Bristol, is also an excellent pianist, while Musician Tudor Evans i a fine baritone. Many members of the hand play privately in first-class orchestral and dance bauds, and Corporal Cooper, one of the leading military eornetists, is frequently engaged by Bobby Howes, the well-known conductor. It is not too much to say that the band will l„; able to play any item that anyone in New Zealand may care to request if them. The average age of the men is about 32, the youngest being 24 and the eldest 42. Many of them have seen experience in various parts of the world with their regiments, and some served in France during the Great War. Lieut. Chandler, for instance, has also served in India and Bunn;!. The majority of the men are married, but they will not he accompanied by their wives during their stay in New Zealand. Although they belong to the Welsh Guards, the men do not necessarily come from Wales, and all parts of Great Britain are represented.