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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

World War One Military Bands


A.A.Savery

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Being a musician I am always very pleased to see any photos of Military Bands.

I’ve played in Brass Bands, Big Bands, Orchestras, Small combos and taught quite a few kids to play wind instruments.

One of the biggest delights I find, is hearing and watching a military band playing.

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a wonderful spectacle, seeing the all the various bands of different regiments and I include here the Pipe Bands. To learn to play the bagpipes is still on my list.

Therefore when a magnificent photo of a Great War Military Band appeared in one of the threads the other day I drooled over it for ages. I can’t even find it now!

Could we start a thread for all the photos that surely must be around?

Any nice photos possibly from postcards, with either bands or instruments from that time, will shut me up for a while.

Here is a very good website with an enormous amount of brass players and bands from way back.

http://www.harrogate.co.uk/HARROGATE-BAND/indexlk6.htm

Thanks,

Tony

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Tony

Another with similar interests. I've played in brass bands all my life and am currently conducting a Non-Contesting Town Band.

Worth remembering that many of the players in Territorial and Service Battalion Bands came from brass bands indeed some bands followed the Brass Band Instrument configuration.

Dave

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QUOTE (Phil_B @ Feb 5 2007, 03:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Phil,

That's the one I was looking for.

Tony

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Tony

Another with similar interests. I've played in brass bands all my life and am currently conducting a Non-Contesting Town Band.

Worth remembering that many of the players in Territorial and Service Battalion Bands came from brass bands indeed some band followed the Brass Band Instrument configuration.

Dave

Hi Dave,

So I am not alone!

What's your main instrument Dave?

I'm really a trumpeter, but I do dabble in a few others.

I have also been conducting a military style youth orchestra here.

Cheers,

Tony

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There are a few excellent photographs of various DLI bands and Buglers circa 1855 to 1915 to be found on this site. Scroll down to Barnard Castle, Galgate, Militia and there are 5 fine examples, one after the other.

Feel free to drool.

http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/DRE.nsf/...p;KEYWORD=Bands

Great link Jarvis,

Thanks,

Tony

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So I am not alone!

What's your main instrument Dave?

Although Euphonium is my preferred instrument of necessity I have had to play a number of instruments to meet the needs of the bands that I have played in summed up as follows:

Euphonium (14 years)

Cornet (26 years - 10 as principal))

Tenor Horn (3 years)

Soprano Cornet (2 years)

Eb Bass (1 year)

I also played drums in a 'pop' group for 6 years.

Currently not playing but very much enjoying conducting.

Dave

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great photos of bands .i am looking for photos of the 10th hussars band from about 1890 to 1901 my great uncle was in that band and i would love a picture of it. tom

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  • 1 month later...

At last I have found an addition to this list.

The Canadian Forresters Band

I found it the other day through another thread but I can't for the life of me remember which one now, although I am pretty sure that it's World War One.

Tony

post-14730-1173382951.jpg

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Broadening the discussion;

Has anyone seen/heard the Turkish Army Mether band, based at the Askeri Mueze (Military Museum) in Istanbul? An active unit of the Turkish Army, an authentic 15th Century Turkish military band, playing the old music on the old instruments while in the old uniforms with swords, axes, and armor. Very eerie. Would not want to be standing on the Hungarian plain with my pitchfork while this band played and 150,000 angry-looking people with sharp swords and axes advanced in my direction.

Somewhere I have a copy of a recording of the "changing of the guard" by the special Watch Company in Berlin in 1901, with the band playing, and incredible barked orders.

My father, as a child, was fascinated by hearing the band of the Prussian Guard Cuirassiers as they rode down Berlin streets and played, wearing armor.

Bob Lembke

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Hi Bob,

It sounds fascinating.

I just did a bit of googling and came up with this.

http://www.osmanli700.gen.tr/mehter/index.html

It would be nice to see some old pictures too.

Thanks for that,

Tony

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Broadening the discussion;

Has anyone seen/heard the Turkish Army Mether band, based at the Askeri Mueze (Military Museum) in Istanbul? An active unit of the Turkish Army, an authentic 15th Century Turkish military band, playing the old music on the old instruments while in the old uniforms with swords, axes, and armor. Very eerie. Would not want to be standing on the Hungarian plain with my pitchfork while this band played and 150,000 angry-looking people with sharp swords and axes advanced in my direction.

Somewhere I have a copy of a recording of the "changing of the guard" by the special Watch Company in Berlin in 1901, with the band playing, and incredible barked orders.

My father, as a child, was fascinated by hearing the band of the Prussian Guard Cuirassiers as they rode down Berlin streets and played, wearing armor.

Bob Lembke

If this is the band with the strange way of marching, one step, turn , face front, one step, repeat.... They appeared at the Edinburgh tattoo many years ago. I still remember them vividly.

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Here,s a couple of pics from my collection that I thought may be of interest on this thread "MO"

post-13272-1173458879.jpg

post-13272-1173458929.jpg

post-13272-1173458964.jpg

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Thanks Phil,

That's the one I was looking for.

Tony

Another with my GGF leading the CLB band.

Roland.

post-6634-1173458954.jpg

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Just found this thread. Great photos and links!

Thanks, everyone.

I'm always interested to see (and listen to!) military bands.

Hey, perhaps we could form a GWF Band... :D

Adrian

(ex 2nd Bassoon, Warwickshire County Youth Orchestra - a VERY long time ago!)

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If this is the band with the strange way of marching, one step, turn , face front, one step, repeat....

Oh........I've seen John Cleese do that! :rolleyes:

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Nice pictures Mo!

Roland,

I missed your original thread with the details of your GGF.

Where and when were they taken?

You can almost hear them playing marching down that street.

Thanks Pals,

Tony

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I'm always interested to see (and listen to!) military bands.

Hey, perhaps we could form a GWF Band... :D

Adrian

(ex 2nd Bassoon, Warwickshire County Youth Orchestra - a VERY long time ago!)

Hi Adrian,

That’s your idea, so please do start a thread to recruit musicians.

It could turn out to be an extremely interesting exercise.

Also a long time ago, I made the numbers up with the Warwick University Orchestra when they played in Paris in 1978.

Cheers,

Tony

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Roland,

I missed your original thread with the details of your GGF.

Where and when were they taken?

You can almost hear them playing marching down that street.

Thanks Pals,

Tony

Another. My GGF is the Sgt in the centre. I am sure all these were taken at training in and around Rayleigh.

My GGF`s CLB number was c250 so he was one of the first to join.

Roland.

post-6634-1173512220.jpg

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Roland,

Thanks for that wonderful photo which conveys so much.

Those proud young men still on home soil, not knowing what the future had in store.

Cheers,

Tony

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Just hearing about the impact of the Turkish military music on, of all people, Mozart. I know you guys are focused, naturally, on the UK bands, but if you get a chance listen to a CD of this eerie music. I have the 3-CD set that the Military Museum sells, but also got a fourth set. Was in a small bazaar in Istanbul with my buddy, and a dealer had a few Mehter CDs on display. I mentally set a price limit on what I would pay, and stepped up and tried to buy it; the guy stated the price, I thought it a bit high, handed the guy the money, and he laughed and gave me 90% back; I am usually clever with various currencies, but I had let a decimal place slip.

The guy was wearing a robe, not western dress; he was painfully honest, as almost all Turks, in my experience. You see many examples of both honesty and what I might call "financial modesty" (10 years ago, driving in a cab up to a hotel that cost $330 a night {I wasn't paying that}, after a long cab ride I offered a $0.16 tip, as well as the $2.00 fare; the driver examined the tip carefully and handed back $0.06, saying, without irony, that the tip was excessive. You could tell that he may not have made $330 a month.) Generally the most spectacularily "honest" or "financially modest" displays also have signs of al Islam; this guy had a green religious banner across his dashboard; written in Turkish lettering, it was the only time I have been able to read Arabic; the standard "God is God; God is great" stuff.

Sorry for the OT, I love Istanbul; if you get there by all means go to the amazing Military Museum, and try to schedule it to catch the Mether Band, which plays there about 4 times a week, in mid-afternoon. During the 19th Century they were trying to "modernize", and shed the old bands and started European-style military bands, which I imagine they still have. But this band is great.

There is also a good naval museum on the shore of the Bosporus a bit north of the mouth of the Golden Horn. I got there from the Old City with a $0.60 water taxi ride to Aisa (lunch), and a $0.45 water taxi ride back to Europe at the foot of the museum. (These "water taxis" hold 2000 people and are very fast.) Amazing collection of old torpedos; the British (Whitehead ?) established a torpedo factory in Istanbul in the 19th Century.

Bob Lembke

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Interesting stories Bob,

When we are talking about the First World War and Military Bands then that includes ANY type of band from all the participating nations of 1914 -1918.

This thread was therefore intended for the purpose of looking at them all and not just the British bands.

A Scottish Pipes Band has very little in common with a Military Brass Band, but as a musician and with my Scottish ancestry, I do appreciate hearing or seeing anything ‘musical’.

Clarification of the word ‘music’ needed here:

There are but two kinds; Good and bad.(Over simplified I know, but that’s the way that I like to categorise it)

Also, a note is the same in any language.

You certainly make a good advertisement for Istanbul and I am glad to hear that there are still places where the people are honest.

Many thanks,

Tony

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post-10254-1173663000.jpgthis is the band of the royal dublin fusiliers c1913

my grandad cecil coath is front row left hand side first man with saxaphone

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