Eastbourne Silver Band celebrates milestone

On February 16 1950, a group of people gathered at the Eastbourne police headquarters and formed a working party to discuss setting up a town band for Eastbourne.

Out of the working party came a committee which laid down the working frame of what has now become the Eastbourne Silver Band.

Working with the then town council, which provided a financial backing of £50, and supported and heavily financed by local businessman Gilbert Foyle of Foyle Bookshops, the town band was created.

Originally playing at the town’s Redoubt Bandstand and at small functions around the villages of Sussex, the band slowly but steadily built its reputation for fine music.

As its reputation grew so did the requests for its attendance at various and interesting events.

These included a stint at the Royal Hippodrome for the Fred Carno show, with a band of 10 players, the Picturedrome, which went on to become The Curzon for the trailer of the film Marching Along and, most recently, at the Devonshire Theatre for the show Brassed Off where more than 20 players crowded onto the stage.

Over the years the band has made several trips abroad to publicise the town. The most recent of those was to Belgium, where they played concerts on the central bandstand of two towns while promoting Eastbourne with literature obtained from the council’s tourism team.

This year the band will continue its activities in the town when it supports VE Day celebrations in Hampden Park, with its appearances on the bandstand during the summer months and on December 25 when, as far is known, they will be the only band playing a live concert on Christmas Day.

Now in its 10th year, the band will also be presenting the annual Concert of Remembrance which sets the tone for the week of Remembrance.

A paperback book, entitled Eastbourne Silver Band can be obtained from the band and traces its history from its initial meeting, up to the present time.

Information on the band is also available on its website and Facebook pages.