West Sussex concert band performs poignant concert during tour of Europe
The Littlehampton Concert Band has just returned from a tour of Belgium, where its musicians performed concerts in Ghent, Ypres and at the Menin Gate Last Post Ceremony.
Organised by clarinettist Sue Alcock, the band travelled to Blankenberge on October 10, with a visit to a Belgian chocolate shop en route to get the tour off to the right start. The following day, the musicians had time to enjoy the sites of the historic town of Ghent, before giving an hour-long concert at St Michael’s Church, playing to a steady flow of visitors.
On Monday, there was time to explore Bruge for some shopping or to simply enjoy a coffee and Belgium waffle, before heading to the Tyne Cot Cemetery, where the band had time to reflect and learn a little about the 47,000 people who were buried there after the devastation of the First World War.
That afternoon, the band travelled to Ypres to perform in the magnificent Cathedral, performing a range of British pieces as well as a couple of traditional Belgian waltzes, to the delight of the local crowd.
The day reached its climax at the Menin Gate, where the band played as part of the Last Post Ceremony.
In honour of the Royal Sussex Regiment and in memory of the events of 30 June 1916, known as the Day Sussex Died, the band played a slow-march arrangement of Sussex by the Sea which was welcomed by a number of Sussex visitors who happened to be in Ypres that day. During the wreath-laying, it performed John Stevens’ Benediction, featuring a haunting baritone euphonium solo by Sharon Clarke.
The significance of the ceremony was felt by everyone in the band. Musical director Bob Haselip said: “I have never felt more proud of the band. The magnitude of the moment was not lost on any of us, and it was an honour to contribute to such a moving act of remembrance.”