Camberley and District Silver Band’s first rehearsal was on 4th November 1960, and the band has been playing continuously in the area ever since.
The first rehearsal was at St Mary’s Church Hall in Frimley, less than a mile from Saint Peter’s Church Hall where the band rehearses today. The rehearsal was attended by 8 players and Bandmaster Gerallt Hughes, and the first piece played was a rather out-of-tune rendition of Abide With Me (Eventide); various reasons are given for the atonal nature of this first musical foray – according to Mr. Hughes it was due to tuning, but founding member Frank Poston recalls that what they thought was an Eb Bass was actually a “single” Bb Bass, and once that part was corrected, Abide With Me returned to its harmonious tune we all know.
The Band’s first contest, Hove, 1961
The band’s full and unabridged history is now available online as digital editions of the two history booklets produced by the band.
The first act covers the first 25 years, 1960 – 1985; the second act is 1985 – 2010. Both pages link to PDF digital editions of the publications in their original presentation.
Contributing to Band history
If you have any memories of the band, newspaper clippings, photos, videos, or audio recordings you would like to share with us – whether it was from 1960 or this year – please get in touch by e-mailing hello@camberleyband.org.uk and we would love to hear from you.