The Friendly Band
Founded 1953
The band was founded in March of 1953 in the Parish of “The Good Shepherd”, Downham, Bromley, Kent. The founders were Cyril Mahoney, Tom Whinder and Tom Shea, all accomplished musicians (trombone, clarinet and cornet respectively). They were soon joined by others and in May were playing for outdoor church services in the Parish. Appropriately the Band was called “The Good Shepherd Band”. A programme of sports days and garden fetes rapidly developed in addition to Church music and by its second year the band was engaged on almost every Saturday and Sunday in May and June in and around South East London.
The band’s first professional conductor was Brian Wills, son of the bandmaster of the pre-war Lewisham Silver Band. He saw the band through its formative period, a highlight of which was the opening by HM The Queen of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich in 1957, when Tom Shea played the General Salute. Brian handed over to Leo T Croke when he moved out of the area in 1959. Leo was a former director of music at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. He was a professional band music arranger and composer and several of his works are still in our library.
After Leo’s death in 1964 Jack Hickman from
the famous Cresswell Colliery Band took over and continued the
band's development until he too moved out of the area in 1973.
Walter Gill, a former cornetist with Black Dyke Mills Band helped
out until Lary Woolaston, MBE, took over in 1974.
Just prior to that, difficulties with our Good Shepherd School rehearsal facility regrettably forced the band out from the patronage of the Good Shepherd Parish. The Holy Rosary Church in Mottingham took over as our patron although rehearsals were held in the Mallory School in Grove Park, an ILEA Evening Institute. The Holy Rosary Church ran a social club called the Maryfield Club (Maryfield being a medieval name for the Mottingham area) so we adopted the title of “The Maryfield Concert Band”.
Lary was a Kneller Hall trained army bandmaster who had great vision and hopes for the future of the band but in 1976 he unfortunately suffered a massive heart attack and died on the podium, a tragic and traumatic event for us all.
The redevelopment of the Good Shepherd Church and the building of a Church Hall offered us the opportunity to return to our roots so we left the umbrella of the Evening Institute and became fully independent.
After Lary, we engaged Barry Carben, who was in charge of the Junior Band at Woolwich Artillery. He took the band for two years until he moved back to his native Norfolk.
Nigel Anderton, another army trained bandmaster and also from Woolwich Artillery, succeeded Barry and his energy and enthusiasm took the band forward quickly. Membership improved dramatically in both numbers and quality and he was anxious to introduce the band to continental audiences. We undertook our first continental tour, to Adelsheim in South West Germany, in 1979. Nigel retired from the army later that year and we were again in search of a new director.
Glen Morgan, a professor at trinity College of Music and an ex United States Navy musician, took over and saw us through our 30th anniversary concert in 1983. At this time Tom Whinder, still the principal clarinet, was the only member left in the Good Shepherd parish and we thought it better to adopt a more representative title for the Band. We decided it should become known as “The Bromley Concert Band”.
The Anniversary Concert was a prestigious event
held before a packed house at Bromley Technical College and for
which the band was prepared by Norman Burgess and Christopher
Gradwell, two colleagues of Glen’s on the Trinity College
faculty. It was one of the most successful concerts that the Band
has ever promoted for itself. However, Glen's heavy
commitments in London forced him to resign shortly after that
success.
Ray Lewis was then appointed and he served the
band for the next 22 years. During this long period we resumed
continental tours, visiting Ostend, Brugge and Knokke Heist in
Belgium on several occasions, Bromley's Twin Town of Neuwied on
the Rhine in Germany and two Costa del Sol trips to Estepona,
Manilva, Casares and Calahonda where we enjoyed rapturous receptions.
The Spanish people certainly enjoy band concerts.
Under Ray's direction we undertook three day engagements
(six separate two hour programmes) in London's Royal Parks.
Sadly cost constraints have curtailed the Friday and Saturday
sessions but we still play regularly in St James’ Park,
Hyde Park, Regent’s Park or Greenwich Park on summer Sundays.
We also entertained summer audiences in Brighton, Canterbury,
Eastbourne, Folkestone, Hastings, Herne Bay, Hever Castle, Maidstone,
West Wickham (Royal Bethlem Hospital) and Whitstable.
In the wintertime the Remembrance Sunday Service
in Hither Green Cemetery is an annual fixture, as are the Christmas
concerts, and every Christmas Eve we take part in the very atmospheric
Blackheath Christmas Pageant. In February we entertain an
audience at St John's Church, Eden Park, at which that church
promotes different charitable causes.
Ray's twenty first anniversary as our director
was marked by the presentation of a billiard cue. We made
the stipulation that it was not to be used as a baton! Ray's
last concert with us was in June 2005 at Herne Bay and the remainder
of that season was conducted by Mike Axtell and Peter Dell.
Ray's official retirement was in September when we presented him
with a bronze statuette of himself conducting. It was a
moving occasion in every respect(!) and was followed by a good
party.
In October 2005 we chose Ray's successor from
a strong field of candidates, all of whom were given the opportunity
to take at least two rehearsals. In a close fought election
we chose Martin Gibbs to succeed Ray. Martin is a trumpeter
and has just been appointed Head of the Music Department at the
new Bishop Justus School in Bromley. This school will have
music specialist status.
Martin has already taken us through our winter season and he will find our 2006 summer season will be quite a busy one, a charity fete in Sidcup Oval, a school barbecue, Royal Bethlem Hospital, Greenwich Park, another ten day Costa del Sol tour, Maidstone, Hever Castle, two days at the Leeds Castle Balloon festival and Southwark Park are booked so far. Band morale is high and there is a healthy competition for the places on the corner stands.
A new committee was elected in January 2006 and we look forward to a bright future with ever more enjoyment both for our members and our audiences.
