Band of HM Royal Marines Scotland

Director of Music: Captain I Davis BMus(Hons) MMus(Dist) LRSM AMusTCL Royal Marines
Bandmaster: WO2 R Young BMus(Hons) LRSM AMusTCL RM
Drum Major: CSgt Bug G Moxworthy RM

WELCOME once again, gentle readers, to your quarterly update on events in the Scotland Band – the Band that likes to travel. What a time we’ve been having! From Scotland to Portsmouth to London to Scotland to Portsmouth to London and back to Scotland, all in the space of a month! We may not venture abroad as extensively as in days of yore but we’ve racked up some serious coach miles recently, and will continue to do so until such time as the Mountbatten Festival of Music is relocated to Glenrothes.

MOUNTBATTEN MAGIC

Much will be written elsewhere about the Albert Hall showpiece, but suffice to say there is no show without Scotland Band, and it was splendid to see our Director of Music, Captain Ian Davis, striding on-stage to conduct the Massed Bands for the National Anthem and the march sequence for the first time, having of course performed here for many years as a member of Scotland Band. BdCSgt Miles Bolton is a seasoned soloist at these events, and his sensitive rendition of Memories in Phantom of the Opera was, as ever, a highlight of the show. During the Pink Panther section of the tribute to the great Henry Mancini, there was in fact a pink panther prowling through the auditorium, but any rumours that this was a cunningly disguised Scotland Band rank can neither be confirmed nor denied at this time. Finally, it was particularly poignant to see members of CTCRM Band performing on stage so soon before deploying to Afghanistan, and we wish them all well and a safe return to these shores.

ROYAL WINDSOR

In lieu of a foreign trip, we were cordially invited to take part in the Royal Windsor Tattoo, with the added incentive of a solo Scotland Band spot before the Army-Navy rugby match at Twickenham. Collingwood Band proved, not for the first time in this period, that they are indeed our spiritual brothers (and sisters) by turning up to Twickers to watch us playing a selection of marches in the centre circle; some of them stayed to watch the game as well, at least those who could still see by then. To be fair it was a fantastic gig to be part of; even as a proud Scot I admit that Twickenham’s crowd in full voice as we played ‘Jerusalem’ was a sight and sound to behold, as were classical boy band ‘Blake’ (or ‘Blaaaaaaaake’, to use the Pompey band vernacular) in their splendidly expensive take on ‘smart casual’.

Having finished their leave in style, Collingwood then joined us for the Tattoo itself; being of a similar mindset to ourselves, they followed the Sunday afternoon rehearsals with a quite splendid barbecue (I’d never thought it was possible to flip burgers sardonically until I saw Drum Major James in action). My memories are hazy but they tell me the day was a positive triumph. We were, rightly, the leading Bands on the Tattoo, and once we had taught the Army Bands to counter-march the right way (our way) it was ‘curtain up’ and we stepped off to the Bugle march ‘Per Mare, Per Terram’. The Corps of Drums display brought the house down, and the finale was made unusually enjoyable thanks to the arrival on the arena of two French Bands who played the same piece of music at the same time but at slightly different tempos. That said, one of the Bands was that of the French Foreign Legion, so I would suggest that they were definitely right and the other lot weren’t. Her Majesty the Queen took her seat on the last night and her smile remained benign despite one of the Household Cavalry’s horses curvetting in a most exciting way and making a beeline for the Massed Bands; now Collingwood’s Bass player Musn Ali Gray is a sturdy, manly fellow but REALLY doesn’t like horses, and as he heard the thunder of hooves and saw the foam-flecked nostrils of the Blues and Royals finest coming his way, he looked ready to do a bit of curvetting himself. Then, in a blaze of fireworks, it was all over for another year and, after stocking up with bottles of mineral water and healthy low-calorie snacks, we boarded the coach and drove back to Rosyth through the night.

LINBURN

Our Woodwind Quintet was delighted to be invited to perform at the opening of the new wing of the Linburn home for injured and blinded ex-servicemen near Edinburgh. BdSgt Colin Friend, myself, BdCpl AJ Clark and Musns Molly Singleton and Dan Carter provided dinner music for the occasion in a large tent on an extremely windy day. It was a privilege to chat to the veterans who had gathered for the opening, with the normal Army/Royal Marines banter in full flow, and Colin even left some canapés for the guests to enjoy. The musical highlights were a splendid arrangement of Drunken Sailor, which young Dan almost managed to play correctly, and Percy Grainger’s beautiful Walking Tune; the Boss and his good lady were in attendance as guests, and when we played the Grainger, you could actually see him casting around for a breadstick or similar with which to conduct us. Look out for a Wind Band arrangement of the above coming to a concert hall near you. You can take the Clarinettist out the Band etc…

JOHN HARDIMAN

We recently heard the terrible news of the death of one of our former colleagues. John Hardiman was taken from us at a tragically early age; as a friend of John’s, and on behalf of his comrades up here in Scotland, I would like to write a few words in his memory. On board Scotland Band’s coach, the ‘back of the bus’ is not for the faint hearted or the new joiner from Training Company, but for John it was rather like an extension of his living room. If there was a beer on the go, a game of cards, a sing-song or some banter flying, John would be at the epicentre – causing trouble and defusing it in the space of a sentence. We loved John and we loved his music, as he did; he was a superbly talented musician, mastering not only his original instrument category of Piano and Tuba, but subsequently Double Bass, Bass Guitar - and Bari Sax! (Ask Percy!) The staff of the Burgh Arms in Inverkeithing loved his custom; along with Daffy, Parky, and the other usual suspects, we spent more time in there than I care to, or can, remember, but we will always remember John; playing hard and working hard, he was truly one of us, and always will be.

HATCHES, MATCHES AND DRAFT CHITS

Firstly, an apology. Writing this article is no picnic; someone, somewhere, will always point out what you’ve left out as opposed to what you put in. However, I did blunder badly in the last edition by neglecting to mention two new members of the Band Service’s (extended) family! BdSgt Nige Jones and his good lady Jennifer Tilby celebrated the birth of Sebastian Anthony William Jones at 01.26 on the 25th January, weighing in at 7lbs 5oz. Equally massive and belated congratulations must go to CSgtBug Mark Cooper and former Bugler Heather Ford, who brought little Rowan Cooper into the world in Kirkcaldy on the 12th February. Now this obviously brought a smile to Coops’ world-weary face – (normally an annual event, blink and you’ll miss it) – yet he was grinning again just a fortnight ago when he won the Band’s Fantasy Football League trophy (and, as he pointed out, Nige didn’t).

We have bid fond farewells to Musn Dave MacAnerny, who puzzled us recently by frantically practising his Violin until we realised he was Portsmouth bound, and Musn Lizzie Merrell, who spent a whole morning polishing her Piccolo, in her own Portsmouth draft before proceeding on long weekend. Talk about a home away from home! (Pun intended). Bye-bye also to a staunch member of my section, Musn Kate Wheway, whose intense conversations (with herself) scared and charmed us in equal measure. Good luck at Collingwood Katie. What can I say about Paul Donovan? That most irascible, hospitable, musical, unpredictable and most of all lovable king of the three-badge Musicians has finally retired after an astonishing thirty-three years' service, including sea time on ten different ships, seven years on the Royal Yacht, a deployment on RFA Argus during Op Telic, and ownership of by far the finest coffee-boat business the job has seen; our BFT times are only now creeping back up to normal. Not one to rest on his laurels, as I scribe these words Paul is piloting the number 19 bus on the Ferrytoll route around Rosyth. Good people of Fife, whatever you do, make sure you’ve got the right change!

Meanwhile we welcome our new Flautist, BdSgt Anne ‘thank the lord she married Fred, have you tried spelling her old name?’ Miller, fresh from the Faslane VBI draft, Musn Sandra ‘not Jesse’ James (we hope our occasionally industrial language doesn’t offend her) and Chris ‘Baz’ Brisley, who looks a little lost on Fridays with no Divisions to do – that’s five years in Plymouth for you. A big hello to our new Pianist, Musn Rob Fleming – a Manchester United fan from Manchester! Never thought I’d see the day. Further up the food chain, our new Bandmaster, WO2 Russ Young, who has settled in nicely here in the frozen North, and, due to one of Musn Scotty Burton’s regular sports injuries, has been playing a more active part in the Cornet section than perhaps he expected! Russ took time out of our busy schedule to marry Kerry at the Royal Beach Hotel on 23rd April in Portsmouth; well done and best wishes to you both. Welcome back meanwhile to Drum Major Moxworthy, who actually seems to have grown (height-wise) since last he led our Band. Perhaps we’ve shrunk. Lastly, I must mention our Band Operations Co-ordinator, BdSgt John Taylor, simply because in twenty-two years' service in this Band, he’s never been mentioned in this periodical. He’s a lovely man with a lovely family, and works more hours than anyone else in the Band, and that is as good a reason to mention him as any. He leaves the Band Service next year, so we might even mention him again then. But on past record, possibly not. Until we meet again in the medium of print, in the words of Frank Renton of ‘Listen to the Band’ fame – “Bye now!”

BdCpl P.D.W. HUME RM

Scotland Corps of Drums

Due to the serious amount of snow and gigs we have had up here we were unable to submit an article in the last issue so I’ll just recap on what the Corps of Drums has been up to since Christmas.

Well, during the run up to Christmas we had enough snow to give a polar bear the hump, so with the majority of our gigs cancelled, and people not being able to make it into work due to the inclement weather, there wasn’t much for us to do apart from making an igloo on the married patch! After three hours' work the domed masterpiece looked great. On the next day we decided to extend it and after another three hours it was finished, complete with inside light; it’s amazing what two Buglers and a Bandy can do when they are bored. With more snow inbound it was obvious that sooner or later we would end up doing an engagement in it. This, as it turned out, was to be a Royal Yacht Britannia gig at Leath Docks. The Corps of Drums arrived ahead of the main Band in order to perform mess beatings for a Russian businessman, with the Band joining them later for the beat retreat. With the snow falling very lightly when the Corps of Drums arrived we checked out the arena for the beat retreat later on; the Royal Yacht staff had done a very good job and it was completely clear. After wowing the Russians with our slick and intricate stick work we went downstairs for our sandwiches while we waited for the Band to arrive. When the Band turned up forty minutes later we went outside to check on the weather and the arena; it had started to snow again but not heavily and the arena had a small dusting of snow on the surface which looked like icing sugar. Being in Scotland Band we have become used to gigs like this so it was “Quick March” and on we went. So there we were trudging up and down with the snow getting heavier and heavier to the extent that by the end of the routine we had had nearly two inches of snow in twenty minutes (as can be seen from the photograph, it was pretty bad but a great photo opportunity, with even the possibility of a future Christmas card in the making – watch this space!)

Scotland Corps of Drums chilled out on the Royal Yacht

Next we had military training, which went without any hiccups; we even had some nice sunny weather! The Mountbatten Festival of Music was next on the cards with some great music and an excellent static by Bugle Major Annett and Corporal Piner, involving 3 multi-tuned Bass Drums and some new, quite unorthodox, stick work. It is good to see that even in these times we can incorporate the old with the new when it comes to improving our repertoire and performance. This was the first Mountbatten Festival for our newest Bugler so, with him being a local lad, we made full use of the hot tub in his back garden for a Buglers’ hot tub party.
Soon after this we headed back down to Portsmouth to prepare for the Windsor Royal Tattoo, but not before stopping off at Twickenham to provide music for the Army versus Navy Rugby match. Although we got chance to watch the game, please don’t ask about the score!! Windsor was pretty much what you’d expect from an outdoor Tattoo, with the arena being uneven, and horses in the show (you can imagine all the other surprises that were left for us on the arena) but, with a great turnout from the crowds each night and guest compares too, the Tattoo was a great success.

After a busy period a few members of the Band and Corps of Drums had a day ‘airsofting’. It’s amazing how excited people can get when they get given a weapon they don’t have to clean. After everybody had had their first few hits and got used to the pain we all had a great time, especially when shooting Mark Metelko, even if he was on our team!

Britain's Got Talent

I wasn’t going to mention this, but then thought it might be amiss if I didn’t, but I’d just like to publicly thank all members of the RMBS past and present who backed us and who are still continuing their support for us in our alter-egos “The Highwaymen”. We all had a great time and are still enjoying what can only be described as a dream hobby.

Nelson’s Column

Ok, I expect every Corps of Drums has one, but we have a certain Bugler who speaks before she thinks, so from now on in every article we will put in some of the best quotes we’ve had during the term from our very own Bugler Nelson (pictured below). Here are just a few to whet your appetite:

“Isambard Kingdom Brunel: Didn’t he start the Scouts, or was it a pub chain?”
“Why is there no snow on the sea?”
“Safety curtain: is that to stop people falling off the stage?”
“George Foreman: wasn’t he a chef?”

Unbelievable but all true.

Parish Notices

First off we would like to congratulate Stevo & Victoria on the news that they’re expecting a baby boy around the end of October. Will he make an appearance on the 21st or the 28th? We’ll let you know next time.

As I write this article we are currently on leave before heading back for the Edinburgh tattoo, but after that we will be saying farewell to Silky as she heads back to the Portsmouth Corps of Drums. Silky will be missed by us all; not only for her musical talent but also on our overnighters in Newcastle.

As I bring this article to a close I’d just like to welcome back the Buglers and Musicians who have just retuned from Afghanistan, and also wish their replacements a safe deployment; we’ll see you at the Mountbatten Festival of Music next year for a well-deserved pint.

Roger Out Warmy.

Last updated 13 December 2011