Royal Marines School of Music Training Company

Director of Music: Major AP Thornhill Mmus LRSM RM
Bandmaster: WO1 DV Waller RM
Drum Major: Sgt Bug S BlairRM

As the summer sun reflects from the hallowed RMSoM parade square and the smell of melting parade gloss wafts gently through the air, it is once again time to indulge you in life at the school.

This Term has seen more comings and goings than a cabinet reshuffle; so please be patient as I deliver the “gen” on who’s in and who’s out. Firstly, it is with great sadness we say goodbye to WO1 Martin Grace and DMaj Graeme Scollick who leave us for Portsmouth Band and Lympstone Band respectively. Thank you for all your hard work and we wish you all the best in your future appointments .

Now, there are also four leavers from the proverbial shop floor, BdCSgt Paul ‘Big Guns’ Luford and BdSgt Trev Horne head down the coast to Lympstone. Now it may be a rumour, so please don’t quote me, but I’ve heard that BdCSgt Luford's ‘guns’ needed their own travel warrant they’re of such menacing size! Moving on, we see BdSgt Ann Miller moving to Higher Training to undertake the Bandmasters' Course, on which we wish her every success. And last but not least BdCpl Claire Walsh packs her seaman’s kit bag for the newly formed Collingwood Band; good luck to you all!

Now we have established that half the staff have left, let me enlighten you as to who their incumbents shall be. Our new Director of Music has travelled the coastal road from Plymouth and is Maj Andy Thornhill, here for his second shift as DOMT, welcome sir. Also travelling from Plymouth (via Basra) we welcome WO1 Dean Waller as Bandmaster Training whilst DMaj Stevie Blair swaps offices with DMaj Scollick. This summer term welcomes in several new instructors; BdCSgt Dave Matthews from the Northwood volunteer band; BdSgt Clay from the Royal Band; from CTC we welcome BdCpl Dom O’Connor and BdCpl Lou Simpson returns from maternity leave; and the PT staff gets augmented with the addition of Cpl Howe. That just leaves me to introduce myself: Cpl Trev Naughton, just in from Plymouth (via Basra), as I leave it to the young musicians of training company to fill you in on what they’ve been up to. Bye for now and look forward to seeing you all at Open Day on the 31 July!

TDN

Horse Guards 09
A few weeks before Easter Leave, just hours before sitting grade 5 and 6 theory exams, three trainee Buglers were called to the Bugle Major’s office, needless to say slightly nervous and curious to find out why! Myself, and Buglers Nelson and Horner desperately tried to think what on earth we could have done, or what we were about to be ‘stitched up’ with. Cpl Bug Christopher was taking great pleasure in taunting us as we sat around waiting for the call! We marched up to the cottage and were beckoned in. As you would expect, we were in the office for a good few minutes before we were eventually let in on the real reason for our summons.
It turned out that we were to be used for Horse Guards 2009! We weren’t too sure how to take the news; generally we were pretty excited, but needless to say pretty nervous too. A couple of weeks later and the dots arrived; now to commit them to memory. This was the biggest list of dots we’d had to learn for one gig, so it seemed pretty daunting, but we slowly began to tick them off the list. Then, before we knew it, the first day of rehearsals arrived. We trudged over to Pompey Band Room with our gear and made our way up to the Buglers' grot. After a few runs of some of the marches and the static it was off to Whale Island. First things first, pick a starting point and go from there! We formed 2 ranks of 20 across and walked through the first couple of marches up to the Static shape. Everyone, of course having remembered their starting number and their correct position in the static, then chopped and changed until they were in their correct positions and then re-scribbled their new starting numbers on the dots. So the display was born! For the next couple of days we made our way to the end of the display in slow time, getting very hot and pleasantly tanned! Wednesday we got very wet as it heaved it down with rain, which eventually led to the very popular decision of practising in Pompey Band Room for the afternoon! Thursday was ‘redders’ again as we continued practising and smoothing out the display. By Friday we were more or less squared away for the time being and we put it to bed for the weekend. The following Monday saw the Bandies arrive and after a quick brief from the Corps Drum Major the Band was ready to crack on with the display. A quick walk through to the CD set us straight, then it was out with the stereo and time to up gear and get on the hoof.

By the end of the 2nd week I’m sure it’s safe to say we had done the routine a number of times! One more quick run on Friday and it was time to chill. Saturday evening saw a full dress rehearsal on Whale Island, which was very well received by all who attended, then early doors Sunday it was off to London to try it out on the gravel of Horse Guards Parade! First run through was a bit emotional to say the least, with new markers to line up etc, but by the end of Sunday we were more or less happy. Monday was a needed day off, then early Tuesday afternoon we made our 2nd pilgrimage up to the capital for the first performance.

General routine was head up to Wellington Barracks, settle into the gym, where we’d be changing, then grab some food, chill out for a little bit before jumping into rig and either jumping on the coach for the prelims or forming up ready to march down. It was, to say the least, a steep learning curve for all 3 of us, but a fantastic experience. Nothing quite beats that feeling as the opening fanfare starts up, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck and certainly for us as trainees we got a taste of one of the biggest gigs we do in the Band Service! I hope that feeling of pride you get, marching down the Mall, with the sun setting over Buckingham Palace never gets old!

Bug Crossley

The Cassel Prize

The Cassel prize was established in 1946 by Sir Felix Cassel, (Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians 1939-45). One silver and one bronze medal are awarded to each of the Royal Marines School of Music, the Royal Military School of Music and the Royal Air Force.

When I was first asked if I would like to take part in this competition, I gladly accepted, not really knowing what it was or what I was actually letting myself in for! It wasn’t until I saw the list go up and saw who the other candidates were that I realised that it could well be a bit bigger than I had first imagined! This also gave me a chance to eye up my competition, and I discovered that there were three other trombone players on the line up as well (being a trombone player myself!).

When it came to the first round, it was particularly important for me as this would be the first time I had played in front of anyone since joining the School of Music, so a good impression was required. Whilst waiting in Gibraltar block for my name to be called I was talking to the musicians before me to try and find out exactly what happened, and if any questions had been asked etc; this was to try and prepare myself as much as possible. My instructor decided to tell me that he would be in the back of the concert hall listening in to my performance, just to add that tiny bit more pressure on top of that which I already had! After finishing my performance, I really didn’t think it went as well as I had hoped it to. It was the following day that the results had been put up for the next round. I was very shocked to see I had made it through, even when everyone in the coffee boat was congratulating me as they had read the results before me. I was pretty sure they were just pulling my leg, as a lot of the guys like to do! The next job for me then was to choose the next piece to play in the semifinal. I decided on the first movement of Deux Danses by Jean-Micheal Defaye, probably my first mistake to make, that one! I was however lucky enough to make it to the final. Being the only one in my troop to make it, I was now doing it for Neptune House!

The lucky finalists consisted of: Musn E Merrell on flute; Musn H Wheway on Violin; Musn A Richardson on Clarinet; Musn J Scott on Trumpet; Musn J Walker on Trombone; Musn M Bowditch on Trombone and Musn A Quale on bassoon. We all arrived at the coffee boat prior to the final starting, everyone waiting for their turn to go on and perform. Tension was pretty high, and Musn Merrell was first on, and from what I remember very keen to get it over with! It was my turn to perform; walking past the audience hearing all of Neptune house going bonkers, and Musn Saleh shouting “sand!” (Bless him) it made me feel a lot more at ease knowing that everyone was behind me, and wanting me to do well. I don’t really remember much of how the performance went, apart from the high notes not singing as I wanted them! But I was generally happy with my performance, and glad that I had even made it to the final! Every one played really well, and good feedback was heard. The runner up of the prize was Musn A Spain, and the winner was Musn Quayle on Bassoon, both playing really well. When I asked Musn Quayle if she wanted me to put anything in this write up about the prize, all she said was that she had a cat called Eric, not too sure how that relates to this but there we go!

Overall it was a really good experience and opportunity for me to take part in the Cassel Prize, and I did enjoy every minute of it! I now know what to expect, and will be sure to take part in the next one, and recommend everyone to give it a go, as it is a great experience and a great opportunity!

Musn Walker

God's Golden Acre!

Due to Horse Guards rehearsals all the bands were tied up in Portsmouth which meant it was left to the School to play for the King's Squad Parade down at the Commando Training Centre, Lympstone. So on Thursday 4th June, the Parade Band travelled down to sunny Devon. As soon as we arrived we went straight into rehearsals with the Commandos and our first experience of God’s own parade-square. Once we finished the run-through and after we had all worked out whose orders we had to follow, the evening was our own. Unfortunately, due to no shore leave we were limited to what we could do so. OLnce all trousers were pressed and everything that should be shiny was, in good old bandy fashion we found the bar. After a relaxing evening we all returned to our accommodation and all but myself to beds. I found that mine had been stolen and to my misery all the other beds were also taken, so in the end I had to find myself a comfy bit of floor to get some sleep.

After the legendary Lympstone breakfast we were formed up on the ramp to the parade-square with the King's Squad behind ready for a final rehearsal. Everything went fine so we had a couple of hours of down time before the parade. Before long we were back on the ramp, this time in number Ones for the real thing. After a quick inspection we stepped off in front of all the family and friends there to watch the Commandos pass out. Everyone played their best and we got through it with only the smallest of mistakes. So it was back on the coach to head back to Portsmouth. Everybody enjoyed the parade and was glad of the experience, especially those who are now heading down to Lympstone Band.

Musn Salmon

Sporting Success
The 2009 Navy athletics championships provided Training Company with the opportunity to demonstrate its physical prowess. The musicians and buglers of the School of Music swapped their parade boots for their running spikes and dominated the medals table. Well done to all who attended, flying the sporting flag for the RMBS.

TDN

Red Jacket Dinner

During the massed bands invasion of Portsmouth the Senior NCOs, Warrant officers and Commissioned officers of the RMBS gathered for a Regimental Dinner with the VIP being 1SL Admiral Sir Jonathan Band. The Training Company provided the musical entertainment to what seemed a fantastic night. The small orchestra, led by Cpl Trev Naughton, dazzled the attentive audience with an eclectic mix of ‘favourites’ from the Band Service repertoire. Such classics as Gypsy Blood, Blue Tango and Amporita Roca were in the programme much to the delight of the ‘Red Jackets’. Musn Eskrett took the opportunity to demonstrate his musicality with a stunning rendition of In a Victorian Kitchen Garden, and was over the moon when he received a note of appreciation from Capt Ian Davis!

No ‘Red Jacket’ dinner would be complete without a rendition of The Pirates of Penzance, and we did not disappoint; Musn Eskrett (Clarinet), Musn Penfold (Cello) and Musn Rider (Violin) all nailed their solos which were greeted with rapturous applause which created a fantastic atmosphere! The evening's extra was put together very quickly as it was requested by the Corps Bandmaster. But once again, BdCpl Mark Upton wowed the audience with BdCpl Naughton's arrangement of MacArthur Park. The small orchestra was augmented by volunteers from the ranks of the massed bands and we would like to thank all those who made the extra possible.

Overall, the evening went very well, and all involved, both dining and playing, had an enjoyable evening, and I’m sure there were a few sore heads the following day.

Musn Penfold

Reach For The Sky!

This year’s Eagle House Adventure Training (AT) was spent in Orlando, Florida on a Skydiving Course.
The journey started with BdCpl Dudley driving us to Gatwick airport with Musn Carter (nominated “vibes man”) providing the music. Highlights from the flight out included Musn Dunlop having a drink accidentally spilt into his crotch by an airhostess, who then was not sure if she should help “clean up”!

We arrived in Orlando at around 1800 and reccied the area. Saturday morning started out with a phys session in the pool at 0730 followed by all of us going indoor skydiving in a large wind tunnel. Some found this surprisingly easy and others quite hard but it was enjoyed by all! That afternoon we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure theme park which, as you can imagine, was extremely good fun.

Sunday morning had us leaving the hotel at 0730 to drive to DeLand where we would start our Skydiving course. While we were getting refreshed at the training school (most of us had gone parachuting the year before at Netheravon) CSgt Hope took this opportunity to get into his Corps Pattern jump suit and go for a jump. It was that afternoon the weather came in. Florida was hit with the worst thunderstorms since 1923; TV stations were reporting storms for the next two weeks. There was even a hurricane north of Florida! And this was just when we arrived. Great! Skydiving was cancelled day after day, though CSgt Hope did not give in and called them non-stop checking if the weather had cleared for just one jump.

The next few days (of rain) was spent again in Islands of Adventures (we had a one-week pass), Universal Studios and Sea World. We all got in free to Sea World due to being in the military and got a “hero’s salute” during the Shamu (the killer whale) show. Musns Darby and Irons especially enjoyed watching Shamu wowing the audience and refused to believe Musn Penfold, claiming that the so-called Shamu had probably been replaced many times when it had passed away. We also had a mini-golf competition, which CSgt Hope claimed he won. Afterwards Musn McIndoe put his brave face on and fed some live alligators but found it was more fun making them duel for the food. Typhoon Lagoon (a water park) was next on our list. The weather held for about an hour then the worst thunderstorms I have ever been in, came literally on top of us. The wave pool got evacuated and then the entire park shut down. We even went to a Disney mall, which was deserted due to the weather; which then got even worse so we ended up going to the cinema.

Top: Students at Univeral Studios
Bottom: A tired bus!

On Wednesday we went back to DeLand to check on parachuting conditions but it was still off. We then decided to go surfing at Daytona Beach, but then the news reports said all surfing had been banned due to lightening. We went shopping instead. By this point we were getting pretty fed up as the weather was literally closing down everything. Dinner was spent eating unlimited baby back ribs and even though CSgt Hope could talk the talk it was the eating machine that is Musn McKenzie who could walk the walk, eating the most racks!
A few of the evenings were spent in the hotel Jacuzzi till very late at night and we even managed to drain the van’s battery from all the music we were playing, needing to be jump started the next morning! Thursday evening featured a second mini-golf competition, which went on well past 0100 the next morning!

We got so desperate to jump, that our last day was spent sitting around at the skydiving centre in DeLand going over everything we needed to remember for the jump; how to exit the plane, how to keep a stable body position, checks you have to make during the 60 second freefall, hand signals from the instructors during the freefall, safely deploying your parachute, checks once it is open, identifying the holding area, following the landing pattern and finally landing. After an all day wait we took advantage of a clear patch of cloud and all managed one jump. We all agreed it was worth the hanging around! We only wished the weather had been better and we could have completed the course. All round it was an amazing AT all thanks to CSgt Hope!
Musn Dunlop

That’s all the ‘Gen’ from the school, until the next time, goodbye. “Train hard, easy war”

TDN

Last updated January 2010