RN Volunteer Band HMS Drake (Devonport Naval Base)

BdCSgt M Phillips BMus (Hons) RM

Welcome once again to your regular instalment from Devonport Volunteer Band.

And so back to where we left off. The summer continued much in the same vein as it started, with many varied engagements in and around Plymouth. Whether it was entertaining guests at a Band member’s son’s wedding or commemorating the Devonport Field Gun Crew of years past, the Band applied itself admirably, even if the promise of the latter gig finishing at half past nine was a little optimistic. I personally wasn’t going to push the issue with a room full of ex-field gunners, so was more than happy to let them keep eating and drinking till midnight!

Before I knew it, we were all boarded and bound for the most important weekend on the RNVBA calendar, the Festival. Armed with a file a few inches thick, we departed to Portsmouth, courtesy of RM Stonehouse, arrived at HMS Nelson where we were then picked up by FSL Portsmouth, then all successfully booked into the WO and SNRs’ Mess at HMS Collingwood. Phase one successful! The next two days were more of the same, but the Band were always where they had to be in the right rig, especially on the Saturday night! The Festival itself proved to be a success, with the Band placed third overall. A mention must go to my Corps of Drums who were narrowly beaten into second place in the drum display by HMS Nelson! Overall, everyone had a great weekend and arrived back in Plymouth very satisfied with the weekend’s achievements!

Devonport Volunteer Band Corps of Drums

The remaining gigs of the summer included an Armada Night dinner at the Wardroom with more sea shanties, and the usual summer social, kindly hosted by Lin, who kept the food and drink flowing well into the early hours. Another good social event proved to be a visit to the Plymouth Beer Festival, held at Plymouth Pavilions, where some members of the Band demonstrated the ‘First In, Last Out’ rule quite literally!

The summer came and went (I think) and soon we were all sitting under a small tent in FOST’s garden, performing for an annual charity garden party. This ran straight into an event in the Wardroom for the Officers and Warrant Officers, an engagement that proved to put Devonport Volunteer Band on the European radar. The week following this gig, I received a call from the German Liaison Officer at FOST, inviting the Band to play on board one of the German Fleet, currently undergoing tests with FOST. (In truth, the phone call went something like, “Hello, is that the Band?” “Yes sir, it is”. “Do you like German beer?”) I graciously accepted the offer to broaden our horizons and, after a recce on the FGS Rheinland-Pfalz, agreed to help with their celebrations to commemorate German Unification Day.

The gig went very well indeed. The anthem was perfectly to time and the promise of the German beer was warmly received, so much so that many cars were abandoned until the following day! The VIP for the evening was the Minister of the Armed Forces and several other admirals, and the Band acquitted themselves so well that we have been invited back later this month!

Following this, the Wyvern Centre played host to another boxing championship whereupon the Band performed prior to the bouts and played the National Anthem. Trafalgar Night came and went, the following day! Fortunately I always take a lot of music for gigs and we needed it as the dinner went on until just after midnight. After NBC came to congratulate the Band and to tell us that the VIP at the dinner was ‘C’ (head of MI6), I blew my chances of taking port with him with an ill-timed comment about the television show ‘Spooks’!

Remembrance was soon here again and the Band went to Saltash to perform for a concert in aid of the Poppy Appeal. The COD, in the meantime, performed mess-beatings at the WO and SNRs’ Mess at HMS Drake to commemorate Pickle Night. Over in Saltash, I nervously awaited the start of the concert, only to notice the Corps Bandmaster sat in the crowd! Not realising that his fiancée had bought him along, I thought perhaps the Festival had come around a little quicker than normal. However, we soon settled down into our programme, including Prayer for Peace from the film ‘Munich’ and a performance of the ever popular Evening Breeze by Ian Thomas, an ex-troop member of mine who is now a professional carpet cleaner!

As I write this article on November 12, the Band managed to supply two buglers for Remembrance Services yesterday, along with a COD, who led the parade in Torpoint, over the water in Cornwall. The rest of the year is still busy with Christmas still to come, more German ships and more boxing, but the highlight of these gigs will be a five-hour epic Ladies' Dinner and Dance being held in the Wardroom on Friday! Oh, and not forgetting the Christmas Social that Lenny has kindly sorted for me!

All that remains is for me to thank the Band for their hard work this year and to wish all readers a very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year. See you in 2008!

Egor

Egor

Last updated May 2008