The Massed Bands of the Royal Marines Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade - What is all that about?

by Marcher

Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, forms an impressive backdrop for its Band

Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, was opened in 1906; the magnificent building replacing the last of the training ships that had been moored in the River Dart. This was HMS Prince of Wales, which was renamed HMS Britannia, the fifth Royal Navy ship to bear that name. In early July 1916, HMS Britannia was towed away to be broken up and, according to the publication by Davies and Grove ‘the whole College was assembled whilst the [volunteer] band paid her the last farewell.’ This is the earliest mention, found to date, of a band at the College. It is also known that between the two World Wars the College band was entirely composed of Civilian College servants and, in 1956, the Voluntary College Band consisted of cadets and civilian staff. It had seventeen members, ten of whom were cadets. It was in 1956 that a Royal Marines Band, which marched into Dartmouth from HMS Triumph and became ‘The Band of HM Royal Marines, Britannia Royal Naval College’, replaced this band of volunteers.

HMS Triumph, a Light Fleet Carrier, was launched in October 1944 and commissioned in May 1946. In June 1950, she served in support of the Anglo-American forces fighting in the Korean War. She was then used for officer cadet training until she went into the Reserve at which time, during 1956, her Royal Marine Band under Bandmaster P Coombes marched into Dartmouth to become the College Band. During the same year, on the 22nd February, the College was given the Freedom of the Borough to mark its 50th Anniversary.

In 1958 Bandmaster D Johnson was drafted to the Band and he remained there until 1960 when Bandmaster W Shillitto succeeded him. 1960 was also the year when the College Band took part, for the first time, in the ceremony of Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade. Other bands were C-in-C The Nore; Flag Officer Air (Home); HMS Raleigh: HMS St Vincent, Portsmouth Group: Plymouth Group and the Royal Marines School of Music.

In 1962 the College band was classified as a ‘Ship’s Band’ having 18 ranks including the Bandmaster who, by this time, was R S J Sharpe. During 1964, Tercentenary Year, the Band again took part in Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade with the bands of C-in-C Portsmouth, C-in-C Plymouth, C-in-C Home Fleet, FONAC, Portsmouth Group, Plymouth Group, Royal Marines School of Music, HMS St Vincent, HMS Raleigh and HMS Thunderer.

In 1967 the Band was again involved in Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade and it continued to maintain this participation until 2003, when only a small-scale event took place inside the gardens of Buckingham Palace. The 1967 planning required that the strength of the Royal Marines Band Service be cut to three hundred and fifty by 1975/6. The Commandant General argued that this would result in the loss of a number of bands at training establishments, including BRNC, and it was finally agreed that the cutback would be to five hundred but implementation had to take place two years earlier, in 1973. The main effects upon the College band were that its complement, once HMS Ganges had closed, was to be increased to twenty-five; the disadvantage being that the Band would be much more extensively tasked than previously.

By 1972 the Band strength had increased to thirty-two and was under a Warrant Office Bandmaster. Duties included the provision of music for parade, training, formal dinners, dances and concerts at the College. It featured largely on all ceremonial occasions and assisted in providing music for other local establishments. It also undertook engagements in various parts of the country as a marching band, dance band and a concert band.

One memorable engagement in 1976 was during the visit to Portsmouth of the Russian ship ‘Obrastovy.’ This was the first Russian vessel to visit this country for twenty years and the Band played for its arrival and the traditional Guard and Band for the reception of the Russian Admiral. Together with the Soviet Band, BRNC Band shared the musical honours at a wreath laying ceremony at Southsea War Memorial. In spite of the language barrier everything progressed satisfactorily and was followed by much embracing of the British musicians by their Russian counterparts while the Bandmaster, WO2 Bandmaster Farrell, endured a hug and kiss from the Russian Director of Music namely a four ringed Captain.

Beat Retreat by the Band of HM Royal Marines Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, outside the NATO HQ in Naples 1976

In September 1976 WO2 Bandmaster M R Goss temporarily took over from BM Farrell who was to retire. BM Goss remained at BRNC until WO2 Bandmaster C Sheppard relieved him in July 1977. On Silver Jubilee Day (7th June 1977) the massed bands of FONAC and BRNC, under FONAC’s Director of Music, Lt J Ware, led 40 Cdo RM at the Thanksgiving Service where they exercised their right to march through the City of London with Colours flying, bayonets fixed and bands playing. Later, BRNC Band provided music from the bank of the River Thames whilst Royal Marine Rigid Raider Craft and Landing Craft featured in a pageant on the river. The Silver Jubilee Musical Pageant at Wembley Stadium was the only one of these annual pageants to feature the Bands of the Royal Marines. The Senior Director of Music was Captain W W Shillito and the RM Bands of Commando Forces, Flag Officer Plymouth, CTCRM and BRNC were amongst the 2000 performers.

The Waldron Report of 1977 reclassified the organisation, deployment and conditions of service of the RMBS and the Buglers Branch of the Technical Section, as it was then known. As a result, BRNC Band became a ‘Standard Band’ with twenty-four Musicians and seven Buglers. At the beginning of the 1980’s the RMBS had ten bands, including BRNC under WO2 Chris Sheppard, plus the Royal Marines School of Music and twelve Volunteer Band Instructors, totalling 514 Musicians and Buglers with a further 124 under training. By the end of 1984 the strength of the RMBS had reduced to eight bands plus the RMSM and the VBIs. 1987 saw the demise of the final sea-going band (Flag Officer 3rd Flotilla). At that time it was the last RM Band to be commanded by a Bandmaster; BRNC now being commanded by a Director of Music, Lt R R Starr who had been appointed in 1985.

It would seem that the first time that the BRNC Band appeared on a musical recording was in 1981 when a recording of the 1979 Plymouth Pageant was released. (This may well have been a re-issue of a 1979 release) During 1988 they made their first ‘studio’ recording. Called ‘Britannia,’ it was recorded at the College under the baton of Lt Rod Starr and with a BdCpl Steve Savage on tenor sax. It was only released as a tape cassette.

One of a series of PR photographs taken in BRNC of the band during 1985.
Below, BdCpl Steve Savage on Tenor Saxaphone

No more recordings were made until 1992 when a compact disc was recorded, also at the College. It again featured BdCpl Steve Savage on tenor sax and the Band was conducted by their Director of Music Lt John Hillier who had joined the band in 1990. Lt Hillier made a second recording in 1994, ‘That’s Entertainment’, this time without BdCpl Steve Savage.

During 1994 arrangements were made for Deal Barracks to close in 1996, the RMSM relocating to Portsmouth. It was announced that this would result in a Band Service complemented to 358 ranks, with five bands located at Portsmouth, Plymouth, Scotland, CTCRM and BRNC. BRNC was once again under the command of a Bandmaster, WO2 D W Lindars. In 1994 the Band played for the traditional Trafalgar Night dinner at the British Embassy in Washington DC. Hosted by the United States Marine Corps, the Band had an enjoyable few days.

During 1991 the band was flown into Sebastapol to join HMS Fearless which was to be visited by the Russian C-in-C Black Sea Fleet. The guard was provided by 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines.

The first of the fiftieth anniversary Second World War Commemorations took place in 1995 when, under WO2 BM A M Mutter, BRNC Band flew to Malta to support the island’s celebrations. Based on HMS Illustrious their first task was to perform a moonlit Beat Retreat on deck. This followed their emergence at deck level from one of the aircraft lifts. Next day, having played at Colours and at the unveiling of a Royal Navy Memorial ashore, at 1100hrs the Band stepped off the coach to march through Valletta to the Town Square where they played an hour long musical programme. They then marched back through the town, changed uniform, and Beat Retreat. This was followed by a quick trip back to the ship before returning to play a concert. The high level of activity continued for the next two days.

1996 featured another visit to foreign shores as, in August, the Band travelled to Oregon to play at the reunion of English and American veterans of the Battle of the Chosin River, fought during the Korean War. To coincide with this a recording, ‘The Chosin Few’, was made under the direction of the new Director of Music, Lt Phil Watson. The following year Lt Watson and the Band made another recording, ‘A Night in Concert’. The Band paid a visit to the Falklands in 1998. A change of Musical Director occurred in 1999 when Captain Andy Thornhill replaced Captain Watson who was appointed Director of Music at the School. During that year BRNC Band flew to Egypt as part of Medical Squadron, part of the Commando Logistics Regiment. Split into two Troops they, with CTC Band, operated two Forward Dressing Stations throughout Exercise ‘Bright Star’. The use of the bands confirmed that Cdo Logs Regt could provide ample cover for 3 Cdo Bde and that the Band Service was now crucial to this role. In December 2000, the Band departed for a trip to the United States. First call was to California for a few days in the San Diego area. This was followed by the Hungnam Parade which took place in Washington DC where temperatures were, after California, a very uncomfortable minus five degrees.

A trip to Ascension and Falkland Islands and a new recording were two of the events of 2001. The recording ‘Trafalgar’ featured Richard Baker reprising his well-known narration to the music of the same name. Military training was brought forward and kit was issued for a possible trip to Afghanistan over the Christmas period but this did not materialise.

The following year Captain Thornhill and the Band recorded ‘Dancing Men’, a departure from the standard musical repertoire as it was based upon the very popular BRNC Big Band and featured many Big Band classics. Following a trip to Rome and Naples the Band, once again, became the responsibility of a Bandmaster, in this instance WO1 S P Davis. Following a trip to Japan to play at the Japanese Fleet Review the Band was thrust into preparations and deployments for Op Fresco, covering the Firefighters' industrial action. Some members of the Band were deployed to HMS Argus for contingency operations in the Gulf; some went to make up the numbers in the rear party bands at Portsmouth and Plymouth. For a while the Band of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, ceased to exist. During the late spring Op Fresco and the deployment to the Gulf were completed and the Band reformed under a new Director of Music, Captain Mick Dowrick.

On the 28th April 2004 the Band were given the Freedom of Dartmouth, the first time a Royal Marines Band has received such an honour. Once the scroll had been received the Band marched through Dartmouth to the Guildhall for a reception. WO1 Steve Savage, escorted by CSgt Buglers Lee Cullen and Martin Williams, carried the framed scroll. To mark this event the Band, directed by Captain Mick Dowrick, recorded the CD ‘Hosts of Freedom’. The recorded music was varied and designed to demonstrate the range and versatility of the military band.

In 2006, BRNC Band was again included in the Massed Bands Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade. Although not realised at the time it would be the last such occasion. Also unrealised at the time was the last recording from this Band. In January 2008 Captain Jon Ridley and the band recorded ‘A Night at the Opera’ following the footsteps of recent Directors of Music who, whilst each appeared to strive for something different, they all seemed to share the aim of illustrating the versatility of the Band.

The 2008 Lean report required cuts to the RMBS commensurate with operational and musical capabilities. BRNC was identified as the band to be relocated and this coincided with the need for elements of the RMBS to provide medical cover for Operation Herrick 9. Whilst the BRNC Band was formally stood down in 2008 the Ceremonial farewell took place on the 20th May 2009, just after the return of RMBS personnel from Afghanistan. On a warm, early summer afternoon the people of Dartmouth gathered in the park and in the town. Traffic was halted and roads closed as, for the last time, the sound of the Royal Marine Band playing as they marched down from Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, was heard. In the park the Freedom Scroll was on display. The Band marched into the arena to perform the ceremony of Beating Retreat in front of a very large and very knowledgeable crowd. On completion, and as the crowds began to make their way into the centre of the town, the band stepped off with, fittingly considering his service to this particular Band, Bandmaster Sid Davis carrying the Freedom Scroll. The VIPs made their way onto the bandstand, which was also surrounded by a large, loud and supportive crowd. The Band marched into the open area in front of the bandstand and halted. The Mayor of Dartmouth paid tribute to the work of the Band since 1956 and from her words and from the reaction of the townspeople it was very evident how much of a loss this band would be to the town as well as to the College. The Principal Director of Music, Lt Col N Grace, responded and in his concluding remarks offered the unique Freedom Scroll back to the town. The Mayor then announced that the scroll would be given to the Royal Marines Museum for safekeeping, at which point the Director of the Museum thanked the Mayor and the Royal Marines Band Service for this donation and promised that it would be held safe in the Museum where it would be in the company of other Freedom Scrolls that had been awarded to the Corps. The Band then marched through the town to the Guildhall where the Mayor and guests took the salute and all gave three cheers before the Band played Auld Lang Syne.

WO1 Bandmaster Sid Davis, followed by the band, carries the Freedom Scroll into Royal Avanue Gardens during the Farewell to Dartmouth Ceremonies of 20th May 2009

Article © John Ambler