Weekend Campaigns

During the next few years, several weekend campaigns were undertaken, with the band travelling to Wimbledon, Plymouth, Cowes, Portsmouth and Kidderminster. At Plymouth Congress Hall the Sunday afternoon festival was chaired by a very distinguished personality, Lady Astor, whose opening speech proved to be quite lengthy. Being unable to tolerate it any longer three sailors rose to their feet and, in no uncertain terms, reminded her that they had really come to listen to the band.

With the next day being Whit Monday, the band gave two further musical festivals in the morning and evening. During the afternoon five bandsmen made their way to the local football ground, where, standing in full uniform, they watched the match between Plymouth Argyle and Chelsea! The festival in the evening finished with a plate of cornish pasties which contributed little to the enjoyment of the bumpy homeward journey.

The weekend at Cowes proved the loyalty of at least one bandsman. Frank Smith, unable to comply with the bandmaster's dictum If your work interferes with your banding, give up your work had to miss the Saturday festival.

He made sure of missing none of Sunday's activities by setting off from Boscombe at 5am and cycling the 30 miles to Southampton, where he boarded the ferry to Cowes and joined up with the band. At the end of a busy day he returned to Boscombe the same way.

Resplendent in their red 'lion tamer' tunics and new white caps (then available for half a Guinea) the band marched the newly tarmaced streets of Kidderminster in June 1933. Being a very hot day (part of the hottest summer on record) the tarmac began to cling to the bandsmen's shoes and when they marched into the town hail to commence the evening festival it deposited itself on the newly laid carpet. The Mayor warmly welcomed the band but, privately, was none too pleased.

In all other aspects the weekend was a great success, with the Kidderminster papers claiming Boscombe to be the finest band to ever visit the town. Even 50 years after the event a member of that congregation wrote to The Musician recalling the masterly playing of that difficult selection Mount of Olives.