A brass band was a important institution in village life in past times. Lambourn was no exception.
We would like to thank Graham Palmer for the following information on Lambourn Brass Band.
The History of the Lambourn Village Brass Band
by
Graham Palmer
Many years ago, I decided to research the history of the Aldbourne Band, being a local historian and also a player in that band as was my dad and uncle it was a topic always close to me and can you believe I am still dipping into things trying to find the answers that are still evading me some 35 years plus later. Interestingly one of the Lambourn bandsmen can be seen on a 1925 Aldbourne photo, “Jimmy” Wicks often played with us. One of the things I did was to read over 100 years of the Marlborough Times which I am very glad I did as they are still not available online. The MT covered an area I liken to a cake but about 25 miles across with a sizable slice missing as that was covered by a Swindon newspaper. In it I found mention of some 150 local musical groups of various form including of course the Lambourn village brass band.
1847 is the earliest mention I have seen for a Lambourn brass band, infact that is a fairly early date for England as a whole and is the earliest for any local band I have found in the area that was covered by the MT. The Aldbourne Band for instance started in 1860 though the Ramsbury band already existed by then but I have never been able to find out from when. Please note that most newspaper mentions were of Friendly Society parades, Hospital Sunday parades or their like, and those early reports show that band concerts as such just did not exist and rarely is there a mention of a conductor let alone the name of a player.
May 29th 1847 the Reading Mercury told that the Lambourn Life Provident Society celebrated their 5th anniversary at the Hind Head. A one-off mention it would seem and sadly no other mention found until 1886 when the band was conducted by Maurice King some 40 odd years later. He was born in Lambourn in 1847 and was a village Carpenter and Joiner. Perhaps that first band had ceased? Not every newspaper exists to tell us but this is the most likely event. There appears to be a photo of the band that shows them in their mid-century form and even mentions some names that we will look at as we go.
In 1891 the band was being conducted by James Stokes Griffin, James was born in Lambourn in 1855 and when he was conducting was a Painter, Upholsterer and Ironmonger. In 1894 the band was led by Charles James Maberly who incidentally formed the Lambourn Drum and Fife Band c1894, though that was last mentioned in 1902. Maberly was also born in Lambourn in 1867 and was an organist and in 1911 was living in the High Street. At some point after he moved out of the village and died in Devon in 1935.
The next mention was in 1897 when G. Mildenhall led them. George Mildenhall b.1847 Lambourn was a Carpenter and Wheelwright, he died in 1912.
In 1901 and 1905 mention is of N. Alexander leading the band. Typing errors are not unusual in newspapers and I think that his initial was H and not N. Henry Alexander was born in Lambourn in 1855 and died in 1926.
1907 saw William Henry “Harry” Mildenhall conducting. Harry was born in Hungerford in 1868 and was a farmer in Upper Lambourn, he died in 1954.
1907 also saw the death report of Thomas Taylor who was at one point the bands leader. Born 1843 in Hungerford, he worked as a butcher’s slaughterman in Lambourn until he died in 1907. I do not know when he was the leader as village reports do not mention him just his obituary.
Finally, a 1914 report mentions that Sir George Clement Martin led the band. He was a most eminent musician and it has been said, is the only born son of Lambourn to have ever made anything of himself. I have no idea whether that is true or not but he does take some beating. He was born in 1844 to Thomas and Elizabeth Martin, Thomas was a hairdresser living in Oxford Street. As a youth he showed great musical promise infact he went on to be not just any old organist as 1888 became the organist of St Pauls Cathedral! A position he maintained until his death in 1916 infact he was buried in St Pauls Cathedral which you have to agree is something pretty special. Obviously, he was a man who never forgot his roots as I found him mentioned in a 1914 village newspaper report leading the Lambourn band, well he had been a member in his youth.
This 1914 report is the last I have found so I must presume that the band struggled to reform as many other local bands did after the 1st world war. It was not alone I can tell you as so many others didn’t either and it always surprised me that the Aldbourne Band did especially as they lost 7 of their members which was about a third of their then membership. On their return men struggled to do anything but stay at home with their loved ones and that never came as a surprise to me either. Aldbourne built a hut complete with a snooker table for their returning soldiers but struggled to get their men to use it. Incidentally the hut became the Aldbourne working men’s club that sits behind their memorial hall.
It seems that most of the conductors also played in the band and a few were found named on two of the surviving photographs, so I have decided to look at all named players here.
This is the earliest photo of the band I have seen and these are the men named. Some we will talk about later so I leave some of their info until then. Please note that most are Lambourn born unless otherwise stated.
Maurice King.
George Pavier b.1844 d.1875.
Richard Pavier b.1820 d1907.
Thomas Taylor.
Thomas Clement Martin b.1808 Speen d.1899
Henry Pavier b.1841 d.1916.
George Mildenhall.
George Clement Martin.
Thomas Martin jnr b.1843.
William Clark b.1828.
On the photo dated c1912 the following men are named:
William Thomas Rodbourn b.1882 d.1953.
Edwin “Nedder” Rodbourn b.1888 Baydon d.1976.
William Harris b.1858 d.1916.
Edgar James Wicks b.1896 Wootton Rivers d.1991.
William Henry Joyce b.1895 d.1977.
Arthur Henry Gosling b.1884 d.1915 Gallipoli.
Emanuel Page b.1871 Basildon d.1915.
Henry Ball b.1879 d.1949.
Charles Sawyer b.1880 Bright Waltham d.1969.
Frederick George Wicks b.1874 Wootton Rivers d.1968.
Frederick William “Willie” Wicks b.1898 Wootton Rivers d. 1968.
William White b.1872 Gt Bedwyn.
Jesse Dudley b.1882 d.1934.
William Henry Mildenhall b.1868 Hungerford.
Thomas Hart b.1866 d.1929.
Bert Vallis (unable to verify any information so far).
Robert Henry Wildegoose b.1886 Wantage.
The Wicks family had originated in Wootton Rivers, a village in the Pewsey vale and one or two had been members of their village band. The Wootton Rivers band was also a casualty of that first terrible world war.
A photo of the band in about 1885 but sadly it doesn’t have any names
This last photo though a bit tatty is a better quality of the one dated c1912.
Two other facts I have discovered is that the first set of instruments were given to the band by a Mr John Hippisley, a Lambourn man born in 1804, he was a landowner and magistrate so wealthy enough. He moved away from the village and died in Bath in 1894. It was also found in a 1916 report that Lady Craven also gave the band a set of instruments but it didn’t say when but perhaps to the very first band? Research for a Lambourn historian methinks.
Oh, and the band rehearsed on a Tuesday evening in the National school which is where just about everything else happened.
Many thanks to Graham Palmer for sharing such interesting information with Lambourn Website.
Liz Beard
