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The Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band

The seven Lancashire Territorial Army (TA) gunner regiments (252, 253, 287, 288, 359, 436 and 470 Regiments) which, under the reorganisation of the TA in 1967 were to form the new 103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment RA, all, with the exception of 252 Field Regiment (The Manchester Artillery), had regimental bands at some point during the twenty years from 1947, when the TA was reformed after the Second World War. All these bands could trace their histories back to the formation of their various Lancashire Artillery Volunteers parent units in 1859 and 1860 when a band was seen as an important if not essential part of any military unit.

In 1966, as a prelude to the reorganisation of the TA, the one hundred and forty plus TA bands then in existence, had to be reduced by area competition to the twenty-two officially sanctioned bands of the proposed Territorial & Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) IV category, thirty-five musicians strong plus bandmaster, musical duties only at this time, although this was to change in 1986, when bands were required to take on an added military role. Each new band was to be built around the winners of these various area competitions and then made up to strength by audition from the best players of those bands due for disbandment. Two bands for the North West were selected, one of which was allocated to the Royal Artillery, based on 253 Field Regiment (The Bolton Artillery) and was to be named the Lancashire Artillery Volunteers, a reusing of the original title of the volunteer artillery units formed in 1859 and 1860, a title which had since fallen into disuse in 1891. The other Lancashire artillery bands then ceased to exist, some of the musicians joining the new Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band together with other musicians from various disbanded North West infantry, corps and yeomanry bands.  The Lancashire Artillery Volunteers band, to be based in Bolton, officially came into being on 1^st April 1967 under the direction of  bandmaster WO1 Jack Hughes, previously the bandmaster of 253 Field Regiment (The Bolton Artillery). WO1 Hughes, had many years experience in military bands having enlisted in the Royal Marines as a bandsman in 1932, qualifying as a bandmaster in 1945 and later served for thirty-four years in the TA before retirement in 1981. 

Although the present band dates its official formation as 1967, it could be said that the Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band, through its Bolton connection, can trace its ancestry back to 1861 when a band was formed for the Bolton and Great Lever Artillery Corps (18^th Lancashire Artillery Volunteers).

The band was originally based in Fletcher Street Drill Hall in Bolton with F Troop 209 (The Manchester Artillery) Battery, sharing the cramped quarters with a part of the 4^th Bn Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, moved to a redundant shirt making factory in Slater Street on the expansion of The Bolton Artillery in 1987, pending the building of a purpose built Territorial Army Centre (TAC). Both Fletcher and Slater Streets premises had no dedicated band practice space and the band often had to rehearse among the noise of battery training on Sundays, before moving again in 1992, this time to its present, purpose built TAC on Nelson St where it has its own modern bandroom, storage facilities and offices. 

The band is under the control of 2 Division for tasking of official military engagements requiring musical support, but the services of the band can be called upon by other military units and organisations. The Commanding Officer of 103 Regiment is responsible for recruiting and administration.

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The musicians come from all corners of the North West (and also from across the M62 in Yorkshire) and from all walks of life. Included among the ranks are teachers, accountants, a printer, bus driver, museum professional and a postman among others. The band enjoys the demands of a busy and varied schedule, meeting for Thursday weekly rehearsals, in addition to the round of military, civic and public engagements.        

The Band, which can also supply smaller groups from its ranks including two brass quintets and fanfare trumpets, has a high reputation for its turnout and musical skills and has produced a number of recordings over the years.

The Band has performed before Her Majesty the Queen on a number of occasions as part of the massed bands of the Royal Artillery, in particular on Horse Guards on two occasions (1986 and 1998), at the Royal Horse Artillery 200 anniversary celebrations at Woolwich in 1993 and at the Duke of Edinburgh’s Birthday Review in Hyde Park in 1991.

Past engagements have taken the band to places near and far, including the Queen’s birthday parade at the British Embassy in Kuwait (twice), Royal Gun Salutes in York and Cardiff and events in Jersey, Gibraltar, Germany, the Ascension Islands, the Isle of Man; the State Opening of Parliament in 2006 plus the Inverness and Woolwich Tattoos and London Royal Parks and seaside resort bandstands; the Royal Artillery Association Annual Prize Giving in the Guildhall, London for many years; the Royal Artillery Mess at Woolwich and the FA Cup Final at Wembley. The band has taken part almost every year in the annual Massed Bands display in Preston, now known as the Preston Military Show, since 1994.  

The highlights of recent years have been  to combine with the Regular Army’s Royal Artillery Band in 2007  taking part in the “Farewell to Woolwich” ceremony, on the occasion of the Royal Artillery leaving its London spiritual home after nearly three centuries of occupation, while in June 2008 the Band formed part of the massed bands of the Territorial Army for the TA100 Pageant on Horse Guards Parade in London and had the privilege of marching along The Mall from Horse Guards to Wellington Barracks leading, as part of the massed bands, the Pageant parade past the Prince of Wales who was the guest of honour and saluting officer on that occasion.

2010 Camp took the form of a KAPE tour of North West towns with the aim of publicising and promoting the TA, 103 Regiment and to stimulate recruiting into the band. Other engagements this year have included Rossall School Cadet 150 Charity Dinner; Help the Heroes Concert at Eaton Hall, Cheshire; Falklands Parade Chorley; Bolton Mayor’s Parade; RA National Assembly Blackpool; ABF Beating Retreat Macclesfield; a number of events in connection with Armed Forces week in Blackpool; RAFA Parade Sale; Bolton Artillery Officers’ Mess annual dinner at Bolton TAC; St Barbara’s Dinner, Liverpool plus various public concerts and carol services.

Engagements are regularly undertaken for various military charities, the Royal British Legion and other ex-Services organisations and trips to the National Arboretum in Staffordshire, in support of these, have become regular events of late. The band continues to support the Royal Artillery National Assembly in Blackpool in May, which it has done for a good number of years, with a Beating Retreat and music to accompany the Dinner.

The present bandmaster is WO1 Ian Mitchell, late bandmaster of the Heavy Cavalry Band at Catterick since 2008. WO1 Mitchell joined the army in 1985 as a trombonist and pianist serving in the Band of the Blues and Royals until 1997. Following the Bandmaster’s Course at Royal Military School of Music, he was appointed Bandmaster of the King's Division Normandy Band in 2001, serving with them in Canada, The Falkland Islands, Bosnia and Northern Ireland. Appointment as Bandmaster Irish Guards followed from 2004 to 2008. Mr Mitchell  had a number of his compositions performed at this time, notably The Irish Guards and Princess Royal on Trooping the Colour; Horse Guards 500 on Beating Retreat, Horse Guards plus the overture Music on Fire at the RMA Sandhurst. More recently, in December 2010, Mr Mitchell was the winner of a competition to choose a new ‘regimental’ march for the Corps of Army Music. In September 2006, he was chosen by the Directorate Corps of Army Music to travel to Ghana to work for two months as musical advisor and training officer for the bands of the Ghanaian Armed Forces; this work culminated in several large-scale and important parades celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Independence of Ghana. Just prior to retirement Mr Mitchell travelled to Ethiopia in October, as part of the Corps of Army Music Short Term Training Team to spend some time training their army and police bands musicians.

BANDMASTERS

WO1 Jack Hughes 1967-1981
WO1 Allan Ashworth 1981-1993
WO1 Bernard Tupman 1993-1997
WO1 David Turner 1997
WO1 Ritchie Howard 1997-2010
Capt Keith Hatton (Director of Music) 2002-2006
WO1 Ian Mitchell 2010 to present

Sgt Philip Mather
Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band
7^th Jan 2011

The Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band can be contacted at:

Artillery Barracks, Nelson Street, Bolton, BL3 2RW
Band office - 01204 362111
Email - 103RA-LAVBAND-PSI@mod.uk