The Kingfishers, is the band of the 1st Kempston Companies of the Boys’ & Girls’ Brigade. The band is a traditional, innovative marching band that practice just once a week, catering for the different abilities of all its members.
We have three different sections:
· Percussion (Drums)
· Mallets (Bell Lyre / Xylophone)
· Wind (Trumpets)
The band takes part in competitions and performs at various other events, such as parades, camps, rugby matches, other special events, and we even travel abroad.
At the end of the 2004/2005 session, once again, we took our band on a tour of Denmark, where we were hosted by the Danish equivalent of the BB/GB in Brønderslev, north Denmark, and also stayed in a hostel on Copenhagen Island. The band played a series of concerts at various tourist attractions in the area, and was then granted access to them for free. Some of the attractions we played at were theme parks, which after playing we then enjoyed the remainder of the day there. It was an extremely good tour with plenty of time to have fun and enjoy the hospitality of our hosts.
Andy Gray & Terry Brinklow
Joint Bandmasters
The History of our Band
The band of the 1st Kempston Company of the Boys’ Brigade was formed in 1961 and styled on the traditional model of BB bugle bands in operation, using the Brigade bugle band handbook as a guide and playing the popular Brigade bugle marches of Fred Ketch.
The original Bandmaster was Mr Dennis Bellamy, the founder captain of the company assisted (at times), by Mr Howard Brooks and Alan Ingledew. The band consisted of a drum major, 3 side drummers (using rope tension drums with brass shells), a bass drummer, and 7 bugles. The band soon became a regular sight and sound on the streets of Kempston, leading both the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade Companies to church, every first Sunday of the month.
The original band on Parade at Kempston West Church
In 1975, following Mr Bellamy’s retirement, Max Milligan became the bandmaster, and although he only remained in the position for a year, he introduced new arrangements of popular tunes for bugles drawing on his musical background that would enable him to become a professional musician some years later.
By 1977, Richard Porter and
David Simms had taken over as Joint-Bandmasters, and began to prepare the band
for the military tattoo that was to be held at Kempston Barracks (now ‘The
keep’ Masonic Centre) to mark; The Queens Silver Jubilee and the closure of The
Barracks as a military building. In the same year, The Bedfordshire
Battalion BB Band Contest was inaugurated and the 1st Kempston won
the event.
The period of the late 1970’s was an important one for youth marching bands in Britain, as the whole activity and the organisations involved were united through a National Youth Band Championship, held at Wembley Arena. Members of the 1st Kempston attended the championships and came away full of ideas for the future, and following a victory at 1979 Beds Battalion Band Contest and advice from Ken Stone (Contest judge and former bandmaster of the Sandy Scout and Guide Band), the band changed its instrumentation from Bb bugles to Eb trumpets.
In late 1979, with David Simms as bandmaster, the band first marched as a trumpet corps and in 1980, entered the BB National Band contest where Ian ‘Flash’ Fordham won the best drum major trophy in the novice class.
To celebrate The BB centenary in 1983, The Band gave a spectacular Corps-style performance at The Bedfordshire Battalion Centenary Display, held at the Bedford Corn Exchange. For the occasion, The Band sported a Corp-style uniform and added a Colour Guard, made up from members of the Kempston GB.
In 1985, the band was offered the chance to host the Tonder FDF/FPF youth brass band, of Denmark. At the time, the task of hosting and promoting a Scandinavian youth band was seen as too ambitious for our company alone and enlisted the support from the Kempston GB Company. The whole project, led by Peter and Linda Smith was eventually, a fantastic success and saw the young people of Tønder living in the homes of the young people of Kempston, and performing concerts in the area and visiting places of interest (including London) and leisure parks.
This successful formula was
repeated in 1987, when the Kempston companies of the BB and GB visited Tønder
in Denmark. What had once been seen as an impossible dream, was now a
reality, the Kempston Brigades was now able to travel abroad and face the huge
logistical arrangements necessary to make a tour possible.
The relationship between the Tønder brass band and the Kempston Brigades continued to develop and strengthen with another visit from Tønder FDF/FPF. With the happy memories of the original tour 2 years earlier still in the minds of its members, the band returned to Denmark in 1989 for another highly successful tour.
In 1991, several members of the band marched with the Brigade National Bugle band in the Lord Mayors show in London, the members met and shook hands with the Lord Mayor, himself!
In 1992, the entire band returned to London and took part in the National Youth Parade, marching from Horse Guards Parade ground, along The Mall, around the Victoria Monument past the gates of Buckingham Palace, along Bird Cage Walk, tuning into Horse Guards Parade and finishing back at Horse Guards Parade ground.
Once again, in 1993, the band returned to Denmark and in the following year, competed in the championship class of the Boys Brigade National Band contest winning the best Eb trumpets trophy.
In 1995, the band played host to the Tønder band for the third time led by their conductor and tour co-ordinator, Orla Juul-Pedersen, who, with his wife Vivi, was the co-ordinating counterpart of Peter and Linda, in Kempston.
Throughout 1996 and 1997, the band followed an agreed plan to prepare tirelessly for the Brigade Championships in June, and a July visit to the Bronderslev FDF in the North Jutland region of Denmark.
The band was now at the best it had ever been, well-rehearsed, visually and musically impressive and confident. At the Brigade National Championships, the band established itself as one of the top outfits in the BB winning the best Eb trumpet trophy again, and the prestigious best drill and deportment award.
The following tour of
Denmark saw the band visit Tønder and Brønderslev and once again, the tour was
a great success after all, the band members and staff were all now, seasoned
travellers and the relationship between the Danish and English bands
well-established.
In 1998, the Brønderslev brass band visited Kempston for the first time and the ties between the Kempston and Brønderslev bands were developed and strengthened during that time.
In 1999, the 1st Kempston BB celebrated its 40th anniversary with an old boy’s reunion and an ‘old boy’s band’ was instantly formed to lead the thanksgiving church parade to Kempston East church.
Once again in 2000, the band returned to Brønderslev for what many people described as ‘the perfect tour’ where the Danish hosts, (once again), prepared an excellent programme of social events, public performances, and cultural/civic visits where at all times, the young people of Kempston adapted to the role of young ambassadors with admiration.
Following the tour, which as always saw both the Boys’ and Girls’ bands playing together as one, it was decided to face up to the inevitable and amalgamate the bands of the Kempston Boys and Girls Brigades permanently, and in September 2000, the joint Band of the Kempston Brigades began rehearsing together.
The summer of 2002 saw the return trip once again of the Brønderslev FDF, where we renewed our passion for music and fun sharing many experiences together. This year also saw David Simms celebrating 25 years as Band Master for the company a, fantastic achievement, which is and has been much appreciated by all the band members past and present.
In 2003, the band
participated in the joint BB/GB National Band Championships, at the Stoke
National Athletic Stadium, entering the championship class and won the Best
Newcomer Trophy, which seems a surprising as we have entered before, but you
have to remember that it is now The BB/GB National Band Championships and we
entered the as 1st Kempston BB/GB band.
In November 2004, David Simms left the Company. This saw Andy Gray and Terry Brinklow becoming Joint Bandmasters. The band rapidly restructured itself and called on some past members to fill vacant instructor positions.
In
July 2005 we had the honour of hosting for a one night stop over, the FDF
National Brass Band of Denmark. The band was made up of the best
musicians from the FDF across the whole of Denmark, of which, three of its
members were Orla Pedersen (Brønderslev FDF Band conductor) and his sons Henrik
and Christian, the tour manager was Kim Haugaard (from the original Tønder band
back in 1985). The following weekend saw our band returning once again,
on an exchange, to visit the Brønderslev FDF in Denmark. This marked the
20th anniversary of an association with FDF Brass bands in Denmark since the
original Tønder FDF tour back in 1985. An excellent tour was had by all,
to which the report can be read on the Denmark web pages.
Here's looking forward to
the next 20 years...
In Conclusion...
The band today, although different instruments, style, and now a joint band with the Girls' Brigade, has entered various BB and National competitions, but still keeps the tradition set by the original band, by leading both Companies to church along the streets of Kempston.
It
is the traditions that were set in the early years of the band has enabled it
to grow in strength and ability, and also perhaps helped create its reputation
for sometimes doing the unusual. All of which has then helped kindle our
first exchanges with the FDF in Denmark that have now been in place for many
years and hopefully for many years still to come.
Band History: Originally written by David Simms.
Updated by Andy Gray, October 2005