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Back to Historical Notes Contents. Historical Notes "A JOB WELL DONE" A Short History of British Bandmasters Attached to Canadian Army bands during World War IIby Jack Kopstein "The contribution made by the British bandmasters seconded to Canadian Army bands during the war cannot be underrated" said Bandmaster Alfred Hollick in his diary and "that the lads proved to be up for the task and that it was indeed a job well done". The man who was credited with being the author of both the bands and the inspiration for requesting the bandmasters was the much maligned " man called Streeter" (Archibald Leonard Streeter). He was simply a controversial person if nothing else. It was said that Streeter "demanded loyalty" but nevertheless, through his relentless and Herculean efforts he did create ten Canadian bands overseas the likes of which Canada had never known before. He had originally come to Canada from England as a replacement bandmaster for Captain Tommy James of the PPCLI band in Winnipeg. When the war broke out in 1939 the band members opted for overseas duty and Streeter was without a band. On November 30th 1940 Army Headquarters in Ottawa wrote to Brigadier Hamilton-Gault at Borden camp in Britain. They informed him that authority had been received for the establishment of nine bands (later 10) for overseas service. They included: the Royal Canadian Artillery band; the Royal Canadian Engineers; the Royal Canadian Signals band; the 1st, 2nd,and 3rd Infantry bands; the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps band; the Royal Canadian Armored Corps band; and, the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps band. Within the same message the Headquarters recommended AL Streeter for the job. He remarked in his correspondence that "he, (Streeter) had been kicked around Winnipeg doing menial jobs training buglers, making himself disliked". On the same day another message from CANMILITARY to HQ in Britain noted that because of the lack of trained bandmasters in Canada "..you can probably obtain necessary bandmasters on loan from Kneller hall" (the Royal Military School of Music). Despite the fact that the bands had been authorized things did not sit well with Major General Odlum who wanted bands to be unit bands rather than Holding Unit bands as had been authorized. He was soon set straight by Major General Montague who derided him for not understanding that General McNaughton had already made the decision and it was not open to discussion. In fact General Odlum wanted the bands to do route marches at the head of columns of troops not concerts or parades. Finally General McNaughton sent a terse note to General Odlum on December 2nd 1940 stating " 'It is no longer possible to use bands on marches because of the necessity of splitting columns of troops into columns of small groups as protection from enemy aircraft". General Odlum it appears was still using tactics from the Crimean war and was soon sent home to Canada and eventually sent out as Ambassador to Australia in 1943. Streeter was appointed supervisor of bands overseas on November 18th 1940 and promoted to Lieutenant, Director of Music. It was also agreed shortly thereafter that silver-plated band instruments for nine bands be purchased because the "instruments could be easily cleaned with soap and water". On December 7th 1941 in a memorandum from CANMILITARY in Ottawa by Colonel Wedd he remarked BRITISH BANDMASTERS...request forwarded for the loan of 9 bandmasters (British Army) ... The Treasury Department is pondering situation… By March of 1941 the Commander, Base units in Britain, stated that indeed a 24-piece band was functioning. This was the 1st Infantry band which Streeter conducted himself with the assistance of Canadian bandmaster SA Garnett. Garnett had been bandmaster in Calgary before the war. The band was however short of personnel with the absence of both flutes and Eb clarinet. In May of 1941 Streeter led the same band in a concert on the BBC which Frank Wright the musical advisor expressed the opinion that it was "above average". The band also performed in Trafalgar Square prior to the radio broadcast. Later General Phelan who remarkably was the most vocal in his support of overseas band pointedly expressed his opinion that the military bands that were performing on the BBC had left much to be desired. The bands he was referring to were what were termed Unofficial bands and in January 1942 he ordered that only official bands were to be employed on the BBC radio broadcasts. In the summer of 1942 the official permission was given by the War Office in London and the Canadian Treasury Department for the seconding of 9 British bandmasters who were on the British Army super-numery list . Earlier in June 1942 the Canadian Grenadier Guards band were scheduled to ship out from Canada to form the 2nd Canadian Infantry band. Two of the bands the RCA (Artillery) and the Service Corps bands had massed to form one band under Warrant Officers Alexander Hollick and AR Newman. In June 1942 the Armored Corps band under bandmaster Phil Murphy began operation and a dance band was formed from within the band. Murphy who came from Windsor Ontario was one of only two Canadian bandmaster selected for overseas service during the war. Bandmaster Garnett was sent home by Streeter but earlier proved to be quite satisfactory for some concerts and parades. Murphy was an exceptionally competent director who had emigrated from Ireland after WWI and who was the leader of several concert bands in the Windsor area. His conducting style was abrasive but his leadership was unquestionable. The first bandmaster to join a unit was Bandmaster Frank Buckmaster who went on a tour a few days after the Dieppe raid with the 1st Canadian Infantry band and who complained on 23 August 1942 that…"a good deal of time has been wasted hanging around because no one knew the band was coming". By January 1943 all of the bandmasters had still not made an appearance. It was announced however on January 3rd 1943 that The No, 2 and 3 Infantry bands and the Canadian Armored Corps, RCA and the Service Corps bands were under organization. Finally on May 20th 1943 the 7 bandmasters were officially placed on duty with Canadian bands Frank Buckmaster, Alexander Hollick, Reg Newman, Donald Keeling, Cecil Holt, Lawrence Hicks, Alexander O'Connor. Later 2 more bandmasters were also employed Cyril (Bobby) Beare and James Hempstead. The bands now began to recruit musicians in earnest from a list of soldiers who were arriving almost daily in Britain. By June of 1943 a list of engagements were published for the previous month of May: Parades -80, concerts -86, church parades-27, and dances-57, sports-5 total: 255 In August the list of engagements had risen for jobs in July noting parades-56,Concerts-121,church-17, dances-69, sports-33. It was now clear that the entire operation under the British bandmasters along with the token Canadian had become extremely successful. This success however was not without it's detractors. On the 18th of January a rocket arrived from the Department of National Defense, Army, in Ottawa to the Senior Officer at CMHQ in London which stated: " The situation in regard to the British Bandmasters in the Canadian Army overseas is becoming of great concern as there is only one Canadian Army bandmaster. This appears to warrant careful review.. The public is becoming very sensitive about this type of situation--that is where appointments in the Canadian Army are not filled by Canadian Personnel. I am advised by RCAF staff at NDHQ that the RCAF bands are all staffed by Canadian bandmasters. S/L Kirkwood (RCAF CENTRAL BAND) has advised the RCAF did not find it necessary to borrow British bandmasters. Reply soonest. Streeter framed the initial reply on January 26 and stated "the bands (Canadian) have reached their present standard of efficiency solely through the skilled training that has been available (British Bandmasters). The work demanded by the bands is such that they cannot avoid comparison to British bands." A message on January 31st from Senior officer CMHQ, London stated that the "British bandmasters on loan have done a very admirable job under trying conditions and have also agreed to a man for postings with their bands to other theatres of war, as the Infantry band (no1) and Armored Corps band proceeded in December to the Mediterranean Area". Later in May 1944 the distribution of bands in the different theatres of war included: MEDITERRANEAN-3 bands UNITED KINGDOM-1 WESTERN FRONT-5 The exact locations of bands during the period 1944-45 was also published about 1 one month after D Day the 6th of June The Canadian Armored Corps- Italy WO Phil Murphy No 1 Infantry - Italy - WO Frank Buckmaster (Sgt Art Bergin and Sgt McLeod later) RCCS (Signals)-Europe-WO Cyril Holt No 2 Infantry -Europe-WO A O'Connor No 3 Infantry -Europe-WO Donald Keeling RCAS (Service) - Italy-WO Alfred Hollick RCOC (Ordnance)-Europe-WO Lawrence Hicks-WO Cyril Beare RCA (Artillery) - CMHQ London- WO Reg Newman RCE (Engineers United Kingdom-WO James Hemstead The total strength of musicians was 242 The final bandmaster to be inserted in the lineup of bands overseas during the war was L/Sgt F.M McLeod who took over the no 4 Infantry Corps band in November 1944. He had come over from the no.1 band. The record of the performance of the bands and musicians is laced with verbose stories and non-supported yarns but there is a good many official documents to illustrate the musical quality of the bands in theatre and in London. The best known and perhaps the finest band of the ten bands was undoubtedly the one led by WO Reg Newman. The RCA band under his helm made numerous BBC broadcasts as well as recordings for rebroadcast to troops in various areas of the war. Newman also had the distinction of leading the first Canadian Entertainment broadcasts as director of the Army Show until the arrival of Captain Bob Farnon. The early official bands were often loaned out to support civilian morale. Factories, clubs, festivals etc were added to the daily workload of the musicians quite apart from military duties. In one case for example the 1st Infantry band were called upon to assist as the pit band for a presentation of the masque "Alfred" by the composer Thomas Arne, written in 1740, in which the "Rule Britannia" was scored for military band., In 1941 the Canadian Military band, as the 1st Canadian Infantry band was known, played a concert at the Municipal theatre of the towns of Sutton and Cheam (Shem) under Bandmaster Garnett. The concert program for this outdoor concert on September 6th 1941 included: Martial Moments- arranged-Winter, Nights of Gladness-Ancliffe, The Desert Song-Romberg, Fifty Years of Song arr. Ord-Hume, Overture Pique Dame-Suppe, On Grandmothers Birthday-Rahte, Airs from Please Teacher-Waller, Gay Nineties Medley-arr., Winter, Smiles then Kisses-Ancliffe, English Airs-The Rose arr. Middleton, Medley of American Airs-Ord-Hume, March Medley Colonel Bogey on parade-Alford Among the many duties of the bands was the follow up burial services for the fallen Canadians. This meant the playing of hymns and the Last Post by various band members. The most well known of the buglers included Sgt. Jack Mackie who was a pre war PPCLI (Princess Patricia's Light Infantry) musician. Bands were there for almost all of the liberation ceremonies including a street parade in Roen France on September 12th 1944. Phil Murphy led the Armored Corps band in numerous parades and concerts and his name and that of the band were often mentioned in messages which were circulated to both officers in the field and at the Canadian Army HQ in London. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps band were the first band to play a concert at the Normandy Beachhead at St Aubin sur Mer on June 11th following "D" day the 6th of June, WO Hicks the bandmaster said " we were mobbed by the troops particularly after we played the Colonel Bogey march which everyone enjoyed". As the troops made their way across Europe the bands followed closely behind often feeling the shock of enemy bombardments. From the diary of Ike Ebert's a member of the Ordnance Corps band the following account". While playing a concert on a beach head for Canadians, two German 88's screamed overhead and exploded nearby sending troops scurrying for shelter. The band remained in position but did stop playing and then played GOD SAVE THE KING faster than any time in memory and rushed for cover" The final push for Canadian Troops came in April and May of 1945 with the liberation of Holland. The establishments of the overseas bands were now becoming reduced by attrition, mostly because of the strain of the war, many of the musicians had returned to Canada. Major Streeter himself was sent to the 21st Army HQ for a visit suffering from fatigue and exhaustion. This malaise was a common occurrence among the musicians because of very long days and equally long nights of travel and performing. In February 1945 it was agreed that no further musicians were to be permitted home leave. With eight bands needed in theatre (Europe) it was essential to maintain the standard of the bands. Two bands had already been cannibalized to sustain the instrumentation levels in the remaining bands. Most of the musicians were to remain at least ten months following the end of hostilities in May 1945. Numerous concerts and street parades including a victorious parade in Rotterdam which unquestionably was the most emotional moment of the war. The people of Holland saw appearances by several of the bands that were stationed in Europe including the appearance of the Canadian Woman's Army Bands. The war ended on May 8th and brought with it the final moments of groups of dedicated Canadian Volunteer musicians and their fantastic expertise, demonstrated by the British Bandmasters that led these bands. It was a remarkable feat to bring together highly sophisticated and well-trained bandmasters who were career soldiers for the purposes of developing professional military bands. What is equally more amazing is that it was accomplished in a very brief period of time and every musician that came back from that experience helped to raise the standard of musicianship in Canada post war. Some of the bandmasters enjoyed the experience so much that they eventually immigrated to Canada. The following is a brief biography of each of the British bandmasters who led Canadian bands during the war: WO1 Lawrence Hicks Bandmaster 1st Battalion The Imperial Black Watch 1949-51, Director of Music The Royal Australian Air Force 1952-1968 retired with rank of Squadron Leader. WO1 Alexander George O'Connor-bandmaster the Cyprus Police 1951-?) Capt. Cecil Holt-Emigrated to Canada and became the Director of Music the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery band 1951-55 WO1 Donald Keeling bandmaster 2nd Parachute Regiment 1947-52 Director of music the Pakistan School of Music 1952-1954. He later emigrated to Canada to become the Director of Music of the 48th Highlanders of Canada military band (Reserve) 1954-1977. WO1 Reginald (Reg) Newman Director of Music the Adelaide School of Music 1947-1951, He was the Senior Director of Music of the Australian Army with the rank of Lt. Colonel on his retirement. WO1 James Herbert Hempstead bandmaster the Gold Coast Police 1951-61 Director of Music Fiji Police 1961-71. WO1 Cyril Thomas (Bobby) Beare Bandmaster Uganda Police band 1957-1966 WO1 Frank Buckmaster Bandmaster Nigerian Police 1946-? WO1 Alexander Hollick retired following the war but his left behind a lasting legacy to the experience of both the bandmasters and the musicians with his War Diary. Major Archibald (Len) Streeter remained in the Canadian Army after the war as Inspector of Canadian bands from 1951-1954. He continued to irritate the military brass with long tirades regarding the standard of Canadian bands that eventually paid off with the upgrading of the entire system and the importation of bandmasters and musicians from overseas. He was however not around to see his plan bear fruit as he passed away in 1954. A final word about two of the Canadian bandmasters, *WO1 Phil Murphy returned to Windsor Ontario and became a fireman and in 1950 was hired by the Ford Motor Company to organized a band for special concerts both on the radio and in parks in Windsor. He led this band which became known as the "Music Under The Stars Band" for several years. He also became the bandmaster of the Detroit Fireman's Band and was instrumental in helping several musicians to develop a career in the military service of Canada. Sgt. Art Bergin who briefly led the No1 Infantry band became a member of the horn section of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
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