Myself and many of my colleagues have
probably spent more time on the hallowed Wembley turf than England captain
Bobby Moore. Not playing football but playing our musical instruments.
On the 20th April 1968 The Royal Artillery Band played for the Amateur Cup Final at Wembley. This
was my first time playing at the world famous stadium. My next time would be
for a School Boy International football match. I remember the noise of 95,000
school kids all screaming and cheering the noise was unbelievable. England won
2-1 against Germany and I was paid an extra £1-10s for playing wahooo.
Before the match started the band played
from the centre spot, a selection of popular tunes and community singing led by
Bill Scott Coomber.
Next we played the National Anthems of both
sides and then marched off into the tunnel ready for the half time marching
display. Our marching display was called an Arrow Head which included slow and
quick marching at the same time and the band ended up looking like an Arrow
Head hence the name.
After the display we never stayed to watch
the football as we would have to get straight on the coaches for the journey
back to the barracks at Woolwich.
Here is a list of the international matches
which I played for.
12th March 1969
England 5-0 France
22nd
May 1974 England 2-2 Argentina
12th
March 1975 England 2-0 Germany
7th
September 1977 England 0-0 Switzerland
29th
November 1978 England 1-0 Czechoslovakia
7th
February 1979 England 4-0 Northern Ireland
13th
May 1980 England 3-1 Argentina
25th
March 1981 England 1-2 Spain
16th
June 1982 England 3-0 France
15th
December 1982 England 9-0 Luxemburg
1st
June 1983 England 1-0 Scotland
THE ARMY’S TOP
BRASS ON PARADE AT WEMBLEY
In the centre of
the giant Wembley Stadium more than 200 Herald Trumpeters
and Buglers raised their instruments for a giant fanfare. The Military Musical
Pageant of 1973 was underway.
As the last
notes of the fanfare died away a great mass of men began pouring into the
stadium. The massed bands of the Foot Guards followed by the Mounted Bands of
the Life Guards, The Blues and Royals, Household Cavalry and The Royal
Artillery.
This was the biggest show ever staged anywhere by British Bands and in
one word it was SPECTACULAR.
The two men behind the Musical Pageant were
Major Aubrey Jackman, the producer and Lt Colonel Rodney Bashford, The Army’s
Senior Director of Music and Director of Music at The Royal Military School of
Music, Kneller Hall.
After the spectacular opening there was the
Gaelic Gathering of the massed pipes, drums and Irish Regiments. Then in
complete contrast was the massed bands and bugles of the Light Division,
marching at their distinctive rifle pace, they performed the Light Fantastic
which was a brilliant display of marching in slow and quick time.
Then the musicians gathered together to
form the biggest of big bands, more than 1500 musicians belting out tunes from
the 1970’s.
But the high spot of the evening for me was
the 1812 Overture. There were men in period dress firing muskets, The Guns of
The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery firing as the music reached its dramatic
climax, while the Armies of Bandsmen re-enacted The Battle of Borodino in
music.
For the finale all the bands gathered on
the turf to play together while giant search lights picked out the scenes and
fireworks were launched.
It was the start of many musical pageants
and many many more hours standing on that Wembley turf.
I played at another five of these pageants
before I retired from the Army and each one was as good as the last.
