The 10th in a series on some of the roles of British army bandsmen as illustrated by Frederick Stansell c.1900 in the book “Bands of the British Army” by W.J. Gordon. #MakeMusicNotWar.
No.10: Saxhorn – The Grenadier Guards
“All (saxhorns) have a cupped mouthpiece and consist of a conical brass tube of easy curves opening out into a wide graceful bell, three pistons providing the intermediate tones and semitones… a saxhorn band includes a soprano, a contralto, a tenor or althorn, and a contrabass.“
The 9th in a series on some of the roles of British army bandsmen as illustrated by Frederick Stansell c.1900 in the book “Bands of the British Army” by W.J. Gordon.
No.9: French Horn – The Rifle Brigade
“Another instrument with a long pedigree is the French Horn which is a development of the old hunting-horn that had the tube curved widely enough to be carried over the shoulders. Throughout it has had a softer tone than any other brass instrument, this character being due to its mouthpiece being a funnel instead of a cup. In these days it has crooks for different keys and a tuning slide. About 1770, an ingenious player named Hampl put his hand into the bell and was able to complete the scale by thus lowering the pitch a semitone, but valves have now obviated the need of hand-stopping. The Horn is not easy to play and is seldom trusted alone, there being generally two or four in a band.”
With my recent series of posts on marching bandsmen as depicted by Fred Stansell, I’ve been wondering about turning my attention to painting a band myself. I thought of a group of bandsmen that I’ve had for some time buried in a trunk of unpainted figures – (yes, I have a whole trunk of them).
I’m thinking of Airfix’s classic Guards Band. As plastic soldiers go, these are pretty ancient, a miniature Australopithecus from Airfix to our modern Homo Sapiens from the likes of Strelets or RedBox. First released in 1961, this set has long been out of production and will spark off a wave of nostalgia for those old enough to remember it when freely available (which does not include me actually).
In an original box, the band consisted of:
x1 Drum-Major
x7 Side Drummers
x10 Flautists
x7 Tubists
x5 Saxophonists
x2 Cymbalists
x4 Trombonists
x7 Trumpeters
x1 Bass Drummer
My bandsmen were bought in an auction and so came in a ragtag, broken and half-painted fashion. I had plenty of some types but few of another. Of those in working order, I was a bit short on side drummers and trombonists (I have only two of each) but over-subscribed with saxophonists and tuba players.
I’ve evened things up a bit for the underrepresented trombonists at least with a bit surgery, making for three extra. The drummers will have to remain a trifle undermanned.
A two-man band. Half saxophonist – half flautist!
Having removed some paint and glued some limbs, I’m nearly ready to put some paint on them. Given the topic, and being such a very old set with details which are very slight indeed, I’m not sure they are suited to my usual painting style. I think they cry out more for a toy-solder style simple paint job, which I think is sort-of what I’m going to go for.
TubaCymbalsFluteTrumpetSaxaphone
I fancied having some oboists in my band and thought some of the damaged saxophonists might pass with the end of their instrument missing?
Clarinet player? Almost?
One of the saxophonists seems to have come out of the mould a little awry, leaning back and letting rip!
Normal BandsmanJazz Bandsman
Being an individualist has made him keen to express himself more freely than his other bandmates – a Guardsmen Charlie Parker or Guardsmen John Coltrane, perhaps?
I envisage embarking on a slow burn project with these, steadily adding some paint as and when I can.
Meanwhile, up for auction on eBay is another marching band of the Grenadier Guards, this lovely lithographed cardboard soldier set. Titled “Drum and Fife Band of the Grenadier Guards”, it is made out of cardboard and was manufactured by postcard company Tuck.
Delightfully illustrated, perhaps it can be considered a forerunner to the “Paperboys” paper soldiers range by Peter Dennis? Famous British army artist Harry Payne painted many military subjects around 1900 for Tuck postcards – so could this be his work? I couldn’t find any evidence of the artist’s name on the example shown.
The Grenadier “Cards” – postcard guardsmen.
A little bit out of my price range for this set but a very pleasing set, nonetheless.
The 8th in a series on some of the roles of British army bandsmen as illustrated by Frederick Stansell c.1900 in the book “Bands of the British Army” by W.J. Gordon. #MakeMusicNotWar
No.8: The Fife – The Irish Guards
“The Fife came to us from Switzerland by way of France, where it seems to have been introduced by Francis the First… The fife has a compass of about two octaves and, unlike the bugle, all its notes are used. Drums, fifes, bugles and trumpets, having originally been instruments of command, have all along been supplied to the army at the public expense… (fifer and drummer bandsmen) have still to play either instrument as required so that every fifer is a drummer and every drummer is a fifer.”
The 7th in a series on some of the roles of British army bandsmen as illustrated by Frederick Stansell c.1900 in the book “Bands of the British Army” by W.J. Gordon.#MakeMusicNotWar.
No.7: Cymbals – The Queen’s Own West Kent Regiment
The 6th in a series on some of the roles of British army bandsmen as illustrated by Frederick Stansell c.1900 in the book “Bands of the British Army” by W.J. Gordon. #MakeMusicNotWar
No.6: Ophicleide- The Black Watch
“In military bands there are always the baritone, generally known as the saxhorn, the euphonium, which took the place of the ophicleide, and the bass or bombardon; but a saxhorn band includes a soprano, a contralto, a tenor or althorn, and a contrabass. The whole family, as well as the saxophone series, are names after a Belgian, Adolphe Sax, who settled in Paris in the middle of the nineteenth century and invented and made them, and may be fairly described as the chief improver of our military bands.”
The 5th in a series on some of the roles of British army bandsmen as illustrated by Frederick Stansell c.1900 in the book “Bands of the British Army” by W.J. Gordon. #MakeMusicNotWar.
No.5: The Oboe – Royal Irish Rifles
“In the early days of the British Army the horse had trumpets, and the dragoons and infantry had hautboys, a word spelled in many ways, the latest form being oboe… Oboes were brought into the army in 1678 by the Horse Grenadier Guards, who served as foot as well as horse.“
I’ve been revisiting the pile of my unpainted metal yeomanry figures once more and added another to my collection of 54mm Yeomanry.
This latest figure is once again from Chota Sahib, a manufacturer who has so far provided me with some very nice figures of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry and the Lancashire Hussars.
This new figure is an officer of the 1st City of London Yeomanry, a regiment also officially described in parentheses as being the “Rough Riders”. The regiment claimed a lineage connection going back to the Loyal Islington Troop (est.1798) and the Loyal London Volunteer Cavalry (est.1803). However, the formation’s incarnation as the Rough Riders was not to take place for another century.
René North’s illustration of the Loyal London Cavalry, c.1804.
Following early British setbacks in the Boer War, the “Imperial Yeomanry” was formed from existing yeomanry volunteers so as to assist the regular forces to cope with the challenges posed by highly mobile Boer marksmen. As part of this response, the 20th (Rough Riders) Battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry was raised on 17 March 1900 in London by the Earl of Lathom. The formation was intended to replicate the Boers’ ‘Rough Rider’ irregular cavalry tactics and referenced Theodore Roosevelt’s own Rough Riders of the near-contemporary Spanish–American War.
After service in the Boer War, the Rough Riders were established on 27 July 1901 as the 1st County of London Imperial Yeomanry (Rough Riders) under the command of Viscount Maitland. Following petitions by influential Londoners (including the Lord Mayor of London himself), the following year the name of the new regiment was changed to 1st City of London Imperial Yeomanry (Rough Riders) before eventually dropping the word ‘imperial’ altogether.
All newly established, post-Boer War, yeomanry regiments were encouraged to adopt khaki uniforms. However, the temptation of these volunteers to adopt a more pleasingly extravagant and colourful uniform proved too great and a good number instead tended towards the more exotic. The Rough Riders elected to wear ‘French Grey’, effectively a shade of light blue. This was contrasted with purple collars, shoulder straps and cuffs with French Grey overalls sporting two purple stripes. The early uniform included a slouch hat with a purple pagri as can be seen depicted below in Smitherman’s “Uniforms of the Yeomanry Regiments.”
A Quartermaster Sergeant of the Rough Riders, c.1903 by P.H. Smitherman.
In 1908, the regiment adopted a conventional lancer uniform.
“This uniform was acknowledged to be one of the most popular in the London area; certainly one to catch the ladies’ eyes as demonstrated on a regimental recruiting poster c.1914.“
R.G. Harris in ’50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms.’
This post is titled as a “Campbell’s Cavalryman” because an officer wearing this regiment’s dress was depicted by Edmund Campbell in “50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms” by R.G. Harris:
Harris is even mentioned in the painting guide notes, stating “we are grateful to the following for their assistance in the research of this figure: R.G. Harris Esq., P. Colledge Esq., and Major R.J.B. Gentry” (Gentry was a curator to the Inns of Court & City Yeomanry Museum). Another great yeomanry artist, R.J. Marrion, also depicted a Staff Sergeant Major in this lancer uniform on the back cover centre illustration of “The Yeomanry Force at the 1911 Coronation”:
Finally, legendary 19th/20th century military artist, Richard Simkin, also depicted a Rough Rider officer in a watercolour that I believe was originally made for Army and Navy Illustrated magazine.
As can be seen from all the above illustrations, the interpretation of the colours of the uniform vary. The painting notes provided by Chota Sahib state that “the colour of the tunic, breeches and lance cap top is sometimes known as ‘Austrian Blue’ but is officially described as ‘French Grey’ and this shade of French Grey did indeed vary over time for the regiment. The significant colour differences can be seen in the different examples of the uniform shown below.
The same is also true of the shade of purple used on the cuffs, collar leg stripes and plastron. Chota Sahib:
“The purple, as seen on garments in the regimental museum, differs widely from a ‘royal’ purple, to a very dark, rich, ‘plummy’ purple.”
I opted for something which inclined towards the more contrasting ‘plum’ and mixed a couple of existing Vallejo colours in my collection until I ended up with something I was happy with.
The lancer cap held under the officer’s right arm is of black patent leather, with French Grey panels, gold lace and a cap plate which included the coat of arms of the City of London with the regiment’s Boer War battle honour “South Africa 1900-1902”. The falling plume was of dyed swan feathers and appeared as a slightly lighter blue in Campbell’s drawing than the uniform, a difference which I’ve tried to reproduce on my figure. I left the cap braid on the cap top as black as I’d seen it in one example, but may add Campbell’s gold lace instead.
Overall, a particularly colourful, exotic and pleasing figure from Chota Sahib to add to my already diverse collection of 54mm yeomanry. I’m already finding myself musing over what could be the next figure in the series.
The 4th in a series on some of the roles of British army bandsmen as illustrated by Frederick Stansell c.1900 in the book “Bands of the British Army” by W.J. Gordon. #MakeMusicNotWar.
No.4: Bombardon – The Connaught Rangers
“All (saxhorns) have a cupped mouthpiece and consist of a conical brass tube of easy curves opening out into a wide graceful bell, three pistons providing the intermediate tones and semitones. In military bands there are always the baritone, generally known as the saxhorn, the euphonium, which took the place of the ophicleide, and the bass or bombardon; but a saxhorn band includes a soprano, a contralto, a tenor or althorn, and a contrabass. The whole family, as well as the saxophone series, are names after a Belgian, Adolphe Sax, who settled in Paris in the middle of the nineteenth century and invented and made them, and may be fairly described as the chief improver of our military bands.”
W.J. Gordon
Looking much like the military bombardon illustrated by Fred Stansell, here the modern sousaphone appears capable of being mastered by even the smallest band member.
Edrich Siebert’s “Bombastic Bombardon” being performed. Self-taught Siebert began his musical career in 1917 as a boy musician in the Cheshire Regiment in which he served until 1929. Recalled to the army during the Second World War he travelled more than ten thousand miles with the regimental band, entertaining troops in Sicily, Italy and later Austria. Compositions included many marches and solos for various instruments including some not often accorded solo status, like The Bombastic Bombardon.
#MakeMusicNotWar. This is the 3rd in a series on some of the roles of British army bandsmen as illustrated by Frederick Stansell c.1900 in the book “Bands of the British Army” by W.J. Gordon.
No.3: Bassoon- The King’s Own Scottish Borderers
“The bassoon came from Italy, invented by Alfranio di Ferrara in 1540, and was first put into the orchestra by (Jean-Baptiste)Lully in 1634. It is a wooden instrument with a metal mouthpiece leading into the narrow compass of three octaves and is really a development of the drone of the bagpipe.”
Suburban Militarism 