A Christmas recollection

Christmas greetings to all ex members of our great Band Service family.

It's the time of year when we all get together as families and celebrate many happy times as well as Christmas. I have been looking at the memorial site and see that we have lost 15 of our ‘Band Service’ family in 2017 – four of them were very well known to me.

Les Carmody was the three badge ‘war veteran’ Bass Player on my first ship HMS Glasgow in 1952 - Flag Ship Med Fleet. Not only a great bass player ! but also a ‘cobbler’! In his spare time he used to mend ‘boots & shoes’ (mostly after TOT Time) and his hands were black & blue as he frequently missed the target! He also invited all us young guys up homers for Christmas as he and his wife ( an ex PO WREN ) had married quarters ashore in Malta.

Stan Thomas – Euph & Cello – I’m sure he was a pupil of mine in the dim and distant past! Anyway we were members of that unique instrumental pairing.

Sid Richardson – Although a bit older than me – we both came from the Training Ship Exmouth later known as the London Nautical Training Ship or LNTS (Naval Training for London Orphans!) He was a fantastic Solo Cornet, and Trumpet player and generous man in many ways.

Last but by no means least – Terry Parker who was certainly one of the Band Service's best Clarinet players of his time and a great asset to the Staff Band when I was the B/M plus librarian to everyone’s beck and call in the far off days of concerts every week in Deal in the 60s with Sir Vivian and the rest of us.

Have a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas to all of you RMBs throughout the world.

Michael Hutton.