THE
DEAL SOCIETY 2014
Blue Plaque commemorating the past residence of Sir
Vivian Dunn
In
UK, English Heritage controls the erection of plaques and decided who
should be so commemorated. The Deal Society were instrumental in getting
FVD so honoured in the town in which he once lived. His plaque was unveiled
last week in the presence of two of FVDs daughters and a granddaughter
who had travelled to be there. Band boys in the 1950s were always pleased
to get a glimpse of the girls when passing through the nearby Post Office
Gate opposite to the Detention Quarters. The DQs building is now a privately
owned house, opposite to 'G' House, and really quite smart now that
the cells, etc., have been demolished. During the party that preceded
the unveiling a band of former RMBs, under the direction of former Bandmaster
John Goold, played selections of music in the garden of the house where
a marquee had been set up. The weather was fine and the occasion memorable.
I was able to say a few words at the unveiling and explained how difficult
life was for all at the time of the amalgamation of the RNSM and Divisional
Bands of the Corps when the RM Band Service was formed. Only someone
with the vision and stature of Vivian Dunn, coming as he did from a
professional civilian music background, could have paved the way so
expertly for the Band Service of today that is respected the world over
for competence, smartness and unerring standards of excellence. In recognition
FVD became uniquely the only Service musician to have been Knighted
by the Sovereign and he went on to become a respected Master of The
Worshipful Company of Musicians and Founder of the International Military
Music Society. His award of Blue Plaque recognition is perhaps the final
accolade for a man now passed into history but whose name will never
be forgotten within the Band Service of the Royal Marines.
In
UK, English Heritage controls the erection of plaques and decided who
should be so commemorated. The Deal Society were instrumental in getting
FVD so honoured in the town in which he once lived. His plaque was unveiled
last week in the presence of two of FVDs daughters and a granddaughter
who had travelled to be there. Band boys in the 1950s were always pleased
to get a glimpse of the girls when passing through the nearby Post Office
Gate opposite to the Detention Quarters. The DQs building is now a privately
owned house, opposite to 'G' House, and really quite smart now that
the cells, etc., have been demolished. During the party that preceded
the unveiling a band of former RMBs, under the direction of former Bandmaster
John Goold, played selections of music in the garden of the house where
a marquee had been set up. The weather was fine and the occasion memorable.
I was able to say a few words at the unveiling and explained how difficult
life was for all at the time of the amalgamation of the RNSM and Divisional
Bands of the Corps when the RM Band Service was formed. Only someone
with the vision and stature of Vivian Dunn, coming as he did from a
professional civilian music background, could have paved the way so
expertly for the Band Service of today that is respected the world over
for competence, smartness and unerring standards of excellence. In recognition
FVD became uniquely the only Service musician to have been Knighted
by the Sovereign and he went on to become a respected Master of The
Worshipful Company of Musicians and Founder of the International Military
Music Society. His award of Blue Plaque recognition is perhaps the final
accolade for a man now passed into history but whose name will never
be forgotten within the Band Service of the Royal Marines.