Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry

The Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry is a British Army band which ceremonially serves the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR). The HCMR Band is the largest symphonic wind band in the British Army and the foremost Mounted band in the armed forces. It is one of the reserve bands in the Corps of Army Music (CAMUS) and is currently based at Hyde Park Barracks and Combermere Barracks.[1]

Mounted Band Of The Household Cavalry
Major Tim Cooper, Director of Music of The Blues and Royals conducting the Mounted Band of The Blues and Royals.
Background information
Also known asHCMR Band
OriginLondon, United Kingdom
Years active2014-Present  
Associated actsBands of the Household Division
WebsiteBands of the Household Division

The following officers are key personnel of the band:

  • Director of Music: Major Craig Hallatt
  • Assistant Director of Music: Major James Marshall

Origins

Band of The Life Guards

In the years since the dissolution of the Commonwealth of England, music had become very important to the ceremonial duties of the regiment, which each Troop of the Guards having a fanfare team consisting of one kettledrummer and four trumpeters. The trumpets and drums were silver, crimson, and gold, with the Royal Coat of Arms engraved on it. At that time, the horses they mounted were of a black Clydesdale horses.[2]

Band of The Blues and Royals

It originates from the Band of the Royal Horse Guards which was founded in 1805. On St George's Day that year, King George III presented the band with a set of silver kettledrums, and appointed Herr Stowasser as the first bandmaster of the Regiment. In 1938, the band made an appeared in the movie The Drum where they performed in kilts for the first time in their history. The band went through an amalgamation in 1969 to form the Band of the Blues and Royals which was founded in the same year.[3]

Merger

In September of 2014, the Bands of the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals were merged to form the combined Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry composed of 64 musicians from the two bands. but wear the uniform of both The Blues and Royals and The Life Guards on service events and the State Dress on major holidays and occasions.[4]

Regimental music
  • Life Guards:
    • Quick - Millanollo
    • Slow - Life Guards Slow March
    • Trot Past - Keel Row
  • Blues and Royals:
    • Quick - Quick March of the Blues and Royals
    • Slow - Slow March of the Blues and Royals
    • Trot Past - Keel Row

Events
A female trumpeter of the Band of The Household Cavalry.

The two 35 member mounted bands of the combined massed bands of the HCMR Band regularly perform at special occasions and events.[5] Some of the main and most notable events they participate in are listed below, although this is not a comprehensive list:

Since 2014, the HCMR Band has performed in many other public events, such as the Sweden International Tattoo, as well as the Birmingham International Tattoo.[6]

Uniform

The HCMR Band mostly wears 3 ceremonial dress uniforms:

  • The mounted band's main uniform is known as the state dress (unchanged since 1685)[7] which consists of a gold state uniform and dark blue peaked equestrian caps. The state dress is only be worn if a member of the British royal family is present, as for example on the Monarch's Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour), but not on the two Trooping the Colour's rehearsals, the Major General's Review and the Colonel's Review.[8]
  • The main uniform of the Life Guards consists of a scarlet coat with a silver lace. It originates from a similar uniform created in 1678.
  • On ceremonial occasions, the Blues and Royals wear a blue tunic (inherited from the Royal Horse Guards, also known as "the Blues"), a metal cuirass, and a matching helmet with a red plume worn unbound

State Trumpeters and Drummers

The HCMR Band often provides State Trumpeters for ceremonial events of state. The HCMR Band, specifically when denoted as the "Massed Mounted Bands" on parade, is led by two musicians on Shire horses who are playing the timpani. They steer the reins of the drum horses with their feet, due to their hands being occupied with the drumsticks. A drum horse must have a minimum of 68 inches in order to be used in this regard. They also have to have the capability to carry two silver drums weighing 112 kilograms (247 lb) combined.[9][10]

Notable members
The HCMR Band at the 2016 Lord Mayor's Show.
  • Major Jason Griffiths - Director of the Band of the Blues and Royals
  • Captain J. Cooper - Member of the Band of the Life Guards and founder of the Nigerian Army Band Corps
  • Warrant Officer Class 1 Esther Freeborn - First female bandmaster of the HCMR Band[11][12]
  • Herr Stowasser - First Bandmaster of the Band of the Blues and Royals
  • James Tutton - Bandmaster of the Band of the Blues and Royals and one of the founders of the Society of British Musicians
  • Richard Jones - Magician and soldier known for winning the tenth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2016.[13]

See also

Citations
  1. "Changes to the Corps of Army Music". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  2. "military-bands.co.uk". military-bands.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  3. "military-bands.co.uk". military-bands.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  4. Gleason, Bruce P. (2016-10-13). Sound the Trumpet, Beat the Drums: Horse-Mounted Bands of the U.S. Army, 1820–1940. ISBN 9780806156538.
  5. Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry
  6. "Bands - The Household Division - Official site". The Household Division. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  7. BBC Commentary to Trooping the Colour 2015, retrieved on Youtube (video time 1:01:04), 28 June 2015
  8. BBC Commentary to Trooping the Colour 2011, part 6, retrieved on Youtube (video time 00:14:51), 20 March 2020
  9. Reid, Melanie (March 31, 2010), "Digger, the horse who grew up to join the Army", The Sunday Times, retrieved 2018-11-28
  10. "The Drum Horse". The Household Cavalry. Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  11. "Esther Freeborn becomes Household Cavalry's first woman bandmaster". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  12. "First female bandmaster for Household Cavalry". GOV.UK. 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  13. "Richard Jones is your Britain's Got Talent 2016 winner!". ITV. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
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