Tickhill's Drum and Fife band

In our publication Life in Edwardian Tickhill, two extracts mark the founding of Tickhill’s Drum and Fife Band in 1910 by the Revd. F. H. Hammond, who was standing in during the absence of the Vicar, the Revd. A. D. Alderson. After reading about the Band, Miss Maud Ashmore found a booklet which had been presented by the ‘Promoter and First Instructor’, the Revd. F. H. Hammond, in 1910. Entitled Drum and Fife Band Primer, this particular booklet, price sixpence, is for the 1st Flute. It begins with an introduction to the formation of one of these bands:

‘The instructions here submitted for the formation and primary practice of Drum and Fife bands are dictated by three essential features, viz:- Brevity, plainness, and usefulness. The first thing to be considered in forming a band is to have a proper balance of parts, and so give the best possible effects to the harmony. The following classification is suggested as a fair proportion to go by:-

4 1st B-FLAT FLUTES
2 SIDE DRUMS

2 2ND DITTO
1 TRIANGLE

2 3RD DITTO
1 BASS DRUM
1 PICCOLO IN F
1 PAIR CYMBALS
6 BASS FLUTES IN F

When adding to this number it should always be borne in mind that one piccolo, one bass drum, and one pair of Cymbals is sufficient for the largest band.’

After advice on holding the flute and producing the appropriate tone, there are scales for different types of flutes, with the fingering shown. The Contents List includes a range of tunes from marches to polkas and traditional pieces such as British Grenadiers and Auld Land Syne. Four pages are missing from the centre of the booklet but three tunes are included, one being Rule Britannia. Local people might have heard these tunes being practised or played when the band joined processions in Tickhill.