Page 14 - Jigsaw August 2018

Thrapston Town Band
The Band Man Ray Jeffery MBE who apparently “can’t say no!”
My story must really begin in 1936 when my grandfather Harry (Titch) Loveday used to take me down to Smith and Grace foundry on Sunday mornings. His job was to see to the boilers, I was put in what was called the canteen, all these old men (so it seemed to me) sat round playing brass instruments. My first introduction to Thrapston Town Band. He would say ‘One day my boy you’ll be in that band’.
Fast forward to 1953. The Town Band had been stored away in Mr B F Barbers warehouse. After the 2nd World War it was the end of 1952 when they finally got going.
In 1953 I joined the Band as a learner under the tuition of Mr Tom Essam. At that time the band didn’t run classes – if you knew someone in the band then they would most likely teach you one to one at home. My first instrument was Tenor horn, Tom played solo horn in the band.
By this time the band had to move out
of their original home of Smith and Grace and rehearsals were held at the Woolpack Inn, Islip. But a learner’s class had been
set up and I was asked to join them. We had several teachers but the main people were Alan Jacques, Tom Morehen, Albert Headland and Colin Lewis. By the middle of 1953 I was in the band playing 2nd Tenor.
By September or October, the band had been taken on by Mr G. R. Nairns, a player for the Mann and Felton Footwear Band. He was to conduct the Band for the next 17 years.
After a short time I was taken off Tenor horn and given a cornet. We were extremely busy for a small town band, most weekends in the summer, Saturdays Fetes, Sundays Church, Feast Sundays all round the district.
By 1955 the band was playing really well and we entered quite a few contests. It was a purple patch. We very rarely missed out on a prize position. It was at that time when the Band made its first visit to the Durham
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Miners “Big Meet”. The band went for four years but it came to an end as the mines closed and fewer bands were required.
By 1960 I was appointed Secretary of the band having already served on the committee for several years and also been assistant Librarian to Mr Bill Abbott. The band was still strong in numbers but over the next few years it began to falter. Mr Nairns wasn’t interested in teaching young people, he wanted ready-made players so gradually our numbers dwindled until by 1970 we only had twelve members instead of twenty-five – that’s a full band. The final blow came in September when the band went to contest, we entered a section for eighteen players and had to borrow six. Mr Nairns resigned at the next practice.
What are we going to do? Well a few weeks earlier I had been approached by a young lad, Gigli D’Amore, wanting to join the band. I had to put him off because we didn’t teach youngsters. I suggested to the eight remaining bandsmen that I seek him out and see if he was still interested and could he
get a few mates to come along next Monday night. That night was amazing. Seventeen young people turned up with a parent or adult. We took particulars off all of them and told them to turn up a week on Thursday to give us time to sort it. We still didn’t have a clue who was going to conduct the band, I was elected Temporary Conductor until we could get someone. As one player said “It has to be you Ray because out of the eight of us you’re the worst player”. We advertised for a new conductor but nothing came of it so I carried on until 2014 – forty-four years.
The band gradually took shape and we were able to take on little jobs. By Christmas 1974 we did our first big concert in the King John School. It was a sell out. By now quite a few of the original band who had helped teach lost a bit of interest and I was often the only one at the practice, but we carried