Royal Marines Band Service

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Royal Marines Band Service


caption=Cap Badge of the Royal Marines
dates=1903-
country=United Kingdom
branch=Naval Service
command_structure=Royal Marines
type= Marines/Medics
role=Rapid reaction force/Home defence
size= Five Squadrons (Bands)
current_commander=
garrison= Band of HM Royal Marines Portsmouth
Band of HM Royal Marines Plymouth
Band of HM Royal Marines Britannia Royal Naval College
Band of HM Royal Marines Commando Training Centre
Band of HM Royal Marines Scotland
ceremonial_chief=HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
ceremonial_chief_label=Captain-General
colonel_of_the_regiment= Major General Garry Robison RM
colonel_of_the_regiment_label=Commandant-General
nickname="The Royals", "HM Jollies", "Bootnecks", "The Royal Machines"
motto= "Per Mare Per Terram" (By Sea By Land) (Latin)
colors=
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=
march=Quick - "A Life on the Ocean Wave"
Slow - "Preobrajensky"
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=

The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy. It currently consists of five Bands and its headquarters is the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS "Nelson" in Portsmouth dockyard.

History

The development of music in the Royal Marines is inextricably linked with the evolution of British military bands. Lively airs and the beat of the drum enabled columns of marching men to keep a regular step. The drum was the normal method of giving signals on the battlefield or in camp. As long ago as the days of Drake and Hawkins the drummer's rhythm would advertise the changing watches or beat the men to quarters.

Without doubt, groups of musicians existed in the Service before 1767, when Royal Marines Divisional Bands were formed at the naval dockyard-bases of Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth and the naval gathering-point of Deal in the Downs, and Marine bands (along with professional bands paid for by captains) provided music on board ship before and during battles of the Napoleonic Wars (eg during the long sail into action at the Battle of Trafalgar). The modern history of the Service, though, begins late in the 19th century, when the task of forming a Royal Naval School of Music to provide Bands for the Royal Navy was assigned to the Marines, with the School being founded in 1903. From then on the Band Service became an integral part of the Corps. Its original home was Eastney Barracks Portsmouth; where it remained until 1930 when it was transferred to the Royal Marines Depot, Deal.

After the outbreak of World War II, it moved to Malvern, then it divided with the Junior Wing moving to the Isle of Man and the Senior Wing to Scarborough before reuniting at Burford in 1946 and finally returning to Deal in 1950. The amalgamation of the Divisional Bands with the Royal Naval School of Music to form today's Royal Marines Band Service also took place in 1950 when the headquarters and training establishment were re-named the Royal Marines School of Music.

At aprox 8.20am on the 22nd of September 1989, the Royal Marines School of Music at South Barracks,Deal was bombed by the IRA, this resulted in the death of 11 bandsmen including musician Robert Simmonds and the injury of 22 other marines. The memorial garden is situated in the grounds of the old barracks where the bomb went off. This was built in rememberence of the 11 that died and was then restored after an arson attack a number of years ago. Every year the families and friends of those that died join together at the garden to pay their respects and lay flowers in a memorial service. In 1995 the School of Music was moved to HMS Nelson in the Portsmouth dockyard.

Present functioning

At present, there are a total of five Royal Marine Bands:
*Band of HM Royal Marines, Portsmouth
*Band of HM Royal Marines, Plymouth
*Band of HM Royal Marines, Scotland
*Band of the Royal Marines Britannia Royal Naval College
*Band of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines

Today all Royal Marines Bands are required to provide every imaginable musical ensemble including orchestras and dance bands. To achieve this, most musicians, except solo specialists, are required to attain an average standard on both a string and a wind instrument. As a result of this special amalgam of mediocrity, Royal Marines musicians are regarded as jack of all trades in the military musical world. The Corps of Drums receive an equally thorough training and pride themselves on maintaining the highest standards of drill, bugling and drumming. Their glittering presence at the front of all Royal Marines Bands on the march gives the bands a visual impact that is second to none.

The Royal Marines School of Music is where the exacting process of producing military musicians and buglers worthy of the Royal Marines begins. Through a very productive link with the University of Portsmouth, Royal Marines Musicians can now attain civilian qualifications linked to each stage of their training and professional promotion courses. Male and female students, aged between 18 and 28, are trained in all aspects of military music. They are taught by professors of the highest calibre that include musicians from the top London and provincial orchestras. The students are also drilled in all aspects of military ceremonial in order to ensure that the worldwide reputation enjoyed by the Royal Marines Band Service for both its music and precision marching is maintained. At the School of Music the future of the Band Service, based upon the experience of the past and the professionalism of the present, is forged; here the young instrumentalist is tempered and honed to the sharpest edge before taking his or her place in one of the five Royal Marines Bands.

As their careers progress, Musicians and Buglers return to the Royal Marines School of Music to undergo further musical training to qualify them for higher rank. This culminates in a place on the Student Bandmasters' Course that is widely recognised as one of the most demanding courses of its type. Students study all the main music disciplines; the orchestral and contemporary wind band repertoire and they work with renowned figures from the world of music.

Military role

In addition to music making, Royal Marines Musicians and Buglers are trained in their military operational roles. Royal Marines Bands were involved in both the Falklands conflict and Operation Granby (Gulf War 1) as casualty handlers on various hospital ships. More recently in 2000, RM Band Service ranks deployed to Kosovo for six months during Operation Agricola supporting 3 Commando Brigade RM. During the firemen's strike (Operation Fresco) in 2002-03, Band Service ranks were deployed with 'Green Goddesses' to various Temporary Service Fire Stations around the UK. In the early part of 2003, 39 Band Service ranks deployed with the Primary Casualty Receiving Facility on RFA ARGUS providing casualty handlers and a further 26 ranks deployed with 3 Commando Brigade RM as Decontamination teams during Operation Telic (Gulf War 2). Royal Marines Bands continue to fly the flag abroad with many prestigious engagements undertaken including 60th Anniversary of D-Day, Gibraltar, the USA, Europe and Australia.

See also

* Lt-Col Sir Vivian Dunn

External links

* [http://www.royalmarinesbands.co.uk Official Royal Marines Band Service Website]
* [http://www.exroyalmarinesbandsmen.net Ex RM Bandsmen]
* [http://www.militarytattoo.org www.militarytattoo.org] - Information Website

Audio clips

* [http://www.portsmouth-guide.co.uk/local/rmbnd.htm Various clips from Portsmouth site]
* [http://www.piddingworth.com/ocean_wave.mp3 Life on the Ocean Wave] - famous piece by Henry Russell
* [http://www.royalmarinesbands.co.uk/audio/Index_audiomp3.htm New recordings]