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History
1875 – Present
The Band was started in Smithstone about ten years after the
first families moved there in 1864. The families primarily came from
the Airdrie, Rawyards and Chapelhall areas of Lanarkshire to work in
the local coal mines being opened at the time by Wm. Baird & Co.
For the first few years the instrumentation of the band was
far removed from the brass bands we know today. In fact if you owned
an instrument you were invited to play in the band. Gradually, over
the years, it became all brass. Over the years the band gained in
popularity and it was soon being called on to play at many of the
local functions being held in the area.
In 1902 a new parish of Holy Cross was opened in Croy with
Fr. Francis McCann as Parish Priest. Fr. McCann was quick to see the
potential in the band and he approached the band to see if they
would come under the banner of the new parish. Time went by and it
wasn’t until 1908, under the negotiation of Fr. John Charleson, that
the band became known as Croy Parish Band. Shortly after the change
over Fr. Charleson appointed the bands first professional conductor,
a Belgian Army man called Mr. Henry Fortyn.
Under the new conductor the band improved rapidly and attended a few
contests where they had reasonable success. With the start of the
World War 1, Mr. Fortyn left to re-join the Belgian army, and as a
result the band had to carry on without a professional conductor
until October 1921. It was at this time that the band appointed Mr.
Robert Thomson. Since then the band has always had a full time
professional conductor to guide them.
The band has always had a strong tradition of supporting
many local charities in the pursuit of raising much needed funds.
Indeed during the 1921 and 1926 national strikes, the band played a
big part in raising funds so as to feed the strikers and their
families via the soup kitchens set up in Auchinstarry, Croy and
Smithstone.
Following the bands centenary celebrations in 1975 a
decision was made by the band committee to form a Junior Band, which
it was hoped, would feed new players into the Senior Band and so
maintain the long term future of the band. The Junior Band, under
the leadership of James Rafferty, proved to be a massive success
from day one and the Junior Band was in demand to play at countless
local events such as gala days, school concerts and other fund
raising activities. To this day the band actively looks to train new
players and at present, under the guidance of Grant Golding, there
are approximately 20 young players in the Youth Band.
Many successes have been achieved by the band over the
years. To date we have represented Scotland on seven occasions at
the National Finals. The band was also the first civilian band to be
asked to play at a Scotland versus England international football
match at Hampden Park in February 1968. The band was also invited to
play at Bellahouston Park during the visit of Pope John Paul II to
Scotland in 1982. Following on from this the band were then invited
to participate in the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin in 1983.
Some Notes of Interest
Cost of new set of
instruments 1923 £600.00
Cost of new set of
instruments 1975 £6,000.00
Cost of new set of
instruments 2008 £60,000.00
Present Band
|
Conductor |
Ken
Blackwood
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Solo
Euphonium |
Tom
Carberry
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Principal
Cornet |
Jim
O’Donnell
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2nd
Euphonium |
Tony Jarvie
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Solo
Cornets |
Danny Brady
Jordan Currie
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1st
Baritone |
Andy McAtee |
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2nd
Baritone |
John McAtee |
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Soprano
Cornet |
Grant
Golding
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Solo
Trombone |
Jennifer Aitken |
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Repiano
Cornet |
Patricia
Rafferty
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2nd
Trombone |
Elaine
Fernie
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2nd
Cornets |
Gerry Sludden
Joanne
Yoker
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Bass
Trombone |
James
McKenna |
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Eb Bass |
Danny Brown |
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3rd
Cornets |
Tommy Bolan
Tommy
Rafferty
Grant McDaid
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Bb Bass |
Joe Hadnum |
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Flugel Horn |
Scott Barker
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John Maley
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Solo Horn |
Elaine
Stewart
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Percussion |
Ali Tucker |
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1st
Horn |
Gillian
Aitken
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2nd
Horn |
Matthew
Campbell
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Present Committee
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Officials
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Committee Members
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President -
John McAtee
Secretary -
Danny Brady
Treasurer -
John Mailey
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Matthew Campbell
Tom Carberry
Elaine Fernie
Grant Golding
Joe Hadnum
James McKenna
Jim O’Donnell |
Past Conductors
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Mr. Henry Fortyn
1908 – 1913
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Mr. Fortyn was appointed the bands first conductor in 1908
and he rapidly improved both the standard and performance of
the band. During his time he had reasonable success and
local contests.
Mr Fortyn left to re-join the Belgian Army at the start of
World War 1.
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Mr. Robert Thomson
1921 – 1938
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Robert hailed from Kilsyth and was appointed professional
conductor on October 1921. A thorough gentleman and great
musician he gained the respect of all the members of the
band and many of the people of Croy. During his time he
raised the standard of the band greatly and as a result he
achieved great success and won many prizes at contests.
Under his direction the band won the Third Section
Championship at Stirling in 1934 and the following year he
conducted the band at the famous Crystal Palace, London.
Robert
retired from the band in 1938. |
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Mr Hugh Docherty
1945 - 1958 |
Hugh came to the band following end of World War 2. He was a
famous cornet player during his time with bands such as
Munn and Felton, Clydebank Burgh and Govan Burgh Bands. He
was a man small in stature but he was a giant musically.
During his tenure the band went on to represent Scotland at
the British Finals on three separate occasion’s.
Hugh retired through ill health in 1958.
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Mr John Hoggans
1958 – 1968
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John was another Kilsyth man. He was appointed conductor in
1958 and he set about his job at Croy like the true
professional he was.
He took the band to the Championship Section for the first
time in 1961 and gained 3rd place at the British Finals in
London the same year. He was responsible for building the
band into a first class programme organisation.
John
was a very modest man and he gained the respect of brass
band enthusiasts everywhere. His knowledge of band music was
tremendous and Croy Band is the richer for having worked
under his direction.
John
retired 1968 after ten happy years at Croy. |
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Mr Joe Hampstead
1968 – 1982
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Prior Joe taking up conducting he was a brilliant cornet
player with his local band Bo’ness and Carriden. Without
question he was the right man for Croy Band as he had youth
and considerable musical and practical experience on his
side.
A man of great integrity he always got the best from the
band. During his time Joe had reasonable success with the
band albeit the band had been going through a transitional
period.
Joe died suddenly in 1982 whilst still in charge of the
band. |
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Mr James Anderson
1982 – 1999, 2006 – 2007
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Jim was another conductor who came from the ranks of Bo’ness
and Carriden Band. He was appointed as conductor following
the death of Joe Hampstead and mixed his duties with Croy
whilst continuing to play with Bo’ness and Carriden Band.
Jim had reasonable success during his time and he took the
band to the British Finals at Wembley Arena in 1994
following the bands success at winning the Third Section in
the Scottish Championships. He narrowly missed out on taking
the band to the British Finals the following year after the
band finished third in the Second Section of the Scottish
Championships.
Due to work commitments Jim left the Band in 1999 however
returned to conduct the band from January 2006 to July 2007.
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Mr Alan Friel
1999 - 2003 |
Alan was appointed conductor following the departure of Jim
Anderson in 1999. He took the band to the British Finals in
Torquay in 2002 after the band came first in the Second
Section at the Scottish Championships in Motherwell Civic
Centre. Success was also gained at other local contests
during his time.
Due to work commitments Alan left the band in 2003. |
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Mr Chris Bradley
2003 – 2005
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Chris was appointed conductor in 2003 following the
departure of Alan Friel. With his vast experience both in
conducting brass bands and playing with Whitburn Band Chris
helped the band to gain credible results at the Scottish
Championships in 2004 and 2005 with limited resources.
With the band going through a transitional period and
unable to guarantee continuity of work Chris moved onto
conduct Barrhead Burgh Band and most recently Jedforest
Instrumental. Chris continues to play Principal Cornet with
Whitburn Band.
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Past Officials
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President |
Secretary |
Treasurer |
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John Kerr Sen
John McAtee
James Bolan
John Kerr
John McAtee
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Harry Mulholland
John McAtee
Wm. Carberry
James Rafferty
Patrick O’Brien
Jim
O’Donnell |
James
Culley
Thomas Rafferty
Hugh Fitzsimmons
John Fitzsimmons
Jim Carberry
Joe Hadnum
Joanne Yoker
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