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 band's 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 band's centenary celebrations in 1975, a decision was made by the band committee to form a Junior Band to feed new players into the Senior Band and to maintain the long term future of the band. To this day, we actively look to train new players.
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 band's 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 band's centenary celebrations in 1975, a decision was made by the band committee to form a Junior Band to feed new players into the Senior Band and to maintain the long term future of the band. To this day, we actively look to train new players.
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Many successes have been achieved by the band over the years. The band was 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 invited to play at Bellahouston Park during the visit of Pope John Paul II to Scotland in 1982 and, following on from this, the band was then invited to participate in the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin in 1983. In September 2010, along with players from Shotts St. Patrick's Brass Band, the band played at Bellahouston Park during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI.
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Bellahouston Park 2010
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To date, we have qualified to represent Scotland at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain on eleven occasions, most recently in March 2024. We followed up this success with a Third Place in the finals at Cheltenham in September 2024.
Cheltenham 2015
