gus was originally called the munn and felton band. they were very successful and as you can see...
TRANSCRIPT
GUS was originally called the Munn and Felton Band. They were very successful and as you can see they
won many trophies and potted plants over the years. Some at brass band contests and some for lion
taming.
Many of the GUS players have had to overcome numerous trials and tribulations on the road to musical excellence. One such player, Simon Smith, encountered some severe problems right from time he began playing the tenor horn at the age of six . One day he discovered that someone had callously put his instrument in a bucket of cement. With a steely determination he carried on as though nothing had happened. The picture opposite shows a young Simon dragging his instrument to band practice in the summer of 1931
The peaceful village of Chatteris suddenly became a touch less peaceful when a young Nigel Bramley received his first cornet in 1927. House prices plummeted but have been steadily rising since the introduction of double glazing in 1979.
Women were first allowed into the band way back in 1924. The band chairman at the time said “they certainly brighten the place up and some of them can even play a little bit too. They really come into their own though when the band room needs cleaning or the men need some sandwiches and a cup of tea.”
The key to success in any brass band is the quality of its 3rd cornet players. GUS has always been proud of the outstanding members of this elite section. The picture opposite shows possibly the finest 3rd cornet team ever assembled in a band room (current section excepted!). On the left is the legendary Eloise Tartington and next to her is Tarquin Webster-Daws-Smythe
Christmas in the Stowell household was always a happy time. Every year young David wrote to Father Christmas asking for a “small white waving stick.” One year he received a whip and top instead and he was inconsolable. To try and appease the distraught youngster a gundy stick was hastily whittled and painted white using the finest lead-based paint and on Boxing Day normality was restored.
The rest, as they say, is history.
