Beginnings

In the mid 1960’s Dave de la Mare, John Coleman and Dave Osborne were members of the brass section in ‘Santangelo’s Orchestra’ and arranged between them  to have a ‘brass only’ group meeting on a Monday night  at  Santangelo’s studio in Candie Road.

We were joined by Brian Wilson, a trumpet player who had been a colleague of John Coleman in the band of the Royal Signals Regiment.

Within a few weeks of us starting this group there appeared an advert in the Guernsey Press, placed by Frank Gaudion and Ted Cannon asking for any person interested in starting a Brass Band to contact them.

Frank was a well known character in local brass circles and Ted was an ex-army bandmaster who had come to live in Guernsey as the local rep for the Eveready Battery Company.

We, as a group did not respond to the advert, but were subsequently contacted by Frank Gaudion asking if we would join them in this venture and “could we use your rehearsal night and premises?”

This was approved by Dominic Santangelo and so the Guernsey Concert Band was formed, with rehearsals on Monday nights at The Studio, Candie Road with Ted Cannon as conductor.

On Ted’s departure from the island, Raymond Mahy, the head of a local musical family took over as conductor with other members of his family joining the band.

During this period Cyril Hockaday became involved with the band and was instrumental in starting lessons at various schools in the island, which led to the formation of the Youth Band. This was subsequently brought under the umbrella of the senior band and renamed the Guernsey Concert Youth Band.

Dave de la Mare