THE COVENANTER
evenings after the days work was done. as the guard presented arms, the BM, facing
Possibly the custom grew as a spontaneous the Queen, played the NationalAnthem.
celebration on the part of the apprentices The Queen, petite and better dressed than
and other youth of the town to mark everybody else, was accompanied by Prince
the onset of leisure time which could be Philip who wore different uniforms and
appreciated in daylight. civilian attire daily to suit the venue. One
day Prince Philip said to us: ‘I see you lot are
In early 1953,the Cameronians were chosen here again’. With the benefit of hindsight,I
to provide the guard of honour and the could have made an appropriate, witty reply.
music for the Queen’s post Coronation I found the noise of the crowds difficult to
tour of Scotland which included a visit to bear. I assume the Queen is able to ignore it
Lanark. During the rehearsals at Winston or mentally turn it off.
Barracks Major Carter-Campbell,i/c the
guard,approached us with an opened copy Our year also included playing in
of Queen’s Regulations at the page where Crosby,Worthing and performing at the
it stated that the NationalAnthem should South Shields and Edinburgh Tattoos.
Crosby, near Liverpool, booked us to
provide the music for their Coronation
Week. This made it possible for us to be
on the Liverpool quayside to welcome the
The Queen in Lanark - June 1953
be played in 35 seconds. Holding a stop
watch he asked the BM to play it. Major
The Military Band on Tour - July 1954
Carter-Campbell insisted that we played it
many times because we had not played it 1st Battalion back from their three years of
exactly in 35 seconds. Mr. Pike, the BM, in a active service in the Malayan Emergency.
quiet voice told him that complete accuracy I remember Col. Henning saluting Gen.
was impossible. It did have a comic effect O’Connor after he disembarked while we
because all movement near or on the square played ‘Hail the Conquering Hero Comes’.
came to a halt. I recall a REME man, needing G.F.Handel’s sacred melody became an anti-
to go almost around the square to reach his Jacobite and pro loyalist song because it was
workshop, halting at each playing as if he sung as a tribute to the Duke of Cumberland
was being projected onto a movable screen. after his victory over Prince Edward Stuart at
The long days taught us how tiring a royal Culloden in 1746.
tour can be, for we started early and finished
late in the evening in order to fulfil our As a treat after the Edinburgh Tattoo, we
many musical duties. Our routine was to were taken to the King’s Theatre for a special
be in place to meet ,the royal train, with its Performance of Sigmund Romberg’s ‘The
darkened windows to allow the royal party Desert Song: the musicwas familiar to all the
to look out without being seen. We carried Bandsmen because the selection fromthe
the red carpet which was placed on the show was then a popular item. After the
platform at a spot marked exit door. final Curtain came down, I felt a sense of
Our job was to entertain the crowd for an relief and sympathy for the cast who had
hour before the Queen arrived. One of the had to endure the crudest of barrack room
pieces was a selection of the then current banter from all parts of the theatre in the
musical ‘South Pacific’, containing the songs romantic scenes. What was amazing was
‘Some enchanting evening’ and ‘I’m gonna that the cast achieved silence by ignoring
wash that man right outa of my hair.’ As soon them and winning them over by their superb
44
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