Dobcross Youth Band pay moving tribute at the Menin Gate Memorial

Dobcross Youth Band pay moving tribute at the Menin Gate Memorial

Young musicians paid tribute to British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the First World War when they gave a moving performance at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres.

Dobcross Youth Band played the hymn ‘Guardian of My Soul’ during the daily Last Post ceremony, watched by a large crowd.

Committee member Norman Brierley, assisted by players Ruby Ball (10) and Amelie Popplewell (11) laid a wreath, and Julian Bayley (16) read the exhortation ““They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”

Musical director Matt Hindle said: “It was such an honour and privilege to play a role in such a significant event. The ceremony was incredibly moving and the band was so touched when so many of the audience came to thank them afterwards. It was an experience that will have created memories to last a lifetime.”

The Youth Band also plays every year at Holy Trinity Church, Dobcross at the Remembrance Sunday service.

The performance on 16 August was the highlight of the band’s holiday in Belgium and France. It also included a visit to the Tyne Cot Memorial, which bears the names of 35,000 men of the British and New Zealand forces who have no known grave, nearly all of whom died between August 1917 and November 1918.

The trip also included a trip to the Eiffel Tower and to Disneyland Paris.

The Youth Band has sections for beginners and trainers too and always welcomes new players aged seven-18. There will be a chance to try a variety of instruments and find out more at a fun recruitment afternoon at Dobcross Band Club, Platt Lane on Sunday 30 September at 1.30pm. This will be a shared event with Dobcross Brass Monkeys so adult beginners – as well as those who have played a brass instrument previously and would like to take it up again – can develop their musicianship in a friendly and supportive group.

You can find out more on the Youth Band’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/dobcross.youthband/, which also has a video of the Menin Gate performance.