The Aldershot Brass Ensemble was founded in 1961 by George Prior, a fine musician and trombonist from the Rhondda Valley, with, as first members, his own sons and daughters. Eighteen months later the band had grown to some 22 musicians and that year adjudicator Eric Ball awarded us our first win at an ensemble contest in the Southern Counties Championships.
1969 saw us through to the 4th section finals of the National Championships and a 6th place overall. The following year we won the 3rd section at the Reading Contest. In 1969, we were 3rd section area champions.
Promotion came quickly and we became runners up in the 2nd section area championships in 1970 and also went on to achieve 3rd place in the national finals. 1973 will be remembered as an outstanding year; a year which we won the championship sections at Hammersmith and Reading and also had a record 13 point win to take the 2nd section area championships.
The band's entry into the top section of contesting was marked with frequent appearances in the prize lists. In March 1978 we were runners up in the area championship and so qualified for the top section National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall (playing 'Checkmate'), competing against the best bands in the land. In 1991 the band qualified for the Albert Hall again (playing 'Energy').
The untimely passing of George Prior came as a bitter blow to the band and the band movement.
1985 saw the inaugural visit to England of the Wernau Band from Germany. The visit proved a great success and ever since there have been a series of exchanges between Aldershot and Wernau.
Television appearances have been a feature of the band's activities and we have performed with Lennie Bennett and Jerry Stevens, the late Jimmy Edwards, the Two Ronnies (we are fairly sure this was 1974) and an entire series called 'O Happy Band' with Harry Worth (1980). The composer Ronald Binge (known for the "Elizabethan Serenade" and BBC Radio's "Sailing By") recorded an LP with the band ("Aldershot Brass Ensemble" Gold Star 15-40 or Rediffusion 1500040, 1975).
In June 1998 the band played at the British Embassy in Brussels in the 'Showcase Britain' Festival.
In 2002 we again competed in the 1st Section National Finals in Torquay.
A series of poor results at area contests from 2004 to 2006 ended in relegation to the second section.
2006-2007 saw a leaner period in the bands history, with fewer members and no contesting. However, fortunes soon changed with appointment of musical director Roger Burke in October 2007. Membership quickly rose and our return to contests in March 2008 again saw us as London & Southern Counties Area champions (second section) with an invitation to the national finals for September that year.
This page last updated 23 September 2008.