| Biography | The Band of the Irish Guards is one of five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division whose main role is to guard the British monarch. The Band supports the regiment in this by providing the musical backing which much of the ceremonial duties performed by the regiment require.
The Irish Guards Band is one of the younger Guards Bands, as it was founded along with the regiment in 1900 on the order of Queen Victoria, making it only fifteen years older than the Welsh Guards Band, which is the youngest. It is said to have been formed "to commemorate the bravery shown by the Irish regiments in the recent operations in South Africa". As with other Guards bands, the Irish Guards Band started travelling abroad to play soon after its creation, either to tour or to play for morale boosting concerts in areas where British troops were fighting. The Guards Bands' tradition of touring to areas of North America was accepted with full gusto by the new Irish Guards Band, who toured twice to Canada before the band had even been together for fifteen years, whilst still fitting in a tour to British Columbia. At the end of the First World War, the Irish Guards band was the only band in the British Army to play in three victory parades, taking place in Paris, Belfast and London.
During the period between world wars the band continued to thrive and to gain experience. In 1919, the Bandmaster Mr Hassell was commissioned to the rank of Lieutenant. This was the same year as the Bandmaster of the Welsh Guards Band, who was also commissioned to the rank of Lieutenant.
The Band's tradition of playing to troops overseas continued, such that they played many concerts to allied soldiers throughout both world wars. Their schedule became so busy during the Second World War that for a short while the band was increased in strength to 65 musicians, vastly increased in size compared to the few dozen who played when it was first created.
At the end of the war the band had performed in the USA, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Italy, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Japan and Egypt. While stationed in Palestine immediately after the war, the band sustained one fatal casualty.[citation needed] In Japan the band was accorded the unique privilege of being the first band ever to perform inside the Imperial Palace in the presence of the Empress and two Crown Princes.
The director appointed in 1938 was Lieutenant George Willcocks who was known throughout the world of music as "Polly Willcocks" and as a talented conductor. His tenure lasted until 1949 when he left the army at the rank of Major, in pursuit of a civilian career in South Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
The Band was fortunate enough to have Willcocks replaced by another big name in Music, Cecil Jaeger, who was the youngest Director of Music that any of the Guards regiments have ever had. Jaeger was known throughout the world for his conducting prowess, having once conducted the Vienna Symphony Orchestra for five concerts at the end of the Second World War. The Irish Guards Band continued to tour throughout the world, focusing on North America, where it toured to Canada and, on an extension to the Canadian tour, the United States, where they played in several New England cities, including Boston. In the Boston Symphony Hall the band was given a standing ovation on their debut, something considered by many musicians both of the day and of modern times a feat of excellence.
In June 1999, the band was deployed to Kosovo, on peacekeeping, with NATO forces, which was the last time the entire band was mobilised.
In the modern day, the band regularly tours to Australia, where they have played in the Sydney Opera House and to Canada, as well as occasional tours to other locations all over the world. In early 2010, the band completed a tour of the US and Canada, accompanied by the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Highland Regiment. The abolition of the Women's Royal Army Corps in 1992 also brought female members into the Guards band for the first time.
In common with the other Guards regiments, the Irish Guards have a "Corps of Drums" under the command of the drum major.
Like the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards also boast a distinctive national feature in their pipe band. Uniquely in the British Army, the Irish Guards ensemble is referred to as the "Drums and Pipes," rather than the "Pipes and Drums." (Since drums were carried by British soldiers before pipes, the drums are senior.) They were formed during the First World War, with the first two sets of Great Irish Warpipes being donated by John Redmond, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party at Westminster, whose son was serving with the regiment as an officer. They were trained by the London Irish Rifles and adopted their pattern of uniform, including the practice of wearing the caubeen badge over the right eye. Unlike the regimental band, pipe bands are based at battalion level, and when additional battalions are raised for wartime service, pipe bands are also raised to accompany them.
For several decades, Irish Guards pipers carried the Great Irish Warpipes, essentially a two-drone version of the three-drone Great Highland Bagpipe. In 1968, however, with the forming of the North Irish Brigade into the Royal Irish Rangers, the Highland pipe was standardized throughout the British Army and has been used by the Irish Guards ever since.Members of the regimental band are full-time musicians who, in the past, used to be trained for duty as medical assistants in wartime. Since the introduction of Clinical Governance regulations within the NHS, however, Military musicians are deployed in a General Duties role.
Pipers and drummers, on the other hand, are full-time soldiers who undertake their musical responsibilities on a part-time basis. Two regimental pipers, Lance Corporal Ian Keith Malone and Christopher Muzvuru, were killed during Operation Telic in Iraq. |