330 PAGES
WOODWINDS, BRASS & GLORY/ A PICTORIAL RECORD
Photos
500
THE MOST FAMOUS BOYS BAND IN THE WORLD
VANCOUVER BOYS BAND THE
Conductor - ARTHUR W. DELAMONT FROM
1895 TO 1982 (1)
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I met a lad who plays a horn in a band. Anybody who ever played any kind of horn in any band always aroused my envy, but this young fellow played a slide-trombone, which is the most enviable of all musical weapons, and he played it in the Kitsilano Boys’ Band, which, according to the Century of Progress Exhibition, is the the best boys’ band in the world. This boy had a uniform that would make a peacock look like a dirty, grey sock. Why was I deprived of the privilege of learning to play the slide-trombone? Why did’nt somebody handcuff me to a slide trombone and refuse me food and sleep until I learned to play it? Why don’t they make slide-trombone playing a compulsory subject in public schools? Why don’t they give slide-trombones away with subscriptions to the Western Producer instead of handing out carving knives and aprons? You may not know that the Kitsilano Boys’ Band comes from Vancouver. It comes from Vancouver every year or two to startle the Boys’ Band universe with its magnificent uniform and its still more magnificent musical accomplishments. It played in Kamloops, in Calgary, in Regina, in Winnipeg, in Kenora, in Fort William and in Sudbury. It is playing in Toronto today and in a day or two it is going to play at the Worlds’ Fair in New York, and then it is going to play in Montreal, and from Montreal, on June 30, it is sailing on the Duchess of Bedford for England, and on the other side of the Atlantic it is going to play in London and to play in all the places in Europe that are aware that metal can be used in the dozens of other English cities,
WOODWINDS, BRASS & GLORY
VANCOUVER BOYS’ BAND
DEDICATION This book has been made available to the libraries of the Vancouver School Board by a gift from Vancouver’s Bing Thom. Bing was a member of the Vancouver Kitsilano Boys’ Band in the mid ‘50s and went on two European Tours with the band in 1955 and 1958. He still remembers the lessons he learned in the band and the influence the conductor and founder of the band, Arthur W. Delamont, had on his youth. Many of the lessons he learned in the band have stayed with him throughout his professional career as one of Canada’s and the world’s most renowned architects.
PREVIOUS PAGE: c1966 Postcard of Kitsilano Boys’ Band, taken on the steps of the City Hall at Cambie and West Twelfth in Vancouver. Whenever the band was on tour, they were always known as the Vancouver Boys’ Band. When they were at home in Vancouver, they were always known as the Kitsilano Boys’ Band. Kitsilano is the name of the district on the west side of Vancouver where they originated and practised.
Woodwinds, Brass & Glory The Kitsilano Boys’ Band A Pictorial Record from 1895 to 1982 Christopher Best
Warfleet PRESS
Woodwinds, Brass & Glory, A Pictorial Record Published 2007 by Warfleet Press A Division of Traveler Media Group 1038 East 63rd Avenue Vancouver B.C. V5X 2L1 Copyright this edition @ Traveler Media Group 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder. ISBN 1-978-0-9812574-5-7 Printed and bound in Canada
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Publishers Note: Every effort has been made to properly identify and date each photo. If any mistakes have been made we apologize and would appreciate being informed.
CONTENTS The Early Years - 3
Hereford - Moose Jaw - S.A Band Territorial Staff Band - Empress of Ireland Captain Kendall - The Disaster - The Funeral
The Roaring Twenties - 18
Gordon Delamont - The Delamont Grocery Store The Pantages - General Gordon School Band
The Dirty Thirties - 25
Victoria Music Festival - Canadian National Exposition Kitsilano High School Band - Century of Progress Exposition 1932 Across Canada Tour - West of England 1934 The Cassell’s Challenge Shield - 1936 - The Crystal Palace Opening of the Golden Gate Bridge 1937 -Newcastle Island New York Worlds Fair 1939 - The Empress of Britain
The Forties (The War Years) - 138
Members in the Service - Gordon Delamont Orchestra West Vancouver Band - North Vancouver Band - Grandview Band Point Grey Junior Band - Vancouver Girls Band - Air Force Cadet Band 1946 Good Citizens Award - 1948 Hollywood Tour -
The Fifties (The Post War Years) - 162
1950 Oosterbeek Holland Tour - 1953 England - 1955 British Tour 1958 Kerkrade Holland - 1959 Playing Before the Queen
The Sixties & Seventies - 224
Hemmings Trophy - 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair - 1962 European Tour 1966 Kerkrade Holland - 1967 Montreal Exposition - 1968 European Tour 1970 European Tour - 1972 European Tour - 1974 European Tour 1979 Old Boys Tour The Eighties - 276 The Order of Canada - Delamont Park The Boys in the Band - 278 Trip Itineries - 294 Band Library - 317 Index - 327 -1-
THE EARLY YEARS
It all began in Hereford England in 1892 when Arthur William Delamont was born into a religious family that followed the teachings, preachings and drum beatings of William Booth, who only 27 years earlier had formed the Salvation Army, a religious and charitable organization along military lines for evangelizing and the social betterment of the poor and degraded. Arthur was the second oldest of five boys and three girls born to John and Seraphine Delamont. Their names were Leonard, Arthur, Walter, Frank, Herb, Lizzie, Myrtle and Beatrice. Arthur’s father John was a bouncer
for General Booth and played the bass drum in the Hereford Salvation Army Band. He was also a member of the Volunteer Fire Brigade. Arthur enjoyed doing things all boys enjoy doing at an early age. Thats me with my bicycle in front of the Green Dragon Hotel. My dad worked for Messr. Herrons’ Skinyard in Hereford and I was apprenticed to the drapery with Ald. C.Witts. Leonard learnt hairdressing with Mr. J. Lawford of Widemarsh Street.
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In 1910 John Delamont answered a call in the Salvation Army newspaper War Cry for qualified bandsmen to emigrate to Canada to help bolster up some of the SA Bands in the small towns on Canada’s prairies. That is how the Delamont family came to be in Moose Jaw. Why within one hour of arriving we all had jobs. Moose Jaw in 1910 was a small town of about 15,000 people, with its fair share of picket fences and boys and girls playing in the streets. There was one thing though that made Moose Jaw stand out from the rest of the towns on the
Above: c1895 Hereford, England Previous Page: c1897 The Delamont family from left to night, top row, Myrtle, John, Lizzie, Seraphine, Beatty, bottom, left to right, Leonard, Walter, Arthur on bench and Herb on John’s lap.
Above: c1902 The Green Dragon Hotel, Hereford, England. Arthur with bicycle on Broad Street. Girl in Arthur’s shop gave this photo to him. C. Gittings stands next to Arthur. Mr. Gittings stands next to Chris. Mr. H. Jones is in bus on left hand side. -4-
Above: ca1900, Hereford Salvation Army Band. John Delamont seated second from right, second row playing tuba. Below: ca1900’s Postcard depicting the Salvation Army in Britain.
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Above: c1910 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. John Delamont and Seraphine Delamont, Arthur’s parents.
Above: c1913 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Arthur, far right, with his motorcycle.
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Above: c1910 Moose Jaw Volunteer Fire Brigade. John Delamont standing next to fire wagon.
prairies, its Salvation Army Band, especially now with the addition of what easily could be called the Delamont Family Band! John played bass drum, Leonard, Arthur and Frank all played the Cornet, Walter played Baritone Horn and Herb played the Alto Horn in E flat. Why the Salvation Army Band swelled to 22 members with the addition of the Delamont family. Resplendent in their scarlet tunics with white embroidery, they were quite a spectacle marching down the main street of Moose Jaw or performing a concert in the park. For more solemn occasions the white embroidery was left behind. Besides playing the cornet in Moose Jaw, Arthur indulged himself in the sport of motorcycle racing!
Every four years a call went out across the Dominion for qualified Salvation Bandsmen, to participate in a Territorial Staff Band at a National Congress of Salvationists to be held in London England. The next congress was being held in 1914. “ The International Congress, London England June 11 to 27, 1914 A last call! If you wish to join one of the parties sailing under the auspicies of the Salvation Army, write immediately to Lieutenant Colonel Turner, 20 Albert Street, Toronto. If resident in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta, write Staff Captain Tudge, 231 Rupert Street, Winnipeg. If in British Columbia write Staff Captain White, 301 Hastings Street East in -7-
Vancouver.” There was much commotion and excitement in the Delamont household on Athabasca Street in Moose Jaw on the night of April 12, 1914. Father had long sent a letter off to Toronto requesting their participation in the Territorial Staff Band but both he and the boys knew that they probably would not all get to go to England.. The letter with the answer had just arrived. As father took his time opening the letter, one of the boys remarked; “If you played that slow, you would not get to go to England.” They all laughed and father handed the letter to mother, as he could not read. Mother declared, “Only Leonard and Arthur get to go.”
Arthur’s Salvation Army days in Moose Jaw are represented by this photo collection. All his brothers and his father were in the Moose Jaw Salvation Army Band. Top Left: The Delamont Family Band. From left to right, Walter, Arthur, John, Herb, Leonard and Frank. Above Middle: SA Days of 1913. Above Right: The Moose Jaw SA Band circa 1910. Arthur is standing Top Left. Herb is seated below Arthur. Leonard is seated third from left. John is standing far right. Below: Moose Jaw SA Band, c1910. Far Right: Arthur 1914 Right: Arthur 1910
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After a few moments of disappointment that all did not get to go, they were soon rallying around Leonard and Arthur wishing them god speed and a safe voyage. Like most boys their age, Arthur and Leonard were interested in boats and trains and motorcycles. Turning to their mother they ask what the name of the ship was that would be taking them to England. Mother handed them the letter and they read out loud the name of the ship. “The Empress of Ireland” The Territorial Staff Band of Canada was a musical organization that Salvationists all over the Dominion longed to see and
hear but this is a land of magnificent distances and travelling is expensive. Besides the band formed a large part of the Salvation Army Staff and business would have been at a stand still if they were absent from their positions for any lengthy period. There were 400 Salvationists in all going to the International Congress in London. They were divided between five different liners. The Empress of Ireland carried 165 members and the entire 37 members of the Territorial Staff Band including Commissioner Rees, Colonel Maidment, Adjutant Hanagan, the Bandmaster and their wives. Five members of the Delamont family departed for Quebec City one early morning in May 1914. There was Arthur, Leonard, their Mother Seraphine and their father John -10-
and their eldest sister Lizzie who was also an officer in the Army. The Empress of Ireland was a class “A” ship of the Canadian Pacific Line. It had been built in Glasgow in 1906. Its Captain, Captain Kendell had become famous when on one voyage he had apprehended the notorious Dr. Crippen, who had been trying to escape from England to Canada. On board the ship the band played God Be With You Til We Meet Again as the ship pulled away from the dock in Quebec City. After dinner Commissioner Rees called a meeting of all the band members, to whom he said, “I understand you like to be thought of as the Commissioner’s Band. Why not come back to
Left: C1914 The Salvation Army Staff Band as embarked on the ill-fated Empress of Ireland. Those marked with an X were saved.
Canada as God’s Band.” The Empress pulled into the dock at Rimouski about ten PM that evening to drop off and pick up mail. Shortly after leaving Rimouski she was broadsided by a Norwegian tanker the Storstad. The devestation was swift and deadly. Within 14 minutes the Empress had disappeared beneath the St. Lawrence. The shrieks and cries of the survivors in the frigid waters pierced the evening quiet like knives. The crew had managed to get several lifeboats off the sinking ship and into the water before she went down and they were busy picking up survivors.The Delamont family who had been asleep, as had most of the passengers on board, tried to make their way up the narrow
staircase from third class to the decks above. By the time they reached the last staircase, it was almost vertical. Leonard managed to help his mother up on deck. Once on deck he took off his life jacket and put it on his mother. Then he pushed her over the side and dived into the icy water. Arthur who had been trapped below, managed to crawl out a porthole and run along the side of the ship until he reached the end, where he too jumped into the icy waters. Arthur was picked up by a lifeboat that also contained his father and mother and sister . When he ask his father if he had seen Leonard his father replied, not wanting to alarm his mother, “I think he was picked -11-
up by one of the other lifeboats.” Standing on the shore the last lifeboat reached safety and there was no sign of Leonard. Arthur’s mother could contain her sorrow no longer and screamed, “Leonard, my poor Leonard.” The day went down in Salvation Army history as Black Friday, for out of 1475 people onboard the Empress only 397 survived. Out of the 37 members of the Territorial Staff Band only 9 survived. Commissioner Rees, Colonel Maidment, Adjutant Hanagan and all their wives perished. “They were the fairest
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and best of the movement in Canada and the loss to the executive and ranks of Blood and Fire will in many ways prove irreparable, for its most prominent leaders have sung their last Glory song on earth.” Captain Kendall who had been hit on the head and rendered unconscious, when told of the loss, cried like a baby. The coffins of the dead were unloaded off the rescue ship Alsatian at Rimouski and then shipped to Quebec City and then on to Toronto where a funeral service was held in the Toronto Arena. Massed bands of the Guelph, Toronto, Oshawa, Chatham and Hamilton Salvation Army bands filled the bleachers. In the center was a huge cross made out of floral arrangements. At the head of the cross sat the survivors of the Territorial Staff Band. Arthur returned to Moose Jaw with his family after the disaster and spent his time playing in the local theatre pit orchestra. He married Lillie Elizabeth Krantz in 1916 and in 1918 they had a son,Gordon.
This is a collection of photos from the French Canadian magazine ,from an article on the Empress of Ireland disaster. Top Left: The Empress of Ireland. Middle Left: On the deck of the Empress Bottom Left: The Captain and crew of the Empress. Captain Kendall is seated at the right. Top Right: Colonel Maidment and Commissioner Rees of the Salvation Army. Both perished in the disaster along with their wives. Right: A copy of the music sung on board the Empress, when the ship went down.
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Above: Artists rendition of the Storstad hitting the Empress.
Below: A crowd of mourners in Quebec City.
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Above: Funeral procession in Toronto for the dead of the Empress.
Below: Unloading the coffins in Rimouski, Quebec
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Left and Below:Two views of the funeral service in Toronto. Below are the massed bands of several Ontario Salvation Army bands, all seated in the bleachers. Bottom Left: A memorial postcard of the Moose Jaw SA Band after the sinking of the Empress, comemorating their two comrades who were promoted to glory on May 29th, 1914. Leonard Delamont is pictured in the circle on the left.
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THE ROARING TWENTIES
Arthur’s prospects for pursuing his musical career in Moose Jaw did not seem promising, so in 1922 he packed up his family and moved out west to Vancouver. When they arrived in Vancouver, Arthur immediately went down to the local musicians office to get his membership card. He was told that he would have to wait six months before he would be able to work in Vancouver, so he opened the Delamont Grocery Store at 7th and Maple Street in an up and coming neighborhood of Vancouver called Kitsilano. When his six months were up, he began playing his trumpet in the Vaudeville houses of Vancouver, the Strand, the Pantages, the Orpheum and the Capitol. In 1924 Arthur and Lillie’s second child was born, a girl. They named herVera. It was not long before Arthur had enough money to buy four lots in Kitsilano next to General Gordon School. He had four houses built, sold three of them and moved his family into the fourth house which was next to the General Gordon School playground. From his living room window every day he could see the school children going back and forth to school and it gave him an idea. He was teaching Gordon to play the trumpet and it would be nice if Gordon had some boys his own age to play his music with, so why not start a boys band! One day he decided to go over and
Above: Coronation Day, Moose Jaw.
talk to the school principal Captain Steeves about his idea.
long enough to play anything decent.”
“I think it is a splendid idea Arthur. I will send my own son down. You can use the building in the corner of the playground for your rehearsals.
Well if there was anything that made Arthur more determined than ever it was someone telling him that something could not be done. So upon hearing that remark he packed up his trumpet, got up and said,
Arthur knew that Vaudeville would not last and he did not want Gordon hanging around the street corners getting into trouble so he thought he would give it a try. When he mentioned his idea to the other musicians in the pit orchestra one evening at the Pantages, one of them remarked,
“See you fellas. I’m going to start a boys band.”
“It will not work. Boys that age cannot sit still -18-
True to his word Arthur gathered up a few boys and found some old instruments in various attics and one evening the General Gordon School band was formed. They did not look like much at first or sound like much but with a little practise they could soon play a few tunes. To Arthur’s surprize the boys
Above: Arthur is seated second from the left in this photo of a Moose Jaw Band relaxing in a park about 1918.
Above: c1929 Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver, Jackie Souders Orchestra, Arthur is fifth from right in back. Jackie is third from right in front. -19-
Left: Gordon Bottom Left: Gordon and Lillie Bottom Right: C1921 Gordon and Arthur
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Top Left: c1923 Gordon and Arthur. Top Right: The Delamont Grocery Store at 7th and Maple Street in Vancouver. Left: Arthur c1920s.
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came willingly to rehearsals and when he told them they were going to march in their first parade for local runner Percy Williams at his homecoming in June of 1928, they were even all the more enthusiastic. Arthur knew how to motivate the young boys. Just as he and his brother Leonard had been motivated with thoughts of playing in the Territorial Staff Band, these boys were no different. Lillie and some of the mothers set about making uniforms for the boys which consisted of pill box hats, white shirts and dark trousers with a dark stripe down one leg. When the big day came the boys looked magnificent marching behind Percy
Above: C1922 Arthur at the Pantages Vaudeville Theatre on Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver.
Below: C1922 The orchestra of the Pantages Theatre in Vancouver. Arthur is seated at the far right.
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Williams in their new uniforms and their instruments glistening in the afternoon sun. With the success of the Percy Williams parade, boys started to flock to Arthur by the dozens. From all over Vancouver they came! In music as in life, timing is everything. In 1929 the stock market crashed. People were out of work all across the country. During times of national tragedy, people look to the arts, music and cinema to forget their troubles. Arthur’s timing could not have been better! Top: It Took A Few People - 27, to be exact, to run the Pantages theatre around 1928. Manager Lloyd Pantages is standing at right ( with moustache ) and man second from right in second row is Arthur Delamont, now conductor of famed Kits Boys’ Band. Girls included nine usherettes and the ticket taker. Left: c1922 Arthur at the Pantages.
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Above: c1928 The General Gordon School Band marching in a street parade. Below: Two photos of Gordon in the front yard of his home on West 13th in 1928.
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THE DIRTY THIRTIES
After the boys success in the Percy Wiliams Parade, Arthur looked around for another motivator. He found it in the form of the Pacific Northwest Music Festival held each year in Victoria. After lots of practise, on May 7, 1930 Arthur, Lillie and his boys boarded a ferry at the CPR Terminal on Cordova Street, for the overnite trip to Victoria. Arthur and his boys would be up against another band from Vancouver, the National Juvenile Band led by William Hoskins Sara. When the adjudicators read their remarks the next day, the National Juvenile Band had garnered 89 points and the General Gordon Band, which is what they were now called, garnered 86. The National Juvenile Band had been around for some time so Arthur did not feel too bad. Besides there was another festival coming up in Toronto in the following year that he had already set his sights upon. He had a letter in his pocket from fair officials in Toronto which he read to Lillie.
Above: c1928 The General Gordon School Band marching on the west side of Vancouver.
Below: c1928 The General Gordon School Band
“Yes we do have a class for Junior Bands but we are surprized to hear there is a band of such high quality on the Westcoast that would be interested in competing in our contest. If you want to come the test piece is Haute Monde.” Arthur was so infuriated with the letter that as soon as he arrived back in Vancouver he rushed down to Ward Music on Hastings Street and put in an order for Haute Monde, saying to the clerk, -25-
“And put a rush on it. We have no time to lose. We’re going to the Toronto Exposition next year and thats the piece we are going to play to win the National Band Championship. Why we are going to make them eat their hats.” The clerk exclaimed, “I just bet you will Mr. Delamont. I just bet you will.” When news got around that Arthur’s band was going to be a travellin band, he had even more boys coming down wanting to join. In all his enthusiasm there
was one thing Arthur had forgotten. It costs money to take a band as far away as Toronto. Nevertheless with Lillie’s reassurance that everything would work out they organized a band parents executive and set about contacting Newspapers, Safeway Stores and and other local businesses. For ten months Arthur worked the boys harder than most professional bands. Every time the boys played a concert, Arthur collected a fee for their services.They played a luncheon for the Kiwanis in the Hotel Vancouver for $200. They played concerts in conjunction with the feature films Men in the Sky starring JackWhiting and Irene del Roy and they accepted a special invitation to play a twilight program in Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park en route to -26-
Toronto before 30,000 auditors on August 26. Before heading off across Canada in two CPR coach cars though, there was one piece of unfinished business Arthur needed to attend to. At a rehearsal one night he said to his boys, “Now lets see if we can do better this time in Victoria before we leave for Toronto.” This time in Victoria when the adjudicator read the results he said, “The Kitsilano HighSchool Band 89 points. The Victoria Boys’ Band 86. The Kitsilano Band are the winners.”
Left: c1928 The General Gordon School Band seated on the steps of General Gordon School on Bayswater Street in the Vancouver neighborhood of Kitsilano.
On the way to Toronto the boys played their concert in Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg. In Hamilton they were given a tour of Niagara Falls as guests of the Southam Publishing Company. The next day in Toronto when the big day was at hand, the officials at the festival could’nt believe their ears. The adjudicators who had been seated behind a screen and were unaware of the identitiy of the contestants feared that a mistake had been made when it was announced that juveniles from the west were competing and their number appeared on the top of all the score cards. “Kitsilano Band takes first place in its class at Canadian National Exhibition Band Contest.”
Besides winning the band contest, Arthur had entered several of his boys in solo competition and four in a brass quartet category. After it was all over the boys gathered around Arthur and declared that they had won all their solo competitions and the brass quartet had taken first place as well....One of the adjudicators approached Arthur after it was all over and said.... “Congratulations Mr. Delamont. I’m James Oliver of the St. Hildas Band of London, England. That was an easy win. You completely outclassed those other Ontario Bands in your category. And the brass quartet, they simply astonished -27-
the judges. An enviable victory for all your boys.” The boys wasted no time in writing home to their parents. “We won without hesitation.” The officials at the festival were so upset by this upstart band from the west, that they refused to give Arthur’s boys their medals which was customary for each winning participant to receive at the presentation. Instead they said that they would mail them to them in Vancouver. On the Monday following the concert, CNE officials granted Arthur special permission to
Above: c1929 Jackie Souders Vaudeville Orchestra. Arthur is third from right.
Below: c1929 The Kitsilano High School Band
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perform a one hour concert in Exhibition City where they delighted and dazzled fairgoers with their music. Clad in blue pants, white shirts and capes with brilliant crimson silk lining showing under their capes thrown over their shoulders, the lads thrilled a vast audience and brought great honour to Vancouver. Upon their departure from Toronto, Arthur was asked to comment on the competition. .“I’m somewhat disappointed at the treatment accorded the boys here. Even the newspapers have ignored us. The members of the band worked hard to raise the necessary funds to
bring us this long way to Toronto and we had hoped to raise part of the expenses here. But it does’nt matter, we won the prize and thats what we came for.”
achievement of your boys will lead to the formation of other youth bands in the city and that your achievement will forward the music movement in the west.”
Back in Vancouver the boys were given a stirring tribute by civic and provincial leaders at a civic banquet held in the Hotel Vancouver. Major H.B. King, principal of Kitsilano High School expressed his hopes for the future when he said,
Arthur always tried to find something bigger and better to challenge his boys, so in 1933 he set his sights on the Chicago Worlds Fair. It would be no stroll through the park as he told his boys at rehearsal in the basement of General Gordon School.
“I am sure the boys feel proud of the city’s recognition of the band’s success as is evident by this splendid gathering. It is our hope that the
“This will be no piece of cake. Toronto will seem merely childs play after you get a taste of Chicago. This is the United States where band music has been in the
Left: c1930 Pictured here is the Mellophone trio which will be featured in the programme of the General Gordon School Band when it plays at the Alma Theatre, 3707 West Broadway, tonight (Sunday) in aid of the Province Santa Claus Fund. The names of these young musicians, reading left to right are: Arthur Butroid, Patrick Armstrong, Douglas MacAdams. The concert will commence at 8:45 and a silver collection will be taken at the door.
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Top Left: Arthur and Lillie in Victoria c1930. Middle Left: Gordon on his bicycle in front of the Delamont home on West 7th Avenue in Vancouver, c1931. Bottom Left: Gordon on lawn under umbrella on West 7th, c1931. Top Right: Train cars that were home to the boys on their trip to Toronto in 1931. Right: Vera, the mascot, seated below the bandstand at Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park in 1931. Below Right: Art Butroid and Garry White Below Right: Wally Oatway
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‘31 Toronto Exhibition Tour
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school system for some time and they don’t take their music lightly. No sir if we are going to pull this one off you will have to be lickety-split perfect in everyway!” Before going to Chicago there was another PNW Music Festival. The boys performance was so first rate that it drew this praise from York Bowen, one of the most conservative adjudicators sent to the festival from England. “The standard of accomplishment attained by
the Kitsilano Boys’ Band has not yet been reached in Great Britain.” The cost of the trip to Chicago would be as much as four or five thousand dollars. The task of sending the boys was taken on by three organizations in Vancouver, the Rotary, Safeway Stores and the Chamber of Commerce. The boys played everywhere in order to raise the money. Finally on August 10,1933, the boys left by train for Chicago to compete in the Junior Band Championship of the World. Along the way the boys played at several towns, -32-
Revelstoke, Kamloops, Banff, Regina. By the time they reached Chicago they were already seasoned performers. In Chicago they stayed at the Lexington Hotel, once owned by Al Capone. “Ya thats right. Al used to own the hotel. On the top floor there is a shooting range where dummy cops pop out from behind the pillars.” Finally the big day arrived.
Left: Band Concert at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg en route to Toronto to compete in the National Band Championship at the Canadian National Exhibition Above: Group photo of boys and Arthur, Lillie and Vera, on a train platform somewhere en route to Toronto, C1931.
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Opposite Top Left: Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds. Note Model T cars parked up close on three sides to stop the wind. Opposite Middle: Tranquille Sanatorium, near Kamloops Opposite Bottom: Moose Jaw waiting for the wind to stop Above: Brass Quartet, the winners of First Place at CNE, Roy Johnston, Art Butroid, Gordon Delamont, Wally Oatway Bottom Left: Lillie Delamont Bottom Right: Vera Delamont, band mascot
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Above: The boys at Jasper Park Lodge returning from Toronto with first place honors. Below: The certificate won by the members of the Brass Quartette in Toronto in 1931, Roy Johnston, Gordon Delaomnt, Art Butroid and Wally Oatway.
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Above: The boys at Kamloops Station returning from Toronto in 1931.
Below: The boys back home in 1931 in front of court house, now Vancouver Art Gallery..
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“Kitsilano Boys’ Band attains world title at Chicago Fair. Score 225 out of a possible 240.” Smashing all competion, the Kitsilano Boys’ Band under the direction of Arthur W. Delamont proved themselves champions of the world in the Class D, juvenile band division.This success culminated the bands march through
the Provincial and Dominion Championships to world fame in a field that was highly contested. On the evening of the festival Arthur and his boys played a concert at Soldiers Field before 100,000 people. For the remainder of the week they played at the Canadian Exhibit, the Court of the Hall of Science, the Floating Theatre, a luncheon for 500 Rotarians, before 1800 employees of the Swift Company, for the premier of
New Zealand and finally at the General Motors Building. For fun, the boys attended a Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Athletics baseball game at Comisky Park. Having conquered Chicago, the boys began to prepare for a series of concerts on their way back home.The first was in Minneapolis. The next in Winnipeg where Arthur spoke to a reporter about the competition.
Below:1932 Band on court house steps in downtown Vancouver. (Vancouver Archives Photo)
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Above: c1932 Vancouver Boys Band at Banff on their 1932 Toronto CNE Trip to defend their title. Below: Three-time Pacific Northwest and B.C. Champions and in 1931, Canadian Champions at Toronto National Exhibition, 42 members of Vancouver’s famous musical organization, the Kitsilano Boys Band, under the leadership of their bandmaster and founder, Arthur W. Delamont, will leave Vancouver on August 10 by Canadian Pacific lines, on route to Chicago, where at the Century of Progress Exposition, they will meet leading boys bands from all parts of the globe in an effort to add a world’s championship to their long string of victories. Holding a series of concerts and broadcasts in Vancouver, Victoria and other B.C. centres to raise funds for the Chicago trip The Kitsilano boys, en route to Chicago by C.P.R. lines, will play concerts at Kamloops and Revelstoke, B.C., Banff, Alta., Moose Jaw, Sask. and Winnipeg Man., arriving in Chicago August 18. They will perform at the Knickerbocker Hotel and Soldiers Field, Chicago, in contests sponsored by the Chicago Tribune to determine the world’s finest juvenile band. The Kitsilano ensemble, which at the recent B.C. musical festival was praised by two famous english adjudicators as the finest they had heard, will appear at Kamloops August 11; Revelstoke, August 12; Banff, August 13; Moose Jaw August 15 and Winnipeg August 16.
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Above: c1933 Chicago. The band is seated giving a concert by the Chevrolet Assembly Line in the General Motors Building at the Century of Progress Exposition. They took first place honours in the Chicagoland Music Festival.
“The contest was a keen one and it was a distinct honour to win in such company. There seemed as well to be interest on the part of Chicagoans for Vancouver. The opinions of Americans I met, is that Canada has come through the period of business dislocation in much better shape than the US but they all seem to put great faith in Roosevelt’s recovery plan and are convinced that it will be a success.”
In Vancouver, while Arthur and his boys were playing their way back across Canada, civic officials were planning a homecoming like Vancouver had never before witnessed. Shortly after 7am on the morning of September 5th, the vanguard of the crowd began to arrive at the CPR station on Cordova Street. By 9:30 am, three large musical bands had arrived and began playing concert programs for the crowd. In the main rotunda was a band of 75 members of the Musicians Union led by professional bandleader Calvin Winters. On the platform, where the train was to arrive, were the South Vancouver Juvenile Band, led by J. Olson, the Daily Province, South Burnaby and West Vancouver Juvenile Bands led by A.W. Jordon and the Vancouver -40-
Girls Band conducted by W. Haywood. The whistle of an approaching train threw the crowd into a frenzy, but it was the wrong train. Finally at 10:20, the train carrying the victorious Kitsilano marchers arrived on #4 track, while the bands on the platform sounded their rousing tributes. Wild cheering greeted the appearance of smiling faces of the championship instrumentalists as the car occupied by the band came to a stop. Admiring parents fondly embraced their tired but happy sons through opened windows while police struggled to keep the enthusiastic crowds in place. A welcoming committee made up of Mayor Louis D. Taylor, Captain Steeves representing the Federation and the band
Above: August 17 1933, Winnipeg Evening Tribune, Three leaders at the final Tribune night of song posed for this picture of a happy triumvirate. Left to right: A.W. Delamont, bandmaster of the Kitsilano Boys’ Band; Stanley Osborne, song leader and J. Alan Jeffrey, bandmaster of the Army and Navy Veterans Band.
Above: September 15, 1933 Concert for Swiftown folk in Chicago.
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Opposite Left: Arthur, Lillie and some of the boys at the Chicago museum in, 1933. Opposite Bottom : Playing for the Swift Co. folk at the Chicago Fair. Above: Playing at a rain stop somewhere on the way back home. Below: Playing on the patio of the Banff Springs Hotel on the return trip.
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Above: The boys at the 1933, Century of Progress, Chicago Worlds Fair Below: C1930-36, Vancouver Girls’ Band on the steps of General Gordon School. This band that Arthur started went into the BC Music Festival and always did very well. It played concerts and even went on a tour of BC. It lasted through 1936 and then nothing more is said of this band. It is said that Arthur’s temperment was a little too volatile for the girls and they often went home crying but I am not sure if this was what caused its demise. (Second row from bottom, at left Bernice Bernie, aka Pat Shore.)
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Above: c1934 Arthur was offered the directorship of the West Vancouver Boys’ and Girls’ Band in January 1934. This band he would enter in many festivals and they always did exceptionally well. He directed this band for 24 years and it was the most successful of all his other bands. In 1958 this band joined with his Kitsilano Boys’ Band for a trip to Europe. They won two first place awards in the Kerkrade International Band Festival in Holland. Arthur left this band upon his return from Holland and England in the fall of 1958. Pictured above in Mr.Condon the founder of the band on the top right and Mr. Mitchell. In the front row the young baritone player, third from the right is Porky Downs. He went on to join the first RCMP band in 1938. Below: c1934 Crowd at the CPR Station on Cordova Street to see the boys off to England
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Left: Band in Montreal. Below: Departing on the Duchess of Atholl in Montreal. Far Bottom: Some of the boys in Montreal. From left, back row, Bob Reid, Ralph Derrick, Stewart Ross, Doug Barlow, Harvie Stewart, Arnold Clark, Art Butroid, Wally the Porter, Don Endicott, Harry Bigsby, Jack Read, Bob Davison
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Top: Tugs pulling the Duchess of Athol out of Montreal. Above: Art Butroid and Freddie Woodcock Right: Freddie Woodcock Bottom: The boys on deck.
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‘34
West of England Tour
executive entered the train. In a moment Arthur appeared and the crowd went into a frenzy. Escorted by police, Arthur, Lillie and the boys marched along the platform. “The whole towns down to meet you Arthur.” As Arthur marched past each band, he was given the customary salute and hand shake from their conductors. As they reached the rotunda, they were greeted by the music of Calvin Winters and received a hearty ovation from the throng that had packed into the building. After a brief speach by Frank C. Anders, they were then taken outside to a row of automobiles and whisked off to their homes. At 1pm a large reception before a crowd of 3500, was held at the Horse Show Building at
the Exhibition. The band members marched to the platform to loud cheers by the spectators. They carried with them the big silver trophy won at Chicago. After welcomes by the mayor and other city officials, Arthur said, “I don’t want you to think we ran away with the trophy. There were 10 junior bands competing and in my opinion, first, second and third were very close. When the marks were given out and we learned we were 24 1/2 points ahead, it was only a matter of Whoopee!” With another first place award in his pocket, Arthur was going to be hard pressed to out do himself this time! What could be bigger than Chicago? -48-
To find the answer, Arthur had to return to his roots in England. What could be more triumphant than to return to the land of his birth. If his boys thought Chicago was tough, wait until they got a glimpse of a festival English style! Wheels were put in motion and Arthur soom found the festival he was looking for. It was in Bugle, in the West of England, but it took place next year in 1934. He would have to work the boys fast and hard if they were going to have a chance of winning this festival. One evening he proposed his idea to the boys. “So if you want to go it will mean lots of hard work and only those who work the hardest will be able to come because this will be a very hard contest. Why
Left: C1934 On board The Duchess of Athol on the way to the bands first tour of the Old Country.
there could be as many as fifteen bands competing “Do we get to visit Buckingham Palace?” Oh there will be lots of time for that sort of thing. Just remember the reason we are going is to play our music and be the best ambassadors for Vancouver that we can be.” “We’re behind you Delly!” “We can do it!” The enthusiasm was evident and with the boys behind him one hundred percent, he had great hopes for this festival. In order to get the boys into shape for England, he decided a cross
Canada tour leading up to their departure from Quebec City for England was in order. By the time the boys reached England, they already will have played ten concerts in five cities. So it was, swimming in Banff, horsebackriding in Calgary, a twenty-five, fourteen victory over the Swift Current Prairie Chickens by the Kitsilano Red Shirts softball team. When they arrived in England they were seasoned troopers, all ready to take the old country by storm. In London, they were welcomed by the acting agent general for BC. The High Commissioner for Canada gave a speach in which he called the boys Canada’s Cultural Pioneers, whose performances in the old country would bring to the people here a new vision of the Dominion. Before the reception was over the boys were rushed off to the BBC Studios to make a record, where the boys reported -49-
home in their letters, “The broadcast studios are the very latest in architecture and appointments. The building itself is cylindrical and all the studios are equipped with most up to date apparatus. The mikes for instance are bullet shaped.” After the studio, the boys were taken to the Tower of London where they performed a concert in the moat, which prompted one of the boys to write, “We played a concert in the moat yesterday at the Tower of London. There was no water in it but we sure wished there had been. I’ve never spent a hotter
Above: c1934 The Duchess of Atholl
A Young Bandsman’s Diary While In England Left for London 9:30 am. The train travelled at a high rate of speed, going from 60 to 70 miles per hour at times. We arrived in London three hours later and were welcomed by the Rt. Hon. Howard Ferguson of Grosvenor House, Agent-General for Canada, and Mr. W. A. MacAdam, acting General Agent for British Columbia. After that we broadcast over the BBC radio from 6:00 to 7 p.m. Tuesday morning we got up at 8 o’clock to make recordings, and this took until 11:00. We then went to the Tower of London, the oldest place in the city. We played on the moat surrounding the tower
for about an hour in the hot sun. This happened to be the hottest day this year so far. We lunched and then were shown through the tower by a “Yeoman of the Guards and does this fellow know his English history?” We saw the place where Shakespeare wrote while he was in London, where the boy princes were murdered. Also the place where Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower. We saw the Crown Jewels. They were a magnificent sight. Then we saw the Grenadier Guards (the beefeaters), and numerous other things of interest. -50-
We broadcast at 1:15 am the next morning. Following a night of five hours sleep, we went to see the Parliament Buildings. We were shown around by Sir Samuel Chapman, a member of the House of Commons. During our visit we saw Westminster Chapel, the oldest part of the building, and the House of Commons, where I sat in Premier Ramsey MacDonald’s chair. We saw the two great librairies of each house, then the King’s and Queen’s throne, and the very place where Guy Fawkes was caught with the powder and many other things, which were very interesting. This afternoon we went to the Pathe News Reel studios for another picture. After that, I had dinner with my relatives in London. Then we walked through Regents Park (Con’t on Page 53)
Above: Boys in a tug-of-war on board the ship
Below: Group photo with life preserver on board the ship
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Left: Gordon onboard the ship with a life preserver Bottom Left: Arthur, Lillie and friend on board. Bottom Right: Vera with life preserver Top Right: Crowd watching band perform at Bugle, England. Middle Right: Bandstand at Bugle with boys performing. Bottom Right: Bandstand with Vancouver Boys’ Band banner.
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Top: On board the Duchess of Atholl Opposite: The hanging of Jack Habkirk for waking the boys up too early in the morning. Below: The boys on deck with life preservers.
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Above: Jack Allen, Roy Johnston, Jack Habkirk Right: Wally Oatway (centre) Below: Redoubt Bandstand in Eastbourne where the boys played in the thirties Top Far Right: Crowd at Bugle watching contest Middle Far Right: Bandstand at Bugle with boys performing Bottom Far Right: Bandstand with boys playing
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Above: Boys playing in the moat at the Tower of London. Right: Lillie with a Tower Warden. Below: Another view of the bandstand at Eastbourne.
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Above: Pittencrief Park, Dunfermline where the boys played to the largest crowds in the history of the park. Below: ‘The Trotters Eight’ From L to R, Bob Davison, Arnold Clarke, Fred Woodcock, Art Butroid, John Daniels, Norman Pearson and Clifford Wood. Missing is Jim Findlay
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Top Left: Arthur with poster of the band at the seaside. Top Right: Arthur on way to bandstand with his trumpet. Left: Arthur and Lillie walking along a street in England.
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Top: Band giving concert at Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline. Right: Boys in Scotland. Below: Arthur, Lillie, Vera and friend.
hour in my life.” At the festival, Arthur had been wrong. There were not fifteen bands but twenty-one in the competition. But it didn’t matter; they still took first place in their class. Back home the newspapers reported, “Vancouver Boys Charm Britons” For the remainder of the tour Arthur and his boys were booked into various regattas, festivals and carnivals all over England. With the capable leg work of their English manager Chris Stockwell, who kept one step ahead of the band along the way, Arthur was -59-
able to find bookings where ever they travelled. When the people in one town heard that the band was in a neighboring town, they were only too eager to have them pay them a visit as well. In fact, the band was so successful in the old country, that they started receiving bookings two years in advance. One such booking was for the Royal Dublin Horse Show in August 1936.
Above: The band posing for a photo at Victoria Monument, in front of Buckingham Palace, London. The postcard read Canadian Champions Toronto 1931. Pacific Northwest and B.C. Champions 1931-2-3-4. First prize winners World’s Fair Chicago 1933. First Prize winners West of England Band Festival 1934. Below: The boys marching at Edinburgh Castle,1934.
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BAND IN THE TOWER MOAT the headlines read. Large crowd gathered to listen to the boys as they performed in the moat at the Tower of London, England.
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Left: Laying a wreath at Edinburgh Castle
Above: London July 18, 1934
Above: Listening to an orator at Edinburgh Castle. -62-
Below: Boys wearing medals they won in contests.
Left: Boys at DeMontfort Hall Gardens, Leicester.
Left: Boys in front of Lochearnhead Hotel in Scotland.
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Above: 1934, August 19th The Lost Chord at Bognor Regis. (Con’t from page 42) and were shown
around Buckingham Palace. Afterwards we went to the “Palladium” and saw a stage show, which I enjoyed very much. July 17th We left London for Torquay and Plymouth from Paddington Station at 9 am and arrived at Torquay at 1:45 p.m. and went to the place where we were to play, a pavilion near the sea-shore. There happened to be the British fleet of Battleships at Torquay and everyone seemed to be out visiting them. We played at three o’clock and had a very good, enthusiastic crowd to welcome us. We had tea after the concert, right on the sea wall. My, it sure is a swell place. I would like to stay there for a while. We left about 7 p.m. and arrived at Plymouth at 8 o’clock and went to the Y.M.C.A. and had supper. You know, they have four meals a day over here. After that we got our rooms. You know the
three saxophones., Alf, Clif and myself. Had swell fun that night, went to a show, and turned in early. July 19th Did not get up until 12 noon. Had lunch then went to another show. You see, it was raining. When we came out we were to play at a concert on the Hoe or Seafront that night. It was right near where Drake was bowling when the Spanish Armada came up the channel. We played again from 8:30 until 10 p.m. and had the same enthusiastic crowd and wonderful applause. Turned in early, but could not get to sleep before twelve on account of a pillow fight. Had to be up early on Saturday, packed our grips and left on the 10: 30 train for Bugle. We had to change twice, arrived there at 12:30 p.m. left our luggage in the station, also the “reeds” left their instruments. We went to the grounds where the band concert was to be held and had lunch -64-
there. Class C was first. Clif, Al and myself went out into the fields and laid under some trees to find some shade because it was very hot. Our band was to play 9th in B class; men’s open amateur. They sounded very good to me, and I thought they had a very good chance. After that came Class A. We could not stay to hear the adjudication because we were supposed to play a concert at 7:30 in the Park. The contest was not over when we left and as it is the custom of the country for all winning bands to march back down the main streets of the town, exhibiting their trophies, so everyone in the town was watching the parade and as soon as we found out we had a few prizes we went down and joined the procession. We played a few marches and a couple of popular numbers, for which we received great applause. Our prizes were,
Above: Crowd of 4000-5000 gathered to hear the boys perform at De Montfort Hall Gardens, Leicester, England on August 5, 1934.
a shield for second place in the contest piece out of eleven bands, first prize, a silver cup for the Hymn and first prize for deportment out of eleven bands. We could not stay long as the train was about to leave at 10:30 p.m. We had sleepers (births) on the train, and arrived in London at 7:15 a.m. Went to
our hotel for breakfast, after that we went to make recordings again. The we went to hear the Grenadiers’ Band in Regents Park. Au Revoir till next week. -HERB MELTON, Kitsilano Boys’ Band -65-
The Delamont family was a very religious family and maybe it is true that rewards come to those who believe. Arthur’s mother never really got over the loss of Leonard and on the anniversary of that fateful day, May 29,1935, at ten to two in the morning, she passed away from complications with sugar diabetes. Arthur made the trip back to be with her and the family. It is said that our time here on earth is orchestrated and we cannot pick our time to die... or can we? John Delamont told his family that he did not want to be around long without his beloved Seraphine. Two weeks to the day after she passed away; John died as well. It was reported in the Above: Arthur and Lillie at the C.P.R. Station on Cordova street in downtown Vancouver. Below: Part of the large crowd at the station to greet the boys and Arthur.
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MUSICAL UPROAR AT C.P.R. STATION Thousands Join In Mighty Tribute
With the skirl of pipes, blaring of brasses and beating of drums, musicians of Greater Vancouver, young and old, paid a mighty tribute today to the 50 Vancouver youngsters - The Kitsilano Boys’ Band - on their return from their triumphant British tour which brought new fame to Vancouver. There was an official reception, too, when the Kettle Valley train puffed into the Canadian Pacific station at 10 am. Acting Mayor G.C. Miller, Chief W.W. Foster, aldermen and other dignitaries were there to do the honours. And there was also a domestic touch as 100 proud mothers and fathers (continued on page 68)
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Salvation Army newspaper War Cry that when John Delamont’s pocket watch was found on the dresser by his bed, it had stopped at precisely ten to two! One afternoon in the fall of 1934 Arthur recieved a letter from England telling him his boys were eligible to play at the Crystal Palace Band Festival in the summer of 1936. They had not been eligible in 1935 because of winning three consecutive first places in a row. So with that in mind, Arthur told a few of his old boys, who came to
visit from time to time, about possibly going to England in 1936. He knew the old boys would tell his current band about his idea and they would soon come to him begging him to take them to England again in 1936. Sure enough, it was’nt long before the boys had met with Arthur and expressed their wishes to return to Engand. “Why we will take the Crystal Palace by storm!”
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(continued from page 67) pushing their way through the huge crowd that blanketed the platform and rotunda, pressed forward to hug and congratulate the sons whom they had not seen for nearly four months. But without doubt, after the official and personal greetings were done with and the first cheers of the crowd had died away, the thing that struck most of the boys was the great assembly of musicians, seven bands in all, that was there. “Gosh, what a lot of bands!” exclaimed one frankly bewithered young hero; and that was about the concensus among Bandmaster A.W. Delamont’s charges. With banners blazoning “Welcome Home,” six of the bands gathered on the station platforms, with the notables and the hundreds of fathers, mothers, friends and well-wishers who had come. The uniforms of the bands created splashes of color and the music, played at fast tempo, created a din that could be heard from another section of the welcoming crowd, who lined the rails of the parking lot overlooking the tracks, and the station ramp, and crowded from the windows of the huge warehouses on Cordova Street. The pipes and drums of the Vancouver Police Pipe band made a typical musical welcome. Present also were the Vancouver Firemen’s Band which marched from No.2 hall, down Seymour Street to the station, the Royal City Junior Boys’ Band, directed by Harry Moss, the Vancouver Girls’ Band and two others.
Above: A section of the huge crowd which packed the Canadian Pacific station this morning to welcome the Kitsilano Boys’ Band on their return from a three-months’ tour of Great Britain. In the foreground is the Vancouver Girls’ Band Above: Right: Roy Johnston, cornet soloist, who has won 17 medals. Above: Left: Bandmaster Arthur W. Delmont
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Above: c1935 The Royal City Junior Band was organized in May 1935 by D.P.Day and C.C.Dingle, and Arthur Delamont. was its Musical Director. When he was away on tour the band was directed by H.L.Moss. This band as well as others played for the homecoming of the Kitsilano Boys’ Band from England in 1936 at the CPR Station downtown. Below: July 1935, Vancouver Girls’ Band to Give Concert Under leadership of A.W. Delamont, bandmaster of the Vancouver Boys’ Band which recently visited the Old Country, 35 members of the coast city’s Girls’ Band, shown above, are in Calgary this week. Having given performances in the Hudson’s Bay Company store Monday and Tuesday mornings, they will play Tuesday evening between the hours of 7:30 and 9 o’clock at St. George’s Island pavilion. Traveling aboard a private car, they expect to return to Vancouver Wednesday.
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Above: c1935 The boys posing for a photo in a park. Below: c1936 West Vancouver Boys’ Band Next Two Pages: 1936 Annual Orpheum concert. (Vancouver Archives Photo)
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On June 25th 1936, Arthur and his boys set out again in two special CPR train cars for another cross Canada tour on their way to Quebec City and the ship that would take them to England. On the train the boys listened to Max Schnelling fighting Joe Louis. Concerts were again played in Kamloops, Revelstoke, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Regina and Winnipeg. In Winnipeg this time, they played before forty-thousand people at Assiniboine Park. Then, they were off to Sudbury and finally Ottawa. Strains of O Canada poured out from under the Peace Tower in Ottawa at eleven-forty on the morning of June 26,1936, inaugurating the first concert by any band to play on the spot. A representative Gordon led his own dance band in the 1940’s. He became Canada’s leading authority on harmonic technique and wrote many books and compositions, many of which have been used in the school systems in both Canada and the USA.
Above: June 13, 1936 CLEVER INSTRUMENTALIST Gordon Delamont. Talented young cornet soloist who will be featured in the farewell broadcast of the Kitsilano Boys’ band Sunday at 1 p.m. over CKWX. The band leaves Monday on a tour of Europe.
Below: c1936 The Empress of Britain docked at Quebec City before departing to England with the band on board.
‘36 Crystal Palace Tour
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Above: c1936 The boys playing on board the Empress of Britain upon arrival in Southhampton. Below: July 7, 1936, the Vancouver Boys’ Band arrived at Southampton on Friday for a three months’ tour of England. This is their second visit to this country and they arrived in London to-day from Yeovil, Somerset, where they gave their first performance. The photo shows them arriving at Waterloo Station, London, to-day from Yeovil.
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Left: The Vancouver Boys’ Band playing as they marched from St. Pauls’ Cathedral to the Mansion House, where they were received by the Lord Mayor. Below: The Vancouver Boys’ band who are on a visit to this country, received at the Mansion House by the Lord Mayor of London Sir Percy Vincent and his daughter, the acting Lady Mayoress.
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of the Ottawa Citizen newspaper paid the boys a visit at the train station, where he found the boys cleaning up after breakfast, wiping tables, and washing and drying dishes.There was a spirit of play through it all as the boys talked and laughed and sang under Lillie’s watchful eye! “My boys are very capable and able to look after themselves. Minor infractions of the rules result in extra detail such as washing dishes and so on but its all in good fun!”
Above: Waiting to meet the Lord Mayor.
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Above: This week marks the close of the band concert season in Dunfermline’s famous Pittencrieff Park, and the Vancouver Boys’ Band, which delighted thousands of visitors two years ago, is supplying the last programme of the season. Photo shows the scene at one of their closing concerts. -78-
Kitsilano Boys’ Band Has Wonderful Reception In Dublin DUBLIN, Sept. 3 In the pavillion of the great lawn, which can accommodate 15,000 people, the famous No.1 Band of the Free State army performs alternately with another famous band specially engaged to come from another country. This year the visiting band was the Vancouver Kitsilano Boys’ Band and throughout the week these youthful musicians made a very profound impression on the thousands who heard them play. While their picturesque dress added a splash of color as they moved about among the great throng during the intervals when they were free.
Wagner, Schubert and Tcshaikowsky. It was the latter music that the remarkable skill of the players made itself apparent. In perfect time, the various instruments seemed to be as one and there was an uniformity of tone that They gave from two to three was singularly striking in so youthdistinct programs every afternoon ful an ensemble. Color, light, shade and in each occaision the lawn were all brought out with a clarity was crowded to hear them. the and smoothness that impressed and climax came, however, between there was expression in every note. 5:30 and 7 when, the jumping This was particularly true of Wagencompetitions over, everybody ers’ “Flying Dutchman” and of the moved to the great lawn and it is same composers introduction to the Third Act of Lohengrin. no exaggeration to say that, between these hours, the Vancouver It was stated that the band proposes Boys’ audience numbered, daily, to enter for the coming Crystal Palapproximately 20,000 who ap- ace Band Contest in which they will plauded loudly the various items meet the best adult bands of Greatand insisted on extras. The lighter Britain. An authority on bands who numbers proved to be the most has attended many of these contests popular but there was also enthu- and who heard the Vancouver Boys’ siastic appreciation for the bands’ Band last week several times, volunplaying of the heavier and much teered the opinion that the Canadian lads should win. more difficult music of -79-
Finally, they reached Quebec City and boarded the ship that would take them to England, the Empress of Britain. “Half past seven, time to get up, breakfast at eight.” ...the porter bellowed the next morning.The boys spent their time on the ship, exploring,writing letters and keeping up with their practising. Once in awhile some of them would sneak into first class, as on one occaision when a large English gentleman grabbed one of three boys by the scruff of the neck, thus interrupting their run down a hallway and declared, “I love to see young Canadian lads growing up!”
Above: On July 2nd, 1936, THE VANCOUVER BOYS’ BAND arrived at Southampton for its second tour of the British Isles and were fully booked from that day until October 3rd - the day of their departure, many engagements being refused owing to the fact the boys had to return to school Below: At the commencement of the tour the band were accorded the high honour of marching through the City of London to the Mansion House playing where Sir Percy Vincent, Rt., the Lord Mayor of London, held a reception in their honour, followed by tea and a short programme of music.
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Above: The band performing on a street somewhere in London. The double decker bus in the background is displaying a concert by the Mills Bros.
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Above: The boys waiting to play at the Royal Dublin Horse Show in Dublin.
Below: The boys greeting Sir Percy Vincent, the Lord Mayor of London upon his return from a visit to Vancouver.
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Above: 1936 The band playing for a large crowd in Morecambe
Below: The boys during a performance at the Brixton Astoria Cinema in London, the first theatre appearance in London on the ‘36 tour. The Mayor and Mayoress of Lambeth plus other city officials are there to greet them and the Mayor calls the boys the AMBASSADORS OF EMPIRE. Next Two Pages: The boys posing with the Mayor of Southport and his wife and daughter.
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He then began reciting poetic verse from the First World War. When he was finished he said, “There,what do you think of that lad?” To which the boy replied, “It’s as good as any we have studied in school sir!” With that, the boy broke loose and ran ahead to join his friends, leaving the gentleman rolling in fits of laughter. When the boy reached his friends, one of them said, “Don’t you know who that was? That was Duncan Campbell Scott, the Great War Poet. He was reciting his own poetry!” On August 5th, Arthur fulfilled his obligation to play at the Royal Dublin Horse Show. In Dublin the papers declared, “Band Stops Dublin traffic!” The morning of their arrival in Dublin, they went to the Mansion House, where they played the Free State and Canadian National Anthems. They were greeted by the Lord Mayor of Dublin to whom Arthur said, “We are honoured to be asked to play in Dublin which is famed for its musical talent.” After Dublin, the boys carried on their tour of England, stopping for engagements in Southport, Morecambe, Dunfermline, Bath, Newberry, London, Shanklin and finally Eastbourne. In London, the boys started final preparation for the contest at the -84-
The band posing for a photo with the Lord Mayor of Southport and his daughter.
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Top Left: Arthur in Mrs. Coutts’ garden, Scotland. Above Right:A little too much leg showing my dear! Left: Arthur in doorway, Scotland.
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Above: c1936 Laying a wreath at Edinburgh Castle War Memorial. Standing next to Arthur is William A. McAdam. the acting Agent General for Canada. On the right is Sir Samuel Chapman (MP)
Crystal Palace and their quest to win the coveted Cassell’s Challenge Shield. The class they had entered was called Junior, meaning less than twenty players. As it was only for brass players, alot of Arthur’s boys went off on their own to visit relatives all over England. Again Arthur had been wrong about the number of competitors. There were not merely thirty but thirty-five and they were all adult bands! When the Kitsie boys walked out on stage at the Crystal Palace, they were met with whispers and a commotion could be heard in the audience. “What’s a band of youngsters doing up on stage? Don’t they know this is for adult bands. The nerve!”
Just as Arthur was about to begin, an announcement was made. “Four o-clock. Time for tea!” The boys could’nt believe their ears. After a brief intermission on the lawn behind the theatre, the boys gritted their teeth and tried to regain their composure. As soon as the boys began to play, there was’nt a whisper to be heard. When it was all over, one Lancastrian remarked, “By goom, these lads wit trombones show up the men as have been playing in t’ contest.” -87-
The boys had to rush off to perform at the Wembley Bicycle Races, so they would not learn until later who had won. In between numbers at Wembley, the boys watched eagerly for signs of Stocky. Finally one of the boys spotted him but he was too far away to see clearly. Soon the boy could see Stocky’s familiar bowler hat tilted to one side. The sign that they had won!
Below Bottom: Two buses that took the boys on their 100 mile tour of Scotland. Below Middle: Marching at Edinburgh Castle. Below Top: Another view of one of their buses showing banner.
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“It is a magnificent band, brilliant in tone, color, technically first rate and sensitive in response.” ....were the adjudicators remarks. Back home the newspapers reported, “Crystal Palace ClimaxOur boys are winning again!”
Above: Vera and Lillie strolling in England.
Below: Arthur and Lillie strolling on a street.
Left: Edinburgh train station, Arthur and Lillie with their booking agent Mr. Sharpe and other dignitaries. LtoR standing, Sir Samuel Chapman, Garry White, Mr.Sharpe, Lillie, Stocky. crouching Mr.MacAdam and Arthur.
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Above: View of the famous Crystal Palace from the North East. Below: The boys at an intermission before their performance in the 31st Annual National Band Festival at the Crystal Palace where they beat out 34 adult bands to take the coveted Cassell’s Challenge Shield. See program at the right on opposite page.
Opposite Top Right: Cover of Festival Program Opposite Top Left: Competing bands for the Cassells Challenge Shield Opposite Bottom: The Crystal Palace, the largest exhibition building in the world in 1936
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“THE CHAMPS” The band that won at the Crystal Palace in London England, beating 35 adult bands. They are pictured above in front of the Victoria Monument, located in front of Buckingham Palace in London, England.
This collection of photos on these two pages is from the 1937 tour to San Francisco, where the band was the only Canadian Band invited to play for the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. While in San Francisco, the boys played on a U.S. Battleship and were guests of the captain and crew at a dinner in their honour. Left: By their bus. Middle Below: A rehearsal. Middle Bottom: A view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Top Right: Band getting ready to march. Middle Right: A float in a parade the boys played . Bottom Right: Arthur with the trophies the band had accumulated to date.
‘37 San Francisco Tour
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One morning in october 1936, Arthur received a letter from California, from the San Francisco Fiesta Commitee. “Mr.Delamont, You are invited to play at the opening ceremonies of the Golden Gate Bridge next year. You will be the only Canadian band performing! Sincerely, Philip H. Shapiro” Arthur and Lillie had entertained moving to San Francisco instead of coming to Vancouver, back in 1920, so they were quite eager to see how it looked! After their performance, Mr. Shapiro said to Arthur,
“Your band was by far the best visiting band in San Francisco Mr. Delamont. All our musicians were greatly surprized that you have such a splendid band and I know if a prize were to be given for the best playing band, yours would have received it!” While in San Francisco, Arthur and the boys were given the honour of being the first Canadian organization to be entertained aboard an American battleship. They participated, as well, in religious ceremonies aboard the USS West Virginia and were dinner guests of the crew.
Headlines back home announced, “History made as Golden Gate Bridge is Opened.” In a letter to the Vancouver Province, Mr. Shapiro said, “The band is the finest and most competent boys band, I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. The boys are excellent musicians and their director has cause to be proud of them.” In 1938, Arthur was approached by civic officials and asked to start bands in several of the schools around Vancouver. Music in the school system in the
Below: Posing for a photo in San Francisco, 1937.
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US, had been in existence for some time but not in Canada, so he gladly obliged! In the fall of 1938, a man by the name of Joe Brown, paid Arthur a visit. The RCMP had decided to set up a concert band, so they sent Mr. Brown to see Arthur and to try to recruit some of his boys. Mr. Brown went away with eight of Arthur’s boys!
BAND DIRECTOR CONGRATULATED ON SUCCESS The members and friends of the Royal City Junior band are proud of the success of their musical director, A.W. Delamont, at the B.C. Musical festival on Saturday when he won first place in three junior band contests as follows: junior bands under 14 years; junior bands under 17 years; junior bands under 21 years. The boys of the band showed their appreciation by a round of applause at the Tuesday practice. The West vancouver band. of which Mr. Delamont is conductor, gained first place in the junior band class winning the Conn Challenge trophy. Their detail was quite superb Arthur Benjamin, the adjudicator said, “ a very fine performance from every point of view. You are already famous for your bands, and have every right to be proud of them.” The British Columbian, May 8, 1937
Below: View of Ocean Beach, San Francisco in 1937 Photo On Next Two Pages: A view of the huge crowd attending the opening celebrations for the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, 1937. The band can be seen in concert in the center of the photo. The Golden Gate Bridge can be seen in the distance.
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Above: c1938 Trumpeter Ross Sturley demonstrates how he will play a trumpet solo when the band appears at the New York Worlds’ Fair in 1939.
Above: c1938 The band posing for a photo on the steps of the Vancouver Court House in downtown Vancouver on Georgia Street.
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Above: June 26, 1938 Phyllis Humphrys, Pete Humphrys and Harold Atkinson.
Above: c1938 Kitsilano High School band posing in front of Kitsilano High School.
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This series of photos shows the 1938 band members on a trip to Newcastle Island. Left: Mr.Delamont on the boat.
Right: Carson “Notorious” Manzer
Left: Bill Radelet, Alan Johnstone, Allan Pugsley, Richard Penn and the “Boss,” Mr. Delamont.
Right: Bill Radelet and Alan Johnstone
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Left: Band at Kiddies Carnival being judged by Calvin Winters. Result - 1st Place
Two photos of the band at Newcastle Island
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Right: Band playing for patients at Essondale.
Above: Band playing at a Brockton Point Peace Rally.
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Below: Bill Radelet
Above: Alan Johnstone
Above: Band party at Mrs. Akroyd’s home.
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Left and Below: Two photos of band at cricket games at Brockton Point.
Two photos of band at Peace Rally at Brockton Point.
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Top: Band playing for the visit of the King to Vancouver in 1939 (Vancouver Archives) Above:Band marching up Burrard Street in 1939. (Vancouver Archives) Following Two Pages: View of huge crowd at the C.P.R. station on Cordova Street to see the band off on its 1939 across Canada tour to the New York World’s Fair and then on to England. -107-
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Left: Kamloops Middle Below: Jimmie the Porter and Company Below: Paul Phillips, Mr. and Mrs. Delamont. Far Right: Bill Radelet and Doug Mowett Right: Don Radelet and Ross Sturley Bottom Far Right: In Toronto, Jimmie the Porter, Don Radelet and Bill. Bottom Right: Don Radelet and Bill Radelet at their home leaving for the train station.
‘39 New York England Tour
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ACROSS CANADA
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c1939 Assiniboine Park band concert in Winnipeg.
Below: Crowd of 40,000 who gathered to hear the boys concert at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg.
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In 1939, Arthur was still looking for something bigger and better to challenge his boys, so he fixed his sights on the New York World’s Fair. But he did’nt stop there! Why not include a trip to the old country as well. The way Arthur figured it, they would already be half way there! In 1939,Vera was sixteen. Although she had gone along on Arthur’s other trips, first as a mascot and then to accompany her mother, this time she wanted to play in the band. Arthur thought about it and decided it wasn’t a bad idea.So, Vera became the bands official majorette and xylophone player. When the band reached New York City, the newspapers declared, “Forty-nine boys and a girl.”
Arthur and the boys played six concerts at the New York Worlds Fair, before departing for England. Arthur had wanted Gordon to come along on this trip but Gordon had married in 1938 and decided to head out on his own to Toronto to form his own dance band. In England the boys were scheduled to play fifteen concerts and give two BBC broadcasts but it never came to be. In Clacton-onSea, on the middle leg of their tour, a crisis developed. One of the boys wrote home, “Everyone rushed for gas masks, air raid precautions and wills!”
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On September 2nd, they had to leave England, from Southampton, under a wartime blackout. On board the ship, the boys played for the other passangers. One of the boys wrote, “We heard we were followed across the Atlantic by a submarine!” After a day at sea, their boat started to zig zag and every eight minutes, it made a complete turn to avoid torpedoes. By the second day at sea, war had been declared and there was great sorrow aboard the the ship when all heard the news. It had been reported back home, that the boys were aboard the Athenia, which had been torpedoed by a German U-Boat. The boys were
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Opposite Page Top: Parc Lafontaine in Montreal on the way to New York. Opposite Page Left: Raymond Paige, popular orchestra leader, gives a hint on conducting to Vera Delamont, “Drum-Major,” and only girl member of the Vancouver Kitsilano Boys’ Band, at its opening concert at the New York World’s Fair. . This Page: Various photos of the 1939 New York Worlds’ Fair.
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Above: Bill Radelet, Norma and Pete Humphrys on board the liner the Duchess of Bedford. Above Right: Meade Sinclair, Paul Jagger, Bill Breally, Pete Humphrys and Tom Woodman. Below: Alan Johnstone, Teenie, Howie, Bill Radelet and Malcolm.
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Top Left: Norma Coffey and Don Radelet. Top: Norman Goodwin, Bill Radelet, Alan Johnstone and Martin Goodwin on the deck of the Emress of Britain on the bands return. Left: The american kids the boys met going over. They were all on the Athenia when it was sunk by a German U-Boat on their return home. Below Left: Pete Humphry, Don Radelet and friend.
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Top Left: Bill Radelet, Pete Humphrys, Alan Johnstone and Don Radelet. Left: Chuck Conolly and two waiters Middle Left: Dan Dougherty, Don., Pete, John Carruthers with Albert the page-boy. Bottom Left: Marvin Cres., Jack Ballentyne and Wally Reid Above: Don with lifejacket. Right: Don with English haircut. Below Right: Don Radelet and Pete Humphrys. Below: Just after getting off the boat in Liverpool.
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Above: July 14, 1939 Canada’s Weekly, London England. Canadian College Boys’ Band The 48 college boys, forming the Vancouver Boys’ Band, arrived on July 8 at Liverpool in the Canadian Pacific Liner “ Duchess of Bedford “ in the charge of Mr. Arthur W. Delamont on a three months visit to this country. Below: Tea with the Mayor of Birkenhead.
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actually aboard the Empress of Britain but because of the wartime blackout, no one could wire their whereabouts back home. Back home, their tour cut short by two months, the boys were fighting mad. Some of the boys said, “I’m so mad, I could join the army myself.” “There sure is no place like home.” “Darn Hitler anyway, I was enjoying myself.” A reporter approached one of the younger boys and ask him what he thought about what had happened. He replied, “Today I am a man!” Above: July 11, 1939 A sixteen year old Vera Delamont sipping tea in a London restaurant.
Above: Marching down a street in Coventry, England. - 121 -
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Previous Page: The Marquee on the Shakespeare Theatre reads Vancouver Boys’ Band, 50 performers. Left:The Canadian Caledonia Club.. Middle: Sight seeing in Rhyles, Wales. Bottom : Rhyle, Wales. Right: Mr.D and boy in Scotland. Middle Right: Band posing for photo at Victoria Monument, in front of Buckingham Palace, London. Bottom Right: Marching through Clacton-on-Sea..
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Above: In concert at the New Hippodrome Theatre in Coventry
Above: Marching in the Clacton-on-Sea Carnival Parade
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Above: The scene in St. Mary’s Hall yesterday afternoon, when the Mayor of Coventry ( Alderman S. Stringer), accorded the Vancouver Boys’ Band a civic welcome after their march through the center of the city.
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Above: The boys in Bath. Right: The band at Port Sunlight at Birkenhead. Below: The band on a monument.
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Top Left: Don Radelet at Southport seaside resort. Top Right:The boys in Worthing. Bottom: Vera the majorette, leading a procession.
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Above: Leaving England. View of Stocky, the bands manager, in center.
Above: The boys last concert in England at Clacton-on-Sea before war was declared. - 130 -
Above: The Empress of Britain in the harbour at Southampton. The boys would take the Empress home but not until after a run down the coast of Africa, zigzagging all the way to avoid German U-Boats. Their parents back home, thought the boys had left England on the Athenia, which was later reported sunk by a German U-Boat. The boys had been re-routed by some quick thinking on Arthur’s part, to Southampton and boarded the Empress of Britain instead but were unable to wire home to let anyone know of their whereabouts due to a wartime blackout. Following double page photo spread: Some of the boys can be seen on the deck of the Empress of Britain as she waits to leave Southampton. Note on the dockside, the sandbags around the gun emplacements. Second double page photo spread: View of Empress at sea guarded by a convoy and planes. - 131 -
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Above: Royal Air Force Balloon barrage.
Above: The Kitsilano Boys’ Band of Vancouver, 50 strong, returning home from a triumphal tour of Great Britain, stopped off for a short time in Winnipeg this morning. Above are eight of the boys, who were up in time to greet the photographer. Left to right, Wally Marsh, Bill Radelet, Pete Humphrys, Don Radelet, Bob Vernon, Allan Pugsley, John Carruthers, Carson Manzer. Most relieved man aboard when the Empress of Britain entered the safety of the St. Lawrence river was Bandmaster Arthur W. Delamont, himself a survivor of the Empress of Ireland disaster in 1914. He was directly responsible for the welfare of his young bandsmen. - 136 -
Kitsilano Boys’ Band received a warm and tumultuous welcome this morning when they arrived home from England. Top, left to right, Arthur Delamont, leader, takes time out to be snapped, while a crowd of happy, laughing mothers and fathers greet the happy adventurers. They smile while one of the boys greets “a close friend.” Lower, left. Ron Ptolmey, 14, youngest member of the band, greets his mother, Mrs. W.S. Ptolmey. Dad looks on with gratitude and pleasure. Right, “Hiya, kid, how are you?” is the greeting as Bud is hoisted up by his big brother, one of the heroes of the day who has been overseas. - 137 -