Band History
Lewis-Merthyr Band has a long and illustrious history. The band is understood to be the oldest instrumental ensemble of its kind in Rhondda Cynon Taf, a band being in existence in Cymmer in or before 1855.
The band has performed for Royalty (parading through the streets for the visit of His Majesty King George V and Queen Mary to Rhondda in 1912, and HRH Edward, Prince of Wales - later King Edward VIII - in 1932). It has also, throughout its history, performed alongside numerous stars of stage and screen, including "Signor Foli" (Allan James Foley) in the late 1800's, Sir Geraint Evans, Glyn Houston and more recently Sir Bryn Terfel, Owain Arwel Hughes CBE & more. The band will also forever be proudly linked with the collieries, mineworkers and communities who founded us.
While detailed information regarding the current band can be found in the About and News sections of the website, extensive research into the early history of the Cymmer Colliery / Cymmer Military and Lewis-Merthyr Band is currently being undertaken and will be explored in depth, together with external partners.
Information the band is aware of to date can be found below. If anyone has any additional information, documents or artefacts pertaining to the Lewis Merthyr, Cymmer Colliery, Cymmer Military, Hafod Rechabite or Porth Fife & Drum Band, please contact us here
The band has performed for Royalty (parading through the streets for the visit of His Majesty King George V and Queen Mary to Rhondda in 1912, and HRH Edward, Prince of Wales - later King Edward VIII - in 1932). It has also, throughout its history, performed alongside numerous stars of stage and screen, including "Signor Foli" (Allan James Foley) in the late 1800's, Sir Geraint Evans, Glyn Houston and more recently Sir Bryn Terfel, Owain Arwel Hughes CBE & more. The band will also forever be proudly linked with the collieries, mineworkers and communities who founded us.
While detailed information regarding the current band can be found in the About and News sections of the website, extensive research into the early history of the Cymmer Colliery / Cymmer Military and Lewis-Merthyr Band is currently being undertaken and will be explored in depth, together with external partners.
Information the band is aware of to date can be found below. If anyone has any additional information, documents or artefacts pertaining to the Lewis Merthyr, Cymmer Colliery, Cymmer Military, Hafod Rechabite or Porth Fife & Drum Band, please contact us here
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Research To Date
While the band was for many years thought to have been founded in 1880 (and indeed the centenary was widely celebrated in 1980, with the recording "Centennial Brass" even being released that year) recent research dates the band back as far as at least 1855.
The present day Lewis Merthyr Band, we now understand is the product of the merger of at least two antecedent bands, Lewis Merthyr itself and also the Cymmer Colliery Band. Cymmer we know was active as early as 1855, and a link to a newspaper article of May 26th that year is included below.
Both the Cymmer and Lewis Merthyr collieries had their own bands, and Cymmer indeed was particularly prominent during the early years, as is outlined in the additional newspaper articles below and Pathe newsreel footage of the band performing for HRH The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, in 1932. The band had also performed for the visit of His Majesty King George V and Queen Mary in 1912, photographs of which are available here
The present day Lewis Merthyr Band, we now understand is the product of the merger of at least two antecedent bands, Lewis Merthyr itself and also the Cymmer Colliery Band. Cymmer we know was active as early as 1855, and a link to a newspaper article of May 26th that year is included below.
Both the Cymmer and Lewis Merthyr collieries had their own bands, and Cymmer indeed was particularly prominent during the early years, as is outlined in the additional newspaper articles below and Pathe newsreel footage of the band performing for HRH The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, in 1932. The band had also performed for the visit of His Majesty King George V and Queen Mary in 1912, photographs of which are available here
The war years took their toll on both the bands and the collieries who supported them, however they remained active, and photographs of the band performing at the dedication of a memorial stone to the Fallen of the First World War atop Cymmer Mountain in 1919 is available here.
By the Second World War, Cymmer Colliery had all but merged with Lewis Merthyr. After ceasing production in 1939, Cymmer was thereafter used by the Powell Dyffryn company for pumping to safeguard nearby Lewis Merthyr, until the closure of that colliery finally came in 1983. In 1988 however, the Lewis Merthyr site was reopened as the Rhondda Heritage Park visitor centre, and remains a leading tourist attraction to this day. The band played for the opening of the Heritage Park and maintains a close connection to the facility.
James Martyn was the conductor of the Cymmer Band from 1939/40 through to 1942, following in the footsteps of Richard Martyn, who led and played with the band for a period of 42 years. After James Martyn relocated to the South of England, we now know that directorship of the band was then taken up by Charles Victor Woosnam. The below excerpt from the autobiography of his son Clive confirms this, and outlines the merger of the Cymmer and Lewis Merthyr Bands:
"My father, Charles Victor Woosnam, was a licentiate of the Tonic Sol-fa College and was an accomplished musician. He was a trombonist and conductor of the Wattstown Colliery Band, then the Cymmer Colliery Silver Band, and finally the Lewis Merthyr Colliery Band. He also played the organ and piano at our chapel, where he was Chapel Secretary and chief organiser once we lost our resident minister, and he also conducted the chapel choir in the Anniversary. In the middle room of our house in Porth we had a piano, and in the front parlour we had the beautifully ornate harmonium made in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. During WWII he was an air-raid warden and was a captain in the St John Ambulance.
My father conducted the St John Ambulance Band of Wales, but it seems unlikely that they would have met too frequently. On one such occasion, he told me that he shook hands with the Prince of Wales, and kept the white glove he was wearing as a special memento. There
was an Ynyshir St John Ambulance Band that took part in the Bridgwater Band Festival of 1939. The conductor is unknown, but could well have been Dad.
At the end of the war there were many street celebrations, some of which involved the Cymmer Band. I was very proud of the way my father led the band in marches through Porth, throwing the baton in the air and catching it without breaking stride. Marjorie and I occasionally went to Pontypridd’s Ynysyngharad Park to support the band, and loved going to Bronwydd Park on Sunday evenings to listen and watch. The children’s
playground at the park was padlocked on a Sunday, as children were meant to be in chapel, not playing on the swings, seesaws and roundabouts, but the band was considered more than mere entertainment. My favourite piece of theirs was ‘Miller in the Glade’ in which
close family friend Will Syvrett played the bird whistle. I often attended band practices in the rehearsal room in Cymmer. There were very few bearded men around in those days but just about every dignitary shown in the photographic portraits on the wall sported an
enormous hairy growth. I’ve been told that Dad arranged some of the music and hand-wrote the parts for individual instruments. He also composed new melodies for some pieces such as ‘The Morning Bright With Rosy Light’ for use in chapel.
My father conducted the Cymmer Colliery Silver Band until after the end of WWII. The colliery itself closed in 1939 but the band retained its old title. The colliery was still used to pump water from the nearby Lewis Merthyr Colliery in Trehafod. Dad moved to work at Lewis Merthyr and the decision was made to re-name the band, Lewis Merthyr Band.
With the re-naming came an expectation of an improvement in standards and greater emphasis on competitions. Oliver Jones was anxious to take over the band and Dad, with his failing health, relinquished his position as conductor in 1949, having already retired from
the mining industry".
Oliver Jones was to remain associated with the band for another 18 years, and under his baton the band enjoyed considerable success, including winning the National Championships of Great Britain Third Section title in 1950, and the Second Section National title in 1951. Lewis Merthyr then remained a Class A Band from then on, and in 1963 won the Class A Welsh Championships, again under the baton of Oliver Jones, at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, performing Wagner's "Overture: Rienzi".
Lewis Merthyr has enjoyed considerable contest, concert and broadcasting success throughout the following decades. The band won the Welsh Championships again in 1969 under Stanley Williams on George Bailey's "Diadem of Gold", and once more in 1984 under Denzil Stephens on Howard Snell's arrangement of Hector Berlioz' "Overture: Waverley". Photographs of Stanley Williams conducting the band in concert at the Royal Albert Hall on St David's Day in 1970 are also held in the band's collection, and are available online here
The band enjoyed numerous further contest successes in Wales and wider over the years, as it continues to do to this day. It achieved the pinnacle of contest success however when Lewis Merthyr represented Wales as National Champions at the European Championships, held at the the Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark in 1985. There the band was again conducted by Denzil Stephens, and performed George Lloyd's "Royal Parks" and Gilbert Vinter's "James Cook: Circumnavigator", taking their place alongside such world renowned bands as Yorkshire's famous Black Dyke, Norway's Eikanger & Stavanger, the Netherlands' Soli Deo Gloria and more. The full contesting history of both Lewis Merthyr and Cymmer Colliery can be found on the brassbandresults website here
The 1980's were a period of not only contesting success, but also of incredible musical innovation, recording and broadcasting achievements. Under the baton of Nigel Seaman, this period saw Lewis Merthyr work alongside some of the leading composers of the time, including John Golland, Peter Graham, Goff Richards and the prominent Welsh orchestral composer Mervyn Burtch, and indeed the band remains a champion of new music and leading concert performance to this day.
Details of the band's numerous broadcasts, commissioned works and discography to date can be found on the respective pages of the website by clicking the links in the text below, or in the website's main menu.
Details of the band's recent activities can be found in the News section of the site, while Images of the current band, Historical Images, Video, Vintage Video and Audio can all be found in the Media section of the website here
Further detailed information on the history of the band, including links to historical newspaper articles from the early years of the bands and related articles are available below. For a timeline of the band's development, detailing the various eminent Conductors the band has worked with over the years, click here or for a concise precis of the history of Lewis Merthyr Band for use in programmes or promotional material, click here
Diolch yn fawr am eich diddordeb - Thank you for your interest in Lewis Merthyr Band
By the Second World War, Cymmer Colliery had all but merged with Lewis Merthyr. After ceasing production in 1939, Cymmer was thereafter used by the Powell Dyffryn company for pumping to safeguard nearby Lewis Merthyr, until the closure of that colliery finally came in 1983. In 1988 however, the Lewis Merthyr site was reopened as the Rhondda Heritage Park visitor centre, and remains a leading tourist attraction to this day. The band played for the opening of the Heritage Park and maintains a close connection to the facility.
James Martyn was the conductor of the Cymmer Band from 1939/40 through to 1942, following in the footsteps of Richard Martyn, who led and played with the band for a period of 42 years. After James Martyn relocated to the South of England, we now know that directorship of the band was then taken up by Charles Victor Woosnam. The below excerpt from the autobiography of his son Clive confirms this, and outlines the merger of the Cymmer and Lewis Merthyr Bands:
"My father, Charles Victor Woosnam, was a licentiate of the Tonic Sol-fa College and was an accomplished musician. He was a trombonist and conductor of the Wattstown Colliery Band, then the Cymmer Colliery Silver Band, and finally the Lewis Merthyr Colliery Band. He also played the organ and piano at our chapel, where he was Chapel Secretary and chief organiser once we lost our resident minister, and he also conducted the chapel choir in the Anniversary. In the middle room of our house in Porth we had a piano, and in the front parlour we had the beautifully ornate harmonium made in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. During WWII he was an air-raid warden and was a captain in the St John Ambulance.
My father conducted the St John Ambulance Band of Wales, but it seems unlikely that they would have met too frequently. On one such occasion, he told me that he shook hands with the Prince of Wales, and kept the white glove he was wearing as a special memento. There
was an Ynyshir St John Ambulance Band that took part in the Bridgwater Band Festival of 1939. The conductor is unknown, but could well have been Dad.
At the end of the war there were many street celebrations, some of which involved the Cymmer Band. I was very proud of the way my father led the band in marches through Porth, throwing the baton in the air and catching it without breaking stride. Marjorie and I occasionally went to Pontypridd’s Ynysyngharad Park to support the band, and loved going to Bronwydd Park on Sunday evenings to listen and watch. The children’s
playground at the park was padlocked on a Sunday, as children were meant to be in chapel, not playing on the swings, seesaws and roundabouts, but the band was considered more than mere entertainment. My favourite piece of theirs was ‘Miller in the Glade’ in which
close family friend Will Syvrett played the bird whistle. I often attended band practices in the rehearsal room in Cymmer. There were very few bearded men around in those days but just about every dignitary shown in the photographic portraits on the wall sported an
enormous hairy growth. I’ve been told that Dad arranged some of the music and hand-wrote the parts for individual instruments. He also composed new melodies for some pieces such as ‘The Morning Bright With Rosy Light’ for use in chapel.
My father conducted the Cymmer Colliery Silver Band until after the end of WWII. The colliery itself closed in 1939 but the band retained its old title. The colliery was still used to pump water from the nearby Lewis Merthyr Colliery in Trehafod. Dad moved to work at Lewis Merthyr and the decision was made to re-name the band, Lewis Merthyr Band.
With the re-naming came an expectation of an improvement in standards and greater emphasis on competitions. Oliver Jones was anxious to take over the band and Dad, with his failing health, relinquished his position as conductor in 1949, having already retired from
the mining industry".
Oliver Jones was to remain associated with the band for another 18 years, and under his baton the band enjoyed considerable success, including winning the National Championships of Great Britain Third Section title in 1950, and the Second Section National title in 1951. Lewis Merthyr then remained a Class A Band from then on, and in 1963 won the Class A Welsh Championships, again under the baton of Oliver Jones, at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, performing Wagner's "Overture: Rienzi".
Lewis Merthyr has enjoyed considerable contest, concert and broadcasting success throughout the following decades. The band won the Welsh Championships again in 1969 under Stanley Williams on George Bailey's "Diadem of Gold", and once more in 1984 under Denzil Stephens on Howard Snell's arrangement of Hector Berlioz' "Overture: Waverley". Photographs of Stanley Williams conducting the band in concert at the Royal Albert Hall on St David's Day in 1970 are also held in the band's collection, and are available online here
The band enjoyed numerous further contest successes in Wales and wider over the years, as it continues to do to this day. It achieved the pinnacle of contest success however when Lewis Merthyr represented Wales as National Champions at the European Championships, held at the the Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark in 1985. There the band was again conducted by Denzil Stephens, and performed George Lloyd's "Royal Parks" and Gilbert Vinter's "James Cook: Circumnavigator", taking their place alongside such world renowned bands as Yorkshire's famous Black Dyke, Norway's Eikanger & Stavanger, the Netherlands' Soli Deo Gloria and more. The full contesting history of both Lewis Merthyr and Cymmer Colliery can be found on the brassbandresults website here
The 1980's were a period of not only contesting success, but also of incredible musical innovation, recording and broadcasting achievements. Under the baton of Nigel Seaman, this period saw Lewis Merthyr work alongside some of the leading composers of the time, including John Golland, Peter Graham, Goff Richards and the prominent Welsh orchestral composer Mervyn Burtch, and indeed the band remains a champion of new music and leading concert performance to this day.
Details of the band's numerous broadcasts, commissioned works and discography to date can be found on the respective pages of the website by clicking the links in the text below, or in the website's main menu.
Details of the band's recent activities can be found in the News section of the site, while Images of the current band, Historical Images, Video, Vintage Video and Audio can all be found in the Media section of the website here
Further detailed information on the history of the band, including links to historical newspaper articles from the early years of the bands and related articles are available below. For a timeline of the band's development, detailing the various eminent Conductors the band has worked with over the years, click here or for a concise precis of the history of Lewis Merthyr Band for use in programmes or promotional material, click here
Diolch yn fawr am eich diddordeb - Thank you for your interest in Lewis Merthyr Band
The Cymmer Band
Below can be found an in depth history of The Cymmer Band compiled by Gaynor Howard, a member of the Insole Court Research Group and former Director of Music at Howell's School, Llandaff (1971 to 1989)
Here also is the plan of the original bandroom at Cymmer, dated 1907
Research Sources
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Early Newspaper Articles Newspaper articles relating to Lewis-Merthyr Band and its various antecedents from 1855 onwards 23rd August 1845 Treforest Brass Band The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian Glamorgan Monmouth and Brecon Gazette 8th August 1846 Treforest & Cyfartha Bands Linked The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian Glamorgan Monmouth and Brecon Gazette 26th May 1855 Cymmer Brass Band The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian Glamorgan Monmouth and Brecon Gazette 24th August 1866 Fife & Drum Band The Cardiff Times 9th March 1867 Mr E. Oke - Schoolmaster The Cardiff Times 30th May 1868 Mr Oke - Schoolmaster The Cardiff Times 20th March 1869 Temperance Drum & Fife Band The Cardiff Times 11th September 1869 Porth Drum & Fife Band The Cardiff Times 7th June 1873 Llantrisant Band - R. Martyn The Cardiff Times 6th July 1877 Temperance Drum & Fife Band - Mr Oke The Cardiff Times 28th September 1877 Fife & Drum Band Y Gwladgarwr 4th January 1878 Porth Fife & Drum Band Y Gwladgarwr 24th May 1879 Cymmer Brass Band - Mr J. Prestwood The Cardiff Times 16th July 1879 Porth Brass Band South Wales News 17th July 1880 Cymmer Brass Band - Mr Prestwood The Weekly News 24th July 1880 Cymmer Brass Band - Mr Prestwood The Weekly Mail 6th August 1880 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - Mr Priesthood South Wales Daily News 18th September 1880 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - Mr Prestwood South Wales Daily News 1st September 1885 Workmen's Trip to Porthcawl - Mr Martyn South Wales Daily News 13th November 1885 Torchlight Procession South Wales Echo 16th August 1889 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band Barry Dock News 18th July 1890 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band Presentation of marble clock to Mr R Martyn Barry Dock News 20th April 1891 First Meeting SWBBA - Treasurer Mr M. J. Martin Evening Express 24th April 1891 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - Mr Martyn Barry Dock News 6th October 1891 Cymmer Colliery Band - Mr R. Martyn Aberaman Brass Band - Mr J. Prestwood South Wales Daily News 28th November 1891 Opening of Porth Town Hall South Wales Daily News 9th December 1893 Cymmer Brass Band The Cardiff Times 3rd February 1894 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - Signor Foli - Richard Martyn South Wales Daily News *Article on Signor Foli 20th October 1894 Cymmer Drum & Fife Band - Mr Lewis Davies South Wales Daily News 18th January 1895 Cymmer Drum & Fife Band - Concert Programme The Glamorgan Gazette 10th June 1895 Hafod Rechabite Brass Band South Wales Daily News 15th January 1896 Hafod Rechabite Brass Band South Wales Daily News August 18th 1897 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band The Scranton Tribune, Pennsylvania, USA 4th September 1897 New Porth Drum & Fife Band - Mr J. Boundy Glamorgan Free Press 2nd November 1897 Cymmer Brass Band South Wales Echo 2nd November 1897 Cymmer Brass Band South Wales Daily News 6th November 1897 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band Glamorgan Free Press 11th November 1897 Trehafod Rechabite Brass Band Tarian Y Gweithiwr 24th September 1898 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - Mr Martyn Glamorgan Free Press 15th January 1898 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - Mr Richard Martyn Glamorgan Free Press 16th December 1899 Porth Town Brass Band Town Band recently reformed; reservists called to arms The Rhondda Leader 21st July 1900 Lewis-Merthyr Band Evening Express 28th December 1901 Lewis-Merthyr Band - W. R. Dawson Evening Express 19th January 1902 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - Richard Martyn Rhondda Leader 4th May 1903 Lewis-Merthyr Band - First Prize Evening Express 3rd August 1903 Lewis-Merthyr Band - Mr Dawson Evening Express 5th August 1903 Lewis-Merthyr Band - First Prize Evening Express 19th September 1903 Lewis-Merthyr Band - 2nd Prize Rhondda Leader 30th July 1904 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - Richard Martyn Rhondda Leader 29th July 1905 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - George F. Martyn The Rhondda Leader 2nd September 1905 Cymmer Brass Band The Rhondda Leader 7th June 1906 Lewis-Merthyr Band Evening Express 3rd March 1906 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band Rhondda Leader 9th June 1906 Lewis-Merthyr Band - 2nd Prize The Aberdare Leader 23rd June 1906 Cymmer Colliery Band Rhondda Leader 18th August 1906 Cymmer Colliery Band - Illuminated Address to Richard Martyn Rhondda Leader 1st October 1906 Lewis-Merthyr Band - Mr J. Locker; Grand Shield Evening Express 6th October 1906 Lewis-Merthyr Band - Mr. J. Locket Weekly Mail 5th January 1907 Cymmer Colliery Band - G. F. Martyn - Boxing Day Concert The Rhondda Leader 9th February 1907 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - G. F. Martyn Library Fundraising Concert Review 15th June 1907 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - G. F. Martyn Detailed Concert Review The Rhondda Leader 22nd February 1908 Cymmer Colliery Band - New Instruments Fundraising Concerts Announcement The Rhondda Leader 29th February 1908 Lewis-Merthyr Band - Mr. John Locker The Cardiff Times 21st March 1908 Cymmer Colliery Band - New Instruments Detailed Concert Review The Rhondda Leader 18th April 1908 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band - G. F. Martyn Parade Review The Rhondda Leader 6th July 1908 Lewis-Merthyr Band - First Prize - Adjudicator Bribery Evening Express 11th July 1908 Lewis-Merthyr Band - 1st Prize - Mr J. Locker The Rhondda Leader Lewis-Merthyr Band - 4th Prize - Mr. J. Locker Aberdare Leader 24th October 1908 Cymmer Colliery Band - Concert - Mr J. F. Martyn The Rhondda Leader 28th November 1908 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band Presentation of silver mounted baton to Mr G. Martyn The Rhondda Leader 9th January 1909 The Cymmer Band - New Year's Eve Concert Rhondda Leader Maesteg Garw and Ogmore Telegraph 21st May 1910 Cymmer Colliery Brass Band Obituary, Mr Richard Martyn Rhondda Leader Maesteg Garw and Ogmore Telegraph 29th October 1910 Cymmer Band Obituary, Mr S. Fudge, Conductor Rhondda Leader Maesteg Garw and Ogmore Telegraph 24th February 1912 Cymmer Colliery Military Band - Mr G. F. Martyn Detailed Concert Report The Rhondda Leader 22nd June 1912 Cymmer Colliery Military Band Rhondda Leader 7th December 1912 Lewis-Merthyr Band - Mr A. O. Foxhall Rhondda Leader 6th September 1913 Lewis Merthyr and Cymmer Colliery Bands Crystal Palace, London The Aberdare Leader 27th June 1914 Cymmer Military Band - Military Funeral The Rhondda Leader April 1916 March: The Devil's Own - J. V. Martyn (Pg 18) The Breconian *Up to Pg 8 search results |
Additional Links Photographs A series of photographs of the band throughout the past 150 years www.lewismerthyrband.com/historical images Photographs of the current band can be found at www.lewismerthyrband.com/images Conductors Timeline of the band's conductors from 1870 to present day www.lewismerthyrband.com/conductors Recordings Archive Video Recordings www.lewismerthyrband.com/video Archive Audio Recordings www.lewismerthyrband.com/audio Broadcasts Archived BBC Recordings - Lewis-Merthyr Band genome.ch.bbc.co.uk BBC Broadcast - Cymmer Colliery Military Band 17th August 1939 genome.ch.bbc.co.uk BBC Broadcast - Cymmer Colliery Military Band 30th July 1927 genome.ch.bbc.co.uk Cymmer Colliery Bandroom Plans of the Current Bandroom, March 1907 calmview.cardiff.gov.uk Competition Results Archives Lewis Merthyr / Cymmer Colliery Band brassbandresults.co.uk/bands/lewis-merthyr-band Trehafod Band brassbandresults.co.uk/bands/trehafod National Championships of Great Britain 8 Championship Section Appearances - Royal Albert Hall, London Source: National Brass Band Archive www.nationalbrassbandarchive.com The Daily Herald National Brass Band Championships Royal Albert Hall, London Championship Section - One Thousand Guinea Challenge Trophy Saturday 27th October 1956 Test Piece: Festival Music, Eric Ball Conductor: Oliver Jones, Draw 6 Champions: Black Dyke Mills, Major G. H. Willcocks The Daily Herald National Brass Band Championships Royal Albert Hall, London Championship Section - One Thousand Guinea Challenge Trophy Saturday 26th October 1957 Test Piece: Variations For Brass Band, Ralph Vaughan Williams Conductor: Oliver Jones, Draw 7 Champions: Munn & Feltons, S. H. Boddington The Daily Herald National Brass Band Championships Royal Albert Hall, London Championship Section - One Thousand Guinea Challenge Trophy Saturday 24th October 1959 Test Piece: Le Roi D'Ys, Edouard Lalo / Arr. Frank Wright Conductor: Oliver Jones, Draw 22 Champions: Black Dyke Mills, Major G. H. Willcocks The Daily Herald National Brass Band Championships Royal Albert Hall, London Championship Section - One Thousand Guinea Challenge Trophy Saturday 15th October 1960 Test Piece: Three Figures, Herbert Howells Conductor: Oliver Jones, Draw 2 Champions: Munn & Feltons, S. H. Boddington The People National Brass Band Championships Royal Albert Hall, London Championship Section - One Thousand Guinea Challenge Trophy Saturday 12th October 1968 Test Piece: Prelude to "The Maestersingers", Richard Wagner / Arr. Frank Wright Conductor: Oliver Jones, Draw 18 Champions: Black Dyke Mills, Geoffrey Brand The People National Brass Band Championships Royal Albert Hall, London Championship Section - One Thousand Guinea Challenge Trophy Saturday 11th October 1969 Test Piece: High Peak, Eric Ball Conductor: S. Williams Champions: Brighouse & Rastrick, W. B. Hargreaves The National Brass Band Championships Sponsored by Barclays Bank PLC Royal Albert Hall, London Championship Section - One Thousand Guinea Challenge Trophy Saturday 3rd October 1981 Test Piece: Blitz, Derek Bourgeois Conductor: N. Seaman, Draw 15 Champions: Black Dyke Mills, Major Peter Parkes The National Brass Band Championships Sponsored by Barclays Bank PLC Royal Albert Hall, London Championship Section - One Thousand Guinea Challenge Trophy Sunday 7th October 1984 Test Piece: Dances & Arias, Edward Gregson Conductor: Denzil Stephens, Draw 8 Champions: The Cory Band, Major A. H. Kenney Brass Band News Items Archive 4barsrest.com Collieries
External links to some further information on the Cymmer and Lewis Merthyr collieries can be found in the links below, while some images of the collieries can be found at
www.lewismerthyrband.com/the-collieries Should you have any additional images of the collieries not currently included on the page, please contact us here 
Martyn Music
The Martyn Family had a long association with Lewis-Merthyr antecedent the Cymmer Colliery Military Band. Richard & George Martyn conducted the band for a period of 44 years from 1882 to 1926 with other family members also playing in the band. The band is currently searching for manuscripts and works composed or arranged by the family, whose output was known to be prolific. Should you have any information on any music by any of the Martyn family, please contact us here The Devil's Own The Devil's Own is a march composed by Mr J. V. Martyn, referenced on Pg 18 of The Breconian, April 1916 below. The band would be very interested in sourcing a set of the march. If anyone has any information on the music, please contact us here March: Pendine - R. Martyn
The popular brass band march Pendine, composed R. Martyn and performed here by the GUS Footwear Band. Could the R. Martyn in question be Richard...? Selection from Ballet Russe
Composed by A. Luigini, this is another work arranged by R. Martyn, a selection from Ballet Russe, performed here by the now defunct CWS Manchester Band. The work is a short suite in three movements: I) Czardas II) Valse Lente III) March Russe and a copy of the Solo Cornet part is included below. Again, could this be Richard Martyn of Cymmer Colliery...? R. Martyn, Arranger
So who was the arranger R. Martyn? The R. in fact stood not for Richard but for Ray. "Ray Martyn" has over 780 compositions and arrangements credited to him. The March: Pendine is published by Josef Weinberger, who also publish Ballet Russe, though the latter is also published by Fred Benson Ltd. While the Benson edition is credited to "Ray Martyn", the Weinberger is credited "Luigini, Arr. Mortimer". Ray Martyn was in fact a working name for the great Harry Mortimer CBE. Our search for music by the Cymmer Martyn family itself continues. If anyone has any information on the music of the Martyn Family, please contact us here Retirement of Mr G. F. Martyn
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Current Research
Research continues into the National Library of Wales newspaper archive and also the Brass Band News archives at the University of Salford, search results from which can be accessed here for Cymmer & Porth. Updates on resultant research will be posted in due course.
If you are aware of any additional articles relating to the band, not listed above, then please contact us here
Research continues into the National Library of Wales newspaper archive and also the Brass Band News archives at the University of Salford, search results from which can be accessed here for Cymmer & Porth. Updates on resultant research will be posted in due course.
If you are aware of any additional articles relating to the band, not listed above, then please contact us here
Additional Information
Additional information on historical broadcasts by the Lewis-Merthyr and Cymmer Colliery Military Band can be found in the Broadcasts section of the website here while information on the band's commissioning history, close association with a number of eminent composers for band and premiere performances of the works can be found in the Commissions section of the website here
Audio and Video footage of the band, plus a series of images of Lewis-Merthyr Band, both current and archive can also be found in their respective sections of the Gallery section of the website here
If you have any information or items of interest pertaining to the history of Lewis-Merthyr Band, its antecedents or the Lewis-Merthyr and Cymmer Collieries, please contact us here
Additional information on historical broadcasts by the Lewis-Merthyr and Cymmer Colliery Military Band can be found in the Broadcasts section of the website here while information on the band's commissioning history, close association with a number of eminent composers for band and premiere performances of the works can be found in the Commissions section of the website here
Audio and Video footage of the band, plus a series of images of Lewis-Merthyr Band, both current and archive can also be found in their respective sections of the Gallery section of the website here
If you have any information or items of interest pertaining to the history of Lewis-Merthyr Band, its antecedents or the Lewis-Merthyr and Cymmer Collieries, please contact us here
External Information of Interest
Rhondda Heritage Park
The former Lewis Merthyr Colliery, now "The Welsh Mining Experience - Rhondda Heritage Park"
Introductory Video
Insole Court
Mansion House of Cymmer Colliery founder, James Henry Insole
Francis Crawshay
Private Works Band, Treforest
Ty Crawshay
Possible link to works band?
NT Wales
NTW article on Rhondda History
Rhondda Heritage Park
The former Lewis Merthyr Colliery, now "The Welsh Mining Experience - Rhondda Heritage Park"
Introductory Video
Insole Court
Mansion House of Cymmer Colliery founder, James Henry Insole
Francis Crawshay
Private Works Band, Treforest
Ty Crawshay
Possible link to works band?
NT Wales
NTW article on Rhondda History
Contributors
The band would like to express their thanks to the following individuals for their assistance and hard work in researching and contributing to the history of the Lewis-Merthyr Band - Diolch yn fawr i chi gyd
Paul Williams
Craig Roberts
Ivor England
Fran Hughes
Gavin Holman
Gaynor Howard
Muriel Martyn
Anne Taylor
