THIS was the band of the 6th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, the local territorial unit.
It drew its recruits from the Keighley, Skipton and Bingley area, at the time of its post-war revival in 1924.
Several bandsmen have not yet been issued with uniforms.
A note on the back of the original print names the bandmaster as “Mr Metcalfe, Skipton”.
This band played the national anthem which opened what has possibly been the best-attended ceremony ever held in Keighley – the dedication and unveiling of the war memorial late in 1924, watched by upwards of 25,000.
The battalion’s training camp that summer was based on Ramsey on the Isle of Man, culminating in an elaborate brigade exercise involving both the invasion and defence of ‘Manxland’. This was felt to provide “a most instructive experience” for officers and men.
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