Westerham Town Band in living memory 2 - 1918 to 1920

On January 15 1910 the vicar Sydney Le Mesurier declared the Town Band’s new practice room near Westerham Station, well and truly open.

Chris Pickett recalls his childhood memories around 1918 “…one of the nice things I remember was on Saturday nights in the summer months when the town band played for a good two hours outside the George and Dragon. They were a very good band with about twenty bandsmen. The shops were kept open ‘til about eight o’clock and there was always a good crowd of people milling around. The Bandmaster at that time was Mr Ted Newton. At Christmas time the band would play carols in the Market Square and other parts of the town – they were happy days…”

In 1920 the President of the Town Band was Reverend Sydney Le Mesurier. The Honourable Secretary was Fred Ring, the Bandmaster was by this time 23 year-old Edward Albert Newton and the Treasurer was Walter E. Bennett, tradesman and tobacconist in the High Street.