Page 18 - Issue 65 Online

Chatteris and Manea

designed to show that the
band was successful and
could afford shiny silver
instruments rather than
the cheaper brass ones.
Manea Silver Band was
founded in 1882. For
50 years the band was
recognised as one of the
finest in the Fenland region
with many prizes being
won at local contests,
especially in the first
quarter of the twentieth
century. Following the
First World War the band
was briefly known as
Manea British Legion
n a freezing, damp & dark Monday
evening in January, cold enough to chill Band, and several items in their possession still
Oyour bones, an intriguing sight was carry this moniker.
people arriving at the Royal British Legion club in The highest honour gained by the band was
Manea. These people were intriguing because in 1924 when the band won first prize in its
they all appeared to be carrying large black cases
of various shapes and sizes… plus they had a
strange skip in their step. However, the intrigue
was satisfied when they produced the following
from their black cases: Cornets; Trombones;
Basses; Horns; etc. With these instruments,
music was made that created feelings of
trembling, warmth and harmony in your bones.
This is Chatteris and Manea Silver Band. The
'silver' in the name is a bit of Victorian snobbery,

For 50 years the band was
recognised as one of the
finest in the Fenland region

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