Thurcroft Welfare Band pose for team photo

Brass bands play an important part in the communities in which they exist - and AESSEAL aims to do the same.

In South Yorkshire numbers grew with the initial mining boom, with pit owners often sponsoring the bands to help improve the welfare and lifestyles of their employees.

Thurcroft Welfare Band came later, in the 1940s, and since the closure of the colliery on December 6, 1991, has existed without its main supporter – and, with 27 members, costs are high.

That is where the likes of South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation and its biggest donor AESSEAL come in.

Through SYCF, AESSEAL contributed £1,000 towards the band’s expenses when it qualified for the national championships at Cheltenham Racecourse in 2023, after finishing second to Oughtibridge in the Yorkshire regionals.

Visiting the band during their regular Tuesday night rehearsal, AESSEAL director Martin McKervey said it was wonderful that Thurcroft Welfare continued to uphold the great tradition of brass.

Martin McKervey said:

We are a business with a strong sense of wanting to be a good corporate citizen, recognising the importance of community support and charitable giving. It is important to help and support the communities in which we work. It’s just wonderful to witness the strong sense of community, to understand how our support really does add value and benefit, and how it does make a difference

South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation philanthropy co-ordinator Rachael Farrell said:

It was an absolute pleasure to visit the Thurcroft Welfare Brass Band and witness the incredible work they do. They are a group of fantastic, talented musicians who truly embody the spirit of community. Their dedication and passion were evident in every note they played - it's clear that they love what they do. A great experience and fantastic group of individuals.

Band secretary Kim Smith said AESSEAL’s donation and others like it were vital and added: “Obviously with the championship being in Cheltenham there was the cost of a coach, plus an overnight stay for everyone.

“It is expensive to run. A new bass can cost £6,000 to £10,000, so we certainly haven’t got the money to buy our own instruments. We travel up to Durham in July for the annual Miners’ Gala where all the bands march with their banners and that costs a lot as well, but we wouldn’t miss it. Last year our village got a new banner, and they took it into Durham Cathedral and blessed it. We have quite a lot of older players and they can’t do the march, so we have to borrow from other bands. It’s a real occasion.”

Musical director Matthew Wright (32) joined after studying brass band conducting at Huddersfield University with Philip McCann.

Matthew, who started playing the trumpet aged eight, points out that the band has gone international having twice performed with percussion group Nuenen from the Netherlands, and last year, following 2023’s runners’ up placing, finished a creditable fourth at the Yorkshire Regional Championships.

“Until recently we have had a few people playing who were workers at the pit, it’s all very local.” said Matthew. “It is harder to get younger players but we have recently had a number come through the Training Band, which isn’t just open to the younger generation. We have players ranging in age from 12 to 80.”

Kim and Matthew are clearly proud of the history of the band, which was formed by the Thurcroft Colliery Welfare Committee for the benefit of pit workers and their families, with its first recorded contest appearance at the Yorkshire and Humberside Brass Band Association Contest in 1949.

It is thought the band folded in the early 1970s, with its instruments stored away and forgotten about.

In 1981 the hard work and persistence of Dennis Holling and a small group of players paid off and they struck up once more, appearing again in the Yorkshire Regional Contest in 1988, this time under the baton of Keith Croft.

Thurcroft has regularly attended the Y&H Regional Contest, and was placed second under Ken Vernon in 2009, qualifying to compete in the National Finals at Harrogate for the first time.

The band’s best competition win came when, under Martin Battersby, they competed in the fourth section of the National Mineworkers Contest at Blackpool. The test piece was The Malvern Suite by Philip Sparke, and Thurcroft came away victorious.

Another notable success came in the early 2000s, this time under the baton of Phil Dickens when, in the Buxton Entertainment contest, Thurcroft was the best placed fourth section band, finishing fifth overall.

In January 2008 the Training Band was started to encourage anybody of any age to learn a brass instrument and music, and the next year they took the Junior Ensemble prize at Worksop Music Festival in their first ever public performance. They followed this by retaining the prize in 2010 and again in 2012.

Thurcroft Welfare Band pose for team photo

In recent years the band moved into a former army cadets’ hut at the top of West Street, and thousands of pounds have had to be raised to cover running costs, instruments and equipment.

Having never had the ‘comfort’ of sponsorship, all the money came from the band and its supporters, but a grant allowed the commissioning of the “Thurcroft Centenary March” by Darrol Barry to celebrate the sinking of the first pit shaft at Thurcroft in 1909, together with a new march for the Training Band called “100 not Out”, both pieces proving integral to their first CD which was recorded in March 2010.

Further grants have allowed the purchasing of desperately needed new instruments and equipment, and the band is now a registered charity.

Despite the 1991 pit closure “the band plays on” through competitions, concerts and local community events, and upcoming performances include the Durham Miners’ Gala on July 12, and Rotherham Show at midday on Saturday September 6.

The next local concert is A Swinton Summer Serenade at St Margaret’s Church in Swinton on Sunday July 27 at 3pm. Entry is £8, concessions £6 and under 16s free. Tickets are available on the door.

Listening to the band rehearse, with numbers ranging from versions of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army and James Bond theme Live and Let Die through to Hot Stuff and Joseph And His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, there is sure to be something for everyone.