Drummers and Drum Majors

[Great Plum]

Ed Denison was meant to be a drum major legend - he is said to have been able to throw the mace over the arches between Big School and the Classics Block! It may be an urban myth though!

[little_r]

there was the infamous triple toss.. performed by Titus Hill i think?! Titus and Bruce McGowan used to teach me drum majoring and i even managed to take the small band(cant remember name) out one lunchtime... never been so nervous in all my life.. completely cocked it up!!

[scariefairy]

just thought u might like 2 know, the band(full, not bugle) a few weeks ago, marched out with 2 bass drums, a tennor drum and 1 snare drum on front rank

[J.R.]

just thought u might like 2 know, the band(full, not bugle) a few weeks ago, marched out with 2 bass drums, a tennor drum and 1 snare drum on front rank

The dreaded 'sickie' bug, one wonders ?

[darthmaul]

just thought u might like 2 know, the band(full, not bugle) a few weeks ago, marched out with 2 bass drums, a tennor drum and 1 snare drum on front rank

The dreaded 'sickie' bug, one wonders ?

T'was indeed. That day was a novelty for most of us I think.

We've never seen any of these amazing feats that drum majors are purported to be capable of...Maybe TWW has outlawed it? Or maybe, they are less ambitious...

[J.R.]

'Bill' Bailey was never keen to see his beloved maces getting damaged.

I seem to remember Bryant, (Tim ?) had great expertise with the mace !

Never seen one 'tossed' over the big school bridge though.

[Mid A 15]

I might be wrong here but I have vague memories of reading in The Blue that the late "Paddie" Drake (former Old Blues section editor of The Blue) achieved the feat of tossing the mace over the cloisters (and catching it) in the forties.

Perhaps one of our older posters knows.

[J.R.]

I might be wrong here but I have vague memories of reading in The Blue that the late "Paddie" Drake (former Old Blues section editor of The Blue) achieved the feat of tossing the mace over the cloisters (and catching it) in the forties.

Perhaps one of our older posters knows.

Is that Bill's brother ?

Was he prosecuted as well ?

[Great Plum]

'Bill' Bailey was never keen to see his beloved maces getting damaged.

I seem to remember Bryant, (Tim ?) had great expertise with the mace !

Never seen one 'tossed' over the big school bridge though.

Tim Bryant (aka Goya or Plug) was a house tutor in Maine in the 90's...

[darthmaul]

I might be wrong here but I have vague memories of reading in The Blue that the late "Paddie" Drake (former Old Blues section editor of The Blue) achieved the feat of tossing the mace over the cloisters (and catching it) in the forties.

Perhaps one of our older posters knows.

This is surely impossible to achieve whilst maintaining an air of elegance...

[Great Plum]

I might be wrong here but I have vague memories of reading in The Blue that the late "Paddie" Drake (former Old Blues section editor of The Blue) achieved the feat of tossing the mace over the cloisters (and catching it) in the forties.

Perhaps one of our older posters knows.

This is surely impossible to achieve whilst maintaining an air of elegance...

I saw Ed Denison do it as well - impressive

[UserRemovedAccount]

I think that the question of tossing the mace over the Big School bridge has been discussed elsewhere on this forum, but can't find it. Anyway, it was performed in my time by one Dennis Silk - drum major, Senior Grecian, rugby player, cricket player, academic and general swot. Wonder what happened to him afterwards though?

[DavebytheSea]

I think that the question of tossing the mace over the Big School bridge has been discussed elsewhere on this forum, but can't find it. Anyway, it was performed in my time by one Dennis Silk - drum major, Senior Grecian, rugby player, cricket player, academic and general swot. Wonder what happened to him afterwards though?

Yes David it has! You yourself wrote about it at some length!! The link is:
viewtopic.php?p=13856&highlight=silk#13856

This is what you wrote:

Lest it be thought that I was belittling Dennis Silk, I, like David Eastburn, remember him as the Senior Grecian in my first/second year in the Upper School. He, of course, would not have remembered me from Adam - just one of a load of faceless squits - and from a different house.
However, in the early 1980s I went to give a lecture to the senior forms at Radley, where Dennis was the boss - I think the post is called Warden rather than headmaster, but could be wrong. The lecture had been arranged by a master other than Silk, but when he discovered in advance that I was an Old Blue (how he found that out I have no idea) he personally attended and introduced me at the lecture as if I was an old and valued friend - which was certainly not the case, but it obviously went down well with the boys - and, of course, with me. Afterwards he sent me an extremely nice letter and a book as a memento, both of which I treasure to this day.
So, it really was a joke!

But what I don't understand is, that if you know already what happened to him afterwards, why have you asked the same question again as you did before?? I appreciate that it is your "little joke", but as I have said elsewhere on this forum, jokes are not my forté; you may have to explain!!

[J.R.]

I think that the question of tossing the mace over the Big School bridge has been discussed elsewhere on this forum, but can't find it. Anyway, it was performed in my time by one Dennis Silk - drum major, Senior Grecian, rugby player, cricket player, academic and general swot. Wonder what happened to him afterwards though?

Yes David it has! You yourself wrote about it at some length!! The link is:
viewtopic.php?p=13856&highlight=silk#13856

This is what you wrote:

Lest it be thought that I was belittling Dennis Silk, I, like David Eastburn, remember him as the Senior Grecian in my first/second year in the Upper School. He, of course, would not have remembered me from Adam - just one of a load of faceless squits - and from a different house.
However, in the early 1980s I went to give a lecture to the senior forms at Radley, where Dennis was the boss - I think the post is called Warden rather than headmaster, but could be wrong. The lecture had been arranged by a master other than Silk, but when he discovered in advance that I was an Old Blue (how he found that out I have no idea) he personally attended and introduced me at the lecture as if I was an old and valued friend - which was certainly not the case, but it obviously went down well with the boys - and, of course, with me. Afterwards he sent me an extremely nice letter and a book as a memento, both of which I treasure to this day.
So, it really was a joke!

Sure it wasn't a borstal or approved school ??

[cj]

My Dad was tranferring all his videos of the band onto dvd yesterday, so little one and I watched a bit of it. I guess they date from about 1987 to 1991 - St Matthew's Days, Lord Mayor's Shows and Retreats. My God, the whole thing was completely fantastic! I already knew that of course because I was there, but you forget and become a bit complacent. Cora thought it was hilarious seeing Mummy and Uncle Edmund and then took to marching around the room. One of the (many) things that struck me was how the Drum Majors really bore the responsibility for the 'show' element. How did they remember what to do and where to go during Retreat? And taking us down the right bit of road in London? - all we in the massed ranks of tootlers had to do was follow the person in front. And tootle. But we had the music in front of us for that. They had nothing. I recognised Titus Hill, Martin Densham and Ed Dennison. There must have been some others from earlier. It did look fantastic - chucking the 'sticks' about, the drummers with lovely white gloves, cymbalists waving cymbals over their heads, people wearing leopards, Mr Elliott dressed up and grinning at my Dad who was standing on a City of London refuse bin to get us all in shot. Brilliant. And hugely nostalgic seeing all those faces I used to know so well. *sob*