Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Band (PPCLI Band) was the former brass and reed regimental band of the

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

regiment of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

. It was maintained by the regiment from 1919–1994 at

CFB Calgary CFB may refer to: *College football *Canadian Forces base, military installation of the Canadian forces * Caminho de Ferro de Benguela, railway in Angola *Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District *Cipher feedback, a block cipher mode in ...

History

The band was founded in 1919, with its core consisting of musicians from the St. Mary's Boys Brigade Band and the 140th Battalion (St. John's Tigers) Band. When the latter was disbanded in November 1917, the remaining band was merged with the PPCLI to become the PPCLI Band in 1919. It was formed under the direction of Captain Tommy James and was originally stationed at Fort Osborne Barracks in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. In 1935,

Bugle band The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure. History The bugle developed from early musical or communication i ...

s were established in the PPCLI's 1st and 2nd battalions. It would be accompanied by a

dance band ''Dance Band'' is a 1935 British musical film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, June Clyde and Steven Geray. It was shot at Welwyn Studios with sets designed by the art director David Rawnsley. Plot When dance band ...

that would be established two years later in 1937. At the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, members of the PPCLI Band volunteered for active duty, which resulted in its dissolving in 1939. In 1941, the

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

Band was largely made up of former PPCLI Bandsmen. The band was reactivated after the war at

Wainwright, Alberta Wainwright is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately southeast of Edmonton. Located west of the Alberta–Saskatchewan border, Wainwright is south of Vermilion in the Battle River valley. Highway 41, called the Buffal ...

. In 1950 the band was revived in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, where like other military bands (the

Band of the Canadian Guards The Canadian Guards (officially known as the Regiment of Canadian Guards) was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October 19 ...

included), members were recruited from the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and the

Dutch Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

. By 1951, the band had numbered 20 members and just two years later in late 1953, it reached its quota of 55 personnel. Some of these members included notable members of the band, including Brian Albert Gossip and Albert Brown. On 13 April 1959, the band took part in a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

military festival in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

in honor of the organization's 10th anniversary. The 60s and 70s marked an increase in its activities in Alberta and abroad. It was often noted as a regular contingent in the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

as one of the main performing units. The band was one of 17 tri-service bands to take part in the Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo celebrating Canada's centennial year celebrations in 1967. It was selected in 1976 to represent Canada along with the Band of the Royal 22nd Regiment in the

Tournament of Roses The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Mon ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. It played at the opening of the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

in Edmonton in the presence of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and the

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

. In the early 1980s, the band under the direction of Captain R. Swaneveld, performed during the

Changing of the Guard Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate a ...

ceremony on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...

with the Public Duties Detachment (now the Ceremonial Guard). Due to military budget cuts in 1994, the entire band was disbanded and reduced to a

Corps of Drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

, known today as the PPCLI

Drumline Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

. The St. Mary's Band is today known as the St. Mary's Community Band and is active in St. John as a civilian marching band.

Directors

*Captain Thomas William James (1919–1939) *Lieutenant A.L. Streeter (1939) *Captain A. Brown (1950–1953) *Captain F.M. McLeod (1953–1957) *Captain Herbert A. Jeffrey (director 1957–1964) *Captain P.A. Medcalf (1968–1969) *Captain J. Dowell (1969–1972) *Captain Leonard Camplin (1972–1978) *Major Jean-François Pierret (1978–1980) *Captain R. Swaneveld (1980–1984) *Captain Jean-Pierre Montminy (1984–1987) *Captain D. Embree (1987–1990) *Captai
Dave Jones
(1990–1994)

Repertoire

*Regimental Music **Quick: "

Has Anyone Seen the Colonel "Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire" (Roud 9618) is a British war song of World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of E ...

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

Mademoiselle from Armentières "Mademoiselle from Armentières" is an English song that was particularly popular during World War I. It is also known by its ersatz French hook line, 'Inky Pinky Parlez Vous,' or the American variant 'Hinky Dinky Parlez-vous' (variant: ''Parlay ...

" (medley) **Slow: "

Lili Marlene "Lili Marleen" (also spelled "Lili Marlen'", "Lilli Marlene", "Lily Marlene", "Lili Marlène" among others; ) is a German love song that became popular during World War II throughout Europe and the Mediterranean among both Axis and Allied troop ...

" *Battalion music **1st Battalion: "The Maple Leaf" **2nd Battalion: "March Winnipeg" **3rd Battalion: "

Imperial Echoes ''Imperial Echoes'' (1913) is the title a piece for solo piano by Arnold Safroni that was later adapted as a military march and became well known through its frequent use on BBC radio during the Second World War and beyond. Original composition ...

" *Army marches **'' The Great Little Army'' **''

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

'' **'' The Canadian Infantryman'' **'' Alberta Bound'' **''Canada Overseas''

References

{{Reflist Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Bands of the Canadian Army Musical groups established in 1919 1919 establishments in Alberta Musical groups from Edmonton

History

Directors

Repertoire

See also

References