The Squadronaires is a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

band which began and performed in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

during and after

World War II 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 opposing ...

. The official title of the band was 'The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra', but it was always known by the more popular title "The Squadronaires".

History

In 1939, the Royal Air Force implemented a plan to raise morale and entertain the troops during wartime, and The Squadronaires was one of the bands organized as a result. The band drew from some of the best musicians of the day. It became a popular

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

band and likely the best known of the British military dance bands of the time, with hits like "There's Something in the Air" and "South Rampart Street Parade." The Squadronaires played at dances and concerts for service personnel, and also broadcast on the

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Members

Bert Ambrose Benjamin Baruch Ambrose (11 September 1896 – 11 June 1971), known professionally as Ambrose or Bert Ambrose, was an English bandleader and violinist. Ambrose became the leader of a highly acclaimed British dance band, ''Bert Ambrose & His Or ...

During the war the members were: *Leader: Jimmy Miller *Manager: Arthur Maden *Trumpet: Tommy McQuater, Archie Craig, Clinton French *Trombone: George Chisholm, Eric Breeze *Saxophones: Tommy Bradbury, Harry Lewis, Jimmy Durrant, Andy McDevitt,

Cliff Townshend Clifford Blandford Townshend (28 January 1916 – 29 June 1986) was an English jazz musician who played saxophone in the Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra, popularly known as The Squadronaires. He also played clarinet in the band. His eldest son, ...

, Maurice Stokes *Piano:

Ronnie Aldrich Ronald Frank Aldrich (15 February 1916 – 30 September 1993) was a British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, conductor and composer. Early life He was born Ronald Frank Aldrich on 15 February 1916 in Erith, England, the only son o ...

*Guitar: Sid Colin *Bass: Arthur Maden *Drums: Jock Cummings *Vocals: Jimmy Miller,

Joan Regan Joan Regan (born Joan Bethel or Siobhan Bethel; 19 January 1928 – 12 September 2013) was an English traditional pop music singer, popular during the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Regan was born in either Romford, Essex, or West Ham, London ...

, Billy Nicholls SNR, Suzy Miller, Jackie Lee, Joan Baxter, Peter Morton, Ken Kirkham, Beryl Davis. After the war, Jimmy Watson replaced Clinton "Froggy" French on trumpet, and Monty Levy replaced Harry Lewis on alto sax.

Band revival

In 1985, a new big band orchestra was organized under the title "The Royal Air Force Squadronaires." Many original members of the band were contacted and several were present at the official launch of the new band at Headquarters Music Services, RAF Uxbridge, on 8 January 1987. Original band leader Jimmy Miller conducted the band's theme tune, "There's Something in the Air." Since then the band has recorded ''Big Band Spectacular'' and a second album ''Swing Squadron''. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force, the Squadronaires produced an album entitled ''Squads Away'' in 1993, and in January 2002, they recorded ''Flying Home''. Recordings from the original band are also available as reissues. Under band leader Sgt. Jamie Deighton the band has played in

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and for the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

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, supporting ''

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'' winner,

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...

. They performed at the 2004 Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, also backing Will Young. In August 2004, the band performed at the Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival, and appeared on television as part of the

Edinburgh Military Tattoo The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of S ...

. The band performs the majority of its concerts for charity, and in 2004 completed an eight-date tour of the South East to raise money for The Royal Air Forces Association.

The Civilian Squadronaires

In the light of the decision of Ronnie Aldrich to disband the orchestra in 1964, nothing much happened with the Squadronaires Orchestra. At some later time, bandleader Harry Bence approached Aldrich, asking if he could re-form the orchestra. Bence subsequently reformed the 'New' Squadronaires, and ran the band as a commercial unit until his death in 1997. Following Bence's death, the future of the civilian band was in some doubt. Musical arranger and trumpet player Greg Francis then approached Mrs Mary Aldrich (Ronnie's widow) asking if he could obtain her permission to re-form the 'New Squadronaires' as a tribute to the original wartime Dance Band. He wanted to present the band 'as it was then' - with young players, dressed in RAF uniform, but most importantly, playing the music of the era. Mary Aldrich was delighted to offer her kind support in this. And so, the civilian 'New Squadronaires Orchestra' was re-formed in September 1997. It played its inaugural concert on the Isle of Man where the original band had performed for 11 years during the 1950s and 1960s. As the original venues, the Palace Ballrrom and Theatre had long since been redeveloped, the band played the concert at the Villa Marina. The New Squadronaires Orchestra has since played at thousands of military and non military events, including many of the RAF stations in the UK. It has played at the RAF Museum in Hendon, at Duxford and other airshows, and at the Imperial War Museum in London. Not only this but, the New Squadronaires has played its part in RAF recruitment. In 2002, the orchestra played (in the pouring rain - as they might have during the war) alongside the RAF recruitment exhibition in Blackpool - the very town where the Squadronaires played their first date in 1940. The orchestra was resident at the

Blackpool Tower Ballroom Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in ...

for two years, 2001 and 2002, and has remained popular with the many big band enthusiasts and holidaymakers. In 1997, along with the relaunch of the orchestra, a new CD was issued, featuring transcriptions of some of the original Squadronaires music. The parts were actually thrown on a bonfire by ex-leader Aldrich in 1964, and so, it was necessary for Francis, who is owner of the registered trade mark name (The New Squadronaires Orchestra) to transcribe many of the original titles, from the existing recordings. The CD features amongst other top professional musicians, ex Syd Lawrence saxophonists Norman Brown and Andy Taylor, and also features Francis playing the trumpet features.

References

External links

Ronnie Aldrich and The Squadronaires
in the Internet Movie Database
USO websiteThe Squadronaires newsreel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Squadronaires, The Dance bands Bands of the Royal Air Force British jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1939 Big bands Cultural history of World War II United Kingdom home front during World War II