R.A.A.F. Central Band

For most of the 20th century there were two Royal Australian Air Force bands. The R.A.A.F. Central Band and the Air Command Band aka RAAF Richmond Band, RAAF 1 Regional Band or the RAAF Operational Command Band. Before 1952 there were a number of other bands of amateur musicians. The RAAF Central Band was formed in 1952 and in 2008 merged with the Air Command Band from Richmond to form the Air Force Band. Music Directors 1952-1968 Laurence Henry Hicks 1968-1984 R.A.Y. Mitchell 1984-1989 Michael A. Butcher 1989-2000 Graham Lloyd 2000-2008 Steve J. Campbell-Wright The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) formed in March 1921. The early bases at Point Cook, Laverton and Richmond formed bands and later some small units had drum bands. These bands were formed from amateur musicians who performed as a band at the expense of their normal air force duties. As a royal visit was planned for 1954 the Air Board looked to the formation of a military band comprised of professional musicians. The RAAF Central Band was formed in 1952. An experienced musical conductor was recruited as Commanding Officer and Music Master. His charter was to recruit suitable professional musicians from the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere to form a first class military band of about 40 members and to play military music, dance music, choral music and a range of other music. The band was formed mainly from musicians who answered an advertisement in the United Kingdom. Laurence Henry Hicks, then conductor of the Black Watch Band in the UK, was invited to be the RAAF Central Band's first conductor and the Air Force's first Director of Music. The first Australian to join the band was cornet player David Reynolds (14), who served from 1952 until 1974. Based at Laverton, the Band rehearsed in the gymnasium building until a better rehearsal room was found at Albert Park Barracks. This was destroyed by fire in 1958 and a new rehearsal room was built and occupied in 1960. The musical strength of the Band, as an independent unit of the Air Force, grew from about 40 in 1953 to over 60 in five years, including its own administrative staff. Boy musicians were enlisted from March 1955 and by the end of the year 15 boy musicians were on strength. In 1985 the first female musicians were enlisted and posted to the Band. A little over 12 months after its formation the Band accompanied the tour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and H.R.H. The Duke Of Edinburgh to each State. The first important public engagement was for the Coronation Pageant performed on four nights in Melbourne in June 1953. It received such enthusiastic acclaim that the Australian Broadcasting Commission immediately gave it two national re-broadcasts. Subsequent tours by the Queen, the Queen Mother, the Duke and Duchess of York and other members of the Royal Family, the President of the United States of America, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the King and Queen of Thailand and numerous other visiting dignitaries were high on the list of Band engagements. The band performed at many other public events including the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in 1982 and the World Scout Jamboree. When possible the Band traveled to other countries: New Zealand for the 25th Anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Air Force; Montreal, Canada, for EXPO '67; Nauru and Port Moresby; Malaysia, where at one performance on Penang Island no less than 40,000 people were entertained; Vietnam, where it performed at Vung Tau, Nui Dat and Phan Rang. Other events of note were when the band was invited to perform in the World Music Contest in Holland in 1961 and the West Berlin Festival; also when the Musical Director Laurence Henry Hicks was appointed Supreme Director of Music for the British/Australian Military Tattoo in Sydney in 1964 with The Band Of The Grenadier Guards, The Band Of HM Royal Marines, the 1st Argyle And Sutherland Highlanders Band and the RAAF Central Band. Music was arranged by the Director for 300 musicians and 19 performances. The following year the Band played in the 1965 Royal Tournament in London and at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. In 1987 the Band performed with the Australian Defence Force Contingent at the Royal Tournament at Earl's Court, London, and in other British cities. In 2008 the RAAF Central Band merged with the Air Command Band from Richmond to form the Air Force Band.