The weekend of August 2-4 saw three venues play host to Surrey Police Band and friends in varied and extremely enjoyable concerts.

Around £5,000 in total was raised for SSAFA Herefordshire, Builth Wells Community Support and Hay-on-Wye Dial-a-Ride.

The culmination of nearly two years’ planning by Kelvyn Jenkins from Hay-on-Wye, a former musician with the Household Division of Guards, the concerts had the theme of a D Day 80 and Violette Szabo commemoration.

Piper and standards at St Martin's, Hereford
Piper and standards at St Martin's, Hereford (.)

Surrey Police Band, under the expert guidance of Musical Director and Compere, Graham Atterbury, was kept very busy throughout, not only performing their own pieces, but also accompanying other performers, such as the Vintage Class Singers. A highlight for the audience was a demonstration of the stamina of the amazing Steve and Sue Mace, who danced along to a medley of Glen Miller tunes.

Special guest Tania Szabo brought a necessary note of solemnity to the occasion in remembering her mother’s contribution to the efforts to liberate France in 1944. Following an extremely successful mission as an agent of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) just a couple of months earlier, Violette Szabo returned there a day or so after the D Day landings but was captured after just 3 days and sent to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp where she was executed early in 1945. Violette was posthumously awarded the George Cross, which Tania accepted from King George VI in January 1947, aged just four.

Special guest Tania Szabo and the Vintage Class Singers
Special guest Tania Szabo and the Vintage Class Singers (.)

Other guests included Angela Kazimierczuk and Paul Badley, who stepped in at the last minute, when Lauren Elizabeth Williams, who was due to perform, fell ill. Thanks go to Angela and Paul for grasping the spirit of the occasion with ease. At the concert in Hay-on-Wye, the performers were joined by the ever-popular Talgarth Male Choir, under the direction of Paul Sweeting.

The finale to each concert saw “Winston Churchill” deliver General Dwight D Eisenhower’s (Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces) Order of the Day for D Day, before a parade of Royal British Legion and numerous Association Standards, re-enactors and serving members of the armed forces. Under the expert command of CSgt Tony Johncock of the Honourable Artillery Company, they took part in a short remembrance during the well-known arrangement by Lt Col Trevor Sharpe of the hymn “The Day Thou Gavest”, which has Last Post played on solo cornet interweaved throughout.

Each concert welcomed local representatives of their areas including the High Sheriff of Herefordshire Patricia Churchward, Mayor of Hereford Cllr Kevin Tillett, High Sheriff of Powys Lady Kathryn Silk JP, Cllr Jeremy Pugh, Cllr Matthew Dorrance, Jane Dodds MS and Brigadier Alan Richmond OBE, formerly Commander of 160 Brigade at Brecon Barracks. Also presentat each concert were specially invited veterans Sue and Mike, residents of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea (Chelsea Pensioners).

The parade of standards at Builth Wells
The parade of standards at Builth Wells (.)

His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Edward Harley CBE, attended the concert at St Martin’s Church and, during a break in the musical offerings, presented RAF veteran John Cary with the Nuclear Test Medal, which the audience stood spontaneously to applaud. The medal is awarded to UK Service and civilian personnel, and individuals from other nations, who served at the locations where the UK atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted, including the preparatory and clear-up phases, between 1952 and 1967 inclusive. It was only in 2023 that the medal was awarded for the first time, having been announced following many years of campaigning. Mr Cary served in Operation Grapple, located at Christmas Island.

Thanks are extended to the wonderful support from the charities involved, for providing the performers and organisers with refreshments, which were very much appreciated.

The Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire presenting RAF veteran John Cary with the Nuclear Test Medal
The Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire presenting RAF veteran John Cary with the Nuclear Test Medal (.)

A very special thank you goes to the Rev’d Anne Dowdeswell of St Martin’s Church, Ross Road, Hereford, and to Fr David Wyatt of St Mary’s parish church in Hay-on-Wye, who so generously gave their spaces as the venues for two of the concerts, free of charge.

Remarking of the packed three days of concerts and other events, Kelvyn Jenkins said: “In my wildest dreams I didn’t anticipate this fantastic response to what started out as a single concert to celebrate 30 years of Hay Dial-a-Ride, but which morphed into something bigger as more and more people wanted to take part.

“We’ve welcomed contributors from across the UK, from Tyneside to Kent, from Northern Ireland to Norfolk. I must thank, in particular, serving members of the Armed Forces from the Welsh regiments 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards and the Welsh Guards, for their support. As regiments in which I served, it was particularly heartening to know that all I had to do was ask, and there was no hesitation in getting a yes.”