The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defence review known as Options for Change in the early 1990s and followed a 1993 announcement by the Chief of the General Staff that the number of army bands was to be reduced from 69 to 30. The Queen signed a warrant on 13 August 1994 to allow the formation of the Corps of Army Music. This stated that it was Her will and pleasure that all officers who were Directors of Music in the various Corps and Regiments and that all army musicians should transfer to the Corps of Army Music - now the newest and most junior corps in the army - on 1 September 1994.
The home of the corps was established at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, a site that encompasses the Headquarters of the Corps of Army Music and the Royal Military School of Music. The school was founded by the Duke of Cambridge, soon after his appointment as Commander in Chief in 1857, when the first class of military musicians was formed, a 'Class of Music'. The establishment was retitled as The Royal Military School of Music by Queen Victoria in 1887.
The Future Army Structures review of 2006 saw the bands of the Regular Army reduced from 30 to 23.
Bands of the Corps
The bands of the corps are:
The Band of The Household Cavalry - Hyde Park Barracks, London and Combermere Barracks Windsor
The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps - Catterick, North Yorkshire
The Royal Artillery Band - Tidworth
The Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers - Chatham, Kent
The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals - RAF Cosford, West midlands
Band of the Grenadier Guards - Wellington Barracks, Central London
Band of the Coldstream Guards -Wellington Barracks, Central London
Band of the Scots Guards - Wellington Barracks, Central London
Band of the Irish Guards - Wellington Barracks, Central London
Band of the Welsh Guards - Wellington Barracks, Central London
The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland - Edinburgh
The Band of The Queen's Division - RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire
The Band of The King's Division - near Preston
The Band of The Prince of Wales' Division - St Athan, South Wales
The Band and Bugles of The Rifles - Winchester
The Band of The Parachute Regiment - Colchester
The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas - Shorncliffe, near Folkestone
The Band of the Army Air Corps - Colchester
The Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Logistic Corps - Deepcut, near Camberley
The Band of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - Catterick, North Yorkshire
The Band of the Adjutant General's Corps - near Winchester
The Countess of Wessex String Orchestra - Woolwich, London
The Yorkshire Band of The Royal British Legion, Barnsley South Yorkshire
The Future of the Corps of Army Music
The Future Army Music 2020 (FAM2020) was published in August 2013. It contained information about how the Corps of Army Music would be restructured and better suited to enable sustainable musical support to be provided to the Army and Defence supporting operations and defence diplomacy.
There will be:
1 64-piece symphonic wind band supplying marching and traditional music
The Band of The Household Cavalry
6 46-piece symphonic wind bands supplying marching and traditional music
Band of the Grenadier Guards
Band of the Coldstream Guards
Band of the Scots Guards
Band of the Irish Guards
Band of the Welsh Guards
The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland
2 35-piece wind band supplying marching and traditional music
The Band and Bugles of The Rifles
The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas
6 35-piece multi capability bands supplying marching and contemporary music
The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Artillery Band
The Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers
The Band of The Queen's Division
The Band of The Parachute Regiment
The Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Logistic Corps
3 32-piece Brass bands supplying marching and traditional music
The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals
The Band of The King's Division
The Band of The Prince of Wales' Division
1 24-piece String orchestra
The Countess of Wessex String Orchestra
3 15-piece Specialist bands supplying modern pop music
The Band of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
The Band of the Adjutant General's Corps
The Band of the Army Air Corps
These changes will be implemented between 2014 - 2018.
The regiments of the Life Guards and The Blues and Royals will have their bands merged to form a single band of the Household Cavalry.
The five Foot Guards Bands will remain in London, as Symphonic Wind Bands and the Edinburgh-based Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland will grow to the same strength as the Foot Guards Bands.
The 10 man strong Light Cavalry Band will be amalgamated with the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band to form the Band of the Royal Armoured Corps.
A string orchestra, to be known as the Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra, will be based in Woolwich and manned with 24 personnel.
Army Reserve Bands
Prior to Options for Change and the formation of the Corps of Army Music most regiments, especially in the infantry, maintained their own military bands. This tradition is now continued by the Army Reserve, who retain regimental and corps bands. Army Reserve Bands are not part of the Corps of Army Music. They are still under the direct command of their parent corps or regiment.
There are currently 20 Reserve Military Bands located across the UK and Gibraltar:
Band of the Honourable Artillery Company
Regimental Band (Inns of Court and City Yeomanry) of the Royal Yeomanry
Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band
The Nottinghamshire Band of the Royal Engineers
The (Northern) Band of the Royal Corps of Signals
Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
Band of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)
Band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Band of the Royal Anglian Regiment
Volunteer Band of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment
Band of The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)
Band of the Royal Welsh - The only Brass Band in the Reserve Army
Band of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)
Band of the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th & 33rd/76th Foot)
