Your Coventry Memories

Other people's Coventry memories... (In surname alphabetical order) Search this site:

The Art School, Ford Street, remembered, by Liz Bayly Schoolday memories of Pauline Bearcock Little Park Street & Spon Street, by Mick Billings Voyage on the Queen Mary with Cecilia Cargill Schoolboy fun around town with Patrick Casey Pre-war memories of Norman Cohen Wartime memories of Wyken, by Alan Edgson War and Workplace memories of Mike Fitzpatrick World War Two memories of James Hill Post-War memories of Keith Longmore The thoughts of a younger Coventrian, by Paul Martin Family memories of Eric Over Early working days of Barry Page Band life with Derick Parsons Experiences of the Coventry Blitz, by Joan Powell War-time memories of Brian Richards War-time memories of Jeanne Richards The Coventry outings of Brian Rowstron's family Time Gentlemen Please! - Jo Shepherd's Family The life experiences of Mike Spellacy Humber Works photographs of Peter Thacker Early Coventry memories of Lizzie Tomlinson Post-war decades remembered, by Mike Tyzack Early memories of Coventry, by Muriel Wells Family memories of Burt West

We continue this series of Coventry memories with...

Band life with Derick Parsons

ere is a super photo of a band rehearsal for a concert, taken around 1941/42 at what was then the 'New' Hippodrome, which had only been built about four years earlier. The people on stage comprise the Coventry School of Music, and the Bugle and Drum Corps.
Derick can now give us a nice anecdote associated with this photograph....

"I remember Joey Brown, who played the xylophone, was one of the acts that was on the bill on the day of the show. He was a huge round man, and I came up to him in the corridor of the theatre to squeeze by him, and asked for his autograph. He told me to go off in no uncertain manner, if you know what I mean! Not a very sociable person to children at all."

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This teasing partial view of the Hippodrome on the left would've been seen by everyone approaching from Trinity Street. The image does little to give away the fact that, once inside this grand old theatre, you were sitting in front of one of the largest stages of any theatre in England.

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Derick also remembers that the conductor in the dark uniform was Mr. Major, and the man sitting to his left was J. Parbury of the printers. Mr. Parbury might have been a sponsor but Derick is not absolutely sure about that.

If anyone does have any more information about this band, or even happened to be in the picture, we'd love to hear from you, so we can fill in more names and dates.

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