Royal Marines
Royal Marines Bands are led by 'buglers', who are trained on both the side drum and the bugle as well as the Herald Fanfare Trumpet (natural trumpet); this section of the band is referred to as "the Corps of Drums", which since 1903 is now situated at the front of the band. Whilst similar to Army corps of drums, these are members of the Royal Marines Band Service (RMBS), although they retain their own rank structure. Members of the RMBS are primarily musicians; however, they also carry out secondary roles (e.g. medics, drivers, force protection etc.) when required to, like their Army counterparts.
RM Buglers have a similar history to Army 'drummers' in that they were used to convey orders on a ship on drums and bugles, and would then mass onshore into corps of drums, though they were still expected to work as individual soldiers, also known in slang by the Royal Navy as drummers.
These drummer-buglers trace themselves back to the raising of the Royal Marines in 1664 as a maritime foot regiment, with six drummers attached to its battalions.
Read more about this topic: Corps Of Drums
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