Craghead Colliery Band
The Band was formed in 1910 as the Craghead Colliery Band. The band provided recreational activity for the miners in the village of Craghead, County Durham. In the early 1950s, a young gentleman named Eric Cunningham became resident conductor of the band. Eric had started to get the urge to conduct and his first appointment was as Bandmaster of the Craghead Colliery Band at the age of 29. At this time Craghead were experiencing a few problems but with Eric at the helm the band began to climb the sections and qualified for the 1953 second section finals in London. The steady progress continued seeing the band compete at London in five second section finals in six years.1958 saw the band promoted to the Championship Section and after a settling in period the band qualified for the National Finals for the first time in 1963.
1968 saw Craghead Colliery to be one of the first North East Coal Mines to close, there are no working Coal Mines in the North East. Much of the workforce found employment at the newly opened Ever Ready Batteries and Electronics factory in the nearby village of Tanfield Lea.
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Famous quotes containing the word band:
“Citizen’s Band radio renders one accessible to a wide variety of people from all walks of life. It should not be forgotten that all walks of life include conceptual artists, dry cleaners, and living poets.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)