Was a miner. Took part in Jarrow march. Was a brass band conductor and fanatic. Lived in Cherry Orchard in West Drayton.

The St Hilda Colliery was situated at South Shields, an industrial town on the North-East coast. In 1869 a group of workers, mostly members of the colliery, approached a Mr John Dennison to form a brass band. None of them could play an instrument; the first rehearsal was led by the conductor's ten year old son. They attended a local contest five years later and when unplaced, such was their determination that they issued a private challenge to the winning band, appointing an adjudicator and referee at their own expense. They proved themselves the winners. Due to a change of sponsorship they had been known as "Dennison's Family Band", Dennison's Borough Band", and "South Shields Borough Band". In 1906 they were taken over by the officials and men of the Durham Miners' Association and became recognised as the St Hilda Colliery Band. The St Hilda colliery had closed however in 1925, hence the players were classed as professional musicians and no longer eligible to contest. In 1927 they turned professional, many, unwilling to make music their livelihood, left, but with the untiring efforts of Messrs Oliver and Southern a competent band was soon "on the road". They were however unable to regain their former glory. Summer engagements declined and during the winter season they were billed at music halls and for stage interludes at the cinema. In later years they tended to use the title "St Hilda's Famous Band", but in 1937 were forced to disband. Their final engagement was at the Stanhope Show.

The name St Hilda, however, still survived. in 1930 a St Hilda Colliery Band was formed in 1930, achieving success at several local contests, but was disbanded 1940. Four years later a group of businessmen bought the name, but their band was taken over in 1951 by the Yorkshire Electric and Welding Company (Y.E.W.C.O.). It showed promise by gaining fifth place in the Championship section at Belle Vue in 1955, but owing to declining interest it too was disbanded.

Although J. Ord Hume at one contest complimented St Hilda's on their fine playing, which he stated, was equal to anything he had heard in his whole experience of banding, we have but limited knowledge of their performance. We have to rely on the gramophone record and the brass band does not record well. The musical material, too, is often inadequate, marches, novelty items and poor arrangements fail to aid judgement. The writer recalls hearing St Hilda's just before their Canadian tour and was impressed by their highly polished instruments, immaculate uniforms and ease of playing, although, he hastens to add, too young to comment on their performance. They did not succeed in gaining the coveted "hat trick" (three consecutive firsts) at the Nationals. In 1913 they were placed second, fourth in 1922/3, fifth in 1925 when the winners were Marsden, a colliery only a few miles along the coast from South Shields. St Hilda's name appears infrequently at Belle Vue, second in 1912, sixth 1913, third in 1919 and 1926.

During the past few decades bands have tended to change their name, many seem anxious to sever links with the past, but the name St Hilda's is firmly established in brass band history - a name which not only recalls a great band, but an era when our summer seasons were filled with the sound of open air music instead of noise and pollution. (by Alan Hindmarch]

June 1955 -'When 65 year old Mr. George Turner retires from the Anglo Swiss Screw Company, Yiewsley shortly, it will mean the end of another chapter in the history of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Band. It was in 1936 that Mr. Turner was chosen from over 30 applicants to conduct the Band. Within nine months they were winning prizes at area contests and Mr. O. Frey, President of the band, decided that the best way to keep their enthusiastic new conductor was to employ him at Anglo Swiss, of which he is managing director. The result was that Mr. Turner was offered the post as Head Storekeeper, a job which he has had ever since.

Under the conductorship of Mr. Turner the band had many successes in pre-war years and in 1939 arrangements were made for them to broadccast. But war broke out, members of the band joined the Services, and the broadcast was not made. During the war the band did little, but after the war it was reformed and in 1952 took part in six contests, winning five first places'. (The reporter who wrote this article had obviously not heard of the exploits of the Junior/Cadet Band during the war. ED)

Mr. Turner, who plays the Tenor Horn, began competing as a soloist in music contests when he was l2years old and since then has won over 60 gold and silver medals, including the Sir Benjamin Brown Trophy. The first band for which he played was the Hebburn Colliery Band, in his home town of South Shields. Then in 1912 he joined the Harton Colliery Band, of which he was Deputy Bandmaster from 1920 to 1930. Later he was a member and Deputy Conductor of the famous St Hilda's Band, five times winner of the thousand guinea trophy, and in 1931 he played with the Band at the Toronto exhibition.

At a recent social, workers and office staff of Anglo Swiss presented Mr. Turner with a grandmother clock. When he retires, Mr. Turner and his wife plan to leave their West Drayton home at 31 Cherry Orchard, for the small village of Drayton, near Norwich. But Mr. Turner does not intend to give up his associations with Brass Bands, and already he has been invited to become conductor of the local band.

Mr. George Turner resigned from the Band as conductor in December 1955. He moved to Norfolk and had many successes with the Drayton Band. Several of the older members of the Band also left at this time.

The end of 1957 was a bad time for the Band. Mr. Lowe, the conductor, resigned because of promotion at his work which meant his leaving the area. About the same time came the news of the sudden death of Mr. George Turner in November 1957. The Advertiser and Gazette reported his funeral service as follows:

THE LAST POST

A short funeral service in memory of the late Mr. George Turner, former conductor of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Silver Band, was held at Stoke Poges last Friday when his ashes were laid in the lovely garden of rest. Mr. Turner died at his home in Drayton, Norfolk, recently. I understand from Mr. O. Frey, Managing Director of Anglo-Swiss Screw Co., Yiewsley, where Mr. Turner was once employed, that the conductor's musical career started at the age of nine with the Volunteer Boys Band at Hebburn-on-Tyne and he later played for many years with the Harton Colliery and St Hilda Bands. He was solo baritone and assistant bandmaster at the time of StHilda's Canadian tour when they played for six weeks at the Toronto Trades Exhibition in 1931. He had a number of successes as a soloist. Included in his triumphs was first place at the North of England OpenMusical Tournament in 1926.

He took over the Drayton (Norfolk) British Legion Band which had considerable success and they won the Championship of East Anglia. Friends and employees of Anglo-Swiss Screw Co., attended the Stoke Poges service to pay their last respects to a fine person. 1891-1957
I cannot let this opportunity go by without writing a few lines of personal feelings and memories of the late George Turner. As I have already stated he was the man from whom I took my first trumpet lesson and continued under his guidance for many years. He was a perfectionist and would not accept anything second rate from his individual pupils or from the band. George was a marvelous teacher and we in the Cadet Band, during the Second World War, could not have had better musical tuition. He had a professional approach to contests and concerts and would never let the Band play to the public unless the music had been thoroughly rehearsed. Because of this dedication to the very best traditions of Brass Band music, the Yiewsley and West Drayton Band were a force in the Brass Band world from 1937 to 1955. Mr. Turner's daughter, Mrs. Richardson, has loaned to mc some of her father's photographs and papers. I have reproduced some of them in the following pages and they represent a small collection of his achievements and associates within the Brass Band world.