Today I went to the Towcester Studio Band open archives and coffee morning mentioned by Nicola and was very pleased to find that in the entrance to the building is the marble WWI memorial to the The Studio members who did not return. I did not know about this WWI memorial and it has not been mentioned at the of the committee meetings or events this year that have commemorated the start of the war, so it looks as if this memorial has been largely forgotten by the Town. I should have known about it as it is mentioned in the History Societys publication Towcester, the Story of an English Town where an article by Tom Knowlton (pages 245-9) records how it was found in Newports Builders Yard (not sure where that was) by the late Thomas Dunckley of Willis Way. Some of the names would have undoubtedly been members of the Studio Band but others are the names of members of Towcester Studio. The Studio was established for the young men of Towcester by Miss Charlotte Ann Phipps and Miss Ada Phipps of the famous brewing family who lived at Yealm House, 9 Brackley Road. In 1903 the ladies had the present building at the junction of Park Street and Brackley Road built for the organisation (the building is now Working Bodies) and it was here that classes were held in Bible reading, play acting, lino cutting, wood carving and sports. They had their own football club and 1910 some of the members asked if a brass band could be formed; the misses Phipps bought instruments and equipment and Towcester Studio Band was formed. The memorial undoubtedly would have been at The Studio which was taken over by the Oddfellows Friendly Society in 1919, the likely year the memorial was made, It was probably taken out of the premises when the Oddfellows left. Note that the memorial correctly states the Great War 1914-1919 commemorating the declaration war and the signing of the Peace treaties at Versailles and St Germain.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:22:24 +0000
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