What Instuments?

[MollyMay]

This is an extract from the military records for James White who was attested from the Brunswick Industrial Day School Poplar in 1908 into the Cameron Highlanders, where he served as a musician, making rank (after many a demotion due to his behaviour) to Lance Corporal.

What does the following say - from the Industrial School's application for him to join.


Ability - Jas. White is a good ? ? player and an excellent ? - I think the next word is a signature.

He was accepted as a musician, shoemaker or tailor - but the records show he made it as a musician.

 

[Daft Bat]

Bow fiddle (?), which my musician brother says can mean either a double bass or a violin.

 

[MollyMay]

Thanks Jan,
He is still a musician in 1939, but no qualification of what instrument (s) there either

 

[AnnB]

I think the second bit says ‘and an excellent bootmaker’

 

[MollyMay]

I think the second bit says ‘and an excellent bootmaker’

Well that's not an instrument is it
It makes sense, seeing that shoemaking is another skill or requirement on the attestation I wonder if he could sew as well

 

[AnnB]

A man of many talents, quite useful if one of the strings to his bow (sorry) failed him

 

[MollyMay]

Yes, I wonder how many 14 year olds today, would be so talented?

 

[AnnB]

I'm going to throw a totally different reading of the first part into the mix
When I saw it I thought it said 'Bow' something but the more I looked at it the more I thought it read 'Bom' something. Lurking in the back of my mind the word Bombardon popped up, I seem to remember coming across it as the name of an old musical instrument, sooooo I did what I always do and consulted the papers. I found this in The Globe of the 14th May 1908 in an article about military bands.
.....The earliest instruments were the bombarde, the pipe, the flute, the flageolet, and the tambourine. In the fifteenth century the bagpipe and violin made their appearance.....
THE BOMBARDE. For readers not versed in the nomenclature of musical instruments, it may be explained that the bombarde, to which reference has been made, was a medieval instrument of the oboe family, having a reed mouthpiece and a wooden tube. The name was properly applied to a large and low-pitched instrument (whence the name bombardon for a heavy reed-stop in organ building); but it was also used for small instruments of the same class which were known as basset-bombards and bombardi-piccoli. The bombardon, or bombardone, is a large-sized musical instrument of the trumpet kind in tone, and according to the "Century Dictionary," not unlike the ophicleide.
There are lots of references to bombardons on-line, and it seems to have been still in use at the time James was (possibly) playing one.

Now this might all be a load of twaddle, and I have no idea why James would have become proficient in playing such an obscure instrument, but it makes a nice story

 

[Daft Bat]

I think that you've got it @AnnB

The Royal Cameron Highlanders had pipers and a bombardon would be part of a pipe band.

Have brought this to my brother's attention and he said, "Aha! Like a tuba." So that makes a lot of sense.

 

[AnnB]

The Royal Cameron Highlanders had pipers and a bombardon would be part of a pipe band.

Have brought this to my brother's attention and he said, "Aha! Like a tuba." So that makes a lot of sense.

That was my thinking, pipes and drums are the order of the day as far as Scottish Regiments go

 

[MollyMay]

@AnnB what strange things you have lurking at the back of your mind

It does make perfect sense that a Scottish regiment would have pipes and drums (I did try to see bagpipes or drums in those words, but couldn't). I am sure you are correct, and it ties in with him being a stretcher bearer (noted on his WW1 service records, quite a common role for bandsmen I believe).
Thanks so much x

 

[AnnB]