EAST Lancashire Concert Band will be performing in Padiham Memorial Park this Sunday afternoon in the first in a series of events to mark the centenary of World War One.

Brass In The Park will take place from 2pm to 4pm, while in September it will also premiere a new piece of music it commissioned to honour heroes of the war.

In 1914, as Accrington Old Band, members led a parade of new Pals’ recruits past Accrington Town Hall, when battalion strength had been reached.

A newspaper report said: “They played lively tunes as they marched past the mayor who stood in front of Accrington Town Hall.”

The Oswaldtwistle recruitment office for the Accrington Pals, formerly the town hall and council offices, is now the band’s home base.

The band’s archives include documented history taking it back to 1842 when, funded by public subscription, the Accrington Old Band was formed.

There were a total of 24 instruments, including such long forgotten items as ophicleids and serpents.

Around 1854 the brass band came to the fore; military, or concert bands, were very much larger, with reed and woodwind instruments being well represented.

In 1859 and 1860, political upheavals in Europe led to the War Office raising volunteer military corps of more than 130,000 men — and Accrington Old Band, swept up in this, became the 7th Volunteer Rifle Corps (Lancs), then later the 3rd Lancashire Volunteer Regiment.

When Oak Hill Park was opened on Whit Monday 1893, among the various volunteer regiments and bands present was the Accrington Old Prize Band.

A newspaper article reported: “Quite a crowd of people gathered in Oak Hill Park on Sunday afternoon.

“The weather was all that could be desired, and the park looked at its best. The Old Band played selections and hymn tunes, the birds sang overhead and around rendering a novel and charming accompaniment.”

l The band’s plans to honour the Accrington Pals have been made possible by Arts Council fundings.

A three-movement work, Letters From Home, is to commemorate the start of the 1914-18 war and the role played by the Accrington Pals, who fought on the Somme.

Composed by Dr Peter Beeching, it comprises The Bittersweet Love Song, a story of a soldier saying goodbye to his loved one before leaving for war; The Trench, which ends with gun shots in the percussion; and In Memory.

The premiere performance will take place in September, at Accrington Town Hall, exactly 100 years after the band led the soldiers’ parade to mark the mayor’s recruitment initiative.

The concert band will also be taking part in the WW1 centenary events at Towneley Hall, Burnley, in August.

l The war memorial at the entrance to Padiham Memorial Park lists the names of East Lancashire Regiment soldiers from Padiham who fell during conflict. It also names those who served and died from other regiments and services.