THE SQUADRONAIRES

'The Squadronaires' was a Royal Air Force band which began and performed in England during and after World War II. The official title of the band was ''The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra'', but it was always known by the more popular title "The Squadronaires."

Contents

History

Members

Band revival

References

History

In 1939 the Royal Air Force implemented a plan to raise morale and entertain the troups during wartime, and The Squadronaires was one of the bands organized as a result. The band drew from some of the best musicians of the day. It became a popular jazz band and likely the best known of the English military dance bands of the time, with hits like "There's Something in the Air" and "South Rampart Street Parade." The Squadronaires played at dances and concerts for service personnel and also broadcast on the BBC and recorded on the Decca label. The orchestra's first broadcast took place in January 1941.
After D-Day, the Squadronaires went on to entertain service personnel engaged in the Northwest European campaign but had to return to England because of military operations. After demobilization, the members formed a civilian band of the same name. Ronnie Aldrich had been the arranger and co-piano player, but in 1950 he took over as bandleader, and the band was then billed as Ronnie Aldrich and The Squadronaires. The touring season of 1951 was the busiest period of activity the band had ever experienced. In 1952, The Squadronaires began a regular summer engagement at The Palace Ballroom in Douglas, Isle of Man which continued for about ten years. The Squadronaires continued to work together under Ronnie Aldrich until 1964 when rock music replaced jazz as the popular music of choice.

Members

Many of the members formerly played as side men in Bert Ambrose’s band, and during the war, the members consisted of:
Leader: Jimmy Miller
Manager: Arthur Maden
Trumpet: Tommy McQuater, Archie Craig, Clinton French
Trombone: George Chisholm, Eric Breeze
Saxophones: Tommy Bradbury, Harry Lewis, Jimmy Durrant, Andy McDevitt, Cliff Townshend
Piano: Ronnie Aldrich
Guitar: Sid Colin
Bass: Arthur Maden
Drums: Jock Cummings
Vocals: Jimmy Miller, Joan Regan ^[1]
After the war, Jimmy Watson replaced Clinton "Froggy" French on trumpet, and Monty Levy replaced Harry Lewis (husband of Vera Lynn) on alto sax.

Band revival

In 1985 a new big band orchestra was organized under the title "The Royal Air Force Squadronaires." Many original members of the band were contacted and several were present at the official launch of the new band at Headquarters Music Services, RAF Uxbridge, on 8 January 1987. Original band leader Jimmy Miller conducted the band’s theme tune, "There’s Something in the Air."
Since then the band recorded ''Big Band Spectacular'' and a second album ''Swing Squadron''. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force, the Squadronaires produced an album entitled ''Squads Away'' in 1993, and in January, 2002, they recorded ''Flying Home''. Recordings from the original band are also available as reissues.
Under band leader Sgt. Jamie Deighton the band has played in Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London and for HRH the Prince of Wales at Highgrove House supporting Pop Idol winner Will Young. They performed at the 2004 Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, also backing Will Young.
In August 2004 the band performed at the Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival, and appeared on television as part of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The band performs the majority of its concerts for charity, and in 2004 completed an eight-date tour of the South East to raise money for The Royal Air Force Association.^[2]

References

1. http://www.maybole.org/notables/mcquater/squadronaires.htm
2. http://nfo.net/brit/bs.html

The Squadronaires [[1]]
The Royal Air Force Squadronaires [[2]]
British Big Bands Database Plus [[3]]