On Thursday 1st April Britannia Royal Naval College (Dartmouth) said fond farewell to Simon (Sid) Davis on the occasion of his retirement as the College’s Volunteer Band Instructor.
In attendance were Commanding Officer, Captain Roger Readwin RN, The college’s Executive Officer, Commander William Peters RN and Mr Graham Holman who has temporarily taken over as The Band’s Instructor.
Sid was presented with a cheque for £860, all of which was contributed by current members of the Band, recognising the commitment, friendship, leadership and musicianship Sid has shown during his three successful years conducting the band.
Highlights during his tenure have included winning the accolade as ‘Best Band’ at the Royal Naval Volunteer Band Association Festival in 2018 and producing an acclaimed performance at the ‘Proms in the Park’ concert for Dartmouth Regatta in 2019.
Sadly, Sid’s retirement as leader has been necessary, due to him contracting Motor Neurone Disease and he will shortly be relocating to Scotland with his wife Maggie. He will be sorely missed by the Volunteer Band but also as an active member of the Dartmouth community where he has contributed greatly, in his role as Manager, to the success of The Flavel Arts Centre.
The Volunteer Band is very much looking forward to returning to action in the coming months. Their first outing is due to be a repeat performance at ‘Proms in the Park’ during Dartmouth Regatta on 27 August this year.
Music will include a wide range of movie themes as well as the traditional Proms Finale. The band is actively seeking new members and would be very happy to hear from any instrumentalists of Grade 5 standard and above but in particular Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Cornet and Tuba.
