Dunston Silver Band has announced the death of Tommy Lee, who died peacefully in hospital on 5th February, aged 93.

Life long association

Tommy had a lifelong association with the band, joining prior to the Second World War. During the war, he served in the Duke of Wellington Regiment in North Africa and Italy.

Whilst in Italy, Tommy made a number of friendships that were to last well beyond the war, which led to his organising several tours.

Tommy was always ready to give his time to encourage young playersDunston Band

Driver

During the 1960s, Dunston Silver Band undertook several tours of Northern Italy and Switzerland. Arranging transport for the tours was always made easier by the fact that Tommy was a bus driver for United Buses.

Later on, Tommy moved away from the area with his late wife Betty, only to return several years later to find that the band in Dunston had recently stopped practicing and most of the assets sold off.

He was one of the leading figures in re-founding the band in 1987. He was also well known as a regular at the practices of several other local bands, always promoting co-operation between bands but always warning against the practice of poaching players.

Encourage young players

Tommy was always ready to give his time to encourage young players.

As a BBb bass player, he had extra time for budding bass players, often giving them lifts to practices and band jobs. Tommy didn’t have a big car and his experience as a coach driver probably came in handy in packing lots of cases into a small space!

Tommy will be sadly missed by family, friends and members of Dunston Silver Band.