The Camborne Youth Band is putting the final touches to its preparation for a forthcoming tour to Belgium to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.

Memorials

The young musicians will visit a number of First World War battlefields, cemeteries and memorials, including the historic Menin Gate Memorial, and will also perform in a number of commemorative ceremonies.

Fund raising

The four-day trip, which is expected to involve a party of 50, is being sponsored by the Community Cashback Award Scheme and Burncoose Nurseries, which donated the proceeds from its popular garden tours.

In April the band also launched its ‘Coppers for Brass’ campaign, attempting to collect 1p for every British soldier who lost their life in the First World War, as Michelle Smith, a trustee of the Camborne Town Band told 4BR:

"The trip will cost several thousand pounds and as we didn’t have very long in which to raise the money we came up with the idea for collecting the symbolic 956,703 pennies."

The trip will cost several thousand pounds and as we didn’t have very long in which to raise the money we came up with the idea for collecting the symbolic 956,703 penniesCamborne Youth Band

Beach walk

Another recent fund raising event was a sponsored 'Brass on the Beach' walk (above), which saw band members, together with friends and relatives, meeting at the beautiful Godrevy Beach to play a selection of wartime marches outside the beach café, conducted by MD, Alan Pope.

The band then undertook the three-mile walk along the beach, through Gwithian, towards Hayle — performing along the way, much to the delight of both locals and holiday makers.

Michelle added: "We hope the visit to Belgium will be both educational and musically rewarding."