A chance discovery in the Footscray-Yarraville City Band’s storeroom has led to the creation of a concert to commemorate local soldiers who fought in World War I.
The band was clearing out its storeroom earlier this year when it came across an old bass drum. Upon closer inspection, band members found that the inside of the drum was inscribed with the names of World War I soldiers.
Band member Colin Harrison said six soldiers had written their names in 1916 or 1917.
“It’s incredible that almost 100 years later it turns up in our storeroom,” Mr Harrison said.
“We think that in the 1940s or ’50s, the drum became surplus army stock and was bought by a civilian band.”
After finding the drum, the band decided to put together a special concert next month to honour local soldiers and the Anzac spirit.
The concert will feature international performers Maggie Haggart, Nicholas Coghlan and Danielle Matthews, alongside the Footscray-Yarraville City Band.
The band will play a specially commissioned work,
The Silent Anzac, by composer Todd Smith in honour of the Australian submarine HMAS AE2, whose crew were held as prisoners of war in Turkey for more than three years.
The Silent Anzac concert is at Williamstown Town Hall on Saturday, November 12, from 8pm.
Details: www.williamstownrsl.com.au/entertainment/whats-on/
