Middleton Band awarded £1,000 funding

Middleton Band

Middleton Band has been awarded £1,000 as one of 500 winners in specialist insurer Ecclesiastical's Movement for Good awards, which is giving £1million to charities this summer.

Members of the public were invited to nominate causes close to their hearts and 13,695 charities were nominated by over 250k people.

This award could not have arrived at a better time as due to the Covid-19 pandemic the band organisation has had to drastically change the way they work. The usual bi-weekly rehearsal and several public engagements for our senior, youth and training bands have been unable to take place. This money will enable Middleton band to transition towards a new normal and facilitate the re-engagement of our community.

Middleton Band was originally formed by a group of six Middleton lads in 1876, when they purchased a one key flute and a drum, founding the Middleton Perseverance Drum and Pipe Band.

Over 140 years on, the band now has a first section band, second section band and youth band. 

The band competes at contests and were named national champions in 1983 and 2007.

Most recently, Middleton Band were crowned second section local champions at the North West Area Brass Band Championships in 2018. Later in that year the band once again became national champions by winning the second section national finals and securing promotion to the first section for the first time in the band's history.

Band Secretary Aaron Hayes said: “We would like to thank everyone who voted for us to win this award. We have a proud tradition of bringing people of all ages and all walks of life from the community together and promoting wellbeing through music. We are looking forward to developing support for our band community and particularly vulnerable members for whom association with band may be the only socialisation they have.”

Mark Hews, group chief executive at Ecclesiastical, said: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a good cause as part of our Movement for Good awards. Ecclesiastical is a unique financial services group. We are owned by a charity which means all available profits can be given to the good causes that are so important to our customers.

“As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of our business. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.”