Jule 2020
By Tony Mansell
Born: Circa 1904 at Camborne
Married: Vera May Thornton in 1933
Died: 28th January 1988 in Newquay
William “Billy” Edward Moyle was a Cornishman – a man whose involvement in many types of music spread far beyond his home town of Camborne.
Billy was born in Trelowarren Street, Camborne, where his family had a dairy. His parents, Bennett and Lilly, married in 1902 and had two sons and two daughters (1). Lilly had another son, Thomas John Knuckey, from a previous marriage but her husband had died whilst still young. At some time the family moved to New Street, Troon, not far from Camborne.
Billy’s father played in Camborne Town Band and, as was often the case, the son followed the father into the band. Billy was about twelve years old when he joined, in 1916, when the First World War was raging. Many youngsters begin on cornet and then move to whichever instrument best suits them but Billy remained on the cornet. The band had been re-formed in 1896 but its history stretches back to the 1841 and, but for the vagaries of the volunteer military organisations, it may well have been a continuous line. Camborne was one of the leading bands in Cornwall and it is likely that Billy had to wait for a vacancy before he could move into the senior band. When that was we don’t know but we can say with some certainty that he quickly became an accomplished cornet player.
Camborne Town Band 1919 – Middle row, 4th left, is Bennett Moyle (with moustache) on baritone
Times were hard and work was scarce but, like many of the band, Billy was given a job in Holman Brothers Ltd, an engineering company of local, national and international importance. In an interview with Chris Blount he said, “I didn’t have a trade, I just did anything that came along, I was a general worker”.
As you will see as you progress through this story, Billy was never afraid to move to improve his lot and at the age of 18, in 1922, he and three of his Camborne Band colleagues, moved to Newquay to work in the Newquay Knitting Factory and to play in Newquay Town Band. The factory also had an orchestra, run by Bert Hawke, one of the factory managers. Billy also joined that. A bandsman moving to a new area will quickly form a new circle of friends and so it was with Billy as he settled into the Newquay Town Band. He became the principal solo cornet under the baton of the redoubtable George Cave, a north-country musician, conductor and composer who had moved to Cornwall. George’s history is intriguing, in part because of his involvement in so many Cornish brass bands.
Billy’s father, Bennett, had spent many years in the USA and considered it to be a land of opportunity. His advice to his son was that he should do likewise and in 1923, he and his step-brother, Thomas John Knuckey, left, not for America, for Canada. His father’s other piece of advice was, “Don’t forget to take your cornet with you.” Billy’s time in Newquay Band had been short but there was clearly no ill will at his leaving and the other players wished him well and even presented him with a watch.
On arrival in Canada, Billy checked out the local brass bands and, having found one to his liking, he joined and quickly settled in. His services were clearly appreciated as they were instrumental in finding him a job – making electric stoves. He clearly liked the way of life in Canada and, according to Dudley Currah, a former member of Newquay Town Band, he played trumpet and piano in a travelling circus – possibly Barnum and Bailey’s. He remained in Canada for about five years but in 1928 an attack of pleurisy laid him low. He spent some time in hospital during which he made up his mind to return home – to his family in Camborne. Once there, he was soon back in the Town Band but he had formed a liking for Newquay and within a few months he was on his way to there again.
This time it was not the knitting factory where he found employment but Stotts Music Shop in Fore Street and it was probably there that he met and teamed up with violinist Norman Nankervis and cellist Miss Rigby. With Billy on piano, the trio played for the silent movies being shown at the old Pavilion Cinema. With his work, and playing for two films each night, there was little opportunity for rehearsal so it meant a lot of improvisation. He said, “It was mostly blood and thunder films and, when it was necessary, we brought in a trombone player”. I have a feeling that he enjoyed his time in the cinema and all was going well until, in 1931, the writing was on the wall. The era of the silent films was coming to an end and the “talkies” were taking over.
At this time, Newquay Town Band had just 12 players. Despite being small in number, they were very active particularly during the summer when the town was full of holiday makers. Mr Williams, an ex-army musician, was their musical director but in 1930 he resigned and the band was in need of a replacement. The timing was perfect and Billy applied to take over. No doubt, the fact that he had previously been its principal cornet player acted in his favour and he was offered a three-month trial. He was a good player but waving the baton was a whole new experience and it must have been with some trepidation that he took his place in the middle. Clearly, though, he made a good impression and on the 29th January 1931 he received a letter offering him the job on a permanent basis. It stated that it was “…unanimously agreed to pay you a salary of £2 per week as a part-time employee of the above Committee as Bandmaster of the Newquay Town Band …” By my reckoning that is approximately equivalent to £125 these days.
Many years later he recalled his enjoyable time there but he also lamented the constant loss of young players to the summer pursuits of swimming, surfing and fishing. He said, “It was three years of hard work before they were any good to the band and then they were off”. It was not all bad news, however, there were many successes from his teaching, both in the band room and at St Columb Minor School. Some youngsters even went on to make a career in music.
Throughout the 1930s W E Moyle and Newquay Town Band were busy with a great variety of engagements. There were carnivals, Flora Dances, contests, carol playing and even a number of radio broadcasts. Included in their busy itinerary was a challenging programme of concerts in Newquay itself which must have helped considerably in keeping the band solvent. Newquay to Penzance was a long trip but in 1932 they headed west as this newspaper report confirms: “Morrab Gardens, Penzance, Sunday afternoon and evening, to wind up the carnival week, two concerts were given by Newquay Prize Silver Band under the conductorship of Mr W E Moyle, bandmaster.”
Newquay Town Silver Band 1934 with Bill Moyle sitting behind the shield (Photo: courtesy of Maureen Keast née Webb of Newquay)
It was while he was conducting Newquay Town Band that he began composing music and what could be more appropriate for his first brass band composition than a march. It was entitled “Towan Blystra,” the old name for his adopted town, Newquay.
We are left to ponder at the circumstances of him meeting his future wife, Vera May Thornton. Vera was from Sheffield; she was a keen ballroom dancer and here we have a clue. His love of music included dance music so perhaps it was at a dance event: maybe when she was on holiday in Cornwall. We do know that they married in 1933 and made their home in Newquay.
Music was an increasing part of his life and at some point he must have decided that it was where his future lay. In 1935 he began studying at the London Guildhall School of Music. With everything else that was going on in his life he must have found the time pressures challenging but by December 1936 he had achieved his ambition and he was awarded a Licentiateship (LGSM) qualification for conducting and arranging.
Billy and Vera had one child – a son. William Thornton Moyle (Billy jnr) was born on the 25th September 1937 at Broadwood, St George’s Road, Newquay, presumably their home at the time. Like his father, he had a professional career as a musician, in school-teaching.
As I said earlier, his musical interest was not restricted to brass bands and Terry Knight, (2) his nephew, has discovered a 1935 reference to the Billy Moyle’s Serenaders. Sadly, we know no more about them so perhaps their existence was short-lived or maybe the group evolved into another of his creations: Billy Moyle and his Super Dance Band. This was clearly a popular group and, together with his other musical interests, he was in great demand. We imagine, too, that the group was also of some quality, so much so that in 1939 they became the Cornish Champion Dance Band. The competition was organised by the Falmouth Carnival Committee and it was the Second Annual Dance Band Contest for the Championship of Cornwall. The venue was the Princess Pavilion, Falmouth, and on Wednesday 3rd May 1939, his six-piece group left with the title – and the trophy.
Billy in his dance band days
Like many brass bands, Newquay Town Band suspended or severely curtailed its activities during the Second World War. Billy’s life changed too and, whilst not eligible for military service due to poor eyesight, he was off to Leeds and war-time employment as an optical instrument maker at the Kershaw Optical Works. This line of work appears somewhat ironic considering his poor eyesight. Here again, he found some musical involvement at his workplace providing entertainment for his colleagues and taking part in BBC broadcasts. These introductions from the compère clearly show his involvement but we are left to ponder about the “shadow factory”.
Hello, war workers. Once again this is your compere, Wilf Hard, introducing our programme with those popular accordionists, Bill Moyle from the shadow factory and Harold Hamilton from our binocular machining department playing a medley of favourite waltz tunes – “Skaters’ Waltz,” “Blue Danube” and “Estudiantina” … and here they are, folks…
And so, friends, we conclude this programme as we began, with our two accordionists playing a selection of popular tunes, beginning with “Dearly Beloved” and following on with “Yankee-Doodle-Dandy” and we hope you’ll join in and sing.
Good luck – Cheerio – and carry on!!!
Billy Moyle and Harold Hamilton in full flow
During his time in Yorkshire he maintained his brass band involvement by playing with Yeadon Old Band and with the re-formed St Hilda’s Brass Bands (1944) in Bradford when its rehearsal facilities were based in the pavilion of Bradford Rugby League Club at the Odsal Stadium.
Greater success was to follow, however, with the opportunity to play with the mighty Brighouse and Rastrick Band. There, he played under the eminent conductor Eric Ball. Fred Roberts, who later conducted Camborne Town Band, St Austell Band and Redruth Band, was the principal cornet player at Brighouse and Rastrick and it was he who encouraged Billy to complete his march, “Cornish Cavalier”. Billy had started writing it in Newquay and now he added a new section and it was finished. Brighouse & Rastrick recorded it in March 1944 and The “Melody Maker” wrote of Billy, “A Cornishman himself, he recently composed a march entitled ‘Cornish Cavalier’ and which was included in a broadcast a couple of weeks ago by the famous Brighouse and Rastrick Band which Bill himself conducted for this number…”
The magazine the “British Mouthpiece” afforded it a glowing tribute: “An enjoyable march and to prove its worth Brighouse and Rastrick Band have recorded it on their latest disc”. Since then it has appeared on many concert programmes and has often been used as a contest test piece.
In 1944 he was also playing in Bert Noble’s Band, a dance band then based in Leeds. The “Melody Maker” wrote, “Most of the arrangements are by pianist Billy Moyle, and of late he has been trying his hand as a composer”. It is clear, however, that he had been composing for some time before this.
Bert Noble’s Band with Billy on accordion
In 1945 we find him playing in The Mayfair Brass Quintet which is described as being “directed by Billy Moyle of 36 Delph Lane, Leeds 6”. It comprised two trombones, two trumpets and Billy on piano. The group was broadcasting for the BBC during late 1945 and early 1946 with most of the music arranged by Billy.
Life in a top brass band is busy, particularly at contest time when it requires a huge commitment from both conductor and players. Brighouse and Rastrick was one of the leading bands in the world and Billy was a member when it achieved a huge triumph, it became the 1946 National Brass Band Champions of Great Britain. Following that, he was appointed Deputy Conductor and played a big part in delivering the band’s increased workload following its contest success.
Perhaps he possessed a restless nature – his career so far certainly seemed to display a desire to move from one challenge to the next. We don’t know why he left Brighouse and Rastrick but within a couple of years we find him back with the St Hilda Band, this time as conductor. According to Bob Wray (3), “he took some rehearsals and a few engagements but then declined an invitation to become its resident conductor”. Why he turned down this opportunity we don’t know but Billy was a Cornishman and I like to think that it was the lure of Cornwall that brought him home. He had heard that Newquay Band was to be re-formed and within a short time an invitation arrived asking him to resume his role of Musical Director. In 1948 we find him back conducting Newquay Band with 40 performances each summer for the council as well as numerous other engagements.
Newquay Town Band 1949 (Photo: courtesy Maureen Keast nee Webb of Newquay)
It is said that “Cornish Cavalier” was Billy’s favourite composition and at a 1950 concert by Camborne Town Band he was invited to take the baton to conduct the piece (4). Later, in 1965, Camborne Town Band chose it as its signature tune in the BBC Radio Challenging Brass Competition. It was also used as a Bugle Contest test piece in 1969, 1979, 1989 and 2011. It was not his only popular composition, however, and at a celebrity concert at the Scala Cinema, Camborne, on the 19th December 1966, Camborne Town Band included his concert march “Trelawny” and invited him to take the baton.
Billy’s musical activities continued to be wide and he became the pianist for the local operatic society as well as regularly carrying out private engagements. He was an accomplished musician playing the cornet, piano and accordion, all involving different skill sets. He also possessed a trombone but it was a valve version rather than a slide. We can only speculate that it was because he didn’t want to learn the slide movements but whether that is true or not, it now resides with me, a gift from his nephew Terry Knight.
1951 at the Trenance Hotel, Newquay
As he had previously demonstrated, being the musical director of a busy brass band wasn’t enough and in 1950, or thereabouts, he took over as musical director and pianist of the legendary Goonhavern Banjo Band.
Clearly, Billy Moyle was a major factor in this band’s success and one of the players recalled that he was never satisfied with anything less than a good performance always reminding the players that “the public didn’t want to pay for a yard of pump water”. Terry Knight recalled that it was always a big occasion when the band came to their village. He said, “I suspect that they might have come to Troon more than some other places because of my uncle’s family connections. The concerts were held at St John’s Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, in the Sunday School Room. It would have been in the mid-1950s, before television had really taken a grip, when a good quality light entertainment event would fill the room with probably as many as 120 to 130 people. Village concerts with locals performing at the chapel were a frequent occurrence and always well-supported but the Goonhavern Banjo Band was that bit special: these people had travelled! I guess that it was an exciting time for a young professional musician and Billy Moyle probably took to some of the American music trends. I’ve always imagined that his interest in the banjo and dance bands might have been encouraged there but I’m not aware that he ever played the instrument, certainly not well enough to teach it.”
Billy was described as strict but with a good sense of humour and one of the players recalled him referring to “Orpheus in the Underworld” as “Orpheus in his underpants”. That was in rehearsals and he always followed it up by saying that he ought to stop saying it in case he inadvertently announced it in a concert. Marina Tonkin (later Golley) began learning the banjo in 1947 under the watchful eye of Rita Jacka. She said, “We all had to read music but I already played the piano so I was alright in that respect. It took me about three years to reach the required standard but before I could take part in concerts I had to have an audition with Mr Moyle. I passed and joined the band in 1950.” Billy’s son, also Billy, was a percussionist in the band and appears on a 1960 programme as a xylophone soloist.
Under Billy’s guidance, Newquay Town Band improved considerably and took part in many contests around Cornwall. The West of England Bandsmen’s Festival, more popularly known as Bugle Contest, was the location of some of these where his band competed in the Championship Section with some notable success. A quote in the “Cornish Guardian” in 1965 described him as, “A good band trainer with a clear beat, marvellous sense of rhythm and a natural ear for tempo”.
1953 – Billy Moyle collecting the trophy won by Newquay Town Band at Bugle Contest (Photo: courtesy Anne & Terry Knight)
Life was busy for this multi-talented musician but he continued composing and in January 1970, F Richardson Limited, published his hymn tune, “Thornton”, its title being taken from his wife’s maiden name.
It seems that he disliked being referred to as Billy, especially in print, a point which was made in the “Cornish Guardian” by Phillip Hunt. This is somewhat strange as he used that name for some of his groups and it is certainly how he is affectionately remembered.
Bands once had a “men only” policy and in Newquay Band’s case it was upheld until the 1970s and even then only changed by accident. One of the new volunteers had short hair and was called Lesley, a name given to both boys and girls albeit with different spelling. It was some time before Billy Moyle realised that the young person was actually a girl by which time she was already playing in the band. Resigned to the situation, he told her that she could stay.
On the 16th May 1974 the “Cornish Guardian” wrote, “Billie to hang up his baton after 40 years with band – when a successor can be found”. The last few words may have anticipated a problem and it was not until 1976 that he actually stood down. Even then, he continued composing and his march “Restormel” was published by Wright & Round in 1976. On at least two occasions it has been used as a test piece at the Bugle Brass Band Contest.
Just two years later, in 1978, his wife died. He and Vera had been married for about 45 years and she had been by his side during his long and very varied musical career. The next few years must have been very different for Billy with Vera gone and no brass band to occupy his time but he kept active as a recording of him playing, “Two Cousin Jacks” on piano, his own composition, at the age of 82 testifies.
Billy in 1985
Billy Moyle passed away at Newquay Hospital on the 28th January 1988 and, as a tribute to him, his beloved “Cornish Cavalier” was chosen as one of the test pieces at Bugle Contest for the following year.
The “British Bandsman” reported, “The death has occurred of W E Moyle, conductor of Newquay Band for 45 years and composer of the march ‘Cornish Cavalier’. In his youth he played solo cornet for Camborne and during the forties he conducted Yeadon Old, St Hilda’s and Brighouse and Rastrick.”
W E Moyle
I have mentioned a number of his compositions but he wrote and arranged many others, far too many to list here. Some, like the march “Trelawny” and the march “Killicourt”, were for brass band and have strong Cornish connections, while others were for his other favoured musical genres and are countless. Most are unpublished and as the sifting of his papers continues who knows what gems lie hidden at the bottom of one of the boxes.
Many Cornish musicians have made their mark on the wider music world and we must include Billy Moyle in this list. He sprang from the grass roots in Camborne to become an all-round musician and as the 1989 Bugle Contest programme states, “He was a true Cornish Cavalier”.
- Bennett Moyle (1866-1923) / Lilly Moyle (1874-1964). Children: William Edward (1904-1988) / Bennett Stanley (1906-1974) / Eleanor Doreen (1915-2002) / Lilian Jane (1918-2003).
- Terry Knight of St Agnes, formerly of Troon, Mr Moyle’s nephew.
- Bob Wray is researching Billy’s activities with brass bands “up-north”
- “The Cornishman” 26 January 1950
Audio recording of Chris Blount interviewing Billy Moyle
Included here by kind permission of Chris Blount and Terry Knight, Billy Moyle’s nephew