The Band and Bugles of the Rifles star in Chichester concert

A popular Chichester tradition returns with the restoration of the annual fundraiser in support of ABF the Soldiers’ Charity at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Celebrating our heroesCelebrating our heroes
Celebrating our heroes

The Band and Bugles of the Rifles will be the guests on November 21 at 7pm, promising an evening of uplifting and rousing music.

Formerly known as the Army Benevolent Fund, ABF the Soldiers’ Charity provides financial and practical support to soldiers, former soldiers and their families.

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Concert organiser Major Tim Cooper is delighted to be back: “We were one of the very last events in the main theatre (two years ago) before they pulled up the seats (for redevelopment). 
We are pleased to be back, and we have also got our traditional spot back.”

In the meantime, the charity has used a number of smaller venues: “But there is nothing like the CFT for a concert of this standing and status. You would be looking at Worthing or Portsmouth otherwise, and that’s some distance for people to travel. This is absolutely ideal for us.

“We have done various things while we have been away, but nothing on this scale. We have a lot of very loyal attendees that come along to this concert. It has to be at least 20 years we have been doing this.”

The event is the single biggest on the calendar for ABF the Soldiers’ Charity in West Sussex, and Tim believes he is offering the best in the business with the Band and Bugles of the Rifles on a night which will feature favourites including Sussex by the Sea, Jerusalem, Nimrod and Land of Hope and Glory.

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“We are given what the army can afford to give us because they are very, very busy with their army duties. We are very privileged to have them. A few years ago they performed a brilliant concert in Chichester so it is wonderful to invite them back again and have them play for us. They were very, very popular, probably the most well-received band we have ever had there. Besides the fact they are great musicians, there is the extra spice 
of the buglers.”

The Band and Bugles of The Rifles, based in Sir John Moore Barracks, Winchester, are a military band defined by traditions dating back more than 200 years, including the use of the silver bugle and the distinctly-fast marching speed of 140 paces per minute.

“A leisurely pace would be 116. They travel very fast!”

The musicians within the band are members of the Corps of Army Music, which assigns soldiers to Winchester as part of their career development. The buglers that perform and march in front of the band are riflemen, Tim explains: “If you think of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe books, that’s the kind of thing we are talking about. They are the chosen men that would leave the rank and file in set pieces to skirmish in front of positions. They are very proud of their traditions as riflemen.”

Tim is hoping to raise £5,000, but as he says, the night is also about raising awareness of the charity: “It is not quite so much in the news now with Afghanistan and Iraq not being quite so headline news, but there are still a lot of casualties both physically and mentally, as well as their families. We endeavour to look after all those people concerned.”

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