THE current lockdown has meant that many of us have been delving into boxes we’ve had hidden away in cupboards or the attic, that we’ve never quite got round to sorting out before.

Very often these contain some photographs which give a fascinating insight into days gone by.

Bygones reader Brian Moorby has discovered some photographs of his father Abe who was conductor of the Blackburn Military Band.

“My dad was involved in the band as long as I can remember,” said Brian. “He lived on Daisy Lane in Blackburn and then at Intack and he was 78 when he died in 1985.”

Brian believes that the band may have started out as the British Legion Band (Blackburn Branch).

“I think because not all the members were servicemen or former servicemen they had to change the name,” he said. “During the war my dad was a supervisor in the mill so he had a reserved occupation. He was also 33 when war broke out.”

Abe Moorby first got into the band as a cornet player. His brother Bill was also a member and he too played the cornet.

But Brian admits he was never destined to follow in their footsteps.

“My dad did get me to try playing the cornet a couple of times but it wasn’t for me,” he said.

In the post war years, being in a brass band meant that Brian’s dad and his musicians were very much in demand. The band practised twice a week on a Thursday afternoon and on Sunday lunchtimes at the Wellington pub on Furthergate.

“They always had their uniforms and at that time being in a band was a little bit like being a rock star,” said Brian. “They would be asked to play concerts and at civic occasions - it was a big thing to be part of a band like this and I’m so proud that my dad was the conductor.”

The band played regularly until the Fifties when dwindling numbers led to the decision to stop.

But, as Brian revels, not all the band members hung up their instruments for good.

“There was a tradition on Boxing Day for my dad and some of his mates from the band to go round to some of the well-to-do families in Pleasington and Wilpshire.

“They had an arrangement where about eight or nine of them would go into the houses and play Christmas carols around the tree and then move on to the next house,” he said. “I think they all got a small ‘donation’ and also a tot or two as they went from house to house.

“They all certainly seemed to have enjoyed themselves by the time they can home from what I can remember.”

Among the photographs Brian has of his dad which shows him conducting in King William Street in front of the town hall which Brian believes may have been at an annual mayor making ceremony.

He knows nothing about the two other photographs, one which shows his dad leading the band in a procession of some kind and an older picture which shows the band posing in front of what looks like a fairground ride.

“My dad’s sitting with his right hand on his knee just behind the drum in that picture,” said Brian. “I’d love to know where and when that might have been taken - I’m pretty sure it was before the war.”

If anyone can help provide any more information about the photos or the band they can email bygones@nqnw.co.uk.