The LSO in World War I

The LSO: 1914–18

© IWM Q 47602

Minutes from the LSO Board meeting, 27 July 1917:‘Sympathetic reference was made in regard to Members of the Orchestra whom had joined

His Majesty’s Forces’

© LSO Archive

By 1917, 34 Members of the LSO were away on active service, including the Leader W H Reed and

half of the violin section

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

In all we have discovered 41 musicians who had played with the LSO, or were to play with them in

the future, that served in World War I

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

Frank Almgill fluteEdward Augarde clarinet

George Bennett hornCharles Blackford celloRobert Carrodus violin

Edward Carwardine violinCharles Crabb celloCecil Dorling viola

George Eskdale trumpetSidney Freedman violinReginald Garnet viola

Edward Garvin tromboneHarold Grimson violinErnest Hall trumpet

Frederick Hawkins violinEli Hudson flute

Arthur Ives violinHarry Jackson horn

C Bertram Jones violinPaul Kilburn viola

Roll of Honour

Philip Lewis violinBertram Lewis violin/

orchestra managerArthur Maney cello

Joseph Meacham violinSydney Moxon trumpet

Robert Murchie fluteHenry Nisbet flute

Thomas Peatfield violinAlexander Penn hornHorace Ralph violin

William H Reed violinBernard Reillie violin

David Roy Robertson violinJohn Silvester double bass

Richard Tabb celloArthur Tibbetts violin

Edgar Wilby violinCharles Woodhouse violin

Ernest Yonge viola

The following musicians of the LSO served in the War of 1914–18

The LSO: 1914–18

Sydney Moxon trumpet#2488 Sergeant Bugler, London Regiment

Trumpeter Sydney Moxon was one of the

first LSO Members to join the Army,

in September 1914

© IWM Q 640

The LSO: 1914–18


His battalion, the Prince of Wales’ Own

Civil Service Rifles, was sent to France on

15 March 1915

© IWM Q 640

The LSO: 1914–18


He was a popular figure with the locals in

Bruay, where he was billetted, as he spoke

fluent French

© IWM Q 640

The LSO: 1914–18


Sydney was killed on 25 October 1916 near Ypres whilst

helping a wounded colleague to safety

He is buried in Woods Cemetery in West Flanders,

3 miles south of Ypres

The LSO: 1914–18Photo from British War Graves

Eli Hudson flute#764433 Private, London Regiment (Artists Rifles)

Eli Hudson was a well-known flautist, whose trio with his

wife and sister was a regular on the

music hall circuit

2nd Lieutenant, Royal Garrison Artillery (Special Reserve)

The LSO: 1914–18


In 1915 he went to France with ‘The National Theatre at The Front’, performing piccolo duets to entertain

the troops


The LSO: 1914–18


He enlisted in the Army on his return in 1916, and was again sent to France, this time to fight with his

regiment


The LSO: 1914–18


Eli died aged just 41 in January 1919, a couple of months after the end of

the war, in Millfield Military Hospital from cancer. He is buried in

Highgate Cemetery


Photo from British War Graves

The LSO: 1914–18

George Bennett horn#763118 Private, London Regiment (Artists Rifles)

George Bennett toured with the LSO to the USA

in 1912 as an ‘extra’. He was a member of

the Hallé in Manchester

#9114 Lieutenant, Royal Warwickshire Regiment

Photo courtesy of Sam Young and the family of George Bennett

The LSO: 1914–18


He also played in the Llandudno Pier

Orchestra, where he lived during the summer

months, and was a popular soloist locally



The LSO: 1914–18


George was involved in the Battle of Cambrai

in 1917, and was killed during

a German counter-attack on 3 December


He had just arranged leave to visit his wife

and 3-year-old son John for Christmas


The LSO: 1914–18

Roy Robertson violin#16092 Private, Scots Guards

Roy Robertson, also known as David, joined the LSO in 1916 at the

very young age of 17 on the recommendation of

the Leader W H Reed© Royal British Legion

The LSO: 1914–18


In October 1916 he joined the Army,

having lied about his age in order to do so

© Royal British Legion

The LSO: 1914–18


Roy joined the Scots Guards as a musician –

famous for their red tunics and Busby hats,

frequently seen on ceremonial duties today


The LSO: 1914–18


Sadly Roy was unsuited to duties with the Guards. He

was discharged with a heart condition brought on

by marching just one year later


He returned to duties with the LSO in

London, but left the Orchestra in 1920

The LSO: 1914–18

Ernest Hall trumpetRegiment unknown

Ernest Hall joined the LSO at the age of 20 in 1911, and was one of the first LSO Members to join the Army at the outbreak of

war© BBC

The LSO: 1914–18


We know little of his wartime story, although happily Ernest survived

and returned to the LSO, becoming Principal

Trumpet in 1924© BBC

The LSO: 1914–18


He went on to become one of the greatest

trumpet teachers of the 20th century, and was

awarded an OBE in 1962

© BBC

The LSO: 1914–18

Like most people at first, Elgar assumed the War would last only a few months. Nevertheless,

he wrote several works in 1914 to raise funds for countries affected by German occupation

Edward Elgar Carilloncomposed November 1914

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18


Carillon, performed tonight, was composed in November

1914 to raise funds for Belgian charities helping

people affected by the War. The work was premiered by

the LSO and Elgar on 7 December 1914 at The

Queen’s Hall

© LSO ArchiveThe LSO: 1914–18


The Orchestra and Elgar went on to perform the work

on an eight-date UK cities tour in March 1915, with

narration by Tita Brand, wife of the poem’s Belgian author

Émile Cammaerts. All proceeds went to war charities in Belgium



A recording was later made, again for the

charities. The work thenlargely fell out of favour, before being revived for similar purposes during World War II, this time

with the famous Laurence Binyon poem

‘For the Fallen’


Robert Carrodus violin#15043 Private, West Riding Regiment

During the early years of the War the LSO Board patriotically agreed to excuse Members serving in

His Majesty’s Forces from paying fees to deputies filling in for them while they were away on duties

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

Robert Carrodus violin

Unfortunately this generosity was abused: one Member, violinist Robert Carrodus, was

spotted in October 1916 playing nightly at the Savoy Theatre whilst supposedly away on

Army duties

#15043 Private, West Riding Regiment

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

Robert Carrodus violin

The LSO Board minutes of 25 October 1916 note

with disappointment that the gesture of waving

deputies fees should be revoked and that Robert

should pay his debt

#15043 Private, West Riding Regiment

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

Adolf Borsdorf hornLSO Founder

Anti-German feeling caused the LSO several

problems during the War, the saddest of which is the

story of Adolf Borsdorf, horn player, founding

member of the LSO and member of the Board of

Directors

Photo courtesy of Dennis Bradley and Geoffrey Walker of the Borsdorf familyThe LSO: 1914–18


Although Borsdorf was of German origin, he had

become a naturalised Brit. However his colleagues were concerned about employing the ‘enemy’

Photo courtesy of Dennis Bradley and Geoffrey Walker of the Borsdorf familyThe LSO: 1914–18


He was gradually demoted through the ranks, before finally being asked for his resignation in October 1915. His grandsons report that Borsdorf rarely played again,

and never talked of this incident

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18


Borsdorf’s sons were also musicians. They

changed their surname to avoid similar reprisals

Courtesy of Dennis Bradley and Geoffrey Walker of the Borsdorf familyThe LSO: 1914–18

The Pall Mall Gazette

Anti-German feeling also had an effect on the

very nature of music and music-making during the

War

© British Newspaper Archive

The LSO: 1914–18


In 1915 the LSO had performed its first annual

‘Three-Bs Festival’, featuring Bach, Brahms and Beethoven, to great

acclaim


The LSO: 1914–18


But a year later, the proposed repeat attracted criticism in the press, which

accused it of promoting the music of the enemy


The LSO: 1914–18


LSO concerts were picketed, and a war of words was waged

in the pages of The Pall Mall Gazette

© British Newspaper ArchiveThe LSO: 1914–18


It was decided that the Brahms’ Second

Symphony should be substituted by music by a

more patriotically suitable English ‘B’: Granville Bantock’s Hebridean Overture


The LSO: 1914–18


One observer quipped that the substitution had done more to further the cause of German music

than performing the planned Brahms

symphony!


The LSO: 1914–18

‘It was unanimously resolved that no further symphony concerts be given until the conclusion of the War’LSO Board meeting minutes, 26 September 1917

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

Three years into the War, the LSO was struggling. With compulsory conscription in 1916 came a shortage of

available musicians, and gloomy news from the Front sapped the appetite for culture in those left in London

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

A new threat of attack from silent but deadly Zeppelins meant concerts started earlier to allow people to get home before

air-raid time, but people were afraid to venture out unnecessarily

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

The LSO’s income suffered dramatically and made promoting any series of concerts, such as it had in

the first ten years, virtually impossible

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

The LSO survived thanks to the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham, who accepted responsibility for the Orchestra’s expenses and gave it a gift of £100

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

The Orchestra managed to get itself back to independent financial stability in 1919 and

restarted its own-promoted concert series in 1920

© LSO Archive

The LSO: 1914–18

The area around the Barbican Centre

and LSO St Luke’s, where you are now sitting, was heavily

bombed by Zeppelins including a hit at the end of Whitecross Street near LSO St

Luke’s in 1917

The LSO: 1914–18© IWM HO 9

The green lines show the route of two Zeppelin bombing raids on 8 September & 13 October 1915 and a just few of the impact sites.

70 people were killed on just these two nights. Between May 1915 and October 1917, 200 people were killed by Zeppelins

Map by Londonist.com

The LSO: 1914–18

Harold (Bonarius) Grimson violin#D/9523 Private, 6th Iniskilling Dragoons

Harold Grimson was one of seven children of a well-known London musical family. He had toured with the Orchestra to

the US in 1912, although was not an official member

© Low Level Aerial Photography, with kind permission

The LSO: 1914–18

Harold was killed during the charge of Guislain Ridge, part of the Battle of Cambrai, on 1 December 1917, but his death was not confirmed until his ID tag was sent back from the

Front nearly a year later

Harold (Bonarius) Grimson violin#D/9523 Private, 6th Iniskilling Dragoons

The LSO: 1914–18

Photo from British War Graves

Tragically, Harold’s sister Jessie, another violinist, also lost her husband, the cellist

Edward Mason, in 1915

She never got over the loss of her husband and

brother and retired through ill health in 1927

#D/9523 Private, 6th Iniskilling Dragoons

Photo from ‘The Lady’s Realm’, 1889 With kind permission of songofthelark.wordpress.com/tag/barns-ethel

Harold (Bonarius) Grimson violin

The LSO: 1914–18

Harry Jackson horn

Harry Jackson was born into a Yorkshire wool trade

family and learnt his musical craft playing in the bands

and musical societies in his home town of Eccleshill

near Bradford

The LSO: 1914–18

#181420 Private, Royal Engineers Railway Troops#197119 Gunner, Royal Garrison Artillery

He had moved to London in early 1916, joining the

LSO in May that year. He was almost

immediately called to join the Army, as a Bugler, in

the first wave of conscription in June

The LSO: 1914–18

Harry Jackson horn#181420 Private, Royal Engineers Railway Troops

#197119 Gunner, Royal Garrison Artillery

Two months before the end of the war, whilst serving with the Royal

Garrison Artillery in France, Harry was kicked in the

face by a horse, causing a numb cheek and upper lip

– potentially career-changing for a brass player

The LSO: 1914–18

Harry Jackson horn#181420 Private, Royal Engineers Railway Troops


#181420 Private, Royal Engineers Railway Troops

However his fears were unfounded. He returned to

the LSO and performed with the Orchestra until

1935, aged 49

The LSO: 1914–18

Harry Jackson horn


George Eskdale trumpet#10167 Private, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

At the outbreak of the War George Eskdale was serving as a bandsman in India, after enlisting aged just 14 at Kneller Hall, the Army’s School of Music,

in 1911

With the kind permission of Howard Snell

The LSO: 1914–18

#10167 Private, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

His battalion served in German East Africa, Egypt

and Palestine before joining the Allied Forces on the

Western Front towards the end of the War


The LSO: 1914–18

George Eskdale trumpet


He was severely wounded in the leg during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, earning him the Silver War Badge. He walked with a limp for the rest of his life


The LSO: 1914–18



George did not join the LSO until after the War, in 1932,

becoming Principal Trumpet in 1933 and a Director on the

LSO Board. He was also a soloist and influenced a

generation of trumpeters with his sound. He remained with

the LSO until he retired in 1958


The LSO: 1914–18


Henry Nisbet flute#319300 Sergeant, Royal Garrison Artillery

Like a few of the LSO’s musicians, Henry Nisbet

already had a military background before World

War I, serving as a Bandsman with the

Coldstream Guards in the 1880s

Photo courtesy of Jack Nisbet and the Nisbet family

The LSO: 1914–18

He was 46 when the war broke out and

above the upper age limit of conscription, originally age 18–41


The LSO: 1914–18



Nevertheless he joined the volunteer army

in 1915, and as an experienced soldier he was in demand to train

officers at the Office Cadet School

The LSO: 1914–18


More information and stories about the LSO in World War I can be read on the LSO blog:

blog.lso.co.uk/tag/ww1

The LSO: 1914–18

Remembering the Members of the London Symphony Orchestra of 1914–18

who served in the war: livesofthefirstworldwar.org/community/561

Research by Jo Johnson, Libby Rice and Gareth DaviesWith thanks to the Imperial War Museum, DC Thomson Family History, First World War Centenary Partnership, LSO Archives, Royal College of Music, London Metropolitan Archives, The National Archive, Royal Society of Musicians, Forces War Records, British War Graves, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, The Long Long Trail website; and the families of our musicians: Sam Young, Jack Nisbet, Geoffrey Walker and Dennis Bradley

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The LSO in World War I

Entertainment & Humor