Information on the number of armed forces personnel serving in military bands, as well as the Ministry of Defence’s financial commitment to them, has been released in a written parliamentary response by Defence Minister Luke Pollard.
“The Government is proud of those who serve in our military bands,” he stated, underscoring the critical secondary duties that band members undertake beyond ceremonial engagements.
In data covering the period up to 1 April 2024, the Ministry of Defence reported:
| Service | Strength of Military Bands | Officers | Other Ranks | Proportion of Full-Time Trained Strength (FTTS/FTTTS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,190 | 55 | 1,135 | 0.9% (0.2% officers; 1.1% other ranks) |
| RN/RM | 345 | 15 | 330 | 1.2% (0.2% officers; 1.5% other ranks) |
| Army | 692 | 36 | 656 | 1.0% (0.3% officers; 1.1% other ranks) |
| RAF | 153 | 4 | 149 | 0.5% (0.1% officers; 0.5% other ranks) |
The Minister highlighted that these personnel often fulfil additional operational roles, such as supporting deployed medicine or forming part of a casualty-receiving facility.
Royal Air Force (RAF) musicians, for example, are trained in “the Counter-CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear) role of establishing and running a Casualty Decontamination Area.”
Funding for military bands
In the 2023-24 financial year, spending on all band-related activities totalled approximately £9.632 million. The breakdown by Service is as follows:
- Royal Navy/Royal Marines (RN/RM): £1.650 million
- Army: £7.334 million
- Royal Air Force: £0.648 million
These figures, the Ministry of Defence says, illustrate the dual benefit of investing in bands, which not only enhance ceremonial and public engagement duties but also contribute vital operational support when needed.
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Figures like this, in isolation, aren’t helpful. What we need is what the additional cost for the bands over and above the troops in their regular role. Regardless for public engagement they’re well worth the costs.
The CAM has already been reduced on several occasions, bands amalgamated, and it’s home at Kneller Hall sold off.
As stated, they have other roles as well as state and ceremonial.
They’re an excellent tool for visibility as well. Vital really to keep the armed forces in the public eye
The public are just not interested. They have been isolated from real war for 8 decades now, Only an interruption to Love Island and Strictly will stir them from their slumber.
Agree again. And I agree with Levi too,which is why I don’t like to see bases close as it reduces the forces footprint in the public eye.
Hi Daniele, you are right about declining footprint. In West and East Sussex combined there is only one regular army unit (at Thorney Island). There are far more ACF in Sussex (1,000 cadets, 200 adult uniformed staff) than Regs!
[No RN, no RAF of course]
Hi Graham.
Yes, Sussex especially has very little military footprint, as does the area Liverpool to Manchester.
That is a very good point and a key issue around a profound lack of understanding around defence requirements. Not only do you see mass getting less and less but to save a penny that remaining mass is pushed into fewer and fewer bases…so less and less people are exposed to the military and they are more exposed to infrastructure attack.
Still the way it’s going geopolitically this week we will be needing another whole armoured division, make the 1st divisions a proper Mec division for 3 mech brigades for the northern flank… so that’s an army well north of 100,000 as well as moving to at least 12 fast jet squadrons…
That’s a lot of re opening of bases.. but then I would imagine there will be a lot of ex US airforce bases without tenants.
Jonathan.
I don’t for one minute think Reeves, Starmer, Lammy, and the Labour party as a whole, are even capable of stomaching that, no more than the Tories were before.
@ Daniele to be honest mate I think it’s coming a time where they literally have no choice, I think they know they are now heading for war in Europe and the U.S. abandoning Europe as well as heading for a Sino US war ( although I don’t think Trump understands that, as the US Government have just stuck a huge finger up to the CPP after essentially just about breaking NATO).
It would not at all surprise me if we did not see a pretty immediate announcement in the chancellors March statement that they are moving to 2.5% over the next year and then I expect the defence review to come up with a plan to 3% for the end of this parliament.
I then expect that to will within a few years get subsumed by a new Cold War in which Russia after essentially winning the Ukraine war just keeps its military industrial complex running full steam and moving to a 500,000 effective core army….they can now churn out adequate T90 Ms at about 90 a year and modernise around 300 T55 T62, T72 and T80s for mass…what is scary stuff is that Russia has only modernised around 40% of its T55, T62 stocks and about 10% of the 72 ( although the thought is the T72s cannot be easily reactivated or modernised due to the autoloaders), but the good news is that’s it’s used 80% of its T80 stocks.
So I think at some point in the next five years the Baltic states and or rump Ukraine will face an big old soviet style armoured hoard at the boarder and by the next election the parties will be all talking about the need to go above 3& maybe to 4%+. Because the only real way to deter Putin is with mass on the ground…he does not respect enablers and above everything we need to deter him….
@Jonathan it also means less and less flexibility for where people get to serve. Want to spend time closer to home and your family? Or are you a young urban professional looking for a career change but want to stay near where you are?
Well unless you live near Tidworth, Colchester or Catterick good luck with that.
Lol. Possibly true. Perhaps we need armed forces versions of Love Island and Strictly. The youth of today might well be able to relate to that better than the entertainment currently provided by military bands.
I was reading somewhere recently about youth attitudes to various situations. One question was (paraphrasing) “Whould you sign up for the armed forces if the UK was threatened with invasion?” Apparently, about 45% said they would not…
Yoof of today, eh?
And in 1933 the Oxford Union voted “That this House will under no circumstances fight for its King and country”, passed with 275 votes for the motion and 153 against..within 6 years they were all in uniform fighting a world war.
Err… I think you’re forgetting the small matter of the Falklands War. That certainly stirred the public into much admiration for our forces.
There’s also Afghanistan and Iraq, and while you may argue about these (I personally think Blair & Campbell should be doing time about the latter), there were outstanding acts of inspirational courage. We only have a couple of veterans from those in my workplace, but it’s clear the respect that people have for them.
Suppose they are ok for down in London with the Pomp and ceremony parades…But we
Otherwise I think its time to re-role them for the 21st century
And let volunteers and veterans take over thaa sort of stuff
Edinburgh tattoo must earn some serious sheckles…
Does Cardiff need a similar Tattoo creating AND
Why not a night at the proms featuring just musical musicians?
Band can earn money and people will follow the band – now you need the recruiters at the main event.
There used to be a Cardiff military tattoo.
The Musicians do a triffic, excellent, fantastic job. Long may they continue! It would be a sad day, if a penpusher somewhere were to suggest that they be cut back in any way.
They are pure morale but I expect nothing less from PPE degree bean counters who have never served to understand why they are important
Yes it was at the end of the 60’s to allow civvies kit to be worn,and as the world got mixed up, essential ,to keep wearing civvies, but today, it is having a effect on recruiting, simply because ,you hardly see in the street a uniformed service man or woman. Lee Rigby was tragically killed because he wore a Help for Heroes hoodie, so is there an answer, to a degree yes, parades , marches. In a summer show off what the armed forces do, we lost the big military tattoos, sadly that stupid health stuff stopped what Joe Public loved, the Field Gun Races, mailing the mast, Joe Public used to love these shows, a great recruitment, I never quite fathom as to why the cadet forces are not seen more in towns etc. Any idea , is to get cadets is to go to older veterans home,to see if they like job done, by this the older vets could give advise to cadets on doing stuff, and the older veteran can see that younger element is as keen as they were,when at their age. We are starting the count down to VE Day, it is 80 days from yesterday to VE Day, but it will flop badly ,schools won’t get military units to visit schools,collages etc, nor allow Veterans speak of their service days. We used to have in the Royal Navy two Naval establishments for boys of fifteen to learn the skills for life in the Royal Navy, but school leaving age rose, so it bade goodbye to these great recruiting establishments,tragically. We should never glorify wars etc, but teach the youth ways that by having top trained service men and women is a way to show by strength ,you can get wars stopped by showing your armed forces are so highly professionally trained, that if any nation hell bent on starting something stupid as like Ukraine conflict , their armed forces have almost ceased and caused Russia to regret starting this futile endless war.
Well worth the money. My wife and Ihave had the privilege to be guests at the Trooping of the Colour and the first night of the Edinburgh Tattoo. Wonderful experiences which we will always remember.
It is nostalgia for many, and it still has a role today. Bands can act as the only window to the services many will see. For me it is The Light Infantry Bugles ( family tradition, three generations of us served ) And the Bootnecks do an excellent job, pipe bands have people in tears at times. Keep this bit of history alive. We have lost too much.
All RM (The best by far) Bandies are trained as battlefield medics, not sure if other bands are multi-role? Dare we mention The Red Arrows in this thread,,,,,,,,,,,,,?
Why not mention the Arrows’? They are also a cunning way of keeping around 10 (ex) Typhoon pilots in ‘current practice’ at a relatively low cost and their engineers hands-on’.
Surely a decimal point is adrift in these figures. RAF Bands for instance come out at costing around £4,000 a head?
These figures clearly don’t actually include wages, pensions etc, if they do £8049. Per head is great value? Also what about all the add on costs for security provided by the civilian services for performances in public spaces? Id rather see Tanks than Trombones.