The Boys’ Band was created in 1847. Despite a shaky beginning, it became well known for the quality of musicians it produced. The Band’s initial aims were to improve conduct and discipline and to give the boys a useful life skill, but the Hospital also hoped that access to a musical education would have a ‘softening’ influence on the boys. Many boys graduated into professional military bands and bandmasters visited the Hospital to handpick recruits. By the outbreak of World War I, more than 80% of boys leaving the Hospital marched into military music.
This small display is in the Introductory Gallery, alongside a cabinet display about Mercy Draper the blind Foundling singer.
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