The Inheritors Hendon Band

Hendon Band

A Salvation Army corps was opened in Hendon in 1882, and its band, consisting of eight members, was formed three years later. The early bandsmen were often farmhands or shopkeepers serving the small Hendon community. By 1914 the Hendon Band was of sufficient quality and strength to carry out weekend 'campaigns', visiting other Salvation Army corps in the United Kingdom, and it is recorded as having been in Gravesend, Kent, when the First World War was declared.

The end of the First World War Fred H. Cobb was appointed Bandmaster in the 1920s and the band began to develop its reputation for high-quality musical performance. Demand for the band increased and weekend campaigns in Boscombe, Plymouth and Exeter were undertaken. In 1936, it undertook its first radio broadcast on Radio Luxembourg. Towards the end of the 1930s the Young People’s Band, was founded to encourage young members of the Hendon Salvation Army to develop their musical abilities. In 1950 Fred H. Cobb retired and Don Morrison was appointed Bandmaster.

In 1952, the band undertook its first foreign tour in Denmark. Morrison continued in service as Bandmaster for a further five years until he was succeeded by Fred H. Cobb’s son, Roland Cobb. Under his leadership the band undertook its 1964 tour of the Netherlands, and its 1976 tour of Germany, Switzerland and - again - the Netherlands. In 1978, Hendon Band played the Queen Elizabeth Hall, on London's Southbank, for the first time.

In 1979 the band was led for a short period by Paul Ruby before Roland Cobb's eldest son, Dr Stephen Cobb was appointed as his long-term successor. In 1988, the band toured Canada and the U.S. for the first time. In 1993, the band returned to America. In 1996, a third visit to the US was made.

Having served as its bandmaster for 29 years, Stephen Cobb relinquished his role as leader of the band in 2009 and was succeeded by David Rudd. Stephen Cobb returned as the band's conductor in 2012.