The first Salvation Army band was launched in Salisbury in 1878 and was
made up of Charles Fry, a local builder and leader of the Methodist orchestra, and his three sons. Salvation Army evangelists
in Salisbury were having trouble with local hooligans, so Fry and his sons had offered to act as bodyguards while the Salvationists
sang in the market place.
As an afterthought the Frys brought their instruments to accompany the singing.
In this unwitting fashion the first Salvation Army band was born. Their immediate success led the Fry family to sell their
business and become full-time musicians with the Army. Within the next few years, brass bands sprang up all over the country.
Maidenhead Corps, Number 704, was opened in 1886 and soon after a
young farmer, William Thomas, from the Salisbury area moved to Maidenhead and became the first Bandmaster of Maidenhead
Citadel Band.
