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Our History

Thundersley is situated on the Thames Estuary in Essex, between the towns of Benfleet and Rayleigh, some six miles west of Southend-on-Sea.  Brass banding in the local community goes back to at least the early part of the last century.  The modern ‘Thundersley Brass Band’ was formed in 1980 from a nucleus of young local players, some of whom are still current band members.  In the late 1980's and early 1990's the band achieved regular success at numerous competitions including qualifying for the 1989 Fourth Section National Finals in London. The journey to success gathered momentum in 2006 under the baton of Keith Schroeter when they were crowned London & Southern Counties 4th Section champions, gaining promotion to the L&SC 3rd Section for the following year.  During this busy period, they continued to perform well in competitions and were declared ‘Southern Counties Amateur Bands Association Band of the Year’.  The band took up permanent residency at Richmond Hall in 2009 which has proved to be a versatile base for rehearsing purposes and serves as a suitable venue for concerts.

Thundersley Brass steadily progressed over the next few years under musical director Roland Morris and were promoted into the L&SC 2nd Section.  By winning the L&SC areas in 2011 and in again in 2012, entry was gained into the 1st Section for 2013, finally realizing a long-standing goal for its founding members.  With the appointment of musical director Nigel Taken, the band won the 2014 L&SC (1st Section) and were promoted into the Championship Section for 2015.  The band were runners-up in the L&SC areas for 2018 qualifying for the Nationals at the Royal Albert Hall later that year. 

Under new musical direction of Melvin White, the band earned a qualification from their result at the ‘Welsh Open’ in 2019 for the British Open Spring Festival and went on to win the ‘Senior Trophy’ in 2023.  With the most recent win in the first section at the ‘Leicester Brass Band Association’ contest in 2024 the band are once again setting their sights on a return to the L&SC Championship Section….

About Thundersley Brass Band

Our provisional list of events are as follows

Date Event
Sat 21st Mar'26 L&SC Areas contest, Stevenage
Sat 2nd May'26 British Open Spring Festival, Town Hall, Birmingham
Fri 26th Jun'26 Summer Concert (Proms night)
Tue 6th Oct'26 Concert, Regent Hall
Sat 17th Oct'26 Joint concert with Epping Band
Sun 8th Nov'26 Remembrance Day, Paddocks, Canvey 10:30am
Thu 3rd Dec'26 Christmas Concert
Tue 15th Dec'26 Concert, Saxon Hall, Southend (evening)
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(British Open Spring Festival, Senior Trophy win, May 2023)

Where to find us

The location of our rehearsal hall is Richmond Hall, Richmond Avenue, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 5HA:


News Archive


Past Honours

* March 2025  – L&SC Areas (1st Section runners up)

* November 2024 - LBBA Contest (1st Section winners)

* May 2023 - British Open Spring Festival (Senior Trophy winners)

* March 2018 - L&SC Areas (Championship Section runners up)

* September 2017 - SCABA Autumn Contest (Championship Section runners up)

* November 2015 - Milton Keynes Open (runners up)

A complete list of our contesting results can be found at www.brassbandresults.co.uk