Fascinating life of young cornet player revealed
“I RECENTLY came across a cabinet card photograph of a young looking cornet player.
“No name was attached to the card, merely the details of the photographer”, so said Gavin Holman.
And from this information alone he set about researching and found out an immense amount of information about the bands in Abertillery and the young man in the photograph – Anthony Yorath.
Anthony was born in 1877 in Abertillery and lived initially in Cwm Street and then at 1 James Street in 1891.
At the age of 14 he was working in the local pit.
He played in the local Salvation Army band and then joined the Arael Griffin Temperance Band becoming principal cornet in 1890.
Anthony won a gold medal for the best cornet soloist in July 1897 at the 7th Annual Contest of the South Wales and Monmouthshire Brass Band Association.
In 1898, he won with the quartet and also won the solo competition at a contest organised by Lancaster Town Band(Blaina).
The Arael Griffin Temperance Band was very successful in 1899 after attending 11 contests they gained eight wins, two seconds and one third prize.
As a result he was invited to represent South Wales at the John Henry Iles Patriotic Band Festival at the Royal Albert Hall in January 1900, which was to raise funds for wives and children of servicemen.
Among the many bands taking part were the famous Besses o’ th’ Barn and Black Dyke with the Band of the Grenadier Guards and 60 drummers.
The other bands taking part were Wyke Temperance, Hucknall Temperance, Nantlle Vale, St Albans City, West Hartlepool Operatic, Clydebank and Kettering Rifles.
The fund was the Daily Mail Kipling Poem Fund.
In July 1900, Arael was invited to compete at the National Championships at the Royal Albert Hall where they achieved 5th place winning £8.
The top section was restricted to 15 bands.
The winners were Denton Original who received £75 and the One Thousand Guinea Trophy.
Anthony won the Gold Medal for being the Best Soloist.
He then had the honour of playing a cornet solo at the massed bands concert following the conclusion of the contest, which was conducted by Sir Arthur Sullivan.
In September 1900, he was solicited to take a position with the Band of the Grenadier Guards in London. He travelled to London and auditioned and was offered a position with the band.
He played The Lost Chord at a Grenadier Guards concert at the Alhambra in London in February 1901 to great acclaim gaining the longest encore of the evening.
In May he was back as a guest with the Arael Griffin Temperance Band playing at the Abertillery Sports, held to raise funds for tthe Cottage Hospital. He wore the Band of the Grenadier Guards uniform.
The Arael Griffin Temperance Band disbanded in 1902 being replaced by the Abertillery Town Band.
In that year Anthony competed at the Brecon Eisteddfod and won a guinea for winning the solo contest.
While he was with the Grenadier Guards he met Mabel who became his wife in 1904 when they married in the city of Bristol.
In 1905, Anthony played with the Abertillery Salvation Army Band in the Salvation Hall playing a cornet solo and a duet with his brother John, who was known locally as Jake and he had played with Arael on flugel horn.
Anthony had had a very successful banding experience which unfortunately had led to a dark period in his life.
With all the success came much celebration which changed him from a total abstainer to a drunkard.
Anthony described his downfall and subsequent conversion and rejoining the Salvation Army in The Weekly Mail on Saturday May 6 in 1905. 905.
Having become a convert he “was was far happier, not to o mention how much h better I am physically, ically, as, for one thing I have ave got rid of my old commpanion, n, the heavy vy head.”
In 1911, 1, Anthony y was living at 107 Princes ces Street, Abertillery, with his wife and nd son, Ivor Cyril, who was born in 1906 06 and was once again n a coalminer.
He joined ed the 10th Service Battalion i of f th the S South th Anthony A th moved dt to B Bristol i t l Wales Borderers (1st where he was recorded as Gwent) in 1915 and at this an unemployed hawker. time he was living at 28 He died in 1949.
Pandy Road, Bedwas. His son, known as Cyril
After the First World War Yorath, was a fine musithe family moved to Somcian who conducted and erset. adjudicated and he spent
Mabel died in 1928 and most of his life in the
Midlands. Midla He play played principal cip cornet with wi Radstock st Silver and an later conducted c them th and went w on to conduct other oth bands inclu including Sankey’s Castle Works, City of Coventry, Jaguar Ja Cars, Arley Welfare Welfar and Daventry Silver.
I got to know Cyril quite well ll as he h gave me great support and very good advice when I became the secretary of the West Midlands Brass Band Association.
He was very well respected as a musician and and I remember him as a very modest gentleman.
It really is a small world when I think of my connection to Cyril, the son of Anthony Yorath.
Another example of the small world is my wife, Jane, who was educated in a Walsall Grammar school was taught history by a teacher who lived in Brynhyfryd Terrace in Waunllwyd, Ebbw Vale which is very close to where we live, and a Neath Grammar school friend of mine, David James, who became a professional trumpet player and brass tutor, tutored Ian Porthouse, current conductor of Tredegar town Band, when he was in the Royal Northern College of Music.
Small world!