The March
| The C.E.B. March is the Cubbington Silver Bands very own march, specially written for us by noted composer, Nigel Horne. In 2002, Nigel visited the Cubbington Silver Band and become involved for a period whilst working in the area. During the many conversations with Nigel, our Musical Director, Paul Johnson, related a story about a famous local football match held in the village where one person managed to bite the ear off another. Since then, the local nickname for Cubbingtonians has been a Cubbington Ear Biter! This set Nigel thinking and he came up with the idea for a march based around the story. The main theme is based on the letters of the abbreviation, the musical notes C, E and B. Having got the main theme, Nigel asked Paul if there were any local folk tunes that he could weave into the music. After a little research, Paul Johnson came up with a tune called Bumpus O'Stretton, from nearby Stretton-on-the-Fosse. This was all that Nigel needed and after a few weeks, came up with the complete march. The timing was fortuitous as we had our big annual Silver Sounds Concert only a couple of months away. The march was practised by the band and was made ready for the World Première performance at the Royal Spa Centre on Saturday 12th October. The C.E.B. March featured in the second half |  MD Paul Johnson receives the completed C.E.B. score from composer Nigel Horne |
| along with a couple of other pieces of music Nigel had arranged for brass. What made the first public performance even better was that the composer was able to attend the concert and conduct his own piece. The audience certainly enjoyed the new music very much, so much so, that the march was played again as an éncore. Since then, the march has become a regular and very popular piece in our concerts. Our thanks go to Nigel for all the hard work he has done in composing the march. |
The Real Story
The story came from an incident that happened at a football match many years ago. The match was held on October 20th 1920 between two local teams, Cubbington Albion and Leamington St. Mark's. At the Milverton Police Court, allegations of cannibalism were made by one Cubbington man against another. John Edward Cyphus, a farm labourer, was summoned by William Samuel Skelsey, a sawyer, for assault, Skelsey alleging that his right ear had been bitten off. Cyphus pleaded not guilty and made the cross summons for assault against Skelsey.
From the witness box, Cyphus, a decorated war veteran, stated that while spectating at the football match, he saw a player named Cleaver sent off. There was a heated discussion afterwards as the player refused to leave and the game was stopped. About this time, Cyphus first saw Skelsey and said to him, "you ******". You were never any good. You are a sneak. I am a better man than you', and punched Skelsey in the face. A struggle took place and they fell to the ground.
Cyphus denied being hostile to Cubbington Albion who had prosecuted him for stealing, and denied biting off Skelsey's ear. He thought the injury was from the cinder path. The secretary of St. Mark's said he saw Skelsey hit Cyphus with no warning. Other witnesses corroborated the view that Skelsey was the aggressor. In the witness box, Skelsey, head swathed in bandages, said he advised the players to go home but hit Cyphus after offensive language was used towards him. When parted from Cyphus, it was discovered Skelsey's ear was bitten off. Not realising the seriousness of the injury, Skelsey attended Warnford Hospital and pleaded with the doctor to sew his ear back on. This could not be done. A further witness said he saw Cyphus biting Skelsey and that part of his ear was missing.
The chairman, Dr. T. W. Thursfield, said the bench unanimously agreed that Skelsey began the fight, and he was fined 10 shillings. The case against Cyphus was dismissed.
Since then, the nickname Cubbington Ear Biter has been used and it is from this that the inspiration for our march has come.
Nigel Horne about to conduct the première performance of the C.E.B. March at the Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, on the 12th October 2002. The first performance was just eight days short of the 82nd anniversary of the famous football match!
Listen to the March
A recording was made of the concert and première performance of C.E.B. By clicking the link below, you can listen to part of the march. The march has also been published and is available for sale from Nigel Horne.
To listen to our band perform the C.E.B. March and to find out more about the composer, click here