BDF Band Handover Ceremony for Director of Music
Press Release BDF | 10 MAR 18
Photography: Captain Wesley Beckles, Lieutenant Shímar Gollop
Corporal Maynard D
The Barbados Defence Force Band has a new Director of Music. On Saturday 10 March 2018, in a brief handover ceremony on the lawn of the historic Officers’ Mess, Major Alfred Taylor relinquished the appointment of Director of Music and subordinate command was handed over to Lieutenant Brian Cole.
The ceremony was preceded by a 30 minute band concert conducted by Major Taylor during which he demonstrated the versatility of the band with a varied repertoire of some of his favorite selections spanning the 18 years of his tenure as Director of Music. The small but appreciative audience, which included Colonel Glyne Grannum (Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force), serving and retired Officers, Warrant Officers, enlisted ranks, family and well-wishers, relaxed in the cozy atmosphere of the Officers’ Mess. A highlight of the concert was a rousing performance of ‘Excerpts from Bajan Folk Suite’, a 3 movement orchestral transposition consisting ‘Bromley, Draw a Bucket of Water and Mr. John Bayne’, arranged by Mr. Roger Gittens who was in the audience.
Major Alfred Taylor addressing the audience
Colonel Grannum and several of the specially invited guests made brief remarks highlighting the achievements of the band over the years, thanking Major Taylor for his commitment and extended words of advice to Lieutenant Cole. Colonel Grannum also presented some tokens of appreciation to Major Taylor.
Lieutenant Cole received a ceremonial baton, sword and instruments of his appointment before conducting the band with a ‘farewell’ selection, Auld Lang Syne, to Major Alfred Taylor.
Lieutenant Brian Cole on Parade
Commodore (Cdre) Errington Shurland enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force in February 1984.
Colonel Glyne Grannum joined the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) on 18 October 1985 and underwent career development training at the Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School, Chilliwack and the Combat Training Centre, Gagetown New Brunswick, Canada. He subsequently attended the Infantry Training Centre and the Signal Wing in Warminster, UK (PCBC and RSO Courses respectively), the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy; the Lester Pearson Canadian Peacekeeping Centre, the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, Kingston, the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, Toronto, the National Defence University of the People’s Liberation Army People’s Republic of China and the Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, Washington. He also attended a Defence Resources Management programme at National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa, Canada. In addition to being a qualified infantry officer, Col Grannum is a qualified Regimental Signals Officer and a former Operations Officer and Finance Officer of the BDF.
Colonel Banfield joined the Barbados Battalion of the South Caribbean Force in 1941 having just left the Cadet Corps at Combermere School, and was granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1942. He was a Platoon Commander and a Company Commander during the war and served in Barbados, Dominica (as part of the Gale Force), St Lucia and St Vincent.
Warrant Officer Class 1 Colin Marshall is a graduate of the St Michael, and was born on the 5 November 1969 and enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force on 16 August 1994. He was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal in August 1997, Corporal in 1999, Sergeant in 2007, Color Sergeant in 2014, Warrant Officer Class Two in 2017 and Warrant Officer Class One in 2020. He was Most Outstanding Student on Junior Leadership Course in 1998, the Most Outstanding Student on Junior Non Commissioned Officer Cadre in Jamaica in 2000, best at Leadership on the Search Adviser Course in Jamaica in 2007 and the Most Outstanding Student on the Warrant Officer Course in Jamaica in 2015.
