Brighouse & Rastrick won the Saddleworth & Oldham District Whit Friday Championship in thrilling fashion on Friday night.

Conducted by Professor David King, the West Riding combination regained the title they last won in 2011 by performing ‘Knight Templar’, their new choice for this year’s event.

Tunics

Resplendent in their traditional purple marching tunics they claimed victories at Delph, Dobcross, Greenfield, Scouthead & Austerlands and Uppermill, along with a third place finish at Grenacres to pocket prize money of £4,750.

With the overall Saddleworth first prize of £2,500, and an additional £335 obtained from various individual solo and sectional awards, Brighouse ended the night with a whopping £7,585 to boost their coffers.

President's delight

Understandably, Brighouse's President, Paul Beaumont, who accompanied the band around the circuit with his wife Julie, was delighted when he spoke to 4BR.

"I'm really pleased with the result and want to thank the band and Professor David King for their superb performances.

As a band we'd also like to acknowledge the organisers and volunteers in the various villages for their tireless work and enthusiasm. It makes us proud to be part of the greatest free show on earth."

Fairey's runner-up

With Brighouse in commanding form in taking the Saddleworth honours there was one heck of a scrap for the remaining overall podium places.

In the end, a victory at Lydgate and fiver runner-up spots at Diggle, Dobcross, Greenfield, Lees & Springhead and Scouthead & Austerlands was enough to secure Fairey second place.

Impressive

Under the baton of Garry Cutt the Stockport outfit guaranteed themselves £3,850 after their impressive accounts of 'The President'.

Meanwhile, Leyland went some way to replenishing their post Oslo coffers after coming third under the direction of guest conductor Andy Warriner.

Their performances of 'The Wizard' saw them gain victories at Diggle and Lees & Springhead, as well as taking the runner-up spots at Lydgate and Uppermill.

Third and fourth at Greenfield and Grenacres respectively gave the Lancashire outfit a minimum of £3,280 after adding the £750 from the central prize to the tally.

Missing out

Narrowly missing out on a podium place was Hepworth whose eight contest places pocketed them £2,700 just 24 hours before they headed to Kettering to play in the All England Masters Championship.

Marsden's local title

In the hard fought battle for the local prize title, it was the very consistent Marsden Silver under Glyn Williams who took the honours with their solid performances of 'Knight Templar'.

The Yorkshire outfit competed at ten venues, finishing their challenge at just after midnight in Delph before they also headed to Kettering in the knowledge that they'd picked up six, sixth places, one third, one fourth and a fifth to bag themselves a nice wad of weekend prize money.

Runner-up was Grand Shield winner Milnrow, who claimed two thirds at Diggle and Uppermill. Oldham (Lees) was third with the youth prize going to Tewit Youth.

Confusion

As always there was some form of post contest confusion over the Whit Friday results, with Lydgate organisers issuing a statement to amend their prize list.

A retrospective of Whit Friday will appear later this week.

As a band we'd also like to acknowledge the organisers and volunteers in the various villages for their tireless work and enthusiasm. It makes us proud to be part of the greatest free show on earthB&R President, Paul Beaumont

Official Results:
Saddleworth & Oldham District Championship:

1. Brighouse & Rastrick — £2500
2. Fairey — £1000
3. Leyland — £750
4. Hepworth
5. Marsden Silver
6. SHB

Local Championship:

1. Marsden Silver — £750
2. Milnrow — £600
3. Oldham Band (Lees) — £400

Youth: Tewit Youth — £250

Contest Venues:

Delph:
80 Bands
Adjudicator: Mike Kilroy

1. Brighouse & Rastrick — £1,000
2. Rothwell Temperance — £700
3. SHB — £400
4. City of Bradford — £300
5. Hepworth — £250
6. Marsden Silver — £200
7. Wardle Anderson Brass — £150

Highest Placed Band not in Championship Section: Hebden Bridge — £150
Highest Placed 3rd/4th Section before 9.00pm: Parr — £150

Highest Placed Local:
1. Diggle — £125
2. Delph — £75

Highest Placed Saddleworth: Uppermill — £60

Highest Placed Youth:
Joint Winners: Tewit Youth & 2nd Rossendale Scouts — £80 each

Solo Cornet: Brighouse & Rastrick — £30
Soprano: Rothwell Temperance — £30
Euphonium: SHB — £30
Basses: Brighouse & Rastrick — £40
Trombones: City of Bradford — £30
Deportment: Cheshire Constabulary — £35

Denshaw:
60 Bands (Record)
Adjudicator: Alan Holdsworth

1. Hepworth — £750
2. Rainford — £350
3. Concord — £300
4. Whitworth Vale & Healey
5. SHB
6. Uppermill

Highest Placed 1st Section:
1. Longridge — £100
2. City of Bradford — £75

Highest Placed 2nd Section:
1. Whitworth Vale & Healey — £100
2. Eccleston Brass — £75

Highest Placed 3rd Section:
1. Amersham — £100
2. Parr (St Helens) — £75

Highest Placed 4th Section:
1. City of Chester — £100
2. West Coast Brass — £75

Highest Placed Saddleworth:
1. Uppermill — £150
2. Diggle — £125

Highest Placed Local:
1. Oldham band (Lees) — £100

Highest Placed Youth:
1. Tewit Youth — £100
2. Wardle High School — £75

Spot Prize: 2nd Rossendale Scouts — £100
Best Soprano: Hepworth
Best Basses: Hepworth — £40

Diggle:
55 Bands (Record)
Adjudicator: Simon Kerwin

1. Leyland — £800
2. Fairey — £550
3. Milnrow — £400
4. Uppermill
5. Concord
6. Oldham band (Lees)

Highest Placed 1st/2nd Section:
1. Uppermill — £150

Highest Placed 3rd/4th Section:
1. Amersham — £150

Highest 4th Section band who hasn't won any other prize:
1. Oughtibridge

Highest Placed Youth:
1. 2nd Rossendale Scouts — £100

Highest Placed Saddleworth:
1. Delph — £125

Highest Placed Local:
1. Oldham (Lees) Band

Best Band on the march: Brass Band Knutwil
Best Instrumentalist not in Championship Section: Uppermill — £30
Best Bass Section: Leyland — £60
Soprano Cornet: Fairey — £30
Euphonium: Leyland — £30

Dobcross:
60 Bands
Adjudicator: David Horsfield

1. Brighouse & Rastrick — £750
2. Fairey — £500
3. Hepworth — £400
4. Milnrow
5. Carlton Main Frickley Colliery
6. Marsden Silver

Highest Placed Saddleworth:
1. Diggle — £200

Highest Placed Local:
1. Milnrow — £200

Highest Placed Youth:
1. Rochdale Borough Youth — £250
2. Enderby Youth — £150

Friezland:
42 Bands
Adjudicator: Terry Newbigging

Highest Placed 3rd Section:

1. Golborne — £150
2. Darwen Brass
3. Littleborough Public
4. Parr (St Helens)
5. Greenalls
6. Wardle High

Highest Placed 4th Section:
1. Greenfield

Highest Placed Local:
1.Greenfield

Highest Placed Youth:
1. Wardle High
2. Tewit Youth

Greenacres:
49 Bands (Record)
Adjudicator: Brian Rostron

1. Hepworth — £750
2. SHB — £500
3. Brighouse & Rastrick — £200
4. Leyland
5. Fairey
6. Marsden Silver

Highest Placed 2nd Section:
1. Cornerstone Brass — £100
2= Delph & Lindley — £62.50 each

Highest Placed 3rd Section:
1. Boarshurst Silver — £100
2. Littleborough Public — £75
3. LGB Brass — £50

Highest Placed 4th Section:
1. Greenfield — £100
2. West Coast Brass — £75
3. Stacksteads — £50

Highest Placed Local:
1. Marsden Silver — £75
2. Uppermill — £50
3. Diggle — £30

Highest Placed Youth:
1. Rochdale Borough Youth — £50
2. Oldham Music Centre — £30

Cornet: Leyland — £30
Euphonium: Brighouse & Rastrick — £30
Deportment: Brass Band Breitenbach — £50
Youth Deportment: 2nd Rossendale Scouts — £30
Crowd Favourite: Emley Brass

Greenfield:
66 Bands
Adjudicator: Ray Farr

1. Brighouse & Rastrick — £1,000
2. Fairey — £750
3. Leyland — £500
4. Marsden Silver
5. Hepworth
6. Concord

Highest 1st Section:
1. Hebden Bridge — £400
2. Wardle Anderson Brass — £200

Highest 2nd Section:
1. Elland Silver — £150
2. Boarshurst silver — £125

Highest 3rd Section
1. Golborne — £100
2. Lees — £75

Highest 4th Section:
1. Greenfield : £70
2. Sale Brass — £60
3. City of Chester — £50

Highest Placed Saddleworth:
1. Diggle — £50

Highest Placed Local 4th Section & Below:
1. Lees

Highest Placed Local:
1. Uppermill — £50

Highest Placed Youth
1. Rochdale Borough Youth — £70
2. Shirland Welfare Training — £50

Cornet: Brighouse & Rastrick — £100
Euphonium: Brighouse & Rastrick — £50

Deportment: Cheshire Constabulary — £50
Entertainment: Hade Edge — £50

Grotton:
48 Bands
Adjudicator: Roy Roe

1. Oldham Band (Lees) — £600
2. Uppermill — £300
3. Hebden Bridge — £150
4. Carlton Main Frickley colliery — £100
5. Brighouse & Rastrick
6. Marsden Silver

Highest Placed First Section:
1. Chiltern Hills — £100
2. Parr (St Helens)

Second Section:
1. Lostock Hall Memorial — £75
2. University of Warwick — £50

Third Section:
1. Westcoast Brass — £75
2. Nelson Brass — £50

Local:
1. Milnrow — £100
2. Lees — £75

Youth:
1. Dobcross Youth — £100
2. 2nd Rossendale Scouts — £50

Deportment: Brighouse & Rastrick — £30
Youth Deportment: Tewit Youth — £25
Best Cornet: Chiltern Hills — £30
Best Soprano: 2nd Rossendale Scouts — £30

Lydgate:
64 Bands
Adjudicator: Derek Southcott

1. Fairey — £800
2. Leyland — £400
3. Marsden Silver — £200
4. City of Bradford
5. SHB
6. Elland Silver

Highest Placed 1st Section:
1. City of Bradford — £150
2. Hebden Bridge — £75

Highest Placed 2nd Section:
1. Elland Silver — £150
2. MG Konkordia Aedermannsdorf — £75

Highest Placed 3rd Section:
1. Darwen Brass — £150
2. Littleborough Public — £75

Highest Placed 4th Section:
1. University of Warwick — £150
2. Deepcar — £75

Consolation Prize: Sale Brass — £75

Highest Placed Local:
1. Delph — £150
2. Lees — £75

Highest Placed Youth:
1. Oldham Music Centre — £150
2. Wardle High — £100

Cornet: SHB
Soprano Cornet: Marsden Silver
Basses: Fairey
Trombone: Fairey
Euphonium: Fairey

Lees & Springhead:
46 Bands
Adjudicator: Alan Fernie

1. Leyland — £500
2. Fairey — £250
3. Hepworth — £150
4. Brighouse & Rastrick
5. Ashton-under-Lyne
6. Marsden Silver

Highest Placed 1st Section:
1. Oldham Band (Lees) — £75
2. Silk Brass — £50

Highest Placed 2nd Section:
1. York Railway Institute — £75
2. Delph — £50

Highest Placed 3rd Section:
1. Golborne — £75
2. Wotton Silver — £50

Highest Placed 4th Section:
1. Lees — £75
2. West Coast Brass — £50

Highest Placed Local:
1. Ashton-under-Lyne — £100

Highest Placed within Oldham Metropolitan Borough
1. Oldham Band (Lees) — £50

Highest Placed Youth:
1. Tewit Youth — £50
2. Rochdale Borough Youth — £30

Cornet: Brighouse & Rastrick — £25
Euphonium: Fairey — £25
Deportment: Cheshire Constabulary — £25

Scouthead & Austerlands:
65 Bands
Adjudicator: Allan Ramsay

1. Brighouse & Rastrick — £800
2. Fairey — £400
3. Hepworth — £300
4. Rainford
5. Oldham Band (Lees)
6. Marsden Silver

Highest Placed 1st Section:
1. Oldham Band (Lees) — £125
2. Silk Brass — £75
3. City of Bradford — £50

Highest Placed 2nd Section:
1. Cornerstone Brass — £125
2. Brass Band Breitenbach — £75
3. Elland Silver — £50

Highest Placed 3rd Section:
1. Amersham — £125
2. Littleborough Public — £75
3= Kingsway Cleethorpes & Lostock Hall Memorial — £25 each

Highest Placed 4th Section:
1. Sale Brass — £125
2. Greenfield — £75
3. Leicester — £50

Highest Placed Local:
1. Marsden silver Prize — £125
2. Milnrow — £75
3. Uppermill — £50

Highest Placed Saddleworth:
1. Delph — £125
2. Diggle — £75
3. Diggle 'B' — £50

Highest Placed Youth:
1. Rochdale Borough Youth — £125
2. Tewit Youth — £75
3. Dobcross Youth — £50

Soloist: Hepworth — £25
Soprano Cornet: Fairey — £25
First Band to Play: Delph — £30

Uppermill:
56 Bands
Adjudicator: Dr Chris Davis OBE

1. Brighouse & Rastrick — £1,000
2. Leyland — £300
3. Milnrow — £250
4. Rothwell Temperance — £200
5. Marsden Silver
6. Diggle

Highest Placed First Section:
1. Wardle Anderson Brass — £100

Highest Placed Second Section:
1. Delph — £85

Highest Placed Third Section:
1. Amersham — £75

Highest Placed Fourth Section:
1. Banovallum Brass — £65

Highest Placed Saddleworth:
1. Uppermill

Highest Placed Local:
Joint Winners: Diggle & Marsden Silver — £87.50 each

Highest Placed Youth:
1. Shirland Welfare Training — £150

Local Deportment: Dobcross Youth £100
Best Soloist: Brighouse & Rastrick — £30