4BR has been informed of the death of Jim Currie MBE, the much loved and respected former principal euphonium player of the Sydenham Salvation Army Band in Belfast. He passed away on 9th November.

Born into a working-class family in East Belfast, Jim gained his grounding in brass banding in the Young Peoples Band in the Dee Street Corps of the Salvation Army, and was part of a generation of Salvation Army players who started there in the early 1950's — one of whom, Hamilton Boyd, still plays flugel there today.

Pastor

Jim's adult life changed when he moved to London to train as a Salvation Army officer, with one of his earliest appointments landing him in the role of pastoring the corps in Tottenham; later to become the famous Enfield Citadel Band.

After meeting his wife Miriam, Jim eventually returned to Belfast where he would serve as a Chaplain in the Northern Irish Prison Service during the darkest period of the city's history. He went on to lead the Northern Irish region of the NSPCC, works for which he would later receive a MBE.

He also continued his service in the Salvation Army in the Dee Street Band, predominately recognised as having one of the nicest natural sounds on the euphonium in the country, but also for his devoted service to the band over the next 40 or more years.

Everyone who met Jim saw in him the importance of devoting your life to God through music. Jim Currie made a huge impact on so many lives in Northern IrelandAndrew Pentland

Other roles

Not only confined to brass banding, his musicianship would see him take on the role as Songster Leader, and would help to oversee the transition as the corps moved from Dee Street to its new home as Belfast Sydenham, where Jim continued to serve as an active bandsman for a further 20 years until ill-health brought his playing career to an end.

Andrew Pentland told 4BR: "Everyone who met Jim saw in him the importance of devoting your life to God through music. Jim Currie made a huge impact on so many lives in Northern Ireland."