in 1967. The birth of the Grenadiers Band has been described to date from 1665, when each company had one soldier who had been instructed in playing the
fife. In 1685,
Charles II allowed the band to maintain 12 "
hautbois" (oboe) players. His death in 1685 was so significant for the band that until the
Second World War, the Bass Drummer (known officially as The Regimental Timebeater), wore a black armband in mourning of the king's death. The march
The British Grenadiers was introduced to British audiences in the late 17th century. George II gave Handel the task of scoring the
Music for the Royal Fireworks, most commonly performed with strings, for the king's own musicians, who were wind players from his foot guards. Handel would have likely come into contact with musicians from the Grenadier Guards during the first performance at
Vauxhall Gardens in 1749. By 1794, instrumentation included a flute player and sixteen others, namely six clarinets, three bassoons, three horns, one trumpet, two serpents and one drums. In May 2008, the Band was given the freedom of the
City of Lincoln. in 2019. in 2010. ==Functions==