This is a band with a very chequered history and an existence in some form or other for over 125 years.
The band is best known as operating under the 'banner' of Harton Coal Company of South Shields. The first verifiable reference to a 'Harton Colliery Band' comes from 1873 when a band under this name participated in the Morpeth Brass Band Festival. However, after 1878, no further reference to this band can be traced and it appears to have become defunct by this date, the reason why is unknown. In 1911 another band emerged under the same title of 'Harton Colliery Band'. This seems to have been the Tyne Dock Temperance Band which, some years earlier, had been 'adopted' by the colliery for various engagements but then changed its name to enjoy the financial support offered by the colliery management.
The Tyne Dock Temperance Band had itself developed from the Harton and District Band which in turn had started life as the Tyne Dock British School Adult Band.
The band emerged as a real force after 1913. In February of that year the well-known conductor, adjudicator and arranger George Hawkins, aged 36, was appointed conductor, and rapid progress was made. This culminated in 1919 when Harton Colliery Band won the British Open Championship playing a selection from Benedict's opera, "The Lily of Killarney" and in doing so became the first colliery band to win this premier award. The band maintained a strong contesting presence over the next thirty years but was perhaps better known as a concert band, touring widely throughout the United Kingdom under the musical direction of several conductors but in particular, Jack Atherton. Famous players of this era include Jack Macintosh, Norman Ashcroft and Maurice Murphy (then a boy solo champion of Great Britain and now principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra).
A bombshell came in 1950 when Jack Atherton was appointed bandmaster of the famous Fairey Aviation Works Band - the 'baby' of the great Harry Mortimer. This was a great honour for Jack Atherton as the Fairey Band had been Open Champions in 1941, 1942, 1944, 1947 and 1949 as well as National Champions in 1945 when another local band, Horden Colliery, were runners-up.
The departure of Jack Atherton was accompanied by the loss of many fine players which had a devastating effect on the remaining members. As a result, the 1950s saw the band in the doldrums but, in the mid 1960s, the band revived and maintained a fairly consistent standard until the miners' strike of 1984/5. The pressures of the strike, financially, socially and internally caused great difficulties for the band and membership dwindled to a handful of players. Faced with the imminent collapse of the band, one or two die-hards recruited children from local schools and a rebuilding programme began. Many of these players have remained loyal to the band and this, along with a stable committee, has seen the band start from the bottom of the ladder and re-establish itself as a competent musical organisation.
At this time the band was known as 'Harton and Westoe Colliery Band', a title adopted when both collieries merged in 1958. However, in 1985, as part of this new beginning, the band adopted the shorter name of 'Westoe Colliery Band'(Harton Colliery had closed in 1968 after 125 years of operation). A new uniform was purchased and steady progress continued until the surprise announcement was made of the closure of Westoe Colliery in 1993.
The band was faced with the task of finding new rehearsal facilities and financial support. Thankfully, after very cordial negotiations, both of these are now provided by South Tyneside Health Care Trust with whom the band maintains a 'healthy' relationship. In return, the band performs for hospital events including fetes, fashion shows, church services and patient welfare, and is a popular musical combination within the local community.
