Royal Marines brought the sound of music to the Alps when they thanked a small German town for its ongoing support for the Senior Service.
The Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Scotland staged a benefit concert in Bad Hindelang, a small community in the Allgäu region about 80 miles southwest of Munich.
For nearly a decade it’s been home to the Naval Outdoor Centre Germany which occupies an Alpine four-star hotel, from where instructors and staff have provided AT opportunities to thousands of Royal Navy personnel and their families: rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and klettersteiging in the summer, skiing in winter, for people of all abilities.
The latest beneficiaries of the centre, setting and its activities were the Rosyth-based band who swapped the Forth for the Allgäu for a week-long character-building package of adventurous training.
The musicians spent their days scaling rock faces and navigating rapids on the rivers... and their evenings rehearsing ahead of the final night of trip when they staged a concert for locals in the village’s community centre/exhibition hall.
They drew an audience more than 300 strong and they were “stunned” – according to the local newspaper, Allgäuer Zeitung (Allgäu News) by the subsequent performance.
The band performed a mix of traditional RN and British military tunes, German crowdpleasers, music from the world of film and TV and Celtic folk tunes.
The German review of the concert described performances as “flawless” and “exceptional” as the Navy’s premier musicians built up to a rousing finale of military favourites – “a magnificent firework display of symphonic brass music” which filled the venue with “thunderous applause”.
As well as surprising and delighting the Bad Hindelang populace, the band concert raised €2,200 (£1,921) which will be split between the local mountain rescue team and The Royal Marines Charity.
As for the centre, it’s preparing for the winter season. Initially opened as an adventurous training base for Royal Marines back in 2004, since 2009 the Naval Outdoor Centre has offered activities all year round across the Naval service, including family skiing over Christmas and Easter.
For details on courses, accommodation and availability, visit www.nocg.co.uk.
