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Drum Major Albert Shrimpton was born in 1890 to George and Lucie Shrimpton in the parish of St Peter's, south London he was named Albert Edward. He joined the Coldstream Guards at the age of 14, on the 14 Sep 1903. Prior to this he was a tea taster for the Mazzawattee Tea Co., of Cold Blow Lane, London. He had until then, belonged to the 2nd Battalion Queen's West Surrey Regiment, Army Cadet Force.
Generally understood to have been a naturally gifted musician, he is thought to have written his first march at about the age of 18, when a Lance Corporal. Contemporaries report that he would sit at a table in Wellington Barracks (opposite Buckingham Palace) and churn out a march in an afternoon. If short of cash, he would swiftly sell this to Potters for some £3 at a time when his daily pay might have been 6 pence, and this he shared amongst his friends. Somehow, soldiering does not change!
After service with The Bedfordshire Regiment he returned to the Coldstream Guards soon to become Drum Major (1 Mar 1912). In peace-time he ran the "Lilywhites", a Coldstream Guards pierrot troupe. A lively, comic and talented man he married Agnes Annie Williams in St Matthew’s church, Stoke Newington on the 19 July 1914. Having been Mentioned in Despatches in the first world war and having earned the Meritorious Service Medal, he left the Guards on the 3rd Sep 1921 from the rôle of Company Quartermaster Serjeant. He served in the Home Guard for WW2, later running a garage and taxi service around Chelsea.
Albert Shrimpton died in 1964, leaving a son (Ronald) as a warrant officer in the Queen's Regiment. His many compositions include several to be heard today: Ariel Review, Irish Guards, Albuhera, Clickety Click, Dover Street , England's Pride, Forward, Housey Housey, Kelly's Eye, Scarlet Parade, Silent Victor, The Silver Trumpeter, The Drums and Fifes, The Imperial Eagle, The State Drummer, South Wales Borderers and Red Plume.
By Major Richard Powell.
Generally understood to have been a naturally gifted musician, he is thought to have written his first march at about the age of 18, when a Lance Corporal. Contemporaries report that he would sit at a table in Wellington Barracks (opposite Buckingham Palace) and churn out a march in an afternoon. If short of cash, he would swiftly sell this to Potters for some £3 at a time when his daily pay might have been 6 pence, and this he shared amongst his friends. Somehow, soldiering does not change!
After service with The Bedfordshire Regiment he returned to the Coldstream Guards soon to become Drum Major (1 Mar 1912). In peace-time he ran the "Lilywhites", a Coldstream Guards pierrot troupe. A lively, comic and talented man he married Agnes Annie Williams in St Matthew’s church, Stoke Newington on the 19 July 1914. Having been Mentioned in Despatches in the first world war and having earned the Meritorious Service Medal, he left the Guards on the 3rd Sep 1921 from the rôle of Company Quartermaster Serjeant. He served in the Home Guard for WW2, later running a garage and taxi service around Chelsea.
Albert Shrimpton died in 1964, leaving a son (Ronald) as a warrant officer in the Queen's Regiment. His many compositions include several to be heard today: Ariel Review, Irish Guards, Albuhera, Clickety Click, Dover Street , England's Pride, Forward, Housey Housey, Kelly's Eye, Scarlet Parade, Silent Victor, The Silver Trumpeter, The Drums and Fifes, The Imperial Eagle, The State Drummer, South Wales Borderers and Red Plume.
By Major Richard Powell.
"Drum Major Albert Shrimpton "
History of Drum Major Albert Shrimpton