When the band was nearly assembled the last piece of the jigsaw still had to be fitted - a conductor for what was to be the best band in Britain. 

Fred Felton took the obvious step of hiring one of the best band trainers of the time and a man who could compete on equal terms with the top conductors of the day, the legendary William Halliwell.

Halliwell was a giant of the brass band world with a considerable string of contest successes to his credit.  He was conductor of the National Champion Band nine times between 1910 and 1928.  He was quite a capture for the unknowns from Kettering, and they knew it. 

Stanley Boddington, the band's resident Musical Director said of Halliwell: "I worshipped the ground he walked on.  He was a wonderful band trainer with the ability to make players want to do well for him."  Bert Sullivan - the bands euphonium player remembers him as "...a quiet and unassuming man - outside the band room - but in rehearsal he was in charge and would fix a particular player with a stare and take his music stand in front of him to make sure he got what he wanted."  Small wonder then that within two and a half years of its creation, the band under the direction of William Halliwell won the 1935 National Championship at Crystal Palace.

With the appointment of William Halliwell as Professional Conductor the Felton brothers were doing their utmost to secure success as soon as possible.  But within the band at its outset was a young cornetist named Stanley Boddington.  Fred Felton was shrewd enough to appoint Stanley as Resident Conductor and this proved to be an inspired decision.  Thus began a relationship with the band that was to last over forty years - but moreover - was to see the band eventually move into its most successful and revered era.  Stanley worked - and learned from William Halliwell and then from the equally renowned Harry Mortimer, at all times honing his own musical skills, but when he

was eventually rewarded with the honor of the official appointment of Musical Director, the band truly moved to the pinnacle of the movement, and what is more, stayed there for some considerable time. 

Six National Championships, The British Open Championship twice and their crowning glory, World Champions of 1971.  Stanley had learned and learned well, but this was a golden era that he had earned all for himself as he stood supreme in the brass band movement.

The last performance with Stanley Boddington in charge of the GUS Band was before a packed audience at Worcester Cathedral during the famous Three Choirs Festival.  This farewell performance came shortly after his 70th. birthday in 1975.  His service to the band world was recognised in 1981 when he was awarded the M.B.E. in the New Years Honours List.

It was as a young cornet soloist that the legendary Harry Mortimer O.B.E made his first visits to Kettering - the traditional home of the band.  He was invited by Bandmaster Eddie Munn of the Kettering Salvation Army Band and he remembers the occasion with great fondness as he recalls the event in his introduction to the G.U.S. Bands Golden Jubilee Brochure from 1983:

"It was a happy evening - the forerunner of many more - with my father, (Fred), and Stanley Boddington sharing the conducting, and one of the founders, Fred Felton, conducting the opening march.   We had no solo spotlight that night - the soloist from each band joined forces so that each "solo" was in fact a duet". 

In the years after the war it was the custom for bands to have resident bandmasters and to hire the top conductors to put the final touches to contest preparations and to conduct at the Nationals and The British Open.  Harry Mortimer became one of the most popular of conductors, seen on stage with many bands.  The likable and brilliant cornet player had played many times as a guest soloist with The Munn and Felton Band and jumped at the chance to become Professional Advisor after the war, a position he held for a decade.

In 1975 the G.U.S. band passed into the hands of one of the most successful brass band conductors of the time, Geoffrey Brand.  Born into a Salvation Army family in Gloucester, Geoffrey Brand made his career as a professional trumpet player with he Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia and Covent Garden orchestras.

He rose to prominence in brass banding after a successful spell as professional conductor of the Black Dyke Mills Band giving important performances and winning major titles.  Since then, his career has taken him all over the world and into new fields such as publishing and recording.

Dr. Keith Wilkinson has made rapid rise to prominence since joining the contesting band scene in 1976.  His training was varied with experience in choral and orchestral work as well as euphonium playing, including a period as principal with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain.

As a student in Manchester, Keith conducted the Ashton-Under-Lyne Salvation Army Band and later took over the reins of the Derby Central S.A. Band when he moved To Nottingham to take up a post as math's lecturer at the city university.  After two years with the Teversal Colliery Band he was appointed assistant to Geoffrey Brand in 1977 and took over as GUS musical Director in 1978. 

The effects of his appointment were immediate and put the band on a successful title-winning run.  He became much in demand as a guest conductor and adjudicator and has produced many popular arrangements for brass band - notably Berlioz's "Beatrice and Benedict" which was the 1980 regional championship section test piece.

Keith who is married with two children emigrated to America some years ago and until recently was deeply involved with the Salvation Army - as well as being the Musical Director of Cuyohoga Valley Brass Band.

John Berryman A.L.C.M., L.T.C.L. is a native of Cornwall, and started his musical career a the age of eight with the Cambourne Town Band.  He was principal cornet of The National Youth Brass Band for several years before joining the Munn and Felton Works Band at the age of eighteen.  Within a year he had been appointed Principal Cornet and went on to establish a reputation as one of the finest players in the brass band world, winning three National titles with this band when it was known as the GUS (Footwear) Band.

In 1969, John went back to Cornwall to start a conducting career with the Bodmin Town Band, moving on to Grimethorpe Colliery Band to work with Elgar Howarth.  He came back to conduct GUS after ten years in charge of the William Davis Construction Group Band, and led them to BBC "Band Of The Year" trophy and many other prizes.

John is employed by the Northamptonshire County Council as a brass tutor and is responsible for the County Youth Brass Band which in recent years has toured America, Canada, Norway, Austria and Yugoslavia.  He is also a much requested adjudicator at major band and other music festivals.

In 1987, John was awarded The Iles Medal of The Worshipful Company Of Musicians of the City Of London for his outstanding services to brass band music.

Like many other brass players Melvin received his first lessons at the Salvation Army, joining the Junior Band at Chalk Farm (London) at age nine. He received a scholarship to study Trombone and Piano at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music and later went on to Graduate from the London College of Music.

Born in 1939, Frank was brought up in Yorkshire, and quickly made it obvious that music was to be at the centre of his life. He began to study the piano at age seven, and had his first trumpet lesson on his tenth birthday.

He made his London debut at the Wigmore Hall playing the Haydn Concerto at age twelve, and became a member of the famous Black Dyke Mills Band at age fourteen. He also played with local orchestras, and at age sixteen became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He played regularly under Jean Martinon, Walter Susskind, Sir Malcolm Sargeant, and Sir Adrian Boult. In 1957 he became a Student at the Royal Manchester College of Music, studying Trumpet with Cecil Kydd, Piano with Mamie Woods, and Conducting with George Weldon, and Sir John Barbirolli.

Three years later he was in London, earning a living as a professional trumpet player, and gaining conducting experience where possible. In 1967 he won a Competition for Young Conductors at the Edinburgh Festival, where his performance of Dvorak’s Symphony ‘From The New World’ won particular acclaim. Appointments followed in Germany, Singapore, where he was on the staff of the University, and conducted the first performances of the country’s fledgling symphony Orchestra. At this time he also worked in; Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

He returned to England in the mid-seventies to run a music school in York, and to establish his conducting career at home. He worked extensively with Versatile Brass, the top brass ensemble of the North of England, broadcasting, recording and touring abroad, mostly in Europe, but notably in 1978 to Australia and New Zealand, where they played to rave reviews throughout. Work followed with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Radio Orchestra, plus several broadcasts and recordings of original music with the famed Grimethorpe Colliery Band.

In 1985 Frank returned to London to become Principal Conductor of the Royal Artillery Orchestra, London’s oldest professional orchestra. He re-established concert seasons at Greenwich, building a monthly series of concerts. He introduced young emergent soloists to the series, and broadened the repertoire to include the fiercely controversial as well as the established Classical and Romantic repertoire. The series expanded to include Tunbridge Wells with the support of BMW. For three years Frank and the Orchestra travelled the country giving concerts in venues large and small, and to all kinds of audiences, including many performances for young people.

1988 was something of a watershed. Frank was appointed Principal Conductor of the British Concert Orchestra after recordings with the American soprano Carol Vaness, which were very well received by the critics. He also returned to the academic life when he accepted the role of Principal at The Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, and the youngest person to hold the appointment in its one hundred and thirty years. He held the appointment for almost five years and during the time conducted The London Philharmonic, The Halle, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Orchestra of The English National Opera, as well as his own British Concert Orchestra, and the BBC Concert and Radio Orchestras

He also began to broadcast regularly on BBC Radio, writing and presenting his own musical programmes, and eventually resigned his academic post to concentrate entirely on conducting and broadcasting in 1992. For the last eight years Frank Renton has continued to work all over the world. America, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, France, Switzerland and Italy have all played host to his talent, and his ever-growing repertoire.

He is a conductor who enjoys every minute of his time with other musicians, and does his utmost to make their time fulfilling and enjoyable too. He believes passionately that without a sense of total commitment from the platform the audience will not be fully involved in what is being performed on their behalf. Frank is in great demand as an adjudicator in every kind of musical competition, and in his work with the Musicians Benevolent Fund is involved in finding the best young musicians, of every discipline, throughout Britain, and helping to fund their continuing musical education. He delivers master-classes on conducting in many Universities and Conservatories.

He is a member of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, and in 1989 became a Freeman of The City of London.

Frank has never rested on his laurels, always searching out new challenges, and interesting projects. Most importantly he still finds making music as much fun now, as he did fifty years ago.