Brass bands; Oliver THOMAS of Yorkley Onward Band c1905. (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Saturday, October 28, 2017, 20:07 (2590 days ago) @ roy meek

Just browsing a well-known auction website and spotted a very ornate silver-plated teapot which is inscribed as presented to Oliver Thomas by Yorkley Onward Prize Band on the occasion of his marriage in July 1905.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372118331370?ul_noapp=true

I was thinking it would be lovely to maybe reunite this lovely piece with the Thomas family, but initially struggled to find much info about Oliver.
I've searched this site's forum and PRs, and then various BMD sites, this seems to be the Marriage record, from FreeBMD.

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Sep 1905 (>99%)
DASH Ida Harriet Monmouth 11a 67
Lewis Harriett Blanche Monmouth 11a 67
THOMAS Oliver Monmouth 11a 67
WATKINS Mark Monmouth 11a 67

Thankfully GlosBMD have tied it down further;

Groom Surname Groom Forename Bride Surname Bride Forename District Parish Building Year Register Entry
THOMAS Oliver DASH Ida Harriet Forest of Dean Monmouth Register Office [Closed] 1905 22 22

Luckily there is an excellent photo of the band with all members clearly named, and from that exact same year !. Maybe the photo was taken on the wedding day ?.
https://www.sungreen.co.uk/Yorkley/yorkley-onward-band-1905.html

My guess is that Oliver was 30 - 40 years old on the photo, perhaps older ?. However I've been unable to find Oliver and Ida/Harriett in the 1911 Census anywhere in the UK

??.

Oliver Thomas is not a rare name, so instead searching Ida, this looks a good fit.

Surname First name(s) Mother/Spouse/Age District Vol Page
Deaths Sep 1966 (>99%)
THOMAS IDA H 88 F.OF DEAN 7B 352

Record_ID: 268809
Entry_Number: 473
Year: 1966
Month: Aug
Day: 25
Surname: THOMAS
Forenames: Ida Harriet
Residence: Woodville Pillowell Lydney
Age_at_death: 88
Officiating_Minister: Vicar of Parkend
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes: In this record unable to read ministers name
Register_Reference: P57 IN 1/19
Page_No: 60
Parish_Chapel: Bream
Soundex: T520

Hence born abt 1878 ?.
Surname First name(s) Age District Vol Page
Births Sep 1878 (>99%)
Dash Ida Harriet Monmouth 11a 19

Birth Details
Child Surname Child Forename Mother's Former Name Year District Office Register Entry
DASH Ida Harriet LONG 1878 Forest of Dean Monmouth, Coleford 36 199

Which leads to;

Record_ID: 268709
Entry_Number: 373
Year: 1962
Month: Nov
Day: 3
Surname: THOMAS
Forenames: Oliver
Residence: Woodville Upper Road Pillowell
Age_at_death: 85
Officiating_Minister: G.R.H. Smith Vicar of Parkend
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P57 IN 1/19
Page_No: 47
Parish_Chapel: Bream
Soundex: T520

So Oliver was indeed born abt 1877.

I think this is our man, from GlosBMD.

Birth Details
Child Surname Child Forename Mother's Former Name Year District Office Register Entry
THOMAS Oliver DAVIES 1877 Forest of Dean Monmouth, Coleford 35 383
THOMAS Oliver HANCOCK 1877 Forest of Dean Monmouth, Coleford 35 383

Trying the Census again, not sure why took so long, eventually found;

1911 West Dean, Monmouthshire, England
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
Oliver Thomas Head M 33 COLLIERY LABOURER ABOVE GROUND. West Dean, Gloucestershire
Ida Thomas Wife F 32 West Dean, Gloucestershire
Edna Mary Thomas Daughter F 5 West Dean, Gloucestershire
Minnie Thomas Daughter F 3 West Dean, Gloucestershire

1901 St Pauls Parkend, West Dean (Gloucs), Monmouthshire, England
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
Henry Thomas Head M 75 LIVING ON MEANS. West Dean, Gloucestershire
Esther Thomas Wife F 66 West Dean, Gloucestershire
William Thomas Son M 39 COALMINER (HEWER). West Dean, Gloucestershire
Albert Thomas Son M 27 COALMINER (HEWER). West Dean, Gloucestershire
Frederick Thomas Son M 25 COALMINER (HEWER). West Dean, Gloucestershire
Oliver Thomas Son M 23 COALMINER (HEWER). West Dean, Gloucestershire

1891 Cross Road, St Pauls Parkend, West Dean (Gloucs), Monmouthshire, England
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
Henry Thomas Head M 65 Living On Own Means. Gloucestershire, England
Hester Thomas Wife F 55 Gloucestershire, England
William Thomas Son M 30 Coal Miner. Gloucestershire, England
Richard Thomas Son M 28 Coal Miner. Gloucestershire, England
Charles Thomas Son M 26 Coal Miner. Gloucestershire, England
Albert Thomas Son M 18 West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Fred Thomas Son M 16 Gloucestershire, England
Oliver Thomas Son M 14 Gloucestershire, England

1881 West Dean (Gloucs), Monmouthshire, England
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
Henry Thomas Head M 52 Coal Miner. Newland Parish, Gloucestershire, England
Esther Thomas Wife F 45 West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Henry Thomas Son M 21 Coal Miner. Lydney Parish, Gloucestershire, England
William Thomas Son M 19 Coal Miner. West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Richard Thomas Son M 17 Coal Miner. West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Alice Thomas Daughter F 12 West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Charles Thomas Son M 11 West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Albert Thomas Son M 8 West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Frederick Thomas Son M 6 West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Oliver Thomas Son M 3 West Dean, Gloucestershire, England

The band photo from 1905 also includes a William and an Albert Thomas, they look like they are Oliver's brothers. Sungreen also carries other more recent photos of the band.

This recent article about local bands and their music was written by Lydney Councillor Alan Preest, who played with Yorkley in 1980. http://www.theforestreview.co.uk/article.cfm?id=106338&headline=Band%20music&se...

The Yorkley band was active until 1994, when it amalgamated with Coleford Town Band to form Forest of Dean Brass.
https://brassbandresults.co.uk/bands/yorkley-onward-band/
http://www.forestofdeanbrass.co.uk/