In 1952 members from the Fred Karno’s Band and former members of the Town Band met to form a regular band. Following this meeting which took place in a cafe in the town the Torrington Voluntary Silver Band was born. Permission was granted to use the instruments that were put into trust since the start of World War 2. They continued to play under the direction of Len Short who trained so many young people to play an instrument. During the many years since formation we have had much success culminating in playing at the Royal Albert Hall in the National finals. In 2002 the band came together to celebrate our 50 years and we recorded our own CD, ‘ In the Mood .