‘Based in the village of Westhoughton, in Bolton, Lancashire. Wingates Band was formed in 1873 by the members of the Bible Class of Wingates Independent Methodist Church in Westhoughton, in response to a challenge thrown down by the members of the Westhoughton Old Band, which had existed since 1858, to develop brass band music in the region. In 1910 almost half the band's members and senior committee personnel were lost in the Pretoria pit disaster, one of the worst in British mining history which claimed the lives of 344 men and boys, numbering cornet players, trombone players and horn players from Wingates Band. Since the 1900s Wingates has been regarded as one of the elite bands in Britain and by many as amongst the very best bands during the life of the band movement.’