n 1965, because their daughter Barbara and other girls were only allowed to march behind the Hornchurch Drum & Trumpet corps as majorettes, Alf and Sylvia Smith from Hornchurch in Essex decided to form an all girls marching band.

They surprised everyone by scoring a major success in their 1st competition, the Hornchurch Band Festival, despite only having one tune in their repertoire.

Over the years they have improved their routine, performing at local and national fetes, carnivals, and parades. They have also had a major impact at various levels in national competitions. They now regularly compete at the highest level in TYMBA contests.

The Haverettes are often invited to perform in Europe and have performed in Norway, Germany, Holland and Belgium. Because of their history in Havering, they were part of the official festivities when the county was twinned with Ludwigshafen in Germany in the early 70's.

The Band open a new hospital wing in Romford (assisted by Princes Margaret).

Some of the girls have even appeared with pop groups, appearing on Top of The Pops with Enya and Inspiral carpets. They followed up the Enya performance on TV by appearing with her at a special concert in Rome to celebrate the birthday of Pope John Paul.

In 1996, the same year they won the National Championships, the Band were invited to appear in the Macy's department store Thanksgiving Day parade in New York. Bandmaster Jeff Brown who was in the store and did not know of their success was warmly applauded by customers when the news was announced over the PA system. Parents and supporters made Pearly King and Queen outfits and walked either side of the Band during the parade.

The Haverettes are a registered charity, relying on donations and fund raising from supporters and the general public.

The ages of the girls range from 8 to 28, some of them having already served over 15 years in uniform.

There is a committee of Band Officers and supporters who meet regularly to discuss Band events and fund raising.

Over the years, the Haverettes have won many contests and after their 1996 success, they were runners-up in the TYMBA League and National Championships in 1997 and 1998.

1999 Saw the Haverettes winning the TYMBA National Supreme Champions title. Unfortunately it also saw the Band lose a few of its long term members due to work/college/relocation commitments but after active recruitment the Band regained its strength

The Millennium year brought numerous engagements including The London Millennium Parade through Oxford St. London. One of the memorable engagements was to appear at the Millennium Dome before its final closure.
Y2000 also saw the Haverettes retaining the coveted National Supreme Champions title making them unique in being Champions in two centuries.

The 1st engagement of Y2001 was to appear on television for C4's 'The Big Breakfast' show.

2001 was unfortunately the year that Jeff Brown resigned as Bandmaster after 14 years. (click here to read Jeff's summary on the Ex-Bandmasters page)

Trevor Owen (Drill Instructor) and Nicola Matthews (Sgt Major) immediately stepped in as joint Bandmasters.

2002 started with the long awaited visit to our partner band in Germany, The Musikverein Oggersheim Band. As the Band were not competing in contests for this year the Band concentrated on fundraising by taking part in Carnivals and Shows.

2003 - Nicola Matthews is now sole Bandmaster and also sees the return of music instructor Brian Ford. The first engagement of the year was to perform with The Inspiral Carpets at Brixton Academy. Autumn saw the Band host a visit from our German partner band The Musikverein Oggerheim Band. The last engagement of the year was an inpromptu visit to The Tower of London to play for David Blaine whilst he was performing his stunt in 'The Box'.

Feb saw 18 girls perform with Inspiral Carpets at The Brixton Academy much to the delight of the crowd the following is a quote from a review of the gig.......The second encore restored the party atmosphere to full effect, with a blistering version of Saturn 5 - the band's last big hit before their untimely departure. It was an appropriate way to end things, I guess, yet it wasn't the highpoint.

That came courtesy of She Comes In The Fall, halfway through the evening, when a marching girl band appeared on stage for the beginning and end of the track, during which the 'twirler' performed a dazzling routine before saluting the crowd and milking the rapturous applause.

In terms of spectacle and enjoyment, the moment now has to rate among my
all-time favourites, and helped to ensure that the memory of the Inspirals
remains as 'cool as ****' as ever. As I was fortunate to be there videoing I can honestly say that really summed it up!!

2004 – After the Haverettes finishing 2003 with a 3^rd place in the TYMBA National class it was then unfortunate that due to TYMBA re-scheduling the classes The Haverettes along with 2 other bands have been relegated into the Championship class. The decision was made on a points basis and due to the Band not competing in 2002 this was why they were penalised.

This year the Band will be taking part in their usual circuit of Carnivals and shows and in the required TYMBA contests towards the end of the year.

Sadly in July our President and Co-Founder Mrs Sylvia Smith passed away. Mrs Smith took a continued active interest after Mr Smith died and up until 2 years ago was still accompanying the Band on their engagements. Her last official Band engagement was meeting the Queen on her visit to Havering in 2003.

2005/2006 - The Band celebrated their 40th Anniversary with a reunion disco and it saw at least 12 original members plus girls, parents & supporters spanning the last 4 decades. Old photos & cuttings were on display bringing back many memories.
Mrs Weston & Mrs Miller accepted the roles of President and Vice President respectively.
2006 ended with the Band regaining the title of overall Championship class winners at the TYMBA National finals in Cannock.

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