'We raise our caps, our flutes and drumsticks in salute to him': Blue Plaque honour to Northern Ireland bandsman whose marching tunes are played across the world
From the streets of Londonderry to bandstands around the world, William Love’s music is honoured as the Ulster History Circle unveil a blue plaque near his childhood home
Londonderry-born composer William Love, whose marching tunes are played by bands across the world, is to be honoured with a blue plaque near his childhood home.
The Ulster History Circle will unveil the tribute today (Monday) in the Fountain area, celebrating a legacy that has shaped Northern Ireland’s musical tradition for decades.
Born on December 23, 1907, William Love grew up in a household steeped in music. His father, John Love, was a piccolo player with the Hamilton Flute Band and served in the Corps of Drums of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, tragically losing his life on the last day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, when William was only nine. Despite this early loss, music remained central to his upbringing.
Love attended the Cathedral School and worshipped at St Columb’s Cathedral, before taking up work as a baker at Abercorn Bakery near the city walls. Even while pursuing a trade, he found time to play the F flute with the Maiden City Flute Band, practising in a shed or stable and is famously remembered for conducting from the top of a packing case while a horse stood in a nearby stall. His love of Western films also earned him the nickname “Cowboy” Love.
He later joined the Churchill Flute Band and taught the Steelstown band, but it was his association with the Hamilton Flute Band that became closest. During his time with them in the post-war years William Love came to be known as a prolific composer and arranger of at least 50 tunes. After an early start in the bakery he would come home and sit at the kitchen table, trying out pieces on the flute as he composed them.
His marches, including the widely celebrated “Moore Street,” as well as “Orangefield” and “Charing Cross,” became staples in the band repertoire at the Hamilton Band Hall. Another notable piece, “The Good Companion,” was dedicated to his close friend John Murdie of the Argyle Temperance Flute Band in Belfast.
Love’s work extended beyond the Hamilton Band. He conducted the Owen Roe O’Neill Band from the Bogside, arranging music that bridged traditional divides and prefigured Londonderry’s modern cross-community band scene. His compositions reached bands as far afield as Scotland, Canada, and the United States, and he also wrote for radio broadcasts and major events, including the late Queen’s Coronation in 1953.
William Love died in 1966, leaving a legacy celebrated by musicians worldwide. The Yorkshire Corps of Drums website notes: “His epitaph is worthily written in the crotchets and quavers of his many ear-pleasing compositions. We in the Flute Band world raise our Band caps, our flutes and drumsticks in salute to him.”
Ulster History Circle chairman Chris Spurr highlighted Love’s lasting influence: “William Love made a most significant contribution to the marching bands repertoire with the number of favourite compositions he wrote.
"Across the decades these continue to delight the countless number of bands and audiences who play and enjoy hearing them. Sixty years after his death in March 1966, the Ulster History Circle is pleased to commemorate this renowned composer with a blue plaque in the Fountain where he was born and lived.
"The Circle is grateful to the Londonderry Bands Forum for their financial support towards the plaque and to Andrew Lynch for his valued assistance.”
The plaque will be unveiled at 12noon today (Monday) at the New Gate Arts and Culture Centre, 2-4 Kennedy Street, Fountain, Londonderry celebrating a life devoted to music and community.