The Joseph Flatters trumpet

The trumpet which Joseph Flatters took with him when he emigrated to America survives to this day, having been handed down through the family and preserved with affection and is still in reasonably good condition considering its age.

"The instrument makes an impressive noise when young lungs test it out but I think it
would need a major overhaul to get any sweet notes out of it", said Joseph's great grandson, Marc Guertin.

His granddaughter, Zoë Dingwall, aged 3, occasionally gives it an outing but still has a long way to go before playing the music that her ancestor would have recognised.

The trumpet was bought by Joseph while serving with the Lincolnshire Rifle Volunteers and it is inscribed "15th LRV " on an embossed shield but he also played it with the Bourne Town Band of which he was a member. He insisted on taking it with him when he sailed for the New World and no doubt entertained passengers with tunes from home while on the Atlantic crossing.

Mrs Ethel Guertin, aged 90, who is the granddaughter of Joseph Flatters, said that some members of the family could get "a few toots" out of the instrument. "But I imagine that it is not fully playable", she said, "although it would be interesting to have a musician try it out. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful souvenir of the old country and a great topic of conversation wherever friends and relatives gather."

Note: Photographs courtesy Marc Guertin of Quebec, Canada

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