In 1936, the Southampton Albion Silver Band achieved one of the major contest successes of its pre-war years by winning the Championship of Wessex.
By this time the Band had developed considerably from its early contesting days. After winning the Wessex Association’s B Section at Gillingham in 1930, Albion had progressed into the higher levels of competition and established itself as a successful contesting band.
Under Musical Director Mr J. Williamson, the 1936 victory represented another important stage in that development and became one of the notable achievements of the Band’s pre-war period.
The significance of the result was still being remembered decades later. Bill Barnes noted that when Albion won the March Cup at the Wessex Contest in 1966, the Championship of Wessex remained a title the Band had not won since 1936.