Shopping can become a chore for many of us as we jostle our way through our crowded city streets and arcades.

What better way to lift the gloom than by hearing a band performing in their smart uniforms as in Picture 1.

It dates from 1963 as members of the City of Oxford Silver Band entertained at Cowley Centre, now Templars Square.

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Shoppers were out in force in the post-Christmas period and even the musicians look as if they are happy to be out and about after the festive celebrations at home or with relatives.

Picture 2 shows two members of the Silver Band in later times - Chloe Salisbury, 10, left, with her tenor horn and Chloe Cooke, seven, with her cornet, proudly displaying awards they had won in 1994.

In Picture 3, taken in 1961, we see four members of the Pressed Steel Works Band, based at the Cowley car body factory, with their instruments.

They were, left to right, S Jones, R Jones, T Collinson and A Reason and were warming up before a contest involving 15 bands at Oxford Town Hall in St Aldate’s.

Picture 4 shows the Oxford Caledonian Pipes and Drums Band in full flow and in full regalia at a Burns Night celebration at Cowley Conservative Club in 1997.

There were celebrations, too, in Picture 5, with members of the City of Oxford Training Band showing off a shield they had won in an Oxford and District Brass Bands Association competition in 1995.

In front, left to right, we see Tom Cox, bandmaster Guy Jones and Louise Davis.

It wasn’t just in Oxford that brass bands delighted audiences.

In Picture 6, members of Wantage Silver Band are seen in action, but we know nothing more.

When and where were they performing and who are the musicians? Can anyone tell us?

Templars Square in Cowley was sold to real estate investment manager and developer Redevco for £38.8m in March 2022.

Redevco plans to transform the 1960s shopping centre into a mixed urban scheme over the next decade.

The project has pre-existing planning consent that includes 226 apartments.

Two years ago, the company launched a listening exercise, gaining feedback from residents and businesses across south and east Oxford.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.