Chessmen

The Chessmen drum and bugle corps was formed in September of 1965 through a merger between the Grantham Police (Boys) Cadets and the Denis Morris Majestics. The founders were Reverend Lloyd Bechamp of the Denis Morris high school and inspector Norman Fach of the St. Catharines police force.

The corps was originally supported by the Denis Morris high school and sported a Cadet-style uniform of black and white with red trim. Their original staff consisted of Ron Bruce on brass, Gary Litchi on percussion and Bill Rutherford on visual. Vince Bruni, World Hall of Famer from Rochester, was the corps coordinator while Sal Sparazza of Rochester and Milton Shelter of Hamburg were the music directors. In June of 1966, Reverend Bechamp was relocated to Montreal.

In their inaugural season of competition, the Chessmen competed extensively, placing 5^th at the 1966 NY-Canadian circuit championships along with 6^th place finishes at both the Ontario provincials, missing out of the finals by a mere 4 tenths and Canadian Nationals “Junior A” preliminary contests. The role of corps director was appointed to Joseph Hanrahan in October of 1966. The following year, the St. Catharines unit participated in the 1967 Centennial parade in Ottawa and competed at both the Provincials and the Associated Junior Corps (AJ of C) circuit championships, where they place in 5^th position.

In 1968, the corps competed once again at all three major championships, placing 5^th in the “ “Junior A” division of the Provincials, 6^th at the AJ of C circuit contest and 7^th at the Canadian Nationals “Junior A” prelims. Several members joined the ranks of the Toronto Optimists the following year, limiting the corps to parade and exhibition status.

They disbanded in 1970.

Paul Legault (DCX)