TRUMPETS triumphantly marked 125 years of an Oxford band at a special concert.

The City of Oxford Silver Band celebrated its milestone birthday with the Cowley Conservative Club show on Sunday night. The band, founded as the Headington Silver Band in 1887, has since played at hundreds of concerts and trained thousands of youngsters.

And with a bar and raffle and tickets at £5 a head, the evening event raised about £1,000 for the ROSY charity, which supports respite care for sick children in the county.

Tuba player Steve Sykes said: “It was a nice warm audience and everyone was up for it. There was really good feedback.”

President Frank Wolff, 82, said more than 150 people came to hear the show.

He said: “It has put the band on the map as a band to be reckoned with.”

The band won acclaim at a competition in Manchester after the Second World War and in 1952 changed its name to the City of Oxford Silver Band. The band will hold a Christmas concert at its headquarters on Sunday, December 16.