The Besses o' th' Barn Brass Band from Besses o' th' Barn, an old industrial town situated between Manchester and Bury, in Lancashire. In 1905 the band toured France to promote the Entente Cordiale. Pictured here on 23rd June 1905 at Paddington Station, London on their way to play before the King at Windsor en route to France. The band made two "world tours" in the early 1900s, one between 1906 and 1908/9 and the other also lasting for more than a year. With Alexander Owen as its conductor, the band visited Australia, Canada, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.