✚11645✚ German Prussian WW1 bronze eagle drum hook hanger Adler Trommelhaken

Original (pre) WW1 German / Prussian bronzed drum holder / hook (Trommelhaken), IN VERY GOOD CONDITION, A GREAT & DETAILED SOLID BRONZE EXAMPLE WITH THE ORIGINAL LEATHER BELT LOOP, A REALLY GOOD PIECE, OVERALL SIZE: cca 260 mm

HISTORY OF THE MILITARY DRUM CORPS:

A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distinction between a military band and a corps of drums, was that 'drummers' were not employed to play their instruments to entertain or delight, but rather they carried out a utilitarian battlefield role. This role was fulfilled by trumpeters or buglers in the cavalry and the artillery, who did not form into comparative formed bodies in the way that drummers did; therefore, an orthodox corps of drums will exist in the infantry arm. Instruments, particularly drums, have been used on battlefields as signalling devices since time immemorial across many different cultures. Most fife and drum traditions trace back to the Swiss mercenaries of the early Renaissance, and it is known that by the early 16th century, each company of infantry soldiers would have a single drummer and a single fife player. These two musicians would march at the head of the company, and when not providing uplifting marching tunes, they would be used by the company commander to convey orders, on and off the field of battle. The drummers would be more aptly described as signallers than musicians, as shouted orders were very hard to hear over the din of battle. Later, a bugle would become the preferred means of communication on the battlefield, and the drummers adapted, training on bugles and carrying them in battle, but retaining the drum and the title of drummer. As time went on, the individual drummers and fife players in each company would be organized at battalion level. They retained their role in each company in battle, but would form one body of men at the head of a battalion on the march. It was necessary to appoint a Drum Major (the equivalent of a Sergeant Major, for the drummers) to be in charge of the drummers and to organize training in the emerging discipline of military drumming while a fife major was to be appointed to be the principal fifer and to train future fife players. The corps of drums would group together when not on duty with each company, and carry out various roles within the battalion, such as administering military justice and ensuring soldier's billets were secured, thus, the corps of drums became attached to the battalion headquarters and was organized at battalion level, as opposed to individual company level. In Germany, Spielmannszug, Tambourkorps and sometimes Trommlerkorps are the names given to the German corps of drums, whether it is a military formation or a civilian formation. The instrumentation of these are, commonly fifes and snare drums (just like the Bundeswehr corps of drums that are attached to the unit military bands), flutes and piccolos, Glockenspiels, Bass drums, cymbals and, on some corps, single and multiple tenor drums, and like their British counterparts, bugles (in several corps). Timpani, vibraphones and marimbas, as well as drum kits, are used in concerts. Sometimes even a Turkish crescent is used to symbolize the band, with a banner or guidon with the ensemble emblem. Whatever the configuration, a drum major always leads the corps during military and civil parades and other events, and in modern corps even majorettes and pom pom dancers are a part of its roster. Military corps of drums belong and are attached to the bands of the Bundeswehr Military Music Center under the Bundeswehr Streitkräftebasis while civilian corps are dedicated civil bands and youth bands assigned in cities and towns all over Germany.