ERIC Hinchliffe has fond memories of Bradford Police Boys Band.

He joined the Manningham-based band at the age of 14 and was a member until he was 18, when he joined National Service.

“We used to take part in big military parades at the Cenotaph and through the city centre,” recalls Mr Hinchcliffe. “There was a big parade on VJ Day in Bradford.

"Joining the police band was something lots of lads did back then. I played the bugle and I learned to play the trumpet and cornet. We were given a shilling a week to play instruments.

“Whenever there was a major event in Bradford - a festival or a parade - we marched with the police and fire service. We started off at the Cathedral and marched through the city. “

Now Mr Hinchcliffe, of Odsal, is keen to know what happened to Bradford Police Boys Band. “I was in National Service, in the Army, from 1953 to 1955. I tried to find out about the police band after that, but it wasn’t around anymore,” he says.

“If you look on things like Facebook, there's a lot of information about military bands - but I can’t find anything about Bradford Police Boys Band. The last I heard of it was in the 1950s.”

Mr Hinchcliffe contacted West Yorkshire Police to enquire about archive material about the boys band, but says he drew a blank. “There doesn’t seem to be any archive material about it. I would like to know what happened to the band, and how far it went back in Bradford," he says. "There will be many people who, like me, remember the band. It was a big part of my youth.”

While the West Yorkshire Police website offers information about the current police band - a brass band comprised of serving and retired officers and members of the public - there doesn’t appear to be any archive material about the police boys band.

Mr Hinchcliffe - who is on the left of this photograph he loaned us, taken in 1948 - has been sharing his memories of the band with a group called Memories of Bradford. The group - run by Bradford and District Senior Power, a charity offering support, guidance, information and social activities for older people - meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, 1pm to 3pm.

"We have local historians in to give talks, and people come along and share their own memories of Bradford," says project leader Faye Johnson. "Most people who come are born and bred in Bradford, and like to talk about their experiences of living here over the years. Some bring old photographs along. It's a friendly group."

Bradford and District Senior Power, based at John Street in the city centre, runs a range of sessions from Monday to Friday, 10.30am to 3.30pm.

"We have creative writing, computer skills, stress management and wellbeing, and Creative Wednesday, with a painting and drawing group" says Faye. "We have refreshments, it's a chance for anyone over 50 to meet up socially."

* Bradford and District Senior Power is at 7 John Street, Bradford.

Call (01274) 921211, email seniorpower@hotmail.co.uk or visit bdsp.org.uk