The Band was first formed at 1^st Hook Scouts in 1938, as a simple bugle and drum combination. In 1984, 1^st Hook Guides were invited to join, and the Band has since been known as 1^st Hook Scout & Guide Band. Members are aged from 9 years upwards.

The Band meets for just two and a half hours every Monday evening, although extra practices are often added before important events. 1st Hook is a traditional style marching band, using the full range of military instruments. Its music repertoire has grown over the years to include everything from well known military marches to full concert band arrangements of both popular music and film themes.

The Band is proud to have retained the title of National Marching Band Champions of The Scout Association since 1994, and also wears the coat of arms representing the Royal Borough of Kingston on its uniform.

The Band has performed at many prestigious engagements including: - The Royal Tournament; the Lord Mayor of London’s Parade; The London Marathon; Hampton Court Palace Flower Show; The Queen’s Birthday Parade; The London VJ Parade and the annual Queens Scout presentation at Windsor Castle. It has visited several European countries including playing at Disneyland in Paris and The Menin Gate, as well as appearing on the BBC and Danish television. The Band has twice taken part in The International Tournament for Marching Bands and Majorettes in Barcelona, gaining a creditable third place each time.

In 1998 the Band was asked to play at the 50^th Anniversary of The World Scout Foundation at The Natural History Museum in London. The guest list for the event included HM The Queen and HRH Duke of Edinburgh, plus a large number of Kings and Queens from other European countries.

In the Millennium year the Band was asked to participate in the London International Military Tattoo at Wembley Arena, as part of a massed band representing the Traditional Youth Marching Band Association. In the finale 1^st Hook played alongside some of the top military Bands in the world, including Her Majesty’s Royal Marines; The Band of The United States Air Forces Europe; The Band of the Brigade of Ghurkhas and The Central Band of The White Russian Army.

In both 2002 and 2003 the Band was honoured to play at the Guildhall in London, at an event held to present members of the Scout Association with their Queen’s Scout Award. 2004 proved to be another busy year, with competitions, concerts, local events and parades, and also the Fanfare team playing at The Savoy Hotel in London, as well as the Band once again participating in the Lord Mayor of London’s Parade.

In 2005 the Band took part in St George’s Day Parade for Queen’s Scouts at Windsor Castle, alongside the Band of the Grenadier Guards. In 2006 they won three gold awards at the European Open Band Championships in Midsomer Norton near Bath, and to complete the year they again took part in the Lord Mayor of London’s Parade.

In 2007 the Band played an active role in celebrating 100 years of Scouting, taking part in various local events including a concert called ‘Bands United’, which saw them play both individually and together with two other local bands from their district. All three bands came together for a finale which had over 100 musicians on stage. The highlight of the year was joining other local Bands from their county to participate in the Lord Mayor of London’s Parade. This massed band again included more than 100 musicians and was seen briefly in the coverage on BBC television.

2008 was just as busy, as the Band celebrated its 70^th anniversary, and played at many local events throughout the year, including two successful concerts. The highlight of the year was a trip to Cascais in Portugal to participate in a band festival. 1^st Hook was the only entry from the UK, and was very well received by their Portuguese hosts. They were also fortunate enough to meet the niece of Lord Baden Powell who commented that they truly represented what Scouting was all about.