TALENTED LOCAL MUSICIAN KARL BENNET HONOURED AT HILLSBOROUGH

A talented musician from Islandmagee has been honoured at a formal ceremony at Hillsborough Castle.

Colour Sergeant Karl Bennett, Principal Oboist and Head of Woodwind Section with the North Irish Territorial Band, received the Lord Lieutenant’s Certificate for Outstanding Meritorious Service Above and Beyond the Call of Duty, one of the highest accolades that can be conferred on members of the Reserve Forces and Cadet movement. 

The Citation which accompanies his award pays tribute to Colour Sergeant Bennett’s dedication as well as his musicality and highlights thirty years of service during which the highly accomplished and much respected woodwind player rarely missed either a rehearsal or performance.

Colour Sergeant Bennett was praised as the driving force behind the establishment of the Band’s highly successful folk group, ‘Caubeen’, and for helping to arrange and rehearse music for many high-profile engagements, including a performance for HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.  Other events have included concerts at The Royal Military School of Music at Knellner Hall, the Waterfront Hall and Ulster Hall in Belfast, the Royal British Legion National Conference in London, the British Embassy in Washington and at the Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo in Canada.

Colour Sergeant Bennett has proved eager and determined to give his active support to a number of military charities, notably The Army Benevolent Fund. His community spirit also extends into his private life, and he has raised substantial funds for good causes including Hope House respite centre in Whitehead and a local appeal to purchase a bespoke wheelchair for a local schoolboy.  He is also well known in East Antrim for his role as Accompanist for Whitehead Ladies’ Choir.

Praising his ‘loyal and diligent service’, the Citation says, “Colour Sergeant Bennett has shown selfless commitment over a long period of time … he is a musician of the highest quality who is respected by all who know him, both in his military and civilian life’.