John Henry Iles Medal for Services to Brass Bands

The Iles Medal is named after John Henry Iles (1871-1951) who was the founder of the National Brass Band Championships in 1900 – an extraordinary and flamboyant entrepreneur who virtually controlled the brass band movement for the first half of the 19th century. He was responsible for enlisting leading composers of the day to write music for brass bands – including Elgar, Bliss, Holst and Howells. He also was at one time the owner and editor-in-chief of the British Bandsman and was Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians in 1932-1933.

The Iles Medal is awarded by the Worshipful Company of Musicians for significant contributions to the brass band movement. For a full list of recipients please see here.

Recent recipients are:

2023 – Gavin Higgins

2022 – Mark Wilkinson

2021 – Philip Harper

2020 – Ian Porthouse