Rachel Weir stepped in to aid Dennis.
2002 saw the re-introduction of the Black Knights Cadets. Due to his previous experience and natural ability to teach young children, Gary Wooldridge stepped comfortably into the role of Cadet Corps Co-ordinator and the Cadets set about learning their first show entitled ‘Scary Songs’
The Senior Corps moved back up to the Open Class field of competition, enjoying another year of Jon Bilby’s guidance. They performed a dark show based on the film ‘Gladiator’. This time with a marching drumline! The corps worked hard, leaving them confident for finals, if they made it through prelims…
The Cadets enjoyed a similar confidence, having spent a year under the wing of some of the older BK members (some of whom were in the first cadet corps) and across the whole of BK, emotions ran high on arrival at Milton Keynes. The Senior Corps performed a fantastic rendition of their show at prelims, and were then faced with the gruelling wait to see if they’d made it into finals. The members were made to sit on the coach whilst the results were publicised. As they crossed the car park, the faces of the staff hid the answers every member needed to know. The silence was almost suffocating as everyone held their breath waiting for Rus to share what he knew. When he told the corps they’d made it into finals (barely overtaking 6 th Hove), the noise on the coach was indescribable. The expressions on everyone’s faces (if you could see them through the tears) reflected the joy at the news. The Corps was ecstatic, and with nothing to sway their enthusiasm, their finals performance was simply amazing.
The Cadets did BK proud achieving a silver award at BYBA and 4th at DCUK.
On the BYBA circuit the Senior Corps came 1st (with 832) and were crowned British Youth Band Association Champions, helping to make the 2002 season even more memorable and proving the Black Knights were definitely back.
