TWO months ago they were playing in front of 40,000 baseball fans in Washington and earning rapturous applause for their rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, the American national anthem. They have travelled the world and their British performances have taken in Wembley, Twickenham, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Albert Hall.

So the appearance of the Romford Drum and Trumpet Corps at this Sunday’s Whittlesey Festival represents a major coup for the organisers.

They agreed to come to Fenland after being approached by Wally Newman from the Whittlesey branch of the Royal British Legion. Keen to lay on something special for service veterans, he decided the ideal occasion would be the festival, one of the big “Four Seasons” events organised by Fenland District Council together with town councils and other community groups.

Paul Binder, leader of the military-style youth band, said: “It’ll be the first time that we will have visited this part of the world, so we’re really delighted to be coming.”

Their two performances will be the highlights of Sunday’s festival but there will also be scores of other entertainments for all the family. They include pony rides, climbing walls, Victorian swing boats, a youth arts exhibition, a beer tent and more than 100 stalls.

Councillor Peter Murphy, FDC’s portfolio holder responsible for the Four Seasons events, said: “It is an honour to welcome this world-famous band to Fenland. Having them here on top of all the other activities should ensure that we attract visitors from far and wide. We are expecting an even bigger crowd than last year, when more than 4,000 people came.”

For safety reasons, roads in the town centre will be closed to all traffic throughout the day and the car park behind the George will be shut from Friday night.