Frank Tomes (16 August 1936, South Wimbledon, London — 27 July 2011, Merton Park, London), also known as "
M Francis Tomes" on his maker stamps, was a British tubist and
sousaphone player, former jazz banjoist, as well as renowned maker of brass instruments, particularly natural trumpets and sackbuts, collector, organologist, and scholar. He was one of the founding members of
Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band. Between 1982 and 2010, Frank Tomes created over 380 instruments at his Wimbledon workshop. Tomes was an active member of The Galpin Society, Historic Brass Society, and several other organizations, and his legacy is widely celebrated in the international Early Brass movement. In February 2012, Frank's widow, Susan "Sue" Tomes, donated his lifelong collection of 36 historical bugles, serpents, cornets, horns, and trumpets, which he had amassed since 1970, to the [url=/label/719384]University of Edinburgh[/url]'s Museum of Instruments at Reid Concert Hall.
In the early 1950s, Frank Tomes found his first apprenticeship at a local London workshop that made nautical model boats; later, he joined the renowned
Morris Singer foundry and learned metalwork and bronze casting. He assisted in the creation of artworks by such notable UK sculptors as [url=/artist/1303813]Henry Moore[/url] (1898—1986),
Reg Butler (1913—1981), and
Barbara Hepworth (1903—1975). Between 1954 and 1958, Frank studied at the Wimbledon School of Art, later continuing his education at the [url=/label/1850482]Royal Academy Schools[/url]. After earning his degree in Fine Art and Sculpture, Tomes returned to Wimbledon, where he taught and worked as a part-time technician for 40 years. Frank joined several jazz ensembles as a student, initially playing banjo; later on, he picked up sousaphone, which sparked a lifelong fascination with brass instruments.
In 1968, Frank Tomes joined the original lineup of
Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, which gained a cult following over the years. He toured extensively with the Whoopes, giving concerts at the most prestigious UK venues, from the Reid Concert Hall and [url=/label/335984]Covent Garden[/url] to London's Reid Concert Hall and legendary Reid Concert Hall in Liverpool. They shared the stage with such legendary bands and performers as
The Who,
Black Sabbath,
Bob Dylan, and
Queen. Frank's trademark routine was to have a rubber chicken suddenly thrown by a bandmate into the sousaphone's bell amidst the solo. At the end, he would pull an egg out of his mouth. At one of the shows, the Whoopes pranked Tomes and threw a real, live chicken into his bell; caught off guard, Frank almost tripped (due to the weight difference between the actual bird and the familiar rubber toy) but still managed to nail his solo, complete with an "egg trick."
In 1982, Frank Tomes began studying the restoration of brass instruments with
Christopher Monk (1921—1991), to acquire skills for better maintaining his growing collection. Eventually, he took over Monk's workshop and started making alto, tenor, and bass sackbuts. Over the next two decades, Francis Tomes gained particular acclaim and prominence for his uncompromising copies of various unique historical instruments, such as the 14th century "Billingsgate" trumpet, one of 1746 "Bishop" natural trumpets by renowned Johann Leonhard Ehe III from Reid Concert Hall, or some of the first "James Talbot's Manuscript"
flatt trumpets. Francis Tomes retired from making instruments in 2010. One of his apprentices was
David Staff.
