Sad News
It is with deep regret that we inform you of the passing of former Fairlop Brass Band member Nathanial (Nat) Dye MBE, after a brave battle against bowel cancer.
Trombone player Nat joined the Band in late 2007 and quickly established himself as a talented and popular member of the Band. His greatest legacy to Fairlop was the key role he played in the recoding of our Christmas CD. This project took place during a hot weekend in July 2011, in a windowless hall with a group of novice recording artists and technicians. It was hard work, but we all had a fun weekend and Nat’s knowledge and enthusiasm was invaluable.
Nat’s life changed when his fiancée and Fairlop Brass Band member, Holly Miller was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and passed away just a few months after her diagnosis.
Nat’s view on life altered and he resigned from his job as a Music Teacher, and began a round the world adventure with his trombone (of course!). He played his trombone everywhere he could, either for fun or to help raise money for the rest of the trip. He completed a regular travel blog and we all followed his progress with great interest.
Several years later Nat was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer and was told that this was a terminal diagnosis. Rather than lay back and give up, Nat pledged to raise funds for McMillan Cancer Support and campaigned to improve bowel screening provided by the NHS and for improved end of life care.
Nat raised tens of thousands of pounds through many fund-raising adventures. These included walking from John O’Groats to Land’s End, playing his trombone whilst running the London Marathon in 2024 and completing it again in 2025, his tireless campaigning and fundraising caught the attention of the media, and he made several appearances on mainstream news programmes and in the press.
As well as playing his trombone with many groups Nat was the MD of Chadwell Heath based Pavillion Brass.
Nat was awarded an MBE in 2025 for raising cancer awareness and campaigning for an improved NHS and his actions after his diagnosis were an inspiration to us all.
Please visit Nat’s fundraising page https://bowelcancerbucketlist.com/ to see more of his amazing achievements.
Tributes to Nat have been made by many people and organisations, and we are honoured to acknowledge his contribution to the success of Fairlop Brass.
Kevin Jordan
Musical Director
Fairlop Brass