A. E. Sims
British conductor and composer (1896–1981)
Wing Commander Albert Ernest Sims (1896–1981), nicknamed George, was a British composer, conductor, and director of music of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force.
Sims was born in 1896 in Newton Heath, Manchester.
He studied music theory, composition and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London and then at the Royal College of Music, also in London. He was commissioned a flying officer (director of music) from warrant officer rank in 1938 and retired with the rank of wing commander. He composed several marches for band including the official march of the Royal Air Force College.
Compositions
1950: "March of the Royal Air Forces Association"
1950: "R. A. F. General Salute ... Advance in Review Order"
"Royal Air Force College March"
"Superna Petimus"
Further reading
Bierley, Paul E; Rehrig, William H (1991). The heritage encyclopedia of band music : composers and their music. Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press. ISBN 0-918048-08-7.
“A. E. Sims” enters the record as british conductor and composer (1896–1981). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Sims, British and conductor can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2752308. VIAF identifies the subject as 315943892. The Library of Congress control number is n2015025301. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1896, 1981, 1938 and 1950.
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This entry incorporates text from “A. E. Sims” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.