The Senior Director of Music at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, Lt Col Hector Adkins (1921-1943), found these instruments unbalanced when supporting a banner so he designed a set of 3-valved chromatic fanfare instruments in which much of the valve tubing is put to the back of the instrument.

These variously pitched fanfare trumpets, sometimes called 'Coronation Trumpets', were made by Boosey & Hawkes for the coronation of George V1 in May 1937. The photograph shows the trumpets and drums of the Royal Military School of Music on the organ loft of Westminster Abbey as the new King departs by the Great West Door.

The instruments were sold under both the Boosey & Hawkes and Besson names until 1999 when they were deleted from the catalogue. Besson (London) closed in 2005 and the name 'Besson' was sold to Buffet Crampon (France) in 2006.

In 1948, two sets (14 instruments) of fanfare trumpets made from silver for the Royal Marines Music Service were dedicated as a Second World War Memorial. The bells are inscribed with the names of the ships in which the men died. These instruments, which are now rarely played, can be seen in the Royal Marines Museum in Portsmouth UK.

In 2000, the Royal Marines and Royal Air Force commissioned Smith-Watkins to create a new range of Fanfare Trumpets using 'state of the art' design techniques. These instruments are used throughout the Brtish Forces, the USA, Middle East and Australasia.