Jean-Baptiste Lemire

Jean-Baptiste Lemire (8 June 1867 – 2 March 1945) was a French composer. He joined the French army in 1888 as a musician as Quarter-Major Musician Second-Class and later served as a drummer in a navy regiment. In all, he would served in the military for 25 years. He enrolled in the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Lyon in 1893. After retiring from the army, he served as the conductor of a number of concert bands across France. Lemire retired from conducting in the 1930s. In 1935, he was awarded the Colonial Medal of Madagascar and elevated to the rank of Knight of the Medal of Anjouan of the Comores. Biography Lemire was born in Colmar, in the Haut-Rhin department of France. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste (1844–1909), a mason, and Anne-Marie Sarter (1848–1924), a dressmaker. In 1871, France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, and his family was forced to flee their home and take refuge in Montbéliard, on the other side of the new border. Although the family regarded it as a temporary stay, Lemire resided in Montbéliard for 11 years. In April 1883, he began work as a locksmith in Belfort, where he remained until 1888. Military career On 7 March 1888, Lemire entered