Sam Hughes (1 September 1823 – 1 April 1898) was the last great ophicleide player and one of the greatest who ever played the instrument in its short history.
[citation needed] Samuel Hughes was born in Trentham, Staffordshire, England, the son of a bricklayer.
In 1860 the band won the national contest at The Crystal Palace, but Hughes was no longer with them.
Even George Bernard Shaw, who had written disparagingly of the instrument (it had been "born obsolete") was impressed with this song when he heard it at Covent Garden.
His instrument is on display in the Cyfarthfa Castle Museum, known around the world as one of the best surviving examples of its type.