Two Victoria Crosses and seven Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded to the Gordon Highlanders for gallantry at the battle for the Heights of Dargai on the North West Frontier of British India on 20th October, 1897.
All pipers will be aware of the Victoria Cross presented to Piper George Findlater following the action, who ‘though shot through both legs, continued, while sitting on the ground, to play his pipes undauntedly’.
However few will be aware of Lance-Corporal Piper Patrick Milne, Gordon Highlanders, who received the Distinguished Conduct Medal following the same action. Tomorrow two of his medals, including the DCM, are up for auction in London.
L/Cpl. Milne was at the head of a group of five pipers who led the men uphill against Afridi tribesmen at Dargai. The DCM citation read, ‘leading the Highland Pipers, [Milne] was hit the moment he appeared at the head of them’.
Though severely wounded, L/Cpl. Milne survived. He died 46 years later in 1943. His obituary reads: ‘The piper who led the charge on the heights of Dargai in the ’90s – when Piper Findlater won the VC – has died in Aberdeen. He was Mr Patrick Milne, 99 Don St., Aberdeen, and was awarded the DCM for his bravery.
‘From Rawalpindi the Gordons battalion in which Mr Milne served was rushed to the Khyber Pass, where trouble had broken out. After a minor engagement, the big British attack began on the morning of October 20, 1897.
‘The artillery opened fire at 8am, and shortly afterwards the order was given for the Gordons to attack after three other regiments had failed. The Gordons fixed bayonets and broke into a cheer. Five pipers led the charge, and foremost of them all was Lance-Corporal Patrick Milne playing Cock o’ the North.
‘Piper Findlater fell, shot through the ankle, but continued to play, propped against a boulder – his tune was the Haughs o’ Cromdale. Half-way across the open ground Milne fell with a bullet through the lung. He crashed on top of his pipes, and the weight of his body caused the bag to emit a wail for quite a period.
‘He heard the cheer that announced that the Gordons had captured the position. His life was despaired of for a time, but he pulled through.
‘A curious mistake at first attributed Findlater’s plucky conduct to Milne, who was stated to have played as he lay on the ground with both ankles shattered. However, Milne quickly took steps to correct the error, and many times he expressed the hope that Findlater would be awarded the Victoria Cross.
‘Indeed, there ensued an interesting tussle between the two, each trying to make out the other as the hero. Findlater insisted that all the credit was due to Milne, who led the charge, while Milne maintained the glory belonged to Findlater, who carried on after being so badly hurt.
‘The Aberdeen piper lost his bagpipes on that occasion – they were probably picked up by the Afridis. He hailed from Ardoyne, near Insch, where his father was a small farmer. After a time as a farm servant, he joined the Gordon Highlander when 19.
‘When stationed in Ireland he began to learn the pipes, and on going to India he joined the pipe band of the 1st Battalion. Mr Milne, who was 71 years of age, was for 37 years in the employment of the Customs and Excise in Aberdeen.
‘He is survived by his wife, three sons, and a daughter. The eldest son is in the Merchant Service, and the youngest is with the RAF in the Middle East.’
The medals are sold with a Gordon Highlanders bonnet badge and several contemporary news cuttings concerning Piper Milne’s gallantry at Dargai. The auction is tomorrow, March 12, at 10am at The Saleroom, 16 Bolton Street, London, W1J 8BQ. The lot is expected to sell for between £6,000-£8,000.
Saleroom description of medals: Distinguished Conduct Medal, V.R. (L/Corpl. Piper. P. Milne. Gord: High’rs.); India General Service 1895-1902, 3 clasps, Relief of Chitral 1895, Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Tirah 1897-98 (3711 Pr. P. Milne 1st Bn. Gord: Highrs.) mounted as worn, a couple of small edge bruises and light contact marks to the second, otherwise good very fine (2) £6,000-£8,000.
The National Museum of Scotland has the above set of pipes reputedly played by L/Cpl Milne at Dargai. They are clearly different from the set in the other photographs.
The NMS state: ‘These bagpipes were played by Lance-Corporal Piper Patrick Milne of 1st Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders at the storming of the Heights of Dargai in India in 1897.
‘Pipers were a part of most Scottish units and their music was greatly valued as an inspiration and encouragement in face of danger. Pipers were prominent at Dargai, where they marched with the battalion across open ground exposed to enemy fire. Milne’s music was halted when he was wounded in the chest. He later received the Distinguished Conduct Medal from Queen Victoria.’
- We are grateful to Clive Douglas, Glasgow, for assistance with this article.
