Army Solo Piping & Drumming Championships

The 2025 Army Solo Piping and Drumming Championships took place at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming (ASBM&HD), Inchdrewer House, Edinburgh on Friday 5 December 2025.

Sponsored by the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the event welcomed 55 competitors across 15 piping, drumming and bugling categories.

By WO1 Peter Grant, Senior Pipe Major, the British Army

The Championships were once again a great success, even with a few units unable to participate this year due to operational and state ceremonial commitments. The Director of Army Bagpipe Music, Major Ross McCrindle, extended his thanks to all units and competitors who took part, and to those who supported the event.

ASBM&HD now look forward to hosting the 2026 Championships, where it is anticipated that the band competitions will return, alongside the introduction of a new Commissioned Officers category. The results were as follows:

Open Piobaireachd
1 Cpl McCaskill, ASBM&HD, £200 and Open Piobaireachd Cup
2 OCdt Norman, University Officer Training Corps, £100
3 Cpl Gillies, ASBM&HD, £50

Judge Robert Wallace writes: Cpl. Scott McCaskill played a good Lament for the Only Son on a nice instrument. There were a couple of misses in the a mach but otherwise displayed sound technique. His handling of the low G end of phrase/connecting notes was particularly impressive with just the right amount of time given to ensure the tune kept moving.

Officer Cadet Catriona Norman had some lovely touches in Fair Honey and timed the tune well throughout. There were a few misses on D in the T&C and there was a strange harmonic from the bass drone in an otherwise tuneful pipe.

Cpl. Norman Gillies handled the runs well in the Earl of Seaforth’s Salute urlar but thereafter lost the required degree of control. The finger was very good throughout and the pipe, solid high G, almost held.

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Open March: 1 Cpl Gillies, £100 2 Cpl McCaskill, £75 3 OCdt Norman, £50
Open S&R: 1 Cpl McCaskill, £100 2 Cpl Gillies, £75 3 OCdt Maclennan, £50 University OTC
Open H&J: 1 Cpl McCaskill, £100 2 OCdt Maclennan, £50 3 P/M Laing AUOTC

Senior Piobaireachd 
1 Cpl Steel ASBM&HD, MacKay’s Banner, £100, and the Senior Piobaireachd Cup
2 LCpl Craig, 1 Scots Guards, Ronald MacDonald of Morar’s Lament, £50
3 Sgt Beaton, Royal Corps of Signals, Queen Elizabeth II’s Salute, £30

Senior March: 1 Sgt Beaton, £100 2 Cpl Steel, £50 3 L Cpl Boyd, ASBM&HD, £30
Senior S&R: 1 Cpl Steel, £100 2 L Cpl Boyd, RDG, £50 3 L Cpl Magar QOGLR, £30

Confined March: 1 OCdt Armstrong, £70, Sovereign’s Decanter 2 OCdt Syme, £40 3 L Cpl Huxter, £30 4 OCdt Spencer-Jones, £20
Confined S&R: 1 OCdt Armstrong, Quiche and £70 2 OCdt Spencer-Jones, £40 3 Piper Portman, Irish Guards, £30 4 OCdt Naray, £20
Novice March: 1 Piper Rennie, 4 Scots, £100 & Walter Drysdale Novice Cup 2 Piper Rodgers, 1 Irish Guards, £60 3 Pte Taylor, 3 Scots, £40 4 LH Kelly, Royal Navy, £20  

Open Drumming: 1 Open Drumming Cup: LCpl Faulds, 4 SCOTS, £180 2 Cpl McEntee, 2 SCOTS, £80 3 Cpl Dixon, ASBM&HD, £50

Open Bugling: 1 Sgt Liliequist, 1 Scots Guards, £100 and the Open Silver Bugle 2 Cpl McEntee, 2 SCOTS,£60 3 Cpl Faulds, 4 SCOTS, £30

Confined Drumming: 1 Sgt Liliequist, 1 Scots Guards, £100 and Quiche 2 LBdr Grace, 19 Royal Artillery £60 3 LCpl Seivwright, 2 SCOTS, £40
Confined Bugling: 1 Dmr Michie, 4 SCOTS, £100 and the Confined Silver Bugle 2 Dmr Carabula, 4 SCOTS, £60 3 Dmr Hetherington, 1 Irish Guards, £30

Novice Drumming: 1 LCpl Laurie, 2 SCOTS, Joe Noble Quaich and £100 2 Dmr Kearns, 1IG, £60 3 Fus Swawanlewa, 2 SCOTS, £40

Army Champion Piper 2025: Cpl McCaskill ASBM&HD
Army Champion Drummer 2025: LCpl Faulds 4 SCOTS

Eight judges officiated: Robert Wallace & Derek Fraser: Open and Senior Piobaireachd; Ian Duncan & Logan Tannock: Open MSR, Open H&J and Senior MSR; Neil Hall & Peter Macgregor: Confined MSR and Novice March; Brian Alexander & Robert McCutcheon: Confined and Open Bugling and Novice, Confined and Open Drumming.

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