I have just finished my term as President of the Glasgow Highland Club. One of my last duties was accepting a most generous donation from the family of the late David Kettlewell.
David spent a lifetime teaching youngsters the pipes and a stipulation of the gift is that it should be used as a prize for junior piping.
By Colin Kerr
The spark that ignited David’s lifelong love of piping happened like this…. Many years ago, a young learner piper was helping out in the famous Lawrie’s shop in Glasgow when a Canadian gentleman walked in carrying a 1906 set of Lawrie bagpipes. He asked at the counter if the shop would buy back his late relative’s pipes.
Unsure, the boy went through to the back shop to ask. The answer came back: Lawrie’s did not buy back their pipes.
But the boy’s father was also there and had seen both the pipes and the look on his son’s face when the Canadian opened the pipe case. Recognising this, he quietly agreed to pay for the pipes himself, allowing his son to pay him back over time.
This he did and that moment, and a special set of pipes, inspired a lifelong devotion to piping by the boy in question, David Kettlewell.
He grew up to become Pipe Major David Kettlewell Snr. who would go on to lead Johnstone Pipe Band, the Glasgow Fire Service band and play with many others. More importantly, David devoted his life to teaching – introducing hundreds of youngsters to the pipes and instilling in them his love of pipe music.
David sadly passed away in 2024. In his memory, his son David Kettlewell Jnr, together with other family members and David Snr’s long-time friend Stuart Rose, have created a wonderful legacy to support junior piping.
Funded by the Kettlewell family and Stuart, the Kettlewell Legacy will provide the winner’s medal for the Junior (U14) Solo Piping Competition at the annual Glasgow Highland Club Schools Piping and Drumming Competition. The prize will also include a lesson with a professional piper and as if that were not enough, McCallum Bagpipes will present the winner with a new set of pipes.
The accompanying photograph [top] shows Kenny MacLeod of McCallums with the prize pipes, David Kettlewell, and Stuart Rose, along with Colin Kerr of the Glasgow Highland Club [kilt], receiving the Kettlewell Legacy Medal on behalf of the competition.
Through this legacy, the passion and generosity of David Kettlewell Snr. will continue to echo in the playing of young pipers for many years to come. It’s a really good news for our competition which I hope will attract more local entrants this year.
- This year’s GHC Schools is on 22 February, 2026. Details are on the Club website: glasgowhighlandclub.co.uk
