Category: Blog

WW2 Piping: John Wilson ‘Not Dead’ and the Reel of the 51st Highland Division

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In January 1940 John Wilson went over to France with his regiment. He was taken prisoner at St Valery in June 1940 and lost his pipe case and all the contents. He spent the rest of the war in prisoner of war camps.  His ‘death’ was reported in the pages of Piping and Dancing magazine but in the issue of the following month it was reported that he was not…

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How Lanarkshire Bands Led the Way in the Development of the ‘Long’ 2/4 Competition March

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Yesterday’s story on the eight-part Maggie Cameron brought to mind an article I wrote 20 years ago about the development of Marches, Strathspeys and Reels from four to six and eight part mega pieces, writes the Editor. It was all to do with giving the pipe band more of a stretch. The top outfits were sick of puny wee Rejected Suitor and four-part Loch Loskin to say nothing of Charles…

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The Blind Piper’s Eight Part Version of the Classic Strathspey Maggie Cameron

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I came across this while cleaning out some old piping manuscripts, writes Peter Aumonier. It is parts 5-8 of Maggie Cameron. As readers can see, the parts come from the pen of Archie MacNeill, the blind piper. It was given to me years ago by Jock Low at the Vancouver Island Piper’s Club, Victoria, British Columbia. By Peter Aumonier and Jack Lee Jock Low did the P/M course during WW2…

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Editor’s Notebook: Lorient Festival/ Masters of Piobaireachd/ Churchill Pipes/ Melbourne/ Florida

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Thankfully this summer is shaping up to what we had back in the good old days of 2019. Lorient Festival, probably the biggest celtic music festival in the world, have sent their 2022 poster celebrating the ‘Year of Asturias’. The blurb reads: ‘THE PEAKS OF CELTITUDE! [sic] Immerse yourself in the valleys and mountains landscapes of Asturias. A southerly wind is blowing towards Brittany, spreading the warmth of the south…

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WW2 Piping: Stalag 383 Pipe Band and John Wilson, Edinburgh

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Reader Bob Ash has kindly supplied the above photograph. He writes: ‘Here’s a photo of WW2 pipers and drummers in the Stalag 383 PoW Camp. ‘In the middle of the seated front row (4th from left), is my first pipe major, when I played with the 57th RAMC (T.A.) Pipe Band in the 1960s, P/M Bob Hill (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and Scots Guards) and, also in seated front row…

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