The pipes of war, a record of the achievements of pipers of Scottish and overseas regiments during the war, 1914-18

There is a long history of Bagpipes and the British Army, and whilst they weren’t officially recognised until 1854, much of the Army’s battles since the mid-1700s had been fought with piper’s playing. By the time of WWI it was not only the Scottish or even British Regiments that had pipe bands, with commonwealth such as Canada, Australia or even South Africa having regiments with their own Pipers. The bag pipes importance in linking the men back to the history of their unit, and of their homeland was not under appreciated.

This collection records all of the men who belonged to these pipe bands during the First World War. Apart from their general military information (names, service number, rank, regiment and battalion), this collection notes their fate (if applicable) and a brief outline of how the bands were utilised. Whilst this often states that the band was quickly withdrawn from frontline service – due to their importance with regards to moral, often even no longer being used as stretch bearers. The collection does mention the brave pipers who played as their regiments advanced – most notably Piper Daniel Laidlaw.

Records in this collection are likely to include the following:

• Surname
• Regimental Number
• First name(s) or initials
• Rank
• Regiment
• Battalion
• Gallantry Awards
• Fate
• Duty Location
• A brief outline of the Bands service

Please be aware that due to the way we collate, and cross reference our databases, some records will contain more information than that listed above.

Original Source: The Pipes of War, a record of the achievements of pipers of Scottish and overseas regiments during the war, 1914-1918.