The prizewinners from the 2019 Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Memorial contest.
The prizewinners from the 2019 Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Memorial contest.

This year’s Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Piping Championship has been cancelled due to uncertainty over COVID-19 pandemic, Major Gordon Rowan, the Director of Army Bagpipe Music, said yesterday.

The annual competition, organised by the Army School of Bagpipe Music & Highland Drumming in Edinburgh, Scotland, has gained in popularity amongst competing pipers since it was established in 2001. It is superbly organised with excellent facilities at Inchdrewer House inside Redford Barracks.

Major Rowan said: “We have taken the difficult decision to cancel this year’s competition as any additional use of our facilities could heighten the risk of having to close our doors once again. We will run the competition on 9th October.”

Angus MacColl Snr. won the overall champion in the Premier grade events at last year’s competition.

The competition is held in memory of Captain John A. MacLellan MBE who was the first Director of Army Bagpipe Music.

The Army School itself has now opened for the first time since lockdown. “The current AA Class 1 Piper’s course is now able to receive face-to-face instruction for the last two weeks of their course,” said Major Rowan. “[The School] is now prepared for the next phase which will welcome the current All Arms Class 3 Piping and Drumming Course on site from Monday, 13th July. Social distancing rules will apply for all courses with a flexible training program which will allow all staff and students to achieve the course training objectives in line with the current COVID-19 guidelines.”

A recent photograph of WO1 Peter Macgregor teaching Class 1 Pipers at the Army School.