Tag: James Reid

Burgess Hay: Reflections on Culloden, 275 years on

Burgess Hay: Reflections on Culloden, 275 years on

By Burgess Hay Today is the 275th anniversary of the Battle of Culloden. As I stand here beside, but not on, the windy moor, I find it impossible not to reflect on the winds of change that swept through highland society and through piping, in particular, in the months and […]

This plaque in York's Tadcaster Road marks the spot where the town's gallows stood.

James Reid, a hero of the ’45

Today, we post this article from our archives. The article was written by Tommy Pearston and published in the December 1989 Piping Times. His subject was James Reid, the only piper who lost his life because he was a piper. Reid, a native of Angus in the east of Scotland, […]

Queen Victoria’s legacy to piping and pipe bands

Queen Victoria’s legacy to piping and pipe bands

From the April 2001 Piping Times “The pipes must lead.” So stated Queen Victoria to her Army top brass in the 1870s, thus ending an unseemly squabble over whether pipes or drums should form the front or rear ranks in the newly formed musical ensemble known as the pipe band. […]