Tag: William Ross

Piping 100 years ago: 1923 part two

Piping 100 years ago: 1923 part two

The second part of Jeannie Campbell’s 1923 retrospective looks at the early summer months and finds reports on pipe band competitions and solo piping results from around the Games. There are also reports on two pipe bands from Inveraray; PM Willie Ross’s three-week visit to South Uist for piping tuition […]

Piping 100 years ago: 1923 part one

Piping 100 years ago: 1923 part one

By JEANNIE CAMPBELL MBE • PART 1 • JAN to APRIL 1923 Looking back one hundred years to 1923 shows that some events were similar to those of today but there were many differences. In 1923 the piping world had to rely on word of mouth or the newspapers to […]

Grand National Gatherings of the Glasgow Celtic Society 1858-59

Grand National Gatherings of the Glasgow Celtic Society 1858-59

PART TWO • By JEANNIE CAMPBELL MBE The second Grand National Gathering was advertised for Thursday and Friday 5th and 6th August 1858, with prize money and medals to a larger amount than ever offered to be competed for in Scotland. Gentlemen and youths connected with the Highlands and members […]

My father the bagpiper – part 4

My father the bagpiper – part 4

Continuing the story of James McHardy, second piper to Queen Victoria from 1878 until 1881. Edith Paterson (nee McHardy), the younger daughter of McHardy – ‘the Piper’ – was the author of the booklet of her father’s life. Brought up in the Alford area of Donside, Aberdeenshire, she became an […]

James McHardy.

My father the bagpiper – part 1

Pipe Major McHardy (1863-1938), a native of Aberdeenshire, was a boy piper to Queen Victoria at Balmoral and at other royal residences. From 1878 to 1881 he was assistant to the Queen’s piper, PM William Ross, 42nd Highlanders (Black Watch) who was in that role from 1854-1891. McHardy was one […]

Fording the River Tarf as John Macpherson and Aeneas Rose play.

Playing waist deep in a river – all part of royal duty for pipers

• From the May 2001 Piping Times. Neville T. McKay continues his history of the office of Sovereign’s Piper Angus MacKay’s successor at the royal household was William Ross who came from the Royal Highland Regiment, The Black Watch, where he had served 17 years. A memorandum from the Department […]

How the march became more pointed and technically demanding

How the march became more pointed and technically demanding

• From the March 2000 Piping Times. By David Murray As intimated in my last column, l’ll continue this issue with part two of my research into the pipe march first broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland. As the early collections of ceòl beag show, tunes in march time of varying […]