THE HIGHLAND PIPERS IN THE GREAT WAR
(Updated 6/00)
PURPOSE
This paper is intended to
provide an overview of the Great Highland Bagpipe and the pipers during World
War One. My idea is to provide a little
history for both pipers and people who enjoy pipe music. I hope that the reader enjoys the material
and perhaps develops an increased interest in the history of this magnificent
instrument and the brave men who played the Scottish Regiments over the top.
BACKGROUND
On August 4,1914, the “WAR
TO END ALL WARS” began. Over the next 4
years and 3 months over 8 million men will be killed in combat and almost 20
million will be wounded fighting in trenches stretching from the Alps to the
Baltic Sea.
During the First World War over 41%
of Scottish males between 15 and 49 enlisted into the British armies. Recent estimates indicate that more than
147,000 Scottish Soldiers gave their lives during the war. The bravery of the Scottish regiments earned
them the name “The Ladies from Hell”.
The Highland pipes were heard
wherever the Scottish Regiments went to fight.
Calling forth memories of home, tears for fallen comrades, and most
often inspiring acts of bravery and self-sacrifice.
THE LOSSES AND THE ASSIGNMENTS
All of the
Scottish Regiments suffered extremely heavy losses in personnel during the war
this high casualty rate included the pipers.
During the Great War over 1000 pipers were killed leading the Scottish
regiments into battle.
The Scots Guards 1st
Battalion arrived in France in August 1914 with eight pipers. At the beginning of 1915 only two of the
eight had survived. The Second Battalion
lost 10 pipers over the span of three months.
When the Kings Own Scottish
Boarderer ’s arrived in Gallipoli with eleven pipers, they had their rifles,
bayonets and pipes. Often piping on the
march or when in the trenches the pipers helped moral in the grueling
conditions found on the peninsula. After
8 months only three of the original eleven pipers survived to play while the
boats ferried off what was left of the retreating British forces.
During the battle for Loos in
September 1915, over 50,000 British troops were dead, 15,000 of whom the
remains were never found. The 5th
Battalion of the Cameron highlanders withstood Artillery shelling and gas
attacks, of the 850 men who saw the battle begin, only 112 were left at the
end. The seven pipers with the unit fared
no better, 3 were killed, 3 wounded and one was gassed, the loss of a whole
pipe band.
After suffering these heavy losses
in the pipers, and realizing the effect the loss of all the pipers would have
on the Scottish Regiments, it was ordered that the pipers stop playing the men
into combat. Even though an edict
against pipers playing their comrades “over the top” existed, several continued
to play and lead the men out to fight.
Pipers were assigned many tasks
after being banned from playing the men into “no man’s land”. They were employed carrying rations and
supplies to the men severing in the forward trenches, often under cover of darkness. The Pipers continued to play the men from the
rear areas to the front lines and often were used by non-Scottish units for
this task. The most dangerous tasks were
as runners, stretcher-bearers, bombers (hand grenadiers) and ammunition
carriers. Of these tasks
stretcher-bearer was the most hazardous of all the duties. Small parties tending to the wounded in no
man’s land, often under heavy fire and the carrying the wounded through
knee-deep mud made for continued casualties in the pipers ranks.
THE PIPES IN ACTION
There are many events during
the course of the war that exemplify the ability of the pipes to effect moral and
inspire men to accomplish the unbelievable whatever the sacrifice.
In the
confusion of the retreat from Mons, the British Regiments had become mixed as
units from different regiments mingled with each other and continued to march
wearily along. An Officer observed a
piper from the Kings Own moving along with his pipes under his arm. The Officer yelled out “Piper, play up.” The piper replied “Sorry, Sir, I can’t my
bag is to dry.” The Officer asked “Is it
the Piper or the pipes that’s too dry?”
The piper took this sarcasm as an affront to his piping abilities. With some difficulties he managed to get
enough water to wet the bag and then struck up the pipes. Only tow drones responded but the effect on
the troops was magical. It was reported
that men got into step and that the weariness seemed to leave them.
At
Ambers Ridge on the 9th of May 1915, pipers from the Black Watch
played the men into action amidst the fall of shells and fire. Almost inaudible, the strains of “Hieland Laddie” inspired the troops and
demonstrated the dedication of the pipers in battle.
During the Battle of the Somme in 1916, Battalion
after Battalion had tried to capture a strategic German trench. The Cameron’s were brought forth and made
ready to attack. The 7th
Battalion’s pipers were also ready and led the men over the top to the tune
of “The March of the Cameron Men”. This attack though costly was successful in
capturing the trench.
It
was common for pipers to entertain their fellow soldiers in the trenches,
dugouts and behind the lines. Sometimes
members of other units often came through the trenches to hear a piper. The nearby French troops often wandered over
to hear the pipers play. Many times the forward observation post would ask to listen
in to these impromptu concerts by telephone.
PIPERS IN ACTION
The
pipers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders had been in combat for ten
months when the command learned that 11 of the 21 pipers were killed or
wounded. The order to withdrawal the
rest from the trenches was given. Piper
Peter Dean refused and became a machine gunner, his skill and daring earned him
a DCM. Soon after he got a bar for the
DCM and was promoted to a commission.
Before the end of the war Dean became a Major within the regiment.
On the 25th of September 1915 at the Battle
of Loos, the Kings Own came under heavy artillery fire and poison gas attack. The gas attack severely affected the men and
those not wounded were shaken. The fighting
ability of the unit was destroyed. Piper
Daniel Laidlaw mounted the parapet of the trench and began to play “Blue
Bonnets over the Boarder”. The men
followed him over the top and faced heavy machine gun fire but went forward
with such determination that the German positions were taken. Laidlaw was wounded before he reached the
German trench. He was awarded the VC and
the Croix de Guerre for his conspicuous gallantry.
During the campaign on the
Gallipoli peninsula the pipers took a leading role in saving the lives of the
British troops. The high command had
ordered the Scottish Horse to move forward to occupy what was believed to be a
deserted enemy trench. The local officer
had the men fix bayonets and show them over the top of the trench. The piper started to play “The Devils in the
Kitchen “ and the men cheered but did not advance. The Turkish troops responded by firing a
rifle barrage at the British forces for a full 45 minutes. As the sound of the “battle” was heard further
from the line both sides’ artillery began to exchange fire with out knowing
why. The High Command rescinded the
order to occupy the trench.
During
the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, the Germans launched a counter attacked
with a vengeance against the exhausted British units. Piper Hugh MacAuther got his pipes and
standing on the top of the trenches he played, this so inspired the British soldiers
that they were able to repulse the enemy.
An
incident at Beaumont Hamel was the rout of the German forces by an Argylls
piper. An officer, a sergeant and the
piper found themselves isolated from their unit and behind the German rear. While the German unit fought off an attack to
their front the piper struck up the regimental tune “ The Campbells are coming”. The Germans fearing an attack from their rear
flank retreated from the battlefield.
In October 1916, Piper James
Richardson implored his commander to allow him to play the unit forward. As the company approached the enemy trench
they were held up by concentration of wire that had not been cut by the artillery
bombardment. Under fire from the nearby
Germans, the men worked franticly to breach the barrier. As the casualties mounted the morale of the unit
sagged. Piper Richardson, stood up and
strode up and down in front of the wire.
The effect on the morale was immediate, the unit again attacked. He played for 20 minutes as the wire was
breached and the trench was taken. Later
that day he went to help some wounded and was killed. He was posthumous awarded the VC.
In
1918, on the Albert-Arras road the Germans had occupied the heights to slow the
British advance. The Black Watch was
ordered to clear the hill. One company
had advanced to within 120 yards when brought under intense fire by the
Germans. The men were able to take a
trench, many having been wounded, but were separated from the main units and
under the conditions of the battle effectively lost, as no one knew of their position. Regardless of enemy fire the piper stood up
and played the Regimental tune, this had the desired effect as several companies
advanced to occupy the captured trench.
PIPE TUNES
Reveille Johnny Cope
Call to meals Brose and Butter
March tunes Highland Laddie
Scotland
the Brave
Dumbarton’s
Drums
Campbells
are Coming
Blue
Bonnets over the Boarder
Piobroch
Donuil Dubh
Charging Tunes
Standard on the Braes o’ Mar
Caber
Feidh
Blue
Bonnets over the Boarder
Cock
o’ the North
In camp
Road
to the Isles
Nut
Brown Maiden
The most often heard song was “Flowers of the Forest”
at the funerals of fallen comrades. Many
more tunes were popular during this time and played by the pipers.
Robert Meldrum following the battle wrote “Battle of
the Somme”.
CONCLUSION
During
the Great War the Scottish Regiments were often in the toughest battles, and the
pipers were inspiring the men into combat.
Harry Lunan a piper from the Battle of the Somme said of pipe music “It
gave them courage, incentive.” One veteran
said, “when they played the bagpipes I felt I could go through anything.”
In Flanders fields the
poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on
row
That mark our place;
and in the sky
The larks, still bravely
singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the
guns below
We are the
dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt
dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were
loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take
up our quarrel with the foe
To you from
failing hands we throw
The torch; be
yours to hold it high.
If ye break
faith with us who die
We shall not
sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae
REFERANCES
The following materials were
used in compiling the above information.
The Piper in Peace and War
By C. A. Malcolm
Published: 1927
The Bagpipe, Fiddle and Harp
By F. Collinson
Published: 1983
The
Scottish Soldier
By
Stephen Wood
1987
The
Pipers Day
Regimental Duty Tunes of the queens Own Highlanders
1991
The Scottish Regiments
By Dianna M.
Henderson
1993
Scottish Units in the World Wars, Osprey Military, Elite Series
By Mike Chappell
1994
World War One, A Narrative
By
Philp Warner
1995
The Highland Bagpipe and Its Music
By Roderic D. Cannon
Published: 1995
The Great War and the Shaping
of the 20th Century
By Jay Winter and Blaine
Baggett
1996
The Bagpipe in History and Legend
By Robert M. Lawrance
Published: 1997
Bagpipe Articles Written in the Early 1900’s
Reprinted by Scotpress
Instrument of War
Video
by Patrick King and Grahame Wicking
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