PIPES OF WAR. A Record of the Achievements of Pipers of Scottish and Overseas Regiments during the War 1914-18

The sound of the pipes is something that stirs the hearts of all Scotsmen and pipers of Scottish regiments are at the heart of regimental traditions; the sound of the drums and pipes approaching in the distance can raise the hairs on the back of the neck. There are many occasions of Scottish troops being piped into battle and the casualty lists as well as lists of gallantry awards feature not a few pipers, including two VCs. The original BEF landed in France with seven Scottish battalions possessing pipe bands and, by the end of the war, the number of such units exceeded a hundred. And of course there were pipers from the Dominions, especially Canada which had several Scottish regiments, a piper of the 16th Canadian Scottish Battalion was one of the VCs. This account looks at the part played by pipers in all the theatres of war and describes many individual actions, most leading to gallantry awards. The detail in this remarkable piece of research includes the nominal roll of pipers by regiments and battalions, noting any casualties, and though the list does not claim to be definitive it is nonetheless an extremely impressive one. There is also a roll of honour, again by regiments and battalions. There are sections on pipe tunes, Irish pipes, tuition of young regimental pipers, a fine piece on the music of battle by the famous war correspondent, Philip Gibbs and much more besides.