chrissparrow Posted 23 May , 2014 Share Posted 23 May , 2014 Can anyone tell me where I will find the graves of any pipers on the Somme? And are they recognised as pipers on their graves, as drummers are (I believe)? I am taking a good piper, who is just 13, as part of a school tour and it would be great for him to play a lament at the grave of a piper. We have a number of locations set up already (obviously the Pipers Memorial!), but a grave would be superb. Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERITAGE PLUS Posted 23 May , 2014 Share Posted 23 May , 2014 Chris If you type Piper into the Rank box of the site linked below and press search you will obtain a list of Piper's names and the location of their graves. http://www.hut-six.co.uk/cgi-bin/search1421.php Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissparrow Posted 23 May , 2014 Author Share Posted 23 May , 2014 Dave - what have I been missing! Brilliant - thank you! Five minutes and I have exactly what I need. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERITAGE PLUS Posted 23 May , 2014 Share Posted 23 May , 2014 Chris Glad to have been of help. My daughter used to teach (Physics) not far from you at Wychwood School. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIFFO Posted 24 May , 2014 Share Posted 24 May , 2014 not the somme but loos is close Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Abbott Posted 24 May , 2014 Share Posted 24 May , 2014 The book, 'Floo'ers O' The Forest - Fallen Pipers of the Great War' lists a considerable number of pipers who fell and who are interred in the vicinity of the Somme.......with specific locations where they are buried or commemorated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissparrow Posted 25 May , 2014 Author Share Posted 25 May , 2014 Thanks All for your help, especially Ron. As a result I will be visiting Piper James Johnston, Black Watch, buried in Ovillers Cemetery. This will be a moving experience! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolt968 Posted 25 May , 2014 Share Posted 25 May , 2014 I don't if you know about this book which deals with pipers in WW1: The Pipes of War by Seton and Grant. It was originally published in 1920 but has been republished recently. With luck you might find a copy in a library. It may seem a bit old fashioned, but in one of its appendices, the authors list all the pipers (listed by unit COs). If they were killed the date of death is given - which means you could track them down on the CWGC site. (Several of the Tyneside Scottish pipes were killed on the first day of the Somme (1 July 1916). R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Abbott Posted 25 May , 2014 Share Posted 25 May , 2014 Except that it doesn't list all the pipers, only some; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 26 May , 2014 Share Posted 26 May , 2014 How about the Canadian VC, Piper Richardson - buried at Adanac Cemetery near Courcelette? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissparrow Posted 26 May , 2014 Author Share Posted 26 May , 2014 Thanks Ken, Will have a look at his story, but not on my tour route at the moment. I am, however, quite flexible so will take his story with us in case we go thar way. Thanks again, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 26 May , 2014 Share Posted 26 May , 2014 If you're going to Ovillers, Chris, Courcelette is no distance away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissparrow Posted 26 May , 2014 Author Share Posted 26 May , 2014 I know, but we are on a tight schedule! It takes a while to warm up the pipes and I don't want the lad to do it on the coach! He will be playing at the Highland Memorial, Thiepval, the Pipers Memorial and at Ovillers. Might ask him to blow at Mametz as well, although I know this would be out of place, but it could be something special! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghazala Posted 26 May , 2014 Share Posted 26 May , 2014 How about the Canadian VC, Piper Richardson - buried at Adanac Cemetery near Courcelette? He was 20 years old, and a Piper in the 16th Bn., Manitoba Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force, (Canadian Scottish) during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 8 October 1916 at Regina Trench, Somme, France, the company was held up by very strong wire and came under intense fire. Piper Richardson repeatedly asked for permission to play the company 'over the top' but the sergeant-major thought it too risky. When the situation began to look dire, Piper Richardson made the request once again and the sergeant-major replied, "Aye mon, gie 'em wind!" The Piper then went "o'er the top" and strode up and down outside the wire playing his pipes, which so inspired the company that the wire was rushed and the position captured. Later, Piper Richardson was detailed to take back a wounded comrade and some prisoners, but after proceeding some distance he insisted on turning back to recover his pipes, which he had left behind. He was never seen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest C-1-8 Posted 3 June , 2014 Share Posted 3 June , 2014 Good morning Chris I'm new to this Forum and will enjoy adding a comment or two if helpful. Your intended trip to France and a planned visit to a grave site of a Piper is indeed an intresting and worthy project. If you have access to "Floo'ers 'o the Forest" you'll find an interesting account of 3/4470 Piper Johnston's death on page 58. I thnik you and the boy will appreciate these added details and quote from his Commanding Officer. If you don't have the book, let me know and I'll type the page entry for you. I don't have means of sending the page over the internet. E mails, ebay and a few forums are about my limit with the computer. Good luck with your trip. C-1-8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissparrow Posted 4 June , 2014 Author Share Posted 4 June , 2014 Thanks C-1-8 and all, Just back and done much of what I said, but the highlight was pipes under Thiepval. AMAZING! We held a little service and concluded with the pipes - there was not a dry eye in the house! I love the last post at the Menin Gate and it gives me the 'twinge' at the back of the neck and goose bumps, but this was at an all together higher level. We had innocent bystanders in tears! Very special and thanks for all the help. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissparrow Posted 6 June , 2014 Author Share Posted 6 June , 2014 Of course - Over the Sea to Sky. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghazala Posted 3 July , 2014 Share Posted 3 July , 2014 1st July 2014 - Pipers on The Somme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan24 Posted 11 July , 2014 Share Posted 11 July , 2014 Those reading this thread may be interested in the TV tonight. Friday 11th July 2014 BBC2 21.30 Pipers of the Trenches quote "For four hundred years or more, Highland regiments advanced and attacked to the sound of the bagpipes. In the Great War, pipers climbed out of the trenches, unarmed, to face machine guns and shells. The descendants of those men return to the battlefields to discover individual stories of unparalleled bravery" Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoppage Drill Posted 11 July , 2014 Share Posted 11 July , 2014 I can't remember the fine details, but I am pretty sure that Richardson's pipes were, in fact. recovered by a padre. They ended up for many years in a school in Scotland, the provenance being uncertain. Not too long ago they were positively identified and returned to the successor Canadian regiment. Over to somebody else to fill in details, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 11 July , 2014 Share Posted 11 July , 2014 Those reading this thread may be interested in the TV tonight. Friday 11th July 2014 BBC2 21.30 Pipers of the Trenches quote "For four hundred years or more, Highland regiments advanced and attacked to the sound of the bagpipes. In the Great War, pipers climbed out of the trenches, unarmed, to face machine guns and shells. The descendants of those men return to the battlefields to discover individual stories of unparalleled bravery" Alan. Thank you for this Alan - I would have missed it otherwise. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 11 July , 2014 Share Posted 11 July , 2014 Thank you for this Alan - I would have missed it otherwise. Anne Not if you spotted this! http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=214270&hl= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 11 July , 2014 Share Posted 11 July , 2014 Not if you spotted this! http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=214270&hl= Not like me to miss something like this but I didn't spot it as I had to disconnect my PC early this morning (getting a wood floor down) and when I re-connected this afternoon looked through New Content where this one appeared. Good thread though. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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