VC Piper's pipes found?

[brownag]

According to the Vancouver Sun of 25th January a set of bagpipes believed to be those used by Piper Richardson the day he won his VC in 1916 may have been found in a school in Perthshire. For those unfamiliar with Piper Richardson here is his citation:

"For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when, prior to attack, he obtained permission from his Commanding Officer to play his company "over the top". As the Company approached the objective, it was held up by very strong wire and came under intense fire, which caused heavy casualties and demoralised the formation for the moment. Realising the situation, Piper Richardson strode up and down outside the wire, playing his pipes with the greatest coolness. The effect was instantaneous. Inspired by his splendid example, the company rushed the wire with such fury and determination that the obstacle was overcome and the position captured. Later, after participating in bombing operations, he was detailed to take back a wounded comrade and prisoners. After proceeding about 200 yards Piper Richardson remembered that he had left his pipes behind. Although strongly urged not to do so, he insisted on returning to recover his pipes. He has never been seen since, and death has been presumed accordingly owing to lapse of time."

In fact his body was recovered after the War and he now lies in Adanac Military Cemetery, Miraumont.

The article explains that a Major Bate, a chaplain with the British Army, found a set of pipes at Courcelette in the Spring of 1917 which had been left in the mud over the winter. Unable to identify which regiment they belonged to because of the unusual tartan on the bag cover he kept them. He later presented them to his school on his retirement in 1931.

Recently a father of one of the pupils at the school tried to find out a bit more about the pipes and posted a message on the internet. A piper in Canada realised the significance of the place and dates and travelled to Scotland to look at the pipes. The pipes have a strip of Lennox tartan on them, the official tartan of the 16th Bn. and this has convinced him that they are Richardson's pipes.

Has anyone heard anything else about this? The article doesn't say what the fate of the pipes will be if they are identified, but it says the National Museums of Scotland are now involved. Richardson was a Scot, born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, so presumably they might end up in the Scottish National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle.

[Paul Reed]

I had some members of the Canadian Scottish visit me here at Courcelette last year; they were on their way to the owner of these pipes to acquire them for their regimental museum. As far as I know they were successful.