On November 11, 1956 the pipe band of ‘A’ Company, Bermuda Cadet Corps proudly accompanied by fellow students in the Bermuda Cadet Corps on its first-ever public parade, leading the war veterans on and off parade at the Remembrance Day ceremony.

Tomorrow, 50 years to the date of that debut, some of the original members will be doing the same thing — this time as members of the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band. The Band is combining with the Somerset Brigade Band through the courtesy of its director of music, Major (Ret.) Leslie Lowe.

As always, the skirl of the bagpipes will add a distinctive touch to the stirring parade music, and doubtless for some, like piper George Cook, drummer Larry Davis and Drum Major Jeremy Durrell, memories of that original parade, of which they were members, will come flooding back.

Although the genesis of the pipe band begins in 1955, it was actually in 1950 that Corporal Patrick (Paddy) Coyle, a Gordon Highlander serving with a detachment of the Highland Brigade at Prospect Garrison, had the idea of forming a pipe band.

It was Bermudian Captain Arthur Card, officer commanding the Bermuda Cadet Corps (BCC), of which Corporal Coyle had been an instructor, who brought the concept to fruition when he began recruiting volunteers from cadets to form the band, 25 of whom promptly responded.

Capt. Card’s efforts were enthusiastically supported by his brother Timothy, a Second World War veteran who had served with a Canadian highland unit, and Henry Hallett, headmaster of Saltus Grammar School and office-in-charge of BCC’s ‘A’ Company.

Additional support came from the Lions Club, which provided funds for everything from practice chanters to pipes, manuals, drums, uniforms and more.

Through Corporal Coyle’s connection with the Gordon Highlanders; the regiment’s commanding officer, and the Marquess of Huntley, Laird of the Clan Gordon in Scotland, permission was granted for the band to wear the regimental tartan — a tradition which is still maintained by the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band.

The band’s first pipe instructor was Bermudian Arthur Morris, who had learned to play the pipes at his school, St. Andrew’s, in Canada.

The first Pipe Major was war veteran C. Denis Stuart, a Bermudian of Scottish descent, who remained the band’s driving force for 38 years.

He was joined by Bert Brown, a former piper in the King’s Own Scottish Borders, and Major (Ret). Bill Horlington, formerly of the Northumberland Fusiliers, who taught drumming and highland dancing. Together the trio created Bermuda’s first playing pipe band.

Highland dancing was a feature of all performances from the outset, with piper Jimmy Smith doing the honours until, in 1976, Sandy Spurling became the first female dancer, and was soon joined by others.

The Pipes and Drums of the Bermuda Cadet Corps made its first playing appearance at Warwick Camp on July 2, 1956 during the ‘A’ company’s summer camp. Its first public parade was on November 11, an annual custom which continued for the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, the Bermuda Pipe Band was formed in 1959. Initially composed of members of the Bermuda Police Force, the Prison Services, and local enthusiasts, including former members of the cadet band, it became very successful, and over time was popularly known as ‘The Bermuda Police Pipe Band’.

The formation of the Bermuda Regiment in 1965 led to both pipe bands joining the Regiment’s Corps of Drums and Band in Beat Retreat ceremonies, a tradition now 41 years old. When the Bermuda Cadet Corps was discontinued in 1965, the members of its pipe band carried on as a group of civilian volunteers known as the Bermuda Cadets Pipe Band. In 1993, Bermuda Cadets Pipe Band and the Bermuda Pipe Band combined to form the present Bermuda Islands Pipe Band. David Frith has been Pipe Major since 1998.

[bul] An historical photo exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band from 1955 to the present is currently on in City Hall lobby, where it will remain until November 18.

50 years of the skirl of the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band’s bagpipes