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Band History 1945 – 1975
During the lean years of World War 2 the band again found itself with a new Pipe Major. When Hance Gates retired from the police, the bands Pipe Sergeant, Duncan Cameron took charge and although the bands numbers were to fall to an all time low, he must be given great credit for keeping the band together when many players were leaving to return to the forces.
At the end of the war the band took part in a massed victory parade in Prince’s Street (photo 1) along with the Police bands from the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow and were inspected by Prime Minister Winston Churchill.(photo 2) |
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The end of the war also saw more players become available and assisted by his lifelong friend Ronnie Ackroyd, Duncan Cameron would begin recruiting players that would see the band return to the top of the competition field and a time now considered to be the bands “golden years”. One of these players was Donald Shaw Ramsay, a name that would become synonymous with the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band.
The band was also to change its tartan from the Ancient Red Ross, which the band had worn for many years in honour of former Chief Constable, Roderick Ross, to the now familiar Prince Charles Edward Stuart.(left) |
The bands leadership changed once more in 1949, with the appointment of Donald Ramsay as Pipe Major who had previously served as a Pipe Major in the Highland Light Infantry. He arrived with a reputation as a fine player and composer and although this change was not without opposition, it proved to be a highly successful one for the band.(right). Ramsay is not only credited with winning the World Pipe Band Championships on two occasions, 1950 and 1954, but was also instrumental in introducing the playing of hornpipes and jigs to the pipe band scene, which is now to be heard in modern medley playing.(far right). |
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In 1957 however Ramsay’s time with the band was to come to an abrupt end. While serving as a Sergeant at Drylaw Mains Police Station in Edinburgh he was involved in a shooting and was forced to retire from the police as a result of his injuries. (below left) Next in charge was another big name on the piping scene, a young Constable stationed at Leith - John D. Burgess. He was in charge for just one memorable season before leaving the police service at the end of 1958, leading the band to victory at Cowal Games and the British Championships, as well as a top three finish at the World’s (below right) |
The 40’s and 50’s also saw an improvement in the drum corps with the legendary Jimmy Catherwood still in charge for the World Championship win of 1950 at Dundee. Geordie Pryde, who arrived from the Edinburgh Special Constabulary band and was later to immigrate to British Columbia, Canada, succeeded Catherwood.
Bob Montgomery was also recruited to the band from the Greenock Police and was to have a long and successful association with the band, leading the corps to the drumming prize at the World’s in 1964 and lifting the World Solo Drumming title himself in 1969 (below left).Bob was to share in many great successes with the next Pipe Major of the band, Iain McLeod.(belowright) |
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McLeod built a band which won the World Championships twice in the 60’s and another three times in the 70’s and featured many great band players of the day including Jock Percival, Harry McNulty, George Lumsden, Bob Gibson and Laurie Gillespie to name only a few.
He was also to recruit surely the greatest drummer ever to grace the pipe band world, Alex Duthart, who spent two seasons in charge of the drum corps in the late 60’s before returning to Shotts and Dykehead (right)
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The band was probably at its best under Iain Mcleod in the early 1970’s, recording back to back wins at the World Championships in 1971 and 1972. Iain however, was most thrilled by the band’s victory at the Intercontinental Championship in Canada in 1972 when the band competed for the first time against the top bands from North America. (below left)
Iain McLeod was to finish his time as Pipe major in the mid seventies much as he had started, on a high! The bands name was changed in May 1975 to the Lothian and Borders Police and was again to lift the world title at Corby, Northamptonshire that year, narrowly beating Muirhead & Sons Pipe Band from Grangemouth.(below right) |
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