Pipe Major William (Willie) Collie Ross M.V.O,
M.B.E. (shown above) was undoubtedly one of the greatest pipers
Scotland ever produced. Born in 1878 in Glenstrathfarrar in The
Highlands to Alick Ross and Mary Collie, he was one of a family
of three sons and three daughters. William enlisted into the
Scots Guards in 1896 and saw service in the Boer War and the
Great War of 1914-1918. Promoted to Pipe Major of the 2nd
Battalion in 1905, his brother Alick was to become Pipe Major of
the 1st Battalion - a unique situation. William was invalided
out of the army in 1919, suffering from acute rheumatic disorder
following a hard life in the trenches. In 1920 he became
Director of the Army School of Bagpipe Music and took his office
and residence in Edinburgh Castle. His record in competitive
piping was unique; Gold Medal - Inverness 1904, Gold Medal -
Oban 1907, Open Piobaireachd winner in 1907, 1912 and 1928,
winner of The Clasp in 1905, 1906, 1907, 1910, 1912, 1919, 1928
and 1931. As the former winner of the March, Strathspey and Reel
at Oban and Inverness he was champion 11 times. Many regarded
him as the world's greatest piper, a brilliant player, teacher
and composer. He published 5 books of pipe music, which are used
all over the world. Hundreds of pipers were tutored by William
at Edinburgh Castle, many becoming fine pipers, including John
D. Burgess, who won the Gold Medal at Oban and Inverness as a
teenager.
Captain
Norman Orr Ewing
was composed in 1912 and appeared in
his Ross’ collection of pipe tunes in 1925.
Norman
Archibald Orr Ewing was born November 23, 1880 in Knockdhu,
Argyllshire, Scotland. He served in the Scots Guards from 1900
until 1919. His family was deeply rooted in rural central
Scotland. His ancestry included descent from Alexander Ewing,
born at Balloch around 1660, and a maternal lineage from a
Campbell of Dunstaffnage (the "Orr" had been adopted by the
first baronet, Sir Archie, MP for Dumbartonshire, shortly after
creation of the baronetcy in 1886).
Capt. Norman
Orr Ewing began WWI by being attached to the 1st Battalion of
the Irish Guards in October of 1914 and was awarded the DSO for
his gallantry under fire. He was the most senior officer left
alive and unhurt during a vicious attack by four German
divisions, and took command of what was left of the battalion,
around 160 men of all ranks (down from over 800 the week
before). The line was near breaking-point by then, but company
after company delivered what blow it could, and fell back,
shelled and machine-gunned at every step, to the fringe of
Zillebeke Wood. Here the officers, every cook, orderly, and man
who could stand, took rifle and fought; for they were all that
stood there between the enemy and the Channel Ports. They just
wouldn't be broken, and the line, such as it was, held.
Their
Brigadier, Lord Cavan, wrote on the 20th November (1914) to
Captain N. Orr-Ewing, commanding the Battalion: "I want you to
convey to every man in your Battalion that I consider that the
safety of the right flank of the British section depended
entirely upon their staunchness after the disastrous day, Nov.
1. Those of them that were left made history, and I can never
thank them enough for the way in which they recovered themselves
and showed the enemy that the Irish Guards must be reckoned
with, however hard hit.
Sir Norman was the 4th Baronet of
Orr-Ewing, retired with the rank of Brigadier General, served as
Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland from 1937 to 1939,
and died on March 26, 1960. His son, Ronald, was a major in the
Scots Guards in WWII and was one of Scotland's most prominent
freemasons, died at age 90 in 2002.
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