Burntisland and District Pipe Band

Burntisland & District Pipe Band
Established	1923
Location	Burntisland, Fife, Scotland
Grade	4A
Pipe major	Kevin Baines
Drum sergeant	Michael Wood
Tartan	Scotland 2000
Notable honours	Band - 2014 (4B) British Champions 2014 (4B) U.K Champions 2014 (4B) European Champions 2014 (4B) Champions of Champions 2014 (4B) World Champions Drums - British Champions:2007(4B), 2008(4B), 2013(4B), 2014(4B) Scottish Champions:2014(4B) European Champions:2007(4B), 2009(4A), 2014(4B) U.K Champions:2014(4B) World Champions:2014(4B) Cowal Champions:2008(4B) Champions of Champions:2007(4B), 2014(4B)

Burntisland and District Pipe Band is a Grade 4A pipe band in Burntisland, Scotland. There has been a pipe band in Burntisland since the very early 1920s and is one of the oldest registered with the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association.

History

After World War I and things got back to normality, some of the founder members got together and started practising with the view of getting a band started. They first practised in the Brass Band Hall at the bottom of the High Street before moving to a Scout Hall at Geddsmill. They then got a 10 foot by 6 foot hut on the Haugh Road that could not accommodate everyone at the same time, so they took it in turns to go in and practise while the rest stood outside on a many a winter's night.

The hall that the band uses now was purchased in 1946 for £400. The money was put up by Bob Adamson's brother and the band repaid him. The Band Hall remains the band's most valuable asset. The band members in 1946 put in a lot of fund raising by playing in local pubs and appearing at nearby Kinghorn and Aberdour and shaking tins to get money to pay for the hall and instruments and uniforms.

The first full picture of the band is of 1923 when the and had just purchased their new uniforms and as was the trend in those days it was a number 1 uniform. The Ministry of Defence took the uniforms from them and when the Second World War started and they were returned in 1946. Alec Whitton remembers playing in civvies when they welcomed home people from Burntisland who were prisoners of war, playing them from the train station to their homes, prior to getting their uniforms back.

From 1939 to 1945 the band also practised in Murphy's Tea Rooms which later became the Labour Club. At this time the members were part of the Home Guard. During the years following the Second World War, the band entered contests but it was always an added expense and could not quite compete with the local pit bands that had the backing of the miners. However their little success that they had was welcomed.

The band was kept alive only by the people who played and by the followers and although they never entered competitions until the early 1970s, they had a full engagement calendar. Such events were dancing on the links from early evening till late, bearing in mind this was long before the shows were a prominent feature.

In 2014 season, the band underwent its most successful season, picking up 4 out of the 5 major titles and the drummers picked up the full grand slam (all five major titles). This also meant the band and drum corp picked up 4B Champions of Champions. During September 2014 the music board of the RSPBA decided to promote the band to Grade 3B. During the 2015 season, the band placed 5th at the Europeans and 6th at the Scottish Championships in grade 3B. The drummers also placed at 3 out the 5 majors, coming 3rd at the Scottish, 4th at the Europeans and 6th at the UK Championships. The band also qualified for the Worlds final, however, weren't placed. Also that year, the band fielded a development band in grade 4B. In 2016, the 3B band merged with the 4B band to work more on development and will compete in grade 4A in the 2016 season.

Band members 2009 after a very successful 2008 season

Pipe Majors

1920 - 1925 Pipe Major Andrew McCrae
1920 - 1931 Pipe Major Rummel Wishart
1931 - 1939 Pipe Major Jock Smith
1939 - 1949 Pipe Major Dave Turpie
1949 - 1960 Pipe Major Jock Smith
1967 - 1969 Pipe Major Tom Douglas
1969 - 2004 (except 1989 - 1991) Pipe Major Walter Anderson
1989 - 1991 Pipe Major Robin Brown
1996 - 2002, 2004 - 2007 Pipe Major Jim Forbes
1999 - 2001 Pipe Major Alan Forbes
2007 - 2010 Pipe Major Jock Mair
2010 - 2011 Grade 4A Pipe Major Brian Smith
2010 - 2011 Grade 4B Pipe Major John van Dieken
2012 - 2014 Pipe Major Stephen Johnstone
2014 - 2015 3B Pipe Major Jason Harley
2014 - 2015 4B Pipe Major Keith Muirhead
2015 - present Pipe Major Kevin Baines

Note: between 2011 and 2014 and 2016 onwards there was only one band

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.