Jim F. Bryan (1931–2009) was a noted player and maker of the Northumbrian smallpipes.[1] His interest in the pipes began in 1950, acquiring a set a few years after that; his widow Marion recalled [2] 'Jimmy was out walking by himself, which he did very often, in the countryside of Northumberland, and he heard this sound and he went over to hear where it was coming from and it was, as I say, Phillip Foreman playing the pipes. And then Jim said I must have a set but, of course in those days you couldn't just buy them. He didn't know where to start I think Phillip must have helped him. A friend of his got him a chanter, and it was a Reid chanter, and he made some drones for Jim and he got it going.'
He served the Northumbrian Pipers' Society first as Treasurer, then Vice-Chairman 1961-4, and Chairman 1964-8, then, at the end of his life, as President from 2006-9. He had a huge influence on pipemaking, principally as the co-author, with William Cocks, of a detailed book [3] on the instrument and its construction. This played a major role in the subsequent revival of interest in playing and making the instrument.