Burntisland and District Pipe Band

Burntisland and District Pipe Band is a Grade 3B and 4Bpipe 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 four out of the 5 major titles and the drummers, the first corp ever in the grade, 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.

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  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 - present 3B Pipe Major Jason Harley
• 2014 - present 4B Pipe Major Keith Muirhead

Note: between 2011 and 2014 there was only one band