Shipboard pipe band to float into the record books

Published on Saturday 31 July 2010 15:43

THE world record for the largest ever band assembled on a ship will be set this week when 400 pipers and drummers fall in on the decks of USS Intrepid, the American aircraft carrier that served with distinction in the Second World War and Vietnam.

The parade will be just one of several events as bands form up around the world in a march past that will see massed pipes and drums performing in Scotland, England, the United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong.

The parades on Saturday have been organised by the Edinburgh-based Pipefest organisation, which is raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

Over the years various Pipefest spectaculars, including a millennium march through New York led by Sir Sean Connery, have raised 768,000 for charity. Next weekend, the organisers are hopeful of taking that total towards 1 million.

The US leg of the Pipefest Global Challenge will take place on the aircraft carrier moored near New York on the Hudson River.

Meanwhile musicians will also be marching in Edinburgh, Tintagel in Cornwall, Ottawa, Hong Kong and Coffs Harbour in Australia.

Edinburgh will witness over 3,000 musicians marching down the Royal Mile with the first notes being sounded when the One O'Clock Gun is fired from the castle ramparts.

Afterwards the bands, who will be led by the former rugby player Gavin Hastings, will gather in Holyrood Park for refreshments. Entry to Holyrood Park is free.

A strong home contingent will be bolstered by over 1,600 pipers and drummers from overseas, who will travel to the capital for the event.

Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and Hungary are among the countries that will be represented in the Edinburgh leg, which has been supported by Event Scotland.

The band leading the Edinburgh parade will be the Mauchline & District Pipe Band under the command of Pipe Major Gordon Walker, one of the world's most prolific prize winners on the solo piping circuit.

The parade's oldest performer will be 89-year-old George Kerr, who has played with the Peterborough Pipe Band for 60 years.

"When the band strikes up on the deck of the Intrepid with the full panorama of the New York skyline in the background, it will be a truly spectacular sight and sound," said Magnus Orr, organiser the of Pipefest.

"It is amazing that there are so many pipe bands from all around the world, who are taking part and raising lots of money.

"Pipers and drummers really can make a difference."