Donald Shaw Ramsay (4 August 1919– 14 July 1998) was a Scottish bagpiper. Qualified as a

pipe major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

in the British Army, he led the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band to victory at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

twice and was also leader of the all-star

Invergordon Distillery Pipe Band Invergordon Distillery Pipe Band was a pipe band associated with the Invergordon Distillery. The band was characterised by the extremely high calibre of the individual players. History The idea of forming a band was put forward by a production ...

during its four years of existence.

Life

Ramsay was born in the parish of Muiravonside, near

Torphichen Torphichen ( ) is a historic small village located north of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. The village is approximately 18 miles (20 km) west of Edinburgh, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Falkirk and 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Linlithgow. T ...

, on 4 August 1919, to parents Donald Ramsay and Elizabeth Eadie. He went to primary school at Drumbowie, near Avonbridge, and then went to

Falkirk High School Falkirk High School is a high school located in Falkirk, Stirlingshire that was founded in 1886. It is a non-denominational six-year fully comprehensive school, situated approximately one mile from the centre of the town. It serves a widespr ...

before taking an engineering apprenticeship in Bathgate. He was taught by Sandy Forrest,

of the Torphichen and Bathgate Pipe Band, and competed successfully as a soloist, coming second in the under-21

Pibroch Pibroch, or is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning "piping" in Scottish Gaelic, has for some f ...

competition at the

Northern Meeting The Northern Meeting is a gathering held in Inverness, Scotland, best known for its solo bagpiping competition in September. History The Northern Meeting was set up in 1798 "for the purpose of promoting a Social Intercourse", and early editions ...

. At the age of nineteen he became pipe major of a band near Falkirk, which would provide valuable experience about the qualities required to lead a pipe band. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he joined the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...

, and became the youngest

in the British Army at the age of 20 after passing the course at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

under the tuition of Willie Ross. In 1947 he joined the

Edinburgh City Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fettes ...

and in 1949 took over as pipe major of the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band, and then led the band to victory in the

World Pipe Band Championships The World Pipe Band Championships is a pipe band competition held in Glasgow, Scotland. The World Pipe Band Championships as we currently know them have been staged since 1947 although the Grade 1 Pipe Band Competition winners at the annual Cowal ...

in 1950. Ramsay significantly improved the standard of the band, attracting several top players and taking the band to another Worlds title in 1954. The band would go on to win a further 6 titles after he left. In March 1957 he was shot and seriously injured while on duty and subsequently retired in 1958 to California, where he took the San Francisco Caledonian Pipe Band to Grade 1 by 1960 for the first time in its history. He ran a business selling highland supplies, but in 1964 returned to Scotland to become pipe major of the

at the invitation of distillery owner Frank Thomson, who wanted to create a top-class band to promote the business. Invergordon won every major title except the World Championships during its four years of existence, and included top-class players such as John D. Burgess and

Alex Duthart Alex Duthart (7 October 1925 – 27 November 1986) was a Scottish drummer. He is widely regarded as having revolutionised pipe band snare drum playing. Life Duthart was born on 7 October 1925 in Cambusnethan, near Wishaw in North Lanarkshire ...

. After the Invergordon Distillery band ceased to exist in 1967 he returned to California, and he was involved in judging in both North America and the UK. With his wife Elizabeth he had a daughter Morag. He died on 14 July 1998 and was buried in

Polmont Polmont ( gd, Poll-Mhonadh) is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village. Due to its situation in Central Scotland, m ...

Musical influence

He has been credited with expanding the repertoire played by pipe bands, due to the need for the Edinburgh police band to provide entertainment for an hour or more at a time, although he also expressed disapproval of bands playing music that is not traditionally Scottish, in particular

Breton music Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard- biniou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branched ...

. He composed a number of tunes, among them the march ''Schiehallion,'' the marches ''Mrs. Lily Christie'' and ''Angus MacKinnon'', the march ''Jimmy Young'' and the

hornpipe The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England with Hugh Aston's Hornepype of 1522 and others r ...

''Tam Bain's Lum.'' He also compiled the Edcath Collection, a series of two books published in 1953 and 1958 by Hugh MacPherson.

Discography

*''Pipe Major Donald Shaw Ramsay'' (1942) *''Pipe Major Donald Shaw Ramsay of The Edinburgh Police Pipe Band'' (1950s)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Donald Shaw Great Highland bagpipe players 1919 births 1998 deaths