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 ...

William Collie Ross (1878 - 1966) was a Scottish

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

player.

Life

Ross was born on 14 June 1878 at Ardchuilc in

Glen Strathfarrar Glen Strathfarrar ( gd, Srath Farair) is a glen in the Highland region of Scotland, near Loch Ness. The Glen is part of the Affric-Beauly hydro-electric power scheme, with a dam at Loch Monar and a 9 km tunnel carrying water to an undergrou ...

, the second son of Alexander Ross and Mary Collie. He was taught by his maternal uncle Aeneas Rose, piper to the

Duke of Atholl Duke of Atholl, named for Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray. It was created by Queen Anne in 1703 for John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl, with a special remainder to the heir male of h ...

, but also received tuition from both his parents, in addition to taking lessons at

Blair Castle Blair Castle (in Scottish Gaelic: Caisteil Bhlàir) stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their chief, the Duke of Atholl, ...

during the school holidays. At the age of 18 he joined the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

, and fought with the 1st Battalion in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

from 1899 to 1902. In 1905 he became

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 ...

of the 2nd Battalion, at the age of 24. His younger brother Alexander was also a piper, and became Pipe-Major of the 1st Battalion in 1911. In 1919 Willie was made Instructor at the

Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming The Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming is a British Army training establishment that provides instruction on Scottish pipe band music to military pipers and drummers. History Founded in 1910 as the Army School of Piping (later ...

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. ...

, where he taught hundreds of pupils, including almost all the top players produced by the army. Among his most famous students was John D. Burgess, who he taught as a private pupil from a young age. Burgess won both gold medals at the age of 16, and went on to become one of the most successful competitive pipers of the 20th century. Ross was also Pipe-Major of the

Lovat Scouts The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit and in 1916 formally became the British ...

between 1921 and 1933. He married Edith Mary McGregor in 1903, but she died suddenly in 1942. They had a son William who died aged about 7 (probably of

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

) and a daughter Cecily who won

Mòd A mòd is an Eisteddfod-inspired festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture. Historically, the Gaelic word ''mòd'' (), which came from Old Norse ''mót'', refers to a Viking Age ''Thing'' or a similar kind of assembly. There are both lo ...

Medals for her piano playing. Ross died in Edinburgh on 23 March 1966, aged 87. There is a memorial cairn near the house he was born in, which is now a ruin.

Competition results

Ross won many of the top prizes of the day: *Gold Medal 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 f ...

(1904) *Gold Medal at the

Argyllshire Gathering The Argyllshire Gathering is a Highland games held in Oban, Scotland. History A meeting on 23 August 1871 held at the Argyll Arms Hotel led to a resolution to have an "Annual Gathering of the Gentry of the County of Argyll for social purposes" ...

(1907 ) *Former Winners Clasp, Northern Meeting (1905, 1906, 1907, 1910, 1912, 1919, 1923, 1928)

Compositions

Some of the tunes Willie Ross composed are: * ''Loch Monar'' * ''Leaving St Kilda'' * ''Leaving Ardtornish'' * ''Flight of the Eaglets'' * ''Leaving Port Askaig'' * ''Captain Norman Orr Ewing'' * ''Brigadier Ronald Cheape of Tiroran'' * ''Leaving Strathglass'' He also collected and set 240 tunes into the 5 volumes of ''Pipe-Major W. Ross’s Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music''. The composition 'Corriechoillie's 43rd Welcome to the Northern Meeting' is often wrongly attributed to Willie Ross, but was in fact composed by an earlier William Ross (1823-1891) from the parish of Knockbain in Ross-shire, who was Pipe Major of 42nd Royal Highlanders (Black Watch), and became Piper to Queen Victoria on the 10th May 1854, a post which he continued to occupy up till the time of his death on 10th June 1891, at the age of 69. The Corriechoillie in question is the notorious livestock drover and landowner John Cameron of Corriechoille, in Lochaber, who was given a special welcome on his 43rd attendance of the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Willie 1878 births 1966 deaths Great Highland bagpipe players Gold Medal winners (bagpipes) Scottish bagpipe players