Unknown #15

This set of bagpipes is on display at the University of Waterloo (Ontario). A brass plaque affixed states “…played at the Battle of Waterloo…” on June 18, 1815. Whether or not this is true, the profiles, materials, and details of the bagpipe suggest that this is possible, although the name of the piper has been lost to history. Pipe-Major Angus Paul MacKillop of the 79th Regiment of Foot continued to carry them during the Victorian era, and played them in Egypt and Sudan during the 1880s and 1890s. They remained in the MacKillop family for generations.

Of note is that the wood is not an exotic hardwood and more likely a wood indigenous to Scotland, perhaps a fruit-wood. The original ferrules appear to be bone. Replacement ferrules and rings are present. Beading and combing are all hand-cut with eight teeth standing. The bass mid-section has flat beads and may well be a replacement. Interestingly, the bead on the bass top-section above the cord-holders is also flat. Beads on the two tenor sections are inconsistent with those on the bass and with each other. The chanter is magnificent although we are limited to a singular view.

The original image can be found on the university’s website and elsewhere on the Internet. Aspects show here have been manipulated in Photoshop to allow for a better (closer) inspection of certain details.