Unknown #21

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There may be those who would scoff at this bagpipe, drawing a hasty conclusion based on the metal. They would be mistaken. In the late 1980’s I was playing with Clan MacFarlane and visited my dad in Elmira. On the kitchen table was this bagpipe. This, along with some very old books and a breech-loading Enfield rifle had been given to “The Chief” by an old legionnaire by the name of Donald McCrae, brother to John McCrae who wrote “In Flanders Fields.” The only history given was that it had been played during the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

I had my Henderson with me. I hemped the tenons to fit my stocks, popped in my cane reeds and fired it up. I felt the hair raising on my neck. The sound was magnificent. Without question this is one of the finest bagpipes I have ever played. It’s made of ebony with stocks of a lesser wood. All the metal is pinned into place. The ivory is bleached with stained scribe lines.

The Chief died in March 2018 and my nephew, Greg Bowen inherited this bagpipe and I couldn’t be happier for Greg and for the bagpipe. It is currently being played in the 78th Frasers (Toronto).