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1923 - 1999
The Band was first formed in New Lanark after World War I, due mainly to the efforts of Sergeant John Rogerson of the Lanark Police and George Allan of Newmains Farm, who both taught the first members. The Band first mustered in 1923 as an adjunct of the Boys Brigade Company in New Lanark Church and later became known as the 'New Lanark Pipe Band'.
Laurence Hunter was the first Pipe Major of the Band and he held the post until John Henderson was appointed. Other than during the years of the World War II, when he served with the Cameronians, John Henderson remained the Pipe Major of the band until 1954, when pressure of work caused him to retire from the position. Following John Henderson's retirement, Andrew Stoddart, a pupil of Tom McAllister senior of Shotts, was invited to take over as Pipe Major. Under the leadership of PM Stoddart, the Band made its first appearance on the contest field in 1958 and underwent a name change to the 'Lanark and District Pipe Band' in 1976. Aside from a break of seven years, when the Band was unable to compete due to a lack of numbers, they have competed ever since that first outing in 1958. Between the period of 1958 and 1980, the Band was particularly successful and took a total of 104 prizes at various competitions and were promoted to by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) to Grade 2.
2000 - 2006
The band unfortunately suffered a lean period of prizes through the 1990s and was moved down to grade 4B by the RSPBA. At the end of 2002 competition season, Davie Murdoch took over the reigns as Pipe Major and in 2003 he was joined by Jamie Green and Julie Redden as Leading Drummer and Pipe Sergeant respectively. The band narrowly missed out in a prize at their second major competion of 2003, when they placed 7th at the British Championships. Competition success was obtained once again during the 2003 season though, with a 3rd place at Shotts Highland Games and a 4th place at the European Championships in Belgium, with the drum corps placing first and winning the Grade 4B European Championships drumming title.
Competition success followed again during the 2004 season in Grade 4B, with the band winning 9 prizes out of a possible 13, including 1st place at the Cowal Games and the drum corps taking the British Championships title. Strong places at the major championships during the 2004 season also meant the band finished creditable runners up in the RSPBA Champions of Champions titles, both as a band and as a drum corps. This resulted in the Band's well earned promotion to Grade 4A for the 2005 season.
The first half of the 2005 season seen the Band struggle slightly to take silverware from the major competitions. However, good results were forthcoming at other contests and the band took prizes at 5 of the 8 minor contests entered, with the drum corps also taking first place at all 5 contests. These success undoubtedly put the band in good stead for the major contests in the latter half of the season and after getting through the qualifying round at the World Championships, the Band went on to take 5th place in the final. A strong performance at Cowal also paid off with a 4th place and the Band and drum corps finished 8th and 6th respectively in the Champions of Champions titles for the season.
In 2006 Jamie Green left the band to play with Glasgow Skye Association and he was replaced in the post by Craig Fergusson. 2006 also seen the introduction of the MAP (Musical Appreciation and Presentation) system to Grade 4 by the RPSBA, meaning, amongst other things, that a qualifying round was put in place for Grade 4 bands at all major championships. The band successfully qualified for the finals at every major contest and took prizes from 4 out of 5 of them, with an excellent first place at Cowal at the end of the season. The Band and drum corps were once again runners up in both the Champions of Champions titles and the success of the season ensured their promotion to Grade 3B.
Following the 2006 season, Davie Murdoch stepped down as Pipe Major but continued to play in the piping ranks. Further personnel changes also took place with the departure of some pipers and the entire snare drum corps. In late October of 2006, Stuart Shedden, a former winner of the Gold Medal at Oban was appointed as Pipe Major and Jamie Green returned as Leading Drummer, with Davie Murdoch being appointed to the post of Pipe Sergeant. With no snare drummers and only 5 pipers, the immediate priority was to set about a rebuilding process to boost numbers and allow the Band to compete in 2007. By November of 2006, the band not only had enough players to compete but they were also able to form a feeder system and consequently, Grade 4B band was established, with Julie Redden being appointed as Pipe Sergeant.
2007 - 2008
2007 was to prove to be one of the most successful competion seasons for the band in recent years. Prizes were obtained from all 11 contests entered, including all 5 major championships. This included a first place at the European Championships and the drum corps taking the titles at both the European and Cowal Championships. These accumulated successes earned both the Band and drum corps the Grade 3B Champions of Champions titles and ensured the Band's promotion to Grade 3A for the 2008 season.
2007 was also a successful first season for the Grade 4B band. Being its first year, the realistic goal of the Band was to place in the top half of all contests they entered and attempt qualification to the final of at least one major championship. This goal was exceeded, with the Band qualifying at the Scottish Championships (their first ever major) and taking 3rd prize at Shotts Highland Games. However, the highlight of the year for the Grade 4B band was qualifying at the Cowal Championships and then taking 6th prize in the final, with one of the two piping judges placing them 1st.
The Band approached the 2008 season knowing it was going to be a big challenge, having been upgraded to Grade 3A. The goal was to ensure success at minor contests and achieve top 10 places at the majors. For the most part, this was achieved and prizes were won at all minor contests and 6th, 4th and 3rd places were achieved at the Scottish, European and Cowal Championships respectively, resulting in a 4th place finish in the Champions of Champions table.
The goals of the Grade 4B band were once again to maintain places in the top half of all contests entered and to qualify for the final in at least one major contest. This was achieved and the Band won prizes at Shotts and Gourock and qualified for the finals at both the European and Cowal Championships.
However, the end of the 2008 season brought a major blow for the Band with the resignation of Pipe Major Stuart Shedden to concentrate once again on his solo piping career. Stuart's resignation was reluctantly accepted by the Band and they actively sought a new Pipe Major. In October 2008, Derek Marr was successfully appointed as the new Pipe Major, bringing several new players with him in the process. 2009
As is the norm with a change in pipe band leadership, the change of PM brought with it changes to band personnel, with some new players joining and some current players moving on to pastures new. These changes forced a process of re-building in 2009, to musically and mentally bring the Band together as a team. By the latter half of the competition season, performances improved with each competition, culminating in a 6th place for the Band and a 2nd place for the drum corps at the Cowal Championships. |
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