Nonprofit

1920’s Detroit Highlanders Inc. is a public charity under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(3). Donors can deduct contributions to the Detroit Highlanders Inc.

Established 1920’s

Information below was reprinted with permission from Piping Press.

Further to our story on the Ford Pipe Band reader Steve Thomson has kindly done a bit of research on another ‘motown’ pipe band. Steve writes: ‘The march the Detroit Highlanders was composed by Archibald MacNeill (the blind piper) in Glasgow. The Detroit Highlanders were a very successful band on the Ontario games circuit during the 1930s and 40s that really put Detroit on the piping map.

‘The Pipe Major was George Duncan and the Pipe Sergeant Walter Rose who later was P/M of the St Andrews Pipe Band (Detroit). They worked real well together at that time. George was from Edinburgh where he was a student of Roddy Campbell.

‘He came to Detroit after a fairly long stay in New York City after he emigrated to the U.S. Walter was from Glasgow and emigrated directly to Detroit in 1929 at the age of 29. In Scotland he had played with the Seaforth Highlanders and in his teens and 20s had been a student of Archie MacNeill.

‘Archie’s own son (Alex) was a little younger than both Walter and George and he emigrated to Montreal. During summers Archie would visit North America to see his son and would also reconnect with Walter, hence he was well acquainted with the band and composed the march in their honour. Today much of the piping that comes out of Detroit can trace their derivation from Walter Rose and George Duncan.’

Thanks for that Steve. What a great composer Archie MacNeill was. The tune can be found in my Glasgow Collection in its original setting.

Piping Set: The Detroit Highlanders, Loch Loskin, Mac-an-Irish, Barney’s Balmoral, Willie Roy’s Loomhouse, Morag Duncan, The Gold Ring, The Humours Of Cork, Cpt. Geddes’ Turnabout · The Strathclyde Police Pipe Band