Pipers in the 18th Century 42nd Highlanders

Posted on December 3, 2010 by psmith

The uniforms of pipers is a subject clouded in anecdotes and myths – historians have debated the existence (or not) of pipers in the 18th century Army, what they played (is “pibroch” the same as what it is today?) , what they wore, and how they were accounted for by the Army. Modern pipers have seen the 42nd afield and have chuckled at our “outrageous” get-up, and history buffs have  debated our choice of uniforms on the pipers. Here we seek to collect sources for where the 42nd Band’s impression of the pipes, fifes, and drums come from.

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The Story Behind the “Wha Hae the 42nd”

Posted on November 7, 2010 by psmith

We’ll do our first try at telling the story behind a song, hopefully you find it interesting.

Wha Hae the 42nd

Our first tune is the first tune in the 42nd’s “first set“. We know it as “Wha Hae the 42nd”, but you’ll hear titles with many variations on that – including “Wha Saw the 42nd“, “Saw ye the 42nd”,  “The 42nd March”, or just “The 42nd“.

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A 42nd Blog?

Posted on November 5, 2010 by psmith

Yes, it seems that we’re catching up to the 21st century and now have a blog! We’ll use this to post new bits of information, let you know about upcoming events that the 42nd is participating in, Scottish activities that we put on, and so on. For example, remember that the Burns Supper is coming up in January.

We’ll also share amusing stories about the 42nd band, post tidbits about the regiment that we recreate, and write about the music that we play. And, if I set this up correctly, this should appear on our Facebook page.

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