However, they had been found by an Army Chaplain in 1917 and were identified years later by the unique Lennox tartan, the tartan used by the pipers of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion.

Richardson’s bagpipes were believed to have been lost in the mud of the Somme for almost 90 years until 2002. He was killed when he tried to retrieve them. He was awarded the Victoria Cross when he brought in wounded soldiers, only to discover he had left his pipes out in No Man’s Land. The Somme piper memorial is very close to the burial place of Piper James Richardson, of the 16th Battalion Canadian Infantry. The badges of regiments which lost pipers during the Great War are inset on the two curved walls behind the statue. It was sculpted by Andy De Comyn and depicts a piper in battle dress climbing over a parapet whilst leading the soldiers of his unit. 11 pipers were killed or died of wounds on 1st July 1916. The Pipers memorial was unveiled in July 2002 and commemorates all pipers, of all military units and all nationalities. It is not dedicated to one piper but to all pipers who served, regardless of unit or race. At Longueval, on the Somme in France, there is a piper memorial to their sacrifice. With more than 600 were wounded, it was almost a 50% casualty rate.

More than 2,500 pipers served in the Great War, nearly 1000 of those did not return home. The name is derived from the shoulder emblem worn by the Parachute Regiment which shows Bellerophon ride the flying horse Pegasus. In 1944, the Bénouville bridge was renamed Pegasus Bridge in honour of the operation. Pegasus Bridge Memorial Museum – note the entrance is shaped like wings They were later relieved by the British 3rd Infantry Division. They successfully defended the bridges until Lovat and his men arrived at the bridges just after 1 pm and they established defensive positions. These were the first soldiers to set foot on Normandy soil during Operation Overlord. It took less than ten minutes to capture both bridges intact. These are marked by stone plinths showing how close they came to the bridge and only seconds apart. Commanding 180 troops of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry, Major John Howard, captured the bridges after landing in Horsa gliders only metres from their objectives. The most famous mission of the airborne division is the capture of the River Orne bridge at Ranville and the bridge across the Caen Canal at Bénouville. Landing on Queen Red Beach Sword, Millin is in the foreground at the right Lovat is wading through the water to the right of the column. The Germans thought he was mad and didn’t shoot at him.

Despite Lovat urging Millin to run, he refused, declaring that pipers walked as they played. “ Blue Bonnets over the Border’ was the tune that Bill Millin played as Lord Lovat’s 6 Commando of the 1st Special Service Brigade then made their way up from Sword Beach to Bénouville and the now-famous Pegasus Bridge. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn’t apply.” Lovat apparently replied, “Ah, but that’s the English War Office. When Lovat ordered Millin to play, Bill said he could not due to the regulations. Lord Lovat completely ignored orders that no bagpipes should be played in action on DDay. They both entered legend.” Shettleston to Sword Beach ‘Thanks to our liberators’ Ordered his personal piper, Bill Millin to pipe his commandos ashore.Ībove the roar of battle came the skirl of liberation with a piper leading the way. “ On D-Day, June 6th 1944, on this sector of “Sword Beach”, as the Scots have done for generations, the Brigadier Lord Lovat, Chief of the 1st Special Service Brigade, also a Highlands Chief, The memorial to Piper Bill Millin is inscribed, PIper Bill Millin statue – Sword Beach, Normandy

Bagpipe player bridge jumping