Remembrance Sunday!
The band had the honour of leading a contingent of officers from The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in this years Remembrance Sunday Parade in Glasgow on Sunday 11th November. The band were on parade at George Square as part of their commemorations.
 
 
This was the 100th anniversary and as always the band feels privileged to be a part of such an important occasion.
The parade also marked the first outing for many of our new members & was the band’s first outing under Pipe Major, Olly Brownlie & Lead Drummer, William Corkindale.
New leadership in the Grade 2 band!
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are delighted to announce that Oliver Brownlie & William Corkindale have been appointed to the position of Pipe Major & Leading Drummer of the Grade 2 band.
For the past two seasons Olly has been the bands Pipe Sergeant & since its inception in 2016 also served as Pipe Major of our Novice Juvenile Pipe Band.
Prior to joining the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Band, Olly had played for a number of bands including North Yorkshire Fire Service, Newton Aycliffe, The Vale of Atholl, Dysart & Dundonald and Glasgow Police (formerly Strathclyde Police), so brings with him a wealth of experience.
Fundamentally Olly’s main aim is to get the band in the prize list, whilst playing some great music along the way. It’s about building on the progress that has already been made in the band over the last few years whilst tweaking a few things that he feels will push the band to that next level. It’s his aim to improve the band as a whole, including individual playing and playing as a unit. He is incredibly proud to have been appointed Pipe Major and is looking forward to getting started.
William started drumming at the age of 7, taught by his father. William then went through the grades to Grade 1 where he played under the leadership of Jim Collins for 4 years. He then became a leading drummer for a few years where he won the European drumming championship and champions of champions. After taking a few years out he returned to the top flight, joining Strathclyde Police Pipe Band under the leadership of Eric Ward for almost 10 years, winning the European and UK drumming championships along the way.
New Novice Band PM
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are delighted to appoint Michael Clark as the new Pipe Major of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Novice Juvenile Pipe Band.
For the past two seasons Michael has assisted the band & been instrumental in the development of the bands learners. Some of Michaels keys aims for taking the band forward are to lead the development of the band in using his skills and experience to help individual members improve in their learning which will help the band continue to develop as a whole. What the band has achieved in its first 3 years, and in particular the 2018 season has been nothing short of incredible and it is very important to keep this momentum going into next season and seasons to come. Michael always aims high and is hopeful of pushing the band into the prize list regularly as soon as possible and is thoroughly looking forward to taking over and adding to this amazing journey.
Michael is also a current member of the grade 2 SFRS Pipe Band & formerly a member of North Lanarkshire Schools Pipe Band. The appointment has been fully supported and backed by all band members as well as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
PM Alistair McLaughlan Steps Down
Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, Pipe Major Alistair McLaughlan has decided to step down from his position as Pipe Major of Scottish Fire & Rescue Service Pipe Band.
Alistair has been Pipe Major of the band for the last 4 years and feels that the time is right to step aside and to let someone new come into the Service with fresh ideas and to take the band in a new direction. Under Alistair’s leadership the bands performances have continued to improve from season to season, also leading the band in a successful trip to Spain.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service & all band members would like to publicly thank Alistair for his service as Pipe Major of the band, for his relentless hard work and his dedication to the job.
SFRS Burns Supper
Last Friday evening the band performed at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Burns Supper, held at the SFRS training centre in Cambuslang. The event was one of the first band performances involving our new lead drummer Craig Ferguson and his corps. The new drummers are settling into the band well, and things are looking promising ahead of the 2017 competition, which will start in a few months time.
West Sound Burns Super 2017
On Saturday night, the band performed at the 32nd annual West Sound Burns Supper held at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Glasgow.
The West Sound Burns Supper, now in its 32nd year, is considered one of the best Burns Suppers in the world and one of the most highly regarded events in the Scottish Winter Calendar.
Saturday’s celebration was a wonderful, modern take on the celebration of Ayrshire’s own, Robert Burns. Burns is a cultural icon who penned some of the most famous literary works to ever come from Scotland, and his relevance is still felt today!
The packed evening was chaired by the hugely entertaining Willie Young, and consisted of some of the countries’ most sought after after-dinner speakers.
Our thanks go out to West Sound for making this selection of photographs of the band available to us.
http://www.westsound.co.uk/local/burnssupper/
SFRS Announce New Additions
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Services Pipe Band have now returned to full practice in preparation for the 2017 season after a short break. Not only has the band added a fantastic Leading Drummer to the line up but also we have made additions to the Pipe Corps as well as the Drum Corps.
The SFRS Pipe Band are delighted to announce that we have secured the piping talent of:
Sydney Moore
William McLaughlan
Stuart Cullen
Nicole Linsay
Evan Finnegan
Andrew Foster
All of the Officers and band members of The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service wish all our new players every success for 2017 and beyond
The band anticipate adding more talent to the line up and this will be announced in due course.
SFRS Announce New Leading Drummer
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Services Pipe Band are delighted to announce the appointment of Craig Ferguson as the new Leading Drummer of the SFRS Pipe Band. Craig brings with him a wealth of drumming knowledge and an impressive playing CV.
Craig started his playing career with the 42nd Highlanders in Staffordshire at the age of 9 where he progressed to the role of Drum Sergeant and played in the band for 23 years until 2003 when he moved to Scotland. Craig has played with a variety of bands throughout his career with Coalburn IOR, City of Glasgow, Linlithgow, Lanark and District being some of the bands Craig has played in. It was with Lanark and District where Craig established himself as a first class Drum Sergeant.
Craig then moved into the Grade 1 arena with Dysart and Dundonald Pipe Band before taking over the reigns at Dumbarton and District Grade 2 Pipe Band where Craig proved a more than capable Drum Sergeant by placing twice in the top six at Major championships. Craig latterly played for Torphicen and Bathgate Pipe Band before deciding to take up the challenge of leading the SFRS Drum Corps in the 2017 season and beyond.
All of the Officers and band members of The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service wish Craig every success.
Piper Scott MacRae
The band would like to extend their congratulations our band member, piper Scott MacRae for his success at the recent Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Memorial Piping Championship at Inchdrewer House, Redford Barracks on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
Scott won the C-Grade Piobaireachd contest and placed 5th in the MSR contest.
XVI Festival De Bandes DE Gaites Villa De Xixion
Members of the band have just returned from a fabulous week in Gijon, Asturias, Spain where they performed at numerous events during a local music festival.
Whilst in Gijon, the band were shown round the facilities of the local Fire Service, where Pipe Major Alistair McLaughlan played a lament to fallen Fire Fighters at their memorial before gifts were exchanged.
The band would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the Gijon Fire Service and our festival hosts banda de gaitas villa de xixion.
A few photos of our trip are included below.
