The Olde 78th Fraser Highlanders youth pipe band in tartan pilgrimage to Forfar

Talented young musicians from Canada brightened a damp Angus morning with a special performance on Monday.

The Olde 78th Fraser Highlanders youth squad pipe band

The red-jacketed pipers march in line at The Cross in Forfar.

By Graham Brown
Published in the Courier : 29.03.11
Published online : 29.03.11 @ 04.08pm

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For Forfar shoppers, the playing of the Olde 78th Fraser Highlanders youth squad band from Fort Calgary was an unexpected treat. For the young pipers and drummers, resplendent in tartan created in the Angus town, it was a milestone destination on a two-week Scottish tour.

Local firm Strathmore Woollens responded to a request in 2006 from Jim Osborne, of the Scottish Shoppe in Calgary and honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the 78th Fraser Highlanders, and successfully matched fabric to the band's existing kilt cloth and produced designs for the adult and junior band.

Aberdonian Jim (60), who has been in Canada 35 years, said Forfar was a "must" destination on the tour, which has already seen the band, aged 12-18, perform at Edinburgh Castle and Stirling.

"We are also heading to Beauly, the home of the Frasers, which was a place we could not miss," he said.

The band delighted Forfarians with a stirring set at The Cross, followed by a stovie and oatcakes council chambers lunch hosted by Angus Provost Ruth Leslie Melville. Among the appreciative audience was Strathmore Woollens managing director David Cowley, who said it was a pleasure to

see them make the journey to Angus.

"We were sent an old piece of tartan to copy and it was quite difficult to get the colour match so that had to be done specially," he said.

"But we have now sent several rolls of the tartan to Canada over the years and it is great to see the band here in Forfar."

The original 78th (Fraser's Highlanders) regiment formed part of a Highland Foot Battalion created in 1757 as part of measures to deal with the colonial conflict between Britain and France in North America.

The regiment was disbanded in 1763, when peace between Britain and France was agreed at the Treaty of Paris.

In 1964, the regiment was raised again as a historical commemorative society to take part in Expo 67, and the Fort Calgary Garrison was set up in 1977. A major focus has been to establish and support a youth pipe and drum squad.