However, this tune did not become the official march past for the Calgary Highlanders until 1945. In 1881, Highland Regiments throughout the British Army adopted “Highland Laddie” as their Regimental March in compliance with official decree. And while it was not practical for pipe bands to play for the purpose of giving commands, nonetheless music very much marked the soldier’s day and specific tunes evolved in each regiment to be used to alert soldiers to various daily events meal call, orders parade, lights out. By 1914, full Pipe Bands, with pipers and drummers playing in unison, was universal among Highland regiments.
The concept of the Pipe Band was formalized in 1854 by the British Government. The oldest Pipe Band in Canada dates from 1816, formed by the Royal Highlanders of Canada, and soon other regiments were forming bands. As Highland Regiments indigenous to Canada were raised beginning in 1775, pipers again naturally joined the service, and the pipers in the various companies being raised would sometimes assemble to play martial music, or entertain by playing dance tunes. The drum was also an instrument of war, being used to give commands on the battlefield. While there were no recognized pipe bands as such, the Frasers brought at least thirty pipes and drummers with them. Montgomery’s Highlanders and the 42nd Highlanders (or Black Watch) came to Canada in 1759 and the Fraser Highlanders in 1761. When the British Army began recruiting infantry regiments from the Highlands, pipers naturally accompanied them. Clan pipers would record battles through individual compositions which would be added to the collective memory. In the Highlands of Scotland, the bagpipe evolved as an instrument of war, but always as a solo instrument.
It is possible the Romans introduced a primitive form of the instrument to Britain during their conquest of the island. Pipe bands as such probably first started to exist at the time of the Crimean War (1854-1856), though the bagpipe in some form has accompanied many armies into battle.
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