piper daniel laidlaw

Music: Laidlaw's last lament

by David Kilpatrick

"blue bonnets o'er the border"

Born on 26 July 1875 at Little Swinton, Berwickshire.

He joined the army in 1896. He served in India with the 2nd Durham Light Infantry until June 1898 then as Piper in the King's Own Scottish Borderers until his departure from the army in April 1912.

At the outbreak of the Great War, Daniel Laidlaw joined K.O.S.B. and was assigned to the 7th (Service) Battalion which left for France in June 1915.

The 7th K.O.S.B. (46th Brigade, 15th Scottish Division) was an assaulting battallion during the battle of Loos. With other units of its brigade, it was to take Lens Road Redoubt and Loos Road Redoubt and then advance eastwards of Loos.

On 25 September 1915, during the preliminary bombardment, Gases released by the British were carried back, by a change in wind direction, into the Scots own front-line, where they awaited the signal to attack. Many men were affected and the unit was shaken. The Second Lieutenant Martin Young shouted to Laidlaw "Pipe them together Laidlaw, for Gods sake, pipe them together". Not holding any account of his own safety, Piper Laidlaw got up onto the parapet and, accompanied by Young (who will fall mortally wounded during the assault), strode along the trench held by his battalion playing Blue Bonnets o’er the Border under the machine gun fire and the shelling.

As the attack was launched, Laidlaw advanced stoically with his comrades. Approaching the German lines , he was hit in the left ankle and leg with shrapnel. Limping, he continued to advance, changing the tune to The Standard on the Braes o’Mar, but was hit a second time in the same leg. The first objective captured, he returned towards the British lines, dragging his bagpipes.

"forgotten men"

Thereafter, he declared that his hair had turned white in a few hours that day.

When the 7th K.O.S.B. was withdrawn from the fight, two days after, it had Lost 656 men.

Laidlaw was decorated with The Victoria Cross and the French Croix de Guerre for his action at Loos and promoted Corporal. He received his VC from the hands of the King George V in December 1915 while he was still convalescing.

He returned to his unit, was promoted Sergeant-Piper in October 1917 and demobilized in April 1919.

He had great difficulties in finding a work. He became postmaster of the village of Shoresdean, near Berwick-upon-Tweed.

In 1929, he performed in the film The Guns of Loos and took part in another film in 1934, Forgotten Men.

He died on 2 June 1950 at Shoresdean and was buried at Norham, Northumberland with full military honours.

piper Daniel Laidlaw

téléphone : 0033 3 21 78 31 29

(0033: from England)

fax : 0033 3 21 69 88 79

email : a.villedieu@wanadoo.fr

for further information please contact the association "sur les traces de la grande guerre"