150th anniversary of Pipe Major John McLellan DCM

Welcome to the latest of our small gallery exhibitions which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Pipe Major John McLellan.

Pipe Major John McLellan DCM of Dunoon is also known as ‘John McLellan Dunoon’ and he is one of Scotland’s Great Pipe Music composers who during his life composed more than 170 tunes and songs.

His most popular tunes include Lochanside, The Bloody Fields of Flanders, South Hall, Cowal Gathering and The Taking of Beaumont Hamel to name a few.

John was also a multi – talented individual who could play a number of musical instruments well, including the fiddle, penny whistle, piano and of course the great highland bagpipe. When he was just 15 or 16 years old, he composed a lovely melody which he dedicated to his mother it was called ‘The Bens of Jura’. He joined the British army as a piper and his tune quickly became a favourite marching tune with his comrades in arms and was retitled a few times depending on where John was stationed. Today, that tune is known as ‘The Road to the Isles’ though to John he always called it ‘The Bens of Jura’.

In 1899, John and his regiment (the Highland Light Infantry) were sent to South Africa at the start of the Anglo Boer War, and it’s here in 1900 that he was commended the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for bravery on the battlefield. He later composed the memorable retreat march titled ‘The Highland Brigade of Magersfontein’ to commemorate one of the first battles during the war, his tune remains popular to this day.

After returning to civilian life in 1903, he continued composing tunes, many of which would appear in the first ‘Collection of Modern Highland Bagpipe Music’ tunebook and he also entered the prestigious Burgh Cup Piping Competition at the Cowal Highland Gathering which he won in 1904 and 1905.
When WW2 broke out in 1914, John was a member of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Territorial Army Unit in Dunoon, and they were mobilized and sent abroad to fight in France. In 1919 he was appointed as Pipe Major of the 8th Argylls Pipes and Drums, a position he relished until his retirement in 1930.

On a music note, the melody John dedicated to his mother became ‘The Road to the Isles’ in 1917, and in 1926 Sir Harry Lauder MBE released his version of the song which was a major hit in the UK and abroad.