Presiding Officer presents statue of Somme war hero
to Perthshire school
19 January 2007
Head teacher Paddy Watson received the statue on behalf of Ardvreck School |
Pupils at Ardvreck School in Crieff joined a tribute to an heroic World War One piper on Friday when Presiding Officer George Reid presented a bronze statue to the school, in exchange for a set of bagpipes which were played at the Battle of
the Somme.
The handing over of the statue of piper James Richardson followed the return to Canada last year of Richardson's bagpipes.
The pipes were brought to the school during the war by an Army Chaplain, who subsequently became a teacher at Ardvreck, and were held there for 70 years.
Private Richardson, of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, was killed in action in October 1916. He was 20 years old.
The soldier was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his service at the Battle of the Somme.
George Reid viewed the bagpipes during a visit to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia last year, and Canadian parliamentarians asked the Presiding
Officer to deliver the statue to the school on their behalf.
The journey of the pipes
History records that on 8 October 1916 Private James Richardson piped the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish) Canadian Expeditionary Force to advance against enemy lines, and was killed in action the next day.
Army Chaplain Major Edward Bate found the broken pipes and brought them to the school.
The pipes were put on display but their secret history was only discovered in 2002, after the school put out a plea for more information on their origin on the Internet.
George Reid views the historic pipes, with the Solicitor General of British Columbia, John Les and Speaker of the BC Legislature, Bill Barisoff. The Richardson statue is in the background |
Canadian historian Roger McGuire flew to Scotland and identified the bagpipes as Richardson’s through their unique tartan.
Finally, in October 2006 the bagpipes were returned to Canada, where they are on on permanent public display in the Legislature of British Columbia.
For further information, the media contact is :
Sally Coyne: 0131 348 6265
RNID Typetalk calls welcome
email: sally.coyne@scottish.parliament.uk
For photography queries contact: photography@scottish.parliament.uk |
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