Pipe Band of the Govan Police, Glasgow, 1890s

The Pipe Band of the Govan Police, photographed probably in the 1890s to mark the beginnings of the pipe band movement which has grown into what is now arguably a worldwide phenomenon. The Band was founded in 1885 and later became the City of Glasgow Police Pipe Band. The Band was encouraged by Chief Constable Hamilton and wore a tartan specially devised by him for the Band. They raised funds by holding concerts in order to avoid any charge on the police force for maintaining the Band.

At the same time in the 1880s, pipe band competitions began with, traditionally, a meeting promoted by Glasgow Rangers Football Club which was won by the Govan Police. Nonmilitary and civilian pipe bands and competitions developed rapidly between about 1890 and 1914 and did much to make familiar and to popularise the music of the Great Highland Bagpipe. The 'World Pipe Band Championships', now a major annual event, are said to have grown from a competition held at Dunoon in 1906 by the Cowal Highland Gathering Committee.

The music of the Great Highland Bagpipe is heard worldwide in Pipe Bands and the Pipe Band defines bagpipe music for most listeners. Conventionally a pipe band is a grouping of a number of pipers, ideally between eight and twelve, playing with a 'corps' of drummers with side, tenor and bass drums and adding a strong beat and emphasizing the rhythms of the music.

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