Stuart Highland Pipe Band History
The Stuart Highland Pipe Band was founded in 1964 by parishioners from the First Parish Church in Bedford, Massachusetts, after the minister there suggested that the men of the parish start a band.
The band they had intended to form was to be a banjo band until they discovered it would be difficult to find proper instruction to learn that instrument. John Autry, being of scottish heritage, suggested that they learn the bagpipes instead. Thus the parishioners formed a bagpipe band and they gathered other interested people from the area with Archie MacLeod to provide instruction.
Archie, born in Connecticut but raised in Johnstone, Scotland, was a natural for the position. From the age of eight Archie had been playing the pipes, learning principally under the legendary Robert Reid. After returning to his native United States and serving a hitch in the United States Marine Corps., Archie served as pipe major to both the Caledonia and the Clan Sutherland pipe bands. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Blue Bell Highlanders Pipe Band.
The band was outfitted with the Royal Stuart Tartan since kilts could be obtained at surplus from the Scottish Regiments of the British Army. Thus the band was dubbed the Stuart Highlanders Regimental Pipes and Drums. In the 1980's, the name was changed to the Stuart Highland Pipe Band when the band stopped wearing the regimental style uniform which included horsehair sporrans and spats.
The Latin motto on the band's bass drum Vince Aut Morire, "Victory or Death", was taken from the Town of Bedford's flag . The Bedford Flag was the flag carried by the minutemen at the Battle of the Old North Bridge and is the oldest flag in the United States. The band displays the flag's motto as a tribute to our Bedford roots.
The former Pipe Majors of the Stuart Highland Pipe Band have been consecutively: Archie MacLeod, Warren Adam, Andrew McIntosh, Paul Kissman, and Ken Pfeiffer. The current Pipe Major is Adam Holdaway.