Surprisingly enough the pipes where played on the wharf each time the HMAS Sydney sailed to Vietnam. Also Pipes are the noise of choice at Military funerals hell only knows why as if it isn't sad enough

It's the same at Mess Dinning In Nights they pipe in the Port before it's passed around and the smoking lamp is lit

After ADF 30 years service I never bothered to ask why Bagpipes .

They don't sound as bad in a massed pipe and drum band at a tattoo but on their own a cat in the tread of a 4WD sounds better . Unless your a Scot or a cat lover

They are rated as a weapon of war I believe, recall reading some years ago they scared the bejasus out of the african nations in the early years,during days of Empire

My family name goes back to Scotland on fathers side Irish on mothers side and the sound of bagpipes stir my brothers and my blood. We will travel to a good tattoo just to hear them, and one of the only things that will make my eyes tear up is a solo bagpipe.  I have a neice whose hubby is learing the pipes and he tells me it is at least 10 years of hard work before u can say "yes ive got it right"

 

 

No good me wearing a kilt

I adore the pipes and I love a good Scottish marching band but I still don't understand the connection with the armed forces but I love it all the same and hope it never changes

yes they would be a fearsome weapon of war, imagine a thousand Scottish highlanders running over the hill, long hair in pigtails streaming back, pipes screaming, little dresses all flying, dangly bits wobbling in all directions

it would be a simple matter of the Scottish fighters finishing off the opposition who would be rolling around on the ground laughing so hard they couldn't retaliate

I once asked a scot

"what was worn under his kilt"

to which he replied

"absolutely nothing, it is all in perrrrrrfect working orrrrrder"

April 29th................Captain Cook Day.Cook landed at Kurnell on that day in 1770.Perhaps Heritage Day would be appropriate.

dave06 wrote:

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didnt Luke skywalker dismantle the "empire' in episode three or was it four??? therefore to answer your question the empire would be dismantled

kill lion's with their bare hands to become a warrior and yet frightened of bagpipes, strange people those zulu's but extreme warriors,

did you happen to see "zulu" and "zulu dawn" starring michael cain

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I have both movies on DVD but if you want a very good read then Get hold of a copy of "The Washing of The Spears" by Donald R Morris. 

Takes you through the rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation including the battles at  Isandhlwana and Rourke's Drift.

 

To answer the question: I asked the RSM.... 

The origins of the lone piper are obscure, although a lone piper has been a feature of Scottish military ceremonies for several hundred years. The bagpipes are the traditional instrument of the people of the Scottish highlands and have been carried into battle with Scottish soldiers from the days of William Wallace to the Falklands War of 1982. Traditionally, in Scottish units a lone piper takes the place of a bugler to signal the day's end to troops  and, as such, also bids farewell to the dead at funerals and memorial services.

It is unlcear when pipers first became a feature of Australian memorial services. With the significant size of Australia's expatriate Scottish community in the early decades of the 20th century, represented by several Scottish battalions in the Militia, the presence of a piper probably became established during the 1920s.

Flowers of the forest is the tune usually played on these occasions. It is a traditional Scottish lament (song of mourning and remembrance).

The Scots are the ultimate winners they (eventually) defeated the English, scared the daylights out of even the Japs and the Zulus though earlier at Culloden they did not do so well.

certainly was a day of great pride, I helped in the big kitchen (started at 5 am) then dished it up and sat with a few vets and had a couple of drinks with the boys

I didnt go to the march, too much to do, but I seen the looks of gratitude in the old buggers eyes when we settled in to beer and b/s corner and had a great morning with them, dished up lunch, had the pipe and kettle drum play all morning and then a fully fledged, fully uniformed grand marching band came through, what a sight and sound

well that was it for this soft hearted twit, and I wasnt the only one, the respect and solemness of the occasion was not lost on any soul young or old

we had a couple of old vets at our table at home that afternoon and the stories and lies that keith and lefty could spin had the lot of us laughing all day

it was one of those "worthwhile" days

I was just sitting and wondering afterwards what the connection is, but whatever it is it's bloody strong