John D Burgess
(The story behind the tune)
The Man
When George Cockburn from Edinburgh/Moffat penned his memorable 6/8 march ‘John D. Burgess’ in the early 50’s he had clearly recognised the potential of a young man he had met in Edinburgh and in writing his tune he further ensured that the name would be remembered indefinitely. The tune was also fortunate to appear in Edcath Book 1, which in common with Book 2 probably contained more good tunes than books twice their size. When the review of the book appeared in 1953 Seamus MacNeill picked it as one of his favourites, predicting that it would be heard a great deal in the future and said John was a lucky boy to have had such a good tune names after him.
John D. Burgess was born in Aberdeen on 11th March 1934 but moved to Edinburgh as a boy when his father, John W. Burgess, took up a post as Lecturer in Veterinary Medicine. John Snr was also a piper and he started the young John on the practice chanter at the age of four and taught him his first tune, Highland Laddie. Soon after John had some tuition from James Gordon, then at the age of six he became a pupil of the great P/M William Ross at Edinburgh Castle. He played a half set of pipes for a short time but was playing the full sized bagpipe and competing at the age of seven.
His first competition was in 1941 at the Highlanders Institute in Elmbank Street, Glasgow, and he did not win any prizes. However by the following year it was a different story and from then on it was prizes everywhere he played. Reports from juvenile competitions from the 1940’s are full of glowing reports of the young prodigy carrying off all the first prizes at various events, commenting on his outstanding ability, his delicate fingering, the maturity of his playing and also in one report remarking on the smart appearance and the confidence with which a slightly-built twelve-year-old strode up and down the platform. John was a pupil at the Edinburgh Academy but he never played in the school’s pipe band on the orders of Ross. John would keep his pipes at Edinburgh Castle and go there straight from school for his piping sessions.
Professional
After winning all the juvenile prizes, some several times over in the years until 1949, John turned professional at the age of fifteen and shot to instant stardom in 1950 by winning the Gold Medal at Oban, his first major event , playing In Praise of Morag, and following this with the Gold Medal at Inverness playing Castle Menzies. John was then aged sixteen and thus became the youngest ever Gold Medallist.
Not only did he win the medals, he also came second in the Oban Open Piobaireachd with the ‘big’ nameless tune Cherede Darivea, and won the March. At Inverness, John won the Strathspey and Reel, was second in the March and third in the Jig. In 1951 he added the March at Oban and completed the full set of light music prizes with the Strathspey and Reel at Inverness in 1953.
John’s sharp wit was evident from the start. In 1951 John and ‘big’ Donald MacLean were heading for the Games in South Uist. This was the time of the Cambridge spy scandal which involved Soviet secret agents Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean. When the ferry arrived at Lochboisdale the newspaper billboard greeting them proclaimed ‘Burgess and MacLean in Russia’. John immediately quipped ‘You know, I thought the journey took a bit longer than usual.’
During the war many dozens of aspiring Pipe Majors from across the Empire had attended P/M Willie Ross’s courses at Army School in Edinburgh Castle. Close links had been established which remained after the war and in 1952 P/M Willie Ross and his star pupil, now 18 years of age, were invited to tour Canada and the USA thus carrying the legend of piping brilliance to a wide and appreciative audience.
During his competitive career John won the Open Piobaireachd at Oban in 1972, the Former Winners MSR at Oban five times and at Inverness twice. His prizes at other events are too numerous to mention, the only major prize which eluded him being the Clasp at Inverness.
Cameron Highlander
On leaving school John enlisted as a piper with the Cameron Highlanders, which did not please Willie Ross who had wanted him to join the Scots Guards. John served from 1952 till 1955 and during this time completed the P/Ms course. In 1962 he rejoined the Camerons as P/M of the 4th/5th Cameron Highlanders T.A. serving until 1965. His army days obviously stayed with him throughout his life, as he liked to end his recitals and leave the stage to The March of the Cameron Men.
Following his Army service John became a piper in the Edinburgh Police band in 1955 under P/M Donald Shaw Ramsay and took over briefly as P/M in 1958 when Ramsay was shot and wounded whilst on duty. The following year he handed the post over to P/M Iain MacLeod. When the Invergordon Distillery set up their band of so-called ‘all stars’ in 1965, again under P/M Donald Shaw Ramsay, John was recruited for the band. When the band folded John stayed on in the north and became the Schools Piping Instructor for Easter Ross.
In 1989 John was awarded the MBE and was obviously proud of the honour despite the fact that he said it stood for ‘Miserable Bugger from Edinburgh.’ He made many recordings including “The Art of the Highland Bagpipe” Vols I, 2 and 3, ‘The King of Highland Pipers’, ‘John Burgess plays the Great Highland Bagpipe’ and the video ‘A Piping Legend.’ John died in 2005 at the age of 71 in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
When George Cockburn from Edinburgh/Moffat penned his memorable 6/8 march ‘John D. Burgess’ in the early 50’s he had clearly recognised the potential of a young man he had met in Edinburgh and in writing his tune he further ensured that the name would be remembered indefinitely. The tune was also fortunate to appear in Edcath Book 1, which in common with Book 2 probably contained more good tunes than books twice their size. When the review of the book appeared in 1953 Seamus MacNeill picked it as one of his favourites, predicting that it would be heard a great deal in the future and said John was a lucky boy to have had such a good tune names after him.
John D. Burgess was born in Aberdeen on 11th March 1934 but moved to Edinburgh as a boy when his father, John W. Burgess, took up a post as Lecturer in Veterinary Medicine. John Snr was also a piper and he started the young John on the practice chanter at the age of four and taught him his first tune, Highland Laddie. Soon after John had some tuition from James Gordon, then at the age of six he became a pupil of the great P/M William Ross at Edinburgh Castle. He played a half set of pipes for a short time but was playing the full sized bagpipe and competing at the age of seven.
His first competition was in 1941 at the Highlanders Institute in Elmbank Street, Glasgow, and he did not win any prizes. However by the following year it was a different story and from then on it was prizes everywhere he played. Reports from juvenile competitions from the 1940’s are full of glowing reports of the young prodigy carrying off all the first prizes at various events, commenting on his outstanding ability, his delicate fingering, the maturity of his playing and also in one report remarking on the smart appearance and the confidence with which a slightly-built twelve-year-old strode up and down the platform. John was a pupil at the Edinburgh Academy but he never played in the school’s pipe band on the orders of Ross. John would keep his pipes at Edinburgh Castle and go there straight from school for his piping sessions.
Professional
After winning all the juvenile prizes, some several times over in the years until 1949, John turned professional at the age of fifteen and shot to instant stardom in 1950 by winning the Gold Medal at Oban, his first major event , playing In Praise of Morag, and following this with the Gold Medal at Inverness playing Castle Menzies. John was then aged sixteen and thus became the youngest ever Gold Medallist.
Not only did he win the medals, he also came second in the Oban Open Piobaireachd with the ‘big’ nameless tune Cherede Darivea, and won the March. At Inverness, John won the Strathspey and Reel, was second in the March and third in the Jig. In 1951 he added the March at Oban and completed the full set of light music prizes with the Strathspey and Reel at Inverness in 1953.
John’s sharp wit was evident from the start. In 1951 John and ‘big’ Donald MacLean were heading for the Games in South Uist. This was the time of the Cambridge spy scandal which involved Soviet secret agents Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean. When the ferry arrived at Lochboisdale the newspaper billboard greeting them proclaimed ‘Burgess and MacLean in Russia’. John immediately quipped ‘You know, I thought the journey took a bit longer than usual.’
During the war many dozens of aspiring Pipe Majors from across the Empire had attended P/M Willie Ross’s courses at Army School in Edinburgh Castle. Close links had been established which remained after the war and in 1952 P/M Willie Ross and his star pupil, now 18 years of age, were invited to tour Canada and the USA thus carrying the legend of piping brilliance to a wide and appreciative audience.
During his competitive career John won the Open Piobaireachd at Oban in 1972, the Former Winners MSR at Oban five times and at Inverness twice. His prizes at other events are too numerous to mention, the only major prize which eluded him being the Clasp at Inverness.
Cameron Highlander
On leaving school John enlisted as a piper with the Cameron Highlanders, which did not please Willie Ross who had wanted him to join the Scots Guards. John served from 1952 till 1955 and during this time completed the P/Ms course. In 1962 he rejoined the Camerons as P/M of the 4th/5th Cameron Highlanders T.A. serving until 1965. His army days obviously stayed with him throughout his life, as he liked to end his recitals and leave the stage to The March of the Cameron Men.
Following his Army service John became a piper in the Edinburgh Police band in 1955 under P/M Donald Shaw Ramsay and took over briefly as P/M in 1958 when Ramsay was shot and wounded whilst on duty. The following year he handed the post over to P/M Iain MacLeod. When the Invergordon Distillery set up their band of so-called ‘all stars’ in 1965, again under P/M Donald Shaw Ramsay, John was recruited for the band. When the band folded John stayed on in the north and became the Schools Piping Instructor for Easter Ross.
In 1989 John was awarded the MBE and was obviously proud of the honour despite the fact that he said it stood for ‘Miserable Bugger from Edinburgh.’ He made many recordings including “The Art of the Highland Bagpipe” Vols I, 2 and 3, ‘The King of Highland Pipers’, ‘John Burgess plays the Great Highland Bagpipe’ and the video ‘A Piping Legend.’ John died in 2005 at the age of 71 in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
The Composer
Few players or listeners will be unfamiliar with the tunes “The Hills of Moffat” and “John D. Burgess”. I recall the late Alex McArthur introducing the latter tune by saying that because of its style many people incorrectly attributed it to Bobby McLeod, a tribute in itself, but that it was actually written by a piper from Moffat – George Cockburn. George S. Cockburn was born in Craigmillar in Edinburgh in 1897. He was tutored in piping by his father and on leaving school began work at Murray’s Brewery in Craigmillar. At the outbreak of war in 1914, although only 17, he volunteered and was enlisted into the 9th Battalion Royal Scots – “The Dandy 9th” as they were known. Having served throughout the war in France and Belgium he returned to Murray’s after hostilities ceased where he ultimately became Transport Manager.
George became a member of the Highland Piping Society in Edinburgh and over the years won all the Society’s trophies. He was a gifted piobaireachd player and second to none at playing for Highland dancing. He attended the various Highland Gatherings, Oban being his favourite, and won numerous medals in the competitions. During the Second World War he was Pipe Major of the Edinburgh Home Guard Pipe Band. Always a great family man he taught his two sons, Iain and George, and his grandson to pipe but refused point-blank to teach his daughter Margaret since he considered it ‘unladylike’.
George composed a great many tunes over the years but, sadly for us all, most were handed to fellow pipers (for whom the house at Murray’s Brewery was a musical haven) without titles and have probably since been either lost or credited to other composers. One exception was a six eight march which was played at every opportunity by a young piper at the Highland Piping Society who was studying at the Castle under the renowned Pipe Major Willie Ross – John D. Burgess. The tune had initially been called ‘Colonel William Frizell’ whom George Jnr thinks was the officer-in-charge of the Home Guard in Edinburgh. But when John played the tune one night in the house in Edinburgh, George Snr said, "That’s your tune."
During George’s working life one of his greatest pleasures was to motor down from Edinburgh to Moffat in the family’s tiny saloon car. He would halt the car at the top of the Devil’s Beeftub and gaze down at the town, which lies encircled by the beautiful Lowther Hills saying that one day he would stay in Moffat.
The chance presented itself for George to do just that when eldest son Iain, a Maths teacher, was offered a post at Moffat Academy. Daughter Margaret and husband Neil, had already moved to nearly Kettleholm and when George’s health began to give cause for concern he took the opportunity to retire early and fulfil his dream by settling in Moffat. Although his health forced him to decline an invitation to become involved with the local pipe band in Moffat, he was inspired to compose a tune for them which he entitled “The Hills of Moffat”.
Another direct link with our own music world was provided by Iain. He was very interested in traditional fiddle music and on a visit to Aberdeen he met Hector McAndrew. A close friendship was formed and frequent visits to each others homes ensued. Hector accompanied Iain to fiddle nights with Willie Scott at Eskdalemuir (late Bentpath) and to Kenny Wilson’s home at Elvanfoot. Hector said that given time Iain would have been one of Scotland’s finest exponents of the instrument. Sadly however, fate decreed otherwise and Iain died from cancer at the age of only thirty-four, a loss from which his parents never fully recovered.
George Cockburn died in 1974 leaving us with at least two very fine tunes for which he will long be remembered.
Few players or listeners will be unfamiliar with the tunes “The Hills of Moffat” and “John D. Burgess”. I recall the late Alex McArthur introducing the latter tune by saying that because of its style many people incorrectly attributed it to Bobby McLeod, a tribute in itself, but that it was actually written by a piper from Moffat – George Cockburn. George S. Cockburn was born in Craigmillar in Edinburgh in 1897. He was tutored in piping by his father and on leaving school began work at Murray’s Brewery in Craigmillar. At the outbreak of war in 1914, although only 17, he volunteered and was enlisted into the 9th Battalion Royal Scots – “The Dandy 9th” as they were known. Having served throughout the war in France and Belgium he returned to Murray’s after hostilities ceased where he ultimately became Transport Manager.
George became a member of the Highland Piping Society in Edinburgh and over the years won all the Society’s trophies. He was a gifted piobaireachd player and second to none at playing for Highland dancing. He attended the various Highland Gatherings, Oban being his favourite, and won numerous medals in the competitions. During the Second World War he was Pipe Major of the Edinburgh Home Guard Pipe Band. Always a great family man he taught his two sons, Iain and George, and his grandson to pipe but refused point-blank to teach his daughter Margaret since he considered it ‘unladylike’.
George composed a great many tunes over the years but, sadly for us all, most were handed to fellow pipers (for whom the house at Murray’s Brewery was a musical haven) without titles and have probably since been either lost or credited to other composers. One exception was a six eight march which was played at every opportunity by a young piper at the Highland Piping Society who was studying at the Castle under the renowned Pipe Major Willie Ross – John D. Burgess. The tune had initially been called ‘Colonel William Frizell’ whom George Jnr thinks was the officer-in-charge of the Home Guard in Edinburgh. But when John played the tune one night in the house in Edinburgh, George Snr said, "That’s your tune."
During George’s working life one of his greatest pleasures was to motor down from Edinburgh to Moffat in the family’s tiny saloon car. He would halt the car at the top of the Devil’s Beeftub and gaze down at the town, which lies encircled by the beautiful Lowther Hills saying that one day he would stay in Moffat.
The chance presented itself for George to do just that when eldest son Iain, a Maths teacher, was offered a post at Moffat Academy. Daughter Margaret and husband Neil, had already moved to nearly Kettleholm and when George’s health began to give cause for concern he took the opportunity to retire early and fulfil his dream by settling in Moffat. Although his health forced him to decline an invitation to become involved with the local pipe band in Moffat, he was inspired to compose a tune for them which he entitled “The Hills of Moffat”.
Another direct link with our own music world was provided by Iain. He was very interested in traditional fiddle music and on a visit to Aberdeen he met Hector McAndrew. A close friendship was formed and frequent visits to each others homes ensued. Hector accompanied Iain to fiddle nights with Willie Scott at Eskdalemuir (late Bentpath) and to Kenny Wilson’s home at Elvanfoot. Hector said that given time Iain would have been one of Scotland’s finest exponents of the instrument. Sadly however, fate decreed otherwise and Iain died from cancer at the age of only thirty-four, a loss from which his parents never fully recovered.
George Cockburn died in 1974 leaving us with at least two very fine tunes for which he will long be remembered.