PLANS HAVE been unveiled to celebrate the 150th anniversary of one of Scotland’s finest pipe majors.
From a striking pictorial exhibition to an outdoor memorial concert, the life and times of John McLellan DCM will be heralded across the summer.
Known to pipers as John McLellan, Dunoon, John, or Jock as he was called by his family and friends was a very talented musician, composer and poet who was born in Dunoon on August 8, 1875.
He was also a distinguished army veteran, an award- winning piper and Dunoon’s best-known composer of pipe music and songs.
Jock is best remembered for composing many great melodies which amounts to more than 170 tunes and songs including: The Bens of Jura, also known as The Road to the Isles; Highland Brigade of Magersfontein; Lochanside, My Home Town; The Taking of Beaumont Hamel; and The Bloody Fields of Flanders, which is the melody of the song Freedom, Come all Ye.
The celebrated piper Graham Waller, formerly the Pipe Major of the renowned Pride of Murray Pipe Band, is currently the Pipe Sergeant with the Scots Guards Association Pipes and Drums.
He is also a fan of John McLellan DCM’s music and in tribute to Jock’s 150th anniversary this year he has added a fourth part to Jock’s three-part march titled The Bells of Malta.
One of the reasons Graham likes The Bells of Malta so much is because his wife is Maltese.
Jock’s great nephew Jim Henderson said he was rather impressed with the additional part and arrangement to the tune.
John McLellan was an extremely talented musician who could play many musical instruments as well as being an award-winning pipe music composer.
Over the years quite a few of his relatives have continued to make a big impact on the piping world.
Names that spring to mind includes Jock’s brother Ian McLellan who won the inaugural Burgh Cup solo piping competition at Cowal, and also won it in 1902 and 1903.
His namesake Pipe Major Ian McLellan BEM, is an award winning solo piper and one of the most successful Pipe Majors in the history of piping.
With his band, the legendary Strathclyde Police Pipe Band, he won 12 World Pipe Band Championship titles.
Pipe Major Jim Henderson was taught to play the pipes by his father, and also had a few lessons by Jock himself, he later went on to become Pipe Major with the Babcock Renfrew Pipe Band.
Jim has also taught the pipes to the celebrated solo piper and Pipe Major, Stuart Liddell MBE and the award winning solo piper and Pipe Sergeant Alasdair Henderson, who is also his nephew.
Jim was also a member of the hugely accomplished team that compiled The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Tunebook Collection in 2017 and 2022.
Jim was also a member of the hugely accomplished team that compiled The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Tunebook Collection in 2017 and 2022.
Jim’s nephew, Pipe Major Neil Henderson previously led one of the oldest civilian pipe bands on the planet, namely Wallacetown and District Pipe Band which found renewed success under his direction.
He is currently a piper with the Grade 1 Police Scotland Fife Pipe Band.
There is another family of accomplished pipers related to Jock, the Wilsons.
In 1916, while serving in France one of Jock’s former students, piper Jimmy Wilson became the Pipe Major of the 8th Argyll’s Pipes and Drums, taking over from the highly respected Pipe Major, Willie Lawrie when he became ill due to the conditions in the trenches.
Martin Wilson Snr and Jnr are both past winners of the coveted Burgh Cup Solo Piping Competition at Cowal.
In the early 1960s, Martin Snr joined the legendary Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band which over the years achieved many world titles.
His son Martin Jnr became the Pipe Major of the Drambuie Kirkliston Pipe Band.
The Burgh Hall in Dunoon will be the venue for a special photo exhibition this summer, as the town marks the 150th Anniversary of Pipe Major John McLellan DCM of Dunoon, one of Scotland’s great pipe music composers.
Commencing on July 31, which is one of two special dates on Jock’s calendar, the exhibition will highlight the composer’s distinguished military career, and his remarkable body of work in the music world.
It will also put his other amazing talents for writing song lyrics and poetry under the spotlight.
The Exhibition will also feature a tribute to the Dunoon Argyll Pipe Band (DAPB) which originally took its name from the famed Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders army regiment, as the DAPB celebrates its 60th Anniversary this year.
July 31 is also the day when Jock’s family, friends and fans gather at his Castle House Gardens Memorial to mark the day of his passing in 1949.
Members of the public are invited to the open air concert in the Gardens which is free.
The concert will feature the Cowal Gaelic Choir, pipers from the Dunoon Argyll Pipe Band, local fiddlers and members of the Dunoon Players.
The John McLellan DCM Exhibition will be held at the Burgh Hall until August 30, 2025.
