Pipers Retrieve Stolen Hendersons

Two pipers had their vintage Peter Henderson pipes stolen during the week of the World Pipe Band Championships, but each was relieved to get them back.

Stewart Macleod, a piper with the Grade 1 Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band was in a desperate state after his vintage silver and ivory Hendersons were taken in Glasgow the night of the World’s.

He spent a distruaght week hoping that the pipes would be recovered. They fortunately were returned to the Snaffle Bit pub, where they were originally stolen from, on August 21.

“It was entirely due to my own foolishness, but as you can imagine I was extremely distraught,” said Macleod.

In another theft, Toronto Police Pipe Band member Lori Wilson-Gaudet had her 1916 silver and ivory Hendersons stolen, along with other valuables and cash, after her room at Glasgow University was broken into by a thief.

After reporting the theft to the Strathclyde Police, Wilson-Gaudet’s husband, John, and Craig MacDonald, both members of the Toronto Police band, searched the alleys around the halls of residence. MacDonald, after climbing a steel gate and scaling a stone wall, found the pipes on the roof of a pub. The thief had apparently left the pipes there with the intention of returning for the them later.

“We are forever indebted to Craig,” said Gaudet, “and can never thank him enough.”

Since the World Pipe Band Championships have gained popularity, with many dozens of bands travelling to Scotland for the event, the universities around Glasgow have become prime targets for thieves. Burglars have clearly realized that many valuable items can be lifted from the relatively low security housing.

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