P-M John McLellan DCM 150th exhibition launch in Dunoon “hugely popular”
The 150th anniversary of the birth of the great piper, leader, gentleman and composer John “Jock” McLellan was marked at a packed official opening of the John McLellan DCM 150th Anniversary Photo Exhibition in Dunoon’s famed Burgh Hall on July 31st.
The exhibition will run until August 30th, the last day of the Cowal Highland Gathering, celebrating McLellan’s compositions, military career, lyrics, and poetry.
Many of Argyllshire’s most famous pipers attended, including McLellan’s great-nephew Jim Henderson; great-grandnephews Alasdair Henderson, Neil Henderson, and Martin Wilson Jr.; and the legendary Pipe-Major Ian McLellan BEM, who served alongside Jim Henderson in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.
There were piping performances by Alasdair and Neil Henderson, and P-M Scott Wilson and P-S Duncan McLeod of the Dunoon Argyll Pipe Band, with Highland Society of London Gold Medallist Alasdair Henderson playing Jock McLellan’s pipes.
Actors from the Dunoon Players drama group performed “John McLellan at the Pearly Gates,” a short play based on McLellan’s life. The piece opened with Scott Wilson and Duncan McLeod playing McLellan’s famous 3/4 march, “Lochanside,” then fiddler Callum Satchell performing the intro to McLellan’s song, “Freedom Come All Ye,” followed by local singer Alison Duncan.
Neil Henderson then played McLellan’s “Bloody Fields of Flanders,” ending with Alasdair Henderson performing “The Highland Brigade at Magersfontein,” another of McLellan’s classic retreat marches.
After the launch, guests exited to Dunoon’s Castle Gardens for a small tribute concert by the Cowal Gaelic Choir, flautist Julie Forrester, and more piping.
According to Duggy MacGregor, the event’s organizer and mastermind, there have been requests to hold a repeat performance before the exhibition ends.
John McLellan was born on August 8, 1875, in Dunoon. Considered one of Highland piping’s greatest composers, he created such classics as “The Road to the Isles,” “South Hall,” “The Highland Brigade at Magersfontein,” “The Dream Valley of Glendarual,” and, of course, “Lochanside,” the 3/4 march regarded as a masterpiece of melody and construction.
John McLellan was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for bravery while serving with the Highland Light Infantry in the Boer War. In 1919, he succeeded James Wilson, who succeeded fellow renowned composer Willie Lawrie as pipe-major of the 8th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. “DCM” often deservedly accompanies McLellan’s name, differentiating him from other prominent John Mac/McLellans in piping.
McLellan never married and had no children, but his more distant relatives populate the piping world, and his legacy continues indelibly through his music.
Pipe-Major John McLellan DCM, Dunoon, died on July 31, 1949, at Dunoon Cottage Hospital. He was buried with full military honours in Dunoon Cemetery.
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