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The Jervis Bay (Memorial) Pipe Band was originally
the Heather Society and Royal Canadian Legion Branch #14 Junior Pipe and Drum
Band, formed in the fall of 1964. Their name was later shortened to The Heather
Legion Pipe Band. The Heather Society was a group of local women who wanted to
get young girls in the area interested in Highland Dancing. In order to teach
the girls Highland Dancing, the Heather Society needed a pipe and drum band to
play the music which the girls could dance to, so they decided that they would
found and sponsor a band. Among the founding members were Mrs. Thelma
MacDormand, Mrs. Barbara MacKinnon, "Lofty" MacMillan, Mrs. W.
Fowler, Mrs. Frank Brown, Mrs. Ivan Murray and Percy Clark. Larry Wilson, who
learned to play the bagpipes with the N.B. Scottish Regiment, became the pipe
major, John Patterson became the drumming instructor and Bob Marr took the role
of the bass, tenor, and drum major instructor. After a short time, Bob Knodell
replaced John Patterson as drumming instructor.
Now that the Heather Society had a band, all they needed was a place to practice. The Saint John City Police, through the efforts of "Lofty" MacMillan, offered them a temporary home in the upper floor of the old police station on King Street East which was vacant at the time. The band appreciated the generosity of the police force, but the upper floor of the building had been vacant for some time and was quite run down. The band used the station to practice until the Royal Canadian Legion became involved.
Branch #14 president Bill van Buskirk offered the band space at the Legion Branch headquarters to practice. The band decided that it would be considerably less drafty than the abandoned police station, so they took the Legion up on their generous offer. The dance hall of the Branch #14 Legion on Charlotte Street became the home of the Heather Legion Pipe Band for the next few years.
During the time that the band was sponsored by the Heather Society and Branch #14, they played in competitions throughout the world. The band competed at the North American Championships in Ontario in 1979 and they also competed at the World Championships in Scotland in 1974 and 1977. It was during the planning phase of the first Scotland trip that Bob McCavour came into the band's management group and coordinated the fund-raising projects and air travel arrangements. John Shepherd coordinated the bus travel and accommodations for the band in Scotland.
In addition to their travels to
international competitions, the Heather Legion Pipe Band also played at many
local functions such as parades and even played at the opening of the Ridgewood
Veterans Wing of the West Saint John Community Hospital in May of 1976.
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