#TBT – a pipes|drums throwback pic

We continue our Throwback Thursday rake through our trove of original, never-seen-before photos from the piping and drumming past with an image from the Montreal Highland Games of 1980.

It’s of a young John Cairns, who of course would go on to become the eleventh piper in history to win both Highland Society of London Gold Medals in the same year, a feat he achieved in 1999. John Cairns also became a prominent leader of pipe bands, including pipe-major of the Peel Regional Police currently and Scotsaire in the 1990s before he became pipe-sergeant of the 78th Fraser Highlanders.

He is a professional piper, operating Bagpipe Solutions and teaching full-time.

The judge in the photo in Jimmy McIntosh, who at the time had recently immigrated to the United States.