Remembrance Day

By Iain MacDonald (Regina)

When the City of Regina Pipe Band was formed in 1992, we arranged to hold practices at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 001. At the time, the Legion was a large downtown centre, and we practiced and held events there for many years.

We signed an agreement to be the branch’s official pipe band, and the band continues to perform at Legion events today and provide pipers as required. We have been playing for the Legion’s Remembrance Day ceremonies since 1993, including during the COVID years, when I played outside at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park in -22°C weather. I used a set of McCallum acetyl bagpipes that year, and they performed admirably.

Growing up, Remembrance Day was always a big day in our house. My dad served in WW2, and my maternal grandfather in WW1. My parents went to the “Armistice Ball” every year; it was always a time for reflection. My dad was not much for talking about the war unless it was about drinking Calvados, taking riotous breaks in Edinburgh, learning to chord on a piano in the officer’s mess to keep everyone entertained, or about the people he served with. My mom reported that he slept poorly for years after the war, having dreams that woke him up. Toward the end of his life, well into his seventies, he sprinted across his neighbourhood, climbing fences and dodging to escape “the planes coming in.”

Playing on Remembrance Day strengthens my connection to him each year. God, I miss him.

Dad was a captain in the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps through much of the war. He was wounded in an air attack, Mentioned in Dispatches, and awarded the MBE for exceptional service. After the war, he was promoted to major and returned to Regina, where he remained active in the local militia for a few years.

Playing on Remembrance Day strengthens my connection to him each year. God, I miss him.

One of Dad’s great losses was the loss of his best friend, Angus Kelly. Angus was a pilot in the RCAF and was shot down over the North Sea. His body was never recovered. Angus and Dad were in Saskatoon together as young men, and there were lots of stories about the hijinks they got up to, including dressing as women to get into the ballgame for free on “Ladies Night.”

Over many years of playing at Legion events, I met many veterans and got to know many who served on the Legion executive, as members of the colour guard, and organized the various ceremonies and events at which we performed.

One of these is Mo Sabourin, a veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy and a longtime volunteer for the Legion. Mo always highly appreciates the pipers and pipe band at these events. For several years, he’s organized the main service in Regina, which involves hundreds of participants, several thousand spectators, and a lot of media.

Several years ago, the band played at Decoration Day in June, and speaking to Mo and askin

g how he was, Mo said he’d been unwell and was worried about being able to continue in the Legion colour guard. He described how he loved the pipes at these events and that they made him very emotional. He grasped my elbow and said, “I just want to march one more time.”

That stayed with me, and in the following weeks, I wrote this. It appears to be a song in Mo’s voice but also includes other touchpoints: the first line borrowed from the WWI poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae, the loss of Angus Kelly, and, of course, the sentiments expressed by Mo.

Mo loved the song, and I’m happy to report that he continued to march for many years after, only recently stepping away from being an active member of the colour guard.

This song still needs a melody. Just saying.

“Remembrance Day”

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
And brave young men lie still
They stand guard against indifference
And I hope they always will.

Well, it happened again in ’39
And we marched off to fight
I lost my youth in those far-off times
My days were one long night

I want to march just one more time
Before the Reaper comes my way
To stand again with my comrades
And cry as the pipers play.

Each year I marched for the men I knew
To keep the memories strong
For Angus, who died in the cold North Sea
And for others – it’s a list too long.

I want to march just one more time
Before the Reaper comes my way
To stand again with my comrades
And cry as the pipers play.

Well as we live, the years roll on
And I’m starting to fall behind
But I just couldn’t stay at home today
I have to march this time

I want to march just one more time
Before the Reaper comes my way
To stand again with my comrades
And cry as the pipers play.

Iain MacDonald of Regina, Saskatchewan, is a frequent and longtime contributor to pipes| and drums. This piece is from his Substack page, “Catchy Name Coming,” which we encourage readers to check out. Iain has kindly agreed to share more piping and drumming-related pieces with pipes|drums ongoing. He’s one of the world’s most significant contributors to piping and drumming, organizing schools and workshops; funding for teaching programs; leading Grade 2 City of Regina for several decades; publishing a music collection (“Along The Road”); authoring the historical novel, I Piped, that She Might Dance, about the great Angus MacKay; and operating Reelpipes.com for pipers and drummers.