Historical records matching Sergeant - Piper Daniel Logan Laidlaw, VC
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About Sergeant - Piper Daniel Logan Laidlaw, VC
Daniel Laidlaw, a career soldier from Little Swinton in Berwickshire, re-joined the army aged 40 as a Piper in the 7th Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers , 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division.
At the Battle of Loos, troops of his battalion were ordered by General Douglas Haig to attack the heavily fortified German positions in their sector. The Scottish troops faced in front of them with a thick cloud of chlorine gas were hesitating but Piper Laidlaw climbed out of the trench and under fire began playing his pipes to inspire the troops and they successfully resumed the attack. He was wounded in both legs but had carried on playing for as long as he could. His actions earned him the Victoria Cross.
He joined the Army in 1896. He served with the Durham Light Infantry in India where he received a certificate for his work during a plague outbreak in Bombay in 1898. In the latter year he was claimed out by his elder brother and transferred as a piper to the King's Own Scottish Borderers, in 1912 he transferred to the reserve. In 1915 Laidlaw re-enlisted in The King's Own Scottish Borderers.
On 25 September 1915 during the Battle of Loos at Hill 70, prior to an assault on enemy trenches and during the worst of the bombardment, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was shaken with the effects of gas, with complete disregard for danger, mounted the parapet and, marching up and down, played his company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate and the company dashed to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes even after he was wounded and until the position was won. [The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29371. pp. 11449–11450. 16 November 1915. Retrieved 11 May 2015.]
He later achieved the rank of sergeant-piper. His medals are on display on the 5th floor of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Only one other piper was awarded a Victoria Cross during the First World War, the Scottish-born Canadian soldier James Cleland Richardson.
Laidlaw also received the French Criox de Guerre
"Recently on September 25, 2005, the 90th anniversary of the battle, Laidlaw’s grandson, Victor Laidlaw, donated the Victoria Cross to the National Museum of Scotland. The medal is one of only 74 awarded to Scots during the First World War and arguably the most famous. Laidlaw returned home a celebrity, much like Piper Gerorge Findlater, and made several public apperances. He is also one of the only pipers of WWI ever to be filmed piping the tune he played in battle. Through his popularity he received the title, The Piper of Loos." The Pipes of War
Marriage
- Name Daniel Logan Laidlaw
- District Alnwick, Northumberland
- Spouse Georgina Mary Harvie
- Page 0796
- Volume 10B
- Registered April - June 1906
Further Reading
- The Pipes of War - Daniel Laidlaw VC
- The Musicians' Company Archives with video footage as Piper, Daniel Laidlaw VC, discusses his action and then plays the pipes as he did on the day of 25th September 1915 during the Battle of Loos
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Sergeant - Piper Daniel Logan Laidlaw, VC's Timeline
| 1875 |
July 26, 1875
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Swinton, Berwickshire, Scotland UK
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| 1906 |
February 3, 1906
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Alnwick, Northumberland, England UK
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| 1908 |
1908
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Belford RD, Northumberland, England UK
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| 1909 |
July 29, 1909
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Alnwick, Northumberland, England UK
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| 1910 |
1910
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Alnwick, Northumberland, England UK
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| 1912 |
December 10, 1912
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Bamburgh, Northumberland, England UK
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| 1913 |
1913
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Belford RD, Northumberland, England UK
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| 1920 |
1920
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Glendale RD, Northumberland, England UK
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| 1922 |
May 6, 1922
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Glendale RD, Northumberland, England UK
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