5th/7th Gordon Highlanders' Drum

[Dave Kerr]

Here is a U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph from June 1945, which I scanned at our National Archives II, College Park, Maryland, back in 2010.

It shows Willie Sim with the battalion drum that was lost in 1940.

The drum was found in 1945 by an officer with the U.S. Seventh Army and returned to the Gordons
in June 1945 in a ceremony in Munich.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/630273...in/dateposted/

Additional photos of the Munich ceremony:

https://51hd.co.uk/battalions/5_7_go...anders_parade?


Dave

[OC Richard]

Thanks for that link, those are great photos of the Gordons drums & pipes.

If you're interested in that history may I recommend this book

The 51st Highland Division At War

Roderick Grant 1977, Ian Allan, Shepperton

It's chock-full of great photos (but they don't have the photos you linked to).

Just an item of uniform, it's interesting 1) that the Gordon pipers have so much kit and 2) they're wearing the Other Ranks sporrans rather than dedicated pipers' sporrans.

Here's the famous film of the 1945 Victory Parade of the 51st Highland Division in Bremerhaven Germany.

You can see the plain kit of the pipers- no sporrans, no waistbelts, just plain Battle Dress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcA4ffFNiAk