Scotland

Former forces musicians secure place at Holy Grail of bagpiping

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Sixty members of an international bagpipe band from Germany - made up from 12 different countries - is to become the first civilian group of its kind to perform at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August.

The Crossed Swords Pipe Band - said to be the largest of its kind in the world and boasting former soldiers among its number - began four years ago. It was started by the then UK Support Command head Major General Mungo Melvin.

It now has more than a hundred members and intensive preparations for their performance in Scotland are well underway. Rehearsals are taking place every six weeks at Rheindahlen in Germany.

The band has been invited to Scotland after appearing in Moscow last year. It will be the first non-Commonwealth all civilian pipe band ever to play there and the ex-military players know what to expect:

One of them - David Bell - said: "It’s an amazing feeling to come out of that drawbridge with 9500 people clapping and cheering being a member of the band – it’s an immensely proud feeling. "

For the next five months the pipe band must master sixteen new tunes specially written for Edinburgh. Nobody doubts their commitment to get it right.

There are now said to be more bagpipe players in Germany than in the home of the bagpipe Scotland.