We have compiled a thorough history of Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band which you can browse through chapter by chapter, or simply skip to a specific topic that interests you. Either way, you will be sure to find something of interest.

The Beginning

World War II had just ended. It was the summer of 1945. The natives were emerging from the 'cocoon' of restrictions in the townland of Drumalig, a few miles from Carryduff on the outskirts of Belfast.

A group of youths, mostly farmers' sons, congregated in a corrugated-iron, lean-to garage on the farm of Fred Scott. Somewhat tired of their wartime pursuits (which were limited), they hit upon the idea of forming a pipe band. But got bogged-down on just what to put in the title!

Field Marshal Montgomery

One 'bright spark' suggested that they should call their proposed formation after one of their great heroes of the war just ended - Field Marshal Montgomery.

Unanimity finally prevailed, and in due time, a correspondence was sent to Bernard Law Montgomery, seeking his permission to use his name with regard to the 'raising' of a pipe band in Carryduff.

Having been promoted some twelve months earlier to the rank of Field Marshal, the man who proved to be the nemesis of the legendary German commander, Erwin Rommel, in the famous World War II desert campaign, answered the request of the Carryduff youths in the affirmative.

He went one better. The soldier who was later to become Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, sent the lads a generous donation of a ten shilling note for band funds.

Humble beginnings for what has become one of the world's top ensembles.

Location

Now 'resident' within the bustling Borough of Lisburn - having moved from Carryduff in the early nineties - the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band draws playing personnel from all walks of life.

Membership

The current membership has constituted a rich blend of youth and experience, which during the 2002 competition season included players from the Scottish mainland, England, Australia and New Zealand; an appeal only synonymous with the biggest and best bands in the business.

Philosophy

The Field Marshal Montgomery band's primary function is one of competition involvement.

This competition 'philosophy' has been prevalent ever since the band's formation. Set in motion in the late forties when they walked to the 'trigger' at Ballynahinch, taking third place and being recipient of the princely sum of £2.

In addition to a full and arduous competition schedule, Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band also performs at concerts, radio and television appearances, recording sessions and civic and social functions.

Since the early 90’s the band has ‘cut’ three albums entitled ‘Debut’, ‘FM Live in Concert’ and ‘Unplugged’ which was recorded at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in August 2002.

Incidentally, the motto on the ‘Montgomery’ cap badge reads: ‘Garde Bien’, roughly translated, meaning ‘Hold Fast’, something which the band has striven to accomplish for over half a century. And something we hope will continue in the foreseeable future.

1949 - 1981

During the winter of 1949-1950 the then Scottish Pipe Band Association (given the Royal prerogative in 1980) set up 'shop' in Northern Ireland, with the Field Marshal Montgomery, under their pipe major William (Billy) Maxwell (now band president), becoming an active and enthusiastic member band.

Tutored in those formative years by the legendary W.H.R. (Billy) Wood, the Carryduff based outfit made its way through the 'basement' divisions, winning most of the principal prizes in the process.

Sandy Cuming succeeded Billy Maxwell as pipe major, and the prizewinning continued, as well as the recruitment of fresh faces.

Richard (Ricky) Newell was the next custodian of the 'outside right' pole position, and during his tenure of office as pipe major, the Field Marshal Montgomery band enjoyed a notable period of success.

Under Ricky Newell's leadership, the band won many big prizes, the ultimate being the Grade 3 World Championship in 1976. Hawick was the venue and in the ranks on that red-letter day were two youngsters who would, in the not too distant future, play a leading part in the band's fortunes. Namely Richard and Gordon Parkes.

Both lads had joined the ranks of the County Down band within a few months of each other - that was in 1967 - and since the early 80's had been responsible for the musical direction of the Field Marshal Montgomery band, as pipe major and drum sergeant respectively.

1981 - 1990

Richard Parkes inherited the position of pipe major in mid-season 1981. Six weeks later, the band gained 2nd place in Grade 2 at the Worlds; an indication of things to come. For the four years following, the band were consistently at the top of Grade 2 and finally achieved promotion of the band to the premier grade following a very successful 1985 season.

Richard's belief was that to survive and progress to the highest level in Grade 1, the band would require commitment, hard work; but above all else, talented players. His philosophy was, that if the band sounded good, presented itself well and played attractive material, then players would want to come and play.

In the years 1986 - 1989, FMMPB gradually got stronger through a policy of recruiting and replacing players. The first major breakthrough was winning all the major championships in Northern Ireland in 1989. At that time, Richard felt that the band was ready for a serious attempt at breaking into the prize list in the Scottish majors.

Up until 1989, the band had been making steady progress in Scotland, gaining three top ten placings at the Worlds, but in 1990 the dream was realised.

1990 - 1999

After eliminating all the opposition on home soil in 1990, Richard Parkes and his young band achieved their ultimate aim... winning the Cowal Championship (and the giant Argyll Shield) and subsequently taking the trophy out of Scotland for the first time in its 84 year old history.

Things would never be the same again, for during 1991, the Field Marshal Montgomery outfit consolidated its monopoly of the domestic scene on home ground, and on the mainland never failed to make the 'big six' on the Grade 1 leaderboard.

The assault on the big prizes in the mainland 'majors' continued unabated in 1992 - and how - with four out of a possible five titles being annexed, including the two most important of all... the World and Champion of Champions awards.

We'd thought that we'd seen and heard it all... but no... for all that had gone before - which was considerable - paled into insignificance during a remarkable 1993 season.

The Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band during that year became only the third band in the history of Grade 1 to make a 'clean sweep' - the winning of all five major championships which, subsequently led to another Champion of Champions title.

Throughout the 1990's FMMPB has enjoyed phenomenal success. The band's high level of consistency is demonstrated by winning a 'top six' prize at every major championship entered throughout the decade. This run of success amounted to forty seven consecutive prize-winning places in the 90’s culminating in the band’s thirteenth major championship at the ‘Scottish’ held at Balloch Castle in September 1999.

The New Millennium

‘Unlucky 13’ - not in the psyche of the personnel of Field Marshal Montgomery. Millennium year 2000 saw the band attain two more ‘majors’ - the European and the Scottish.

During the 2001 season the ‘majors’ tally was increased further to seventeen with the championships attained at the European and Cowal Highland Gathering. The Ulster and All Ireland titles were also acclaimed in another successful season.

Even by the standard set by the band, Field Marshal Montgomery had a phenomenal 2002 competition season. On the home front the All Ireland Grade 1 title was won for the thirteenth time since 1989. The Ulster title was retained later in the season. But what of the major championships? FMMPB was second in the Scottish at Dumbarton, retained the European championship, both as a band and as a drum corps, and won the British championship in Ayr. In the week leading up to the World Championships Montgomery played the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on the Wednesday evening, a performance which was recorded and issued as the band’s third album entitled ‘Unplugged’.

Following two superb performances on the Saturday the band were crowned World Champions for the third time, also securing first place as a band in the MSR and Medley Sections, first in drumming in the Medley and second in drumming overall. Drum Major Alastair Patterson capped a memorable day by becoming the Adult Drum Major World Champion for the second time. And so to Dunoon where the band retained the Cowal Highland Gathering Championship to ensure Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band won the Supreme Champion of Champions Grade 1 award for the third time. Andrew Scullion’s drum corps were runners up in the drumming Champion of Champions award one point behind winners Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia. By the end of 2002 the ‘majors’ tally had increased to 21.

2003 was to prove yet another successful one in our history. The band went to the Scottish Championships with the new line up of Richard Parkes and Keith Orr in charge. After a closely fought MSR contest, FMMPB came out on top. The rest of the season brought a third place and 3 second places, enough to win the coveted Champion of Champions award for the second year in succession.

Richard & Gordon Parkes

Richard and Gordon Parkes constituted a unique combination involving two of the country's - and for that matter the world's - leading authorities on the noble art of piping and drumming.

Musicians par excellence, the Parkes brothers have, down the years, endeavoured to assemble a group of pipers and drummers whose talents and ability would always do honour to the famous name they bore.

Following their elevation to the premier division in the late 80's, Richard & Gordon set the band 3 prime objectives:

• Firstly, it was the maintenance of their position as the best in their division at domestic level; i.e. the competition circuit on home ground.

• Secondly, was the achievement of a regular top six placement on the Grade 1 leaderboard in the five RSPBA 'majors'.

• Thirdly, and perhaps, the most important objective of the band following upgrading was that of being the first Northern Ireland pipe band to bring a major championship award out of Scotland and back to the province.

During a lifetime of endeavour, many others had 'fallen by the wayside' in attempting such a goal, but in just three seasons of Grade 1 involvement, the Field Marshal Montgomery band led by the Parkes brothers had accomplished their triad of attainment.

Key Positions

The band has an exceptional level of player turnover and has won on many occasions with very different line-ups to the previous season. One such significant change in personnel took place at the end of the 1998 competition season when Gordon Parkes stepped down as leading tip, due to increased work commitments.

Gordon had been in the position for almost two decades. During his final year in charge of the back-line, the corps won their third All Ireland award, which included the retention of the title they had lifted twelve months previously. On top of that, the corps finished third in the World event and ended up in a similar position in the mainland ‘majors’ league.

The band approached the mercurial Andrew Scullion, inviting him to fill the position vacated by Gordon Parkes; the genius we lovingly call ‘Wee Andy’ responded to the invitation in the affirmative.

Andrew Scullion

Dedication, application and unlimited hours of practice have been influential in the elevation of Andrew Scullion to the dizzy percussion pinnacle he has now reached. He has won the Ulster Senior and All Ireland Senior Solo championships on numerous occasions and has also been World Adult Solo champion on three occasions, and the World Solo Champion of Champions twice.

Under Andrew’s guidance the corps won the British title in Lisburn in 1999, and in 2000 lifted the RSPBA Drum Corps Champion of Champions title taking the prestigious Alex Duthart Trophy out of Scotland for the first time in history.

In 2002, Andrew led his corps to win the European Championships in Belfast on the same day that FMMPB was to win the band award.

Andrew departed from FMMPB at the end of 2002, having brought a wealth of drumming honours to the band and passed on invaluable experience to the players in his drum corps that would serve them well in the years ahead.

Keith Orr

In keeping with the bands traditions, FMMPB made sure that it found the finest possible candidate to fill the void left after the departure of a valued key player.

Keith Orr was appointed to the position of leading drummer in 2003, inheriting a world class drum corps. Many factors were considered during his appointment, none less than his impressive CV.

As leading drummer with Graham Memorial Pipe Band and McNeillstown Pipe Band, Keith more than proved his abilities in producing clinically clean and competitive drum corps. In 1992, he led his McNeillstown drum corps to win the MSR section of the World Drum Corps Championships. This was followed up by taking the European Championships in 1993.

In his first season in charge, Keith has consolidated the corps' position as a competitive force in Grade 1 and helped the band to another Champion of Champions title, more than proving that he was the right man for the job.

© Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band - Sponsored by The St Kilda Group
Design by Scott Currie Web Design & Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band Business Team