How Piper Laidlaw won the Victoria Cross at Loos

Category

Library Item

Item no

32632

Title

How Piper Laidlaw won the Victoria Cross at Loos: Emulating the heroism of Piper Finlater at Dargal

Description

From the Illustrated London News published December 4th 1915. Drawn by S.Begg.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1915

Size

39.6 x 45.4 cm

Type

Press cutting

Location

Reference Library

Text from page 734-735 reads - Playing "The Flowers of the Forest" outside the British trenches under German fire: Piper Laidlaw, of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, heartens his comrades with the skirl of the pipes in "absolute disregard of danger".

For his efforts Laidlaw was awarded the Victoria Cross. 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, and made several public appearances. 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.

Read history as it happened with free access to the Scotsman Digital Archive.

You can search the entire 1914-19 archives of the Illustrated London News online.

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Clothing and dress > Garments > Uniforms

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Sport and leisure > Culture > Musical instruments