The Day:
The time – Saturday August 16 th , 1980
The place – Bellahouston Park, Glasgow
The event – The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association World Championships
The competition – Grade 3 Championships
The competitors – 40 bands from 5 different countries, including 2 Ladies’ bands and 4 army bands
The result – The Vancouver Ladies Pipe Band first
The band – 18 pipers, 5 side drummers, 2 tenor drummers, 1 bass drummer

A Little Background:
The VLPB had travelled to Scotland on two previous occasions – 1964 and 1969.
In 1964 they were crowned European Champions in their grade.
I was invited to take over the VLPB Junior band around 1977 after Heather Collins stepped down. In 1978 we amalgamated that group with the senior band and in 1979 made the decision to make the band’s third trip to Scotland. The enthusiasm was enormous, the work of the Ladies auxiliary immense and the talent in the band quite amazing. The majority of the pipers were competing, and winning, in the solo events as were the drummers.
We recruited Scott Robertson as our instructor for the sides and Terry Leonard on bass and tenor. Both were fresh off winning the Worlds drum corps with Triumph Street in Grade 1 the previous year in Nottingham. I was also playing with Triumph Street and was scouting out the potential competition. The band was playing in Grade 2 in the Pacific Northwest at that time so I tried to catch as many Grade 2 bands as I could. That year was probably one of the strongest fields in Grade 2 for many years with bands such as Field Marshall, Boghall, Niagara & District and McNeillstown all shortly to move up to Grade 1. So, the decision for the Ladies was to enter Grade 3 in Scotland.
That winter, amongst many hours of practice, with visits from many prominent pipers, including Kenny Eller, was a constant mantra from the instructors of “don’t have too many expectations, you have to pay your dues, nobody knows you” etc., etc.
So, armed with that in mind, our very first contest was the Worlds. The Ladies played well. They also looked amazing. They were 21st on out of 40 bands. There was lots of time after competing to make the assumption that no prizes would happen that day and to look ahead to 5 more events in the coming weeks.
So, with all the bands on the field for the prize- giving, Terry, Scott and myself lying down on the grass, praying (but really not expecting anything), came the amazing result – First place!! Now this is where failing memories come into play. Judi (Macpherson) thinks the results were announced in reverse order. I’m of that opinion too. Aileen (Arnott) thinks they read out first place first.

Regardless it was a fantastic start to a truly memorable trip. The band went on to win in Montrose (Grade 3 & Grade 2), Edinburgh Princess Street Gardens, Rothesay and Cowal (won piping).
The group, complete with a whack of parents/chaperones, stayed half the time at Heriot Watt in Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow’s McLay Hall. A side trip to Inverness where they played at the “Kilt is my Delight” a little Scottish show at the Northern Meeting Park, and a little tribute to Neil Angus MacDonald in front of his house on Kenneth Street wrapped up the day.

The following year, the band had an unbeaten record at home, followed up by wins at Maxville (N.A. Championships), Montreal and Fergus. All in Grade 2! And that’s a story for another day.

written by Angus MacPherson

The band: Vancouver Ladies Pipe Band 1980 Grade 3 World Pipe Band Champions
Aileen Arnott-P/M, P/S Laurie Robson, L/D Maureen Murphy Pipers: Tracy Charette, Pat Dawson, Colleen Graham, Moira Lee, Brenda Lowden, Barbara MacKinnon, Elizabeth MacKinnon, Judi MacPherson, Darleen Miharija, Patricia Maharija, Monica Murphy, Charlene Ogilvie, Kim Smith, Corey Tillyer, Moira Waddell, Cindy Williams. Drummers: Susan Hancock, Allison Lawrence, Heather Lawrence, Linda MacPherson, Morag Miller Heather Mitchell, Cindy Price. Instructors: Terry Leonard, Angus MacPherson, Scott Robertson.