PIPE BAND
THE IAN STURROCK MEMORIAL PIPE BAND
The Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band is the official Pipe Band of the Saint Andrew’s Society of the Middle South.
The band is named after Ian William Sturrock, a native Scotsman who trained in Tuscaloosa during World War II for the Royal Air Force. Following the war, Ian returned to Alabama and settled in Birmingham where he married and started a family. Playing the bagpipes since age twelve, Ian soon began teaching the bagpipes in Birmingham and formed the city’s first pipe and drum band called the Ben Dearg Pipe Band. Ben Dearg is Scots Gaelic for “Red Mountain”.
The band was later named by Governor of Alabama George Wallace as the “Official State Pipe Band”. He continued to teach and play until his death in 1995. The band was renamed in his honor in 2008.
Under current Pipe Major Ryan Morrison, the band has won a number of competitions in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia, as well as Alabama.
The band performs at just about all of the Society’s main functions.
Click here to see the Pipe Band’s Web site.
LEADING THE PARADE
The Pipe Band has traditionally started the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Birmingham for many years.
A TRADITION
The Pipe Band has been a central function since the founding of the Society. Our Charter stipulates that one of our missions is to financially support the band.