Warwick Thistle Pipe Band 100-year history to be celebrated in new book

The renowned Rose City band is set to have its first century of history immortalised in print to celebrate the major milestone. Get a sneak peek at the project and how you can be involved here:

Warwick Thistle Pipe Band drum sergeant Alexander Manfield, centenary book author John Telfer, and Pipe Band member Doug Cutmore are working to get the book published and available to purchase. Picture: contributed / Warwick Thistle Pipe Band

A renowned Rose City band is set to have its first century of history immortalised in print to celebrate a major milestone, with hopes it will be the first of many key events to come.

The Warwick Thistle Pipe Band this week received the manuscript of its centenary history book from author and historian John Telfer, who was commissioned to document the group’s history for the special project.

The book will take readers from the band’s humble beginnings in 1923 to its modern-day era, with a special focus on Warwick’s annual Boxing Day gatherings, the impact of World War II, and its connection to Scots PGC College and the Caledonian Society.

Thistle Pipe Band drum sergeant Alexander Manfield said the book was first and foremost a celebration of the group’s members.

“This is very much a story of the band. Pipe bands are made of people, and people join groups like pipe bands for that human connection,” he said.

One of the pipe band’s longest-serving members after joining in 1959, Doug Cutmore has participated in a huge array of events including the 2019 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Sydney.

He said he was excited to be part of a project memorialising the group’s history.

“Now we will have a record of the history of the band up to this point in time. We trust that someone else in the next 100 years will write another one,” he said.

Mr Telfer said the journey through time and history and collating research was an enjoyable process for him.

“I found it of great interest, including mapping the connections to the early pioneers of the Warwick Caledonian Society and the strong family connections as well,” he said.

The centenary book is currently being reviewed ahead of editing and publication, with no launch date confirmed at this stage.

Anyone interested in submitting information, photographs, or another contribution for the final project are encouraged to do so.

Contact Alexander Manfield on 0401 846 445, Dugald MacFarlane on 0421 901 424, or the Warwick Thistle Pipe Band Facebook page for more information.

Originally published as Warwick Thistle Pipe Band 100-year history to be celebrated in new book