Joy
Baillie Cairns was the wife of Major Archie
Cairns. She was a long-time supporter of
The Dan Reid Memorial; now a mature and
highly acclaimed leader in the world of solo
piping dedicated to the preservation and
discovery of the great music written for the
Great Highland Bagpipe.
Archie McNeil Cairns
(1928 - ) (shown
above) was born and raised in Hamilton,
Ontario. He began piping at age 9 tutored by
his father. Archie served as PM in the
Argylls from 1952-1954. In 1954 after 13
years with the Argylls, he enrolled in the
Regular Force and was posted to Camp
Petawawa where, as PM, he formed and trained
the Pipes and Drums of 2nd Battalion The
Canadian Guards, serving over 10 years. In
December 1964 he transferred to the RCAF as
PM of the Pipe Band at Station Rockcliffe,
Ottawa, where he trained a prize-winning
band.
Major Cairns is
a world-renowned Pipe Major, judge,
instructor, director and composer. He was a
soloist at the Queen's Coronation Ball. In
1966 he won the North American championship.
He was only the fourth person in the world
to receive the diploma of piping and senior
teacher's certificate from the Institute of
Piping in Britain. He was the first North
American to be appointed by the Piobaireachd
Society in Scotland to its judge’s panel. He
was the first Regular Force musician to
receive the OMM and at the time of his
retirement he had five clasps to his CD for
a lifetime of service to his country
In
1968, Cairns retired from active solo
competition, having won almost every major
award in Eastern Canada and North Eastern
USA.
In 1972, Major
Archie M. Cairns approached the Piobaireachd
Society (PS) to authorize a Gold Medal
contest in Canada. He was initially denied.
Undeterred, Archie Cairns proposed a unique
solution, that is, if the PS Senior Judge
found the top performance lacking, the judge
could withhold the medal. This revised
proposal of an "earned medal" was championed
by Captain John A. MacLellan (then Honourary
Secretary of the Music Committee of the
Piobaireachd Society) and approved by the
PS. The City of Ottawa Highland Games in
1973 hosted the first "Piobaireachd Society
Gold Medal (Canada)". To date, the medal has
never been withheld.
He retired from
the Regular Force in 1981 and enrolled in
the Reserve Force. He was promoted to Major
in 1983. Major Cairns dedicated almost 60
years of his life to piping, with his main
tutors being his father, John Wilson and
John MacLellan. Major Cairns is an
accomplished piper whose sole profession has
been that of a Piper, Pipe Major,
International Adjudicator, Lecturer,
Teacher, Piping Consultant/Advisor, etc.
Many of his published pipe compositions have
been recorded internationally. His most
outstanding pupil is his son, John Knox
Cairns, who succeeded him as CO of the Cadet
School of Pipes & Drums in London, Ontario.