John MacDonald (79th Highlanders)

-Pipe Major, 79th Highlanders-

“Notices of Pipers” from the January, 1970 ‘Piping Times’ describe this John MacDonald as follows:

Pipe Major of the 79th (Cameron) Highlanders from 1840-1849. Will always be remembered as being the composer (1848) of the “79th’s Farewell to Gibraltar.” A good player and Pipe Major. Composed also “Lord Panmure’s March.”

In ‘Piping Traditions of the North of Scotland,’ Bridget MacKenzie claims he also composed the 2/4 march “Dornoch Links” and describes the “79th’s Farewell to Gibraltar” as having been composed in June 1848 and “the first march ever composed specifically for playing by a pipe band.”

JM, January, 2015
With notes from ‘Piping Times’, January 1970 and ‘Piping Traditions of the North of Scotland’.