Alexander MacGillivray, the Piper

by Rory McJoy

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Audio Book

Music and Poetry

Poems and music that echo through the pages of this story.

Alexander MacGillivray, the Piper

A Last Letter from the Battlefield

My name is Alexander MacGillivray, and this is my story.

To my brothers, Hector and John, if you are reading this, then I am gone. This letter has been found inside my sporran, which I cast aside the moment I realised I was dying. I did so because I did not want the enemy to find my letter if I were captured. If they had, they might have laughed at its sentiment or mocked me for writing to those I loved.

I cannot leave this world without telling you both what is in my heart about this terrible war that has taken me from my family.

I lie badly wounded, sheltering in a shell hole I stumbled into as I made my way across the battlefield towards the enemy lines. Even here, I know I am not safe. The shelling continues, and the cries of the wounded carry across the torn ground. With what little strength I have left, I have taken paper and pencil from my sporran to write these final words.

I believed my duty was to lead from the front with my pipes. I have watched frightened men gather courage as the music carried across the battlefield. I have seen exhausted soldiers lift their heads and continue forward when they thought they could go no farther. More than once I climbed from the trench, pipes sounding above the thunder of shells and rifle fire, hoping that familiar Highland tunes would remind the men of home and steady their hearts for what lay ahead.

My dear brothers, when peace finally comes, go home and live the lives that I shall never have. Live well. Laugh often. Raise your families. Remember me from time to time, not only as a soldier, but as your brother.

Read the full story in the interactive flipbook below.

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