Daniel Laidlaw


Daniel Logan Laidlaw VC, nicknamed "The Piper of Loos", was a Scottish soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, for his actions during the Battle of Loos in the First World War.

Early life

Laidlaw was born at Little Swinton, Berwickshire on 26 July 1875 and joined the Army in 1896. He served with the Durham Light Infantry in India where he received a certificate for his work during a plague outbreak in Bombay in 1898. In the latter year he was claimed out by his elder brother and transferred as a piper to the King's Own Scottish Borderers, in 1912 he transferred to the reserve. Laidlaw re-enlisted on 7 September 1914 and was appointed Acting Corporal before leaving to serve in France in February 1915.

First World War

Laidlaw was 40 years old, and a piper in the 7th Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers, 15th Infantry Division British Army during the Battle of Loos in September 1915 when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
Citation
He received the VC from King George V at Buckingham Palace in early 1916. This was followed by two promotions, to Corporal and then Lance Sergeant by the end of 1917. In the same year, the French awarded him the Croix de Guerre, which was commonly awarded to members of allied armed forces for heroic deeds. He was demobilised in April 1919 and transferred to the Class Z Reserve later that month.

Further information

He later achieved the rank of sergeant-piper. His medals are on display on the 5th floor of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Only one other piper was awarded a Victoria Cross during the First World War, the Scottish-born Canadian soldier James Cleland Richardson.