The Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band is a competitive grade one pipe band from Lisburn, Northern Ireland named in honour of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. The band has won the World Pipe Band Championships 13 times, making it the third most successful competing pipe band in history behind the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band and the Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band.
History
left|thumb|227x227px|Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery
The band was founded in 1945 in the townland of Drumalig, a few miles from Carryduff on the outskirts of Belfast. A group of farmer’s sons had decided to form a band and name it after Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The youths wrote to Montgomery to ask for permission to use his name, and as well as allowing them to use his name he donated ten shillings to their funds.
Around 1970 Field Marshal merged with Raffrey Pipe Band to become Freymont, which played in Grade 3, but in 1976 it was decided to reform the band as Field Marshal Montgomery under the leadership of Ricky Newell owing to the balance of players in Freymont. The band achieved promotion to Grade 2 under Newell's leadership, but in the middle of 1981 Newell left after a disagreement and Richard Parkes became pipe major. Field Marshal was promoted to Grade 1 at the end of 1985, won its first Grade 1 Major Championship at Cowal in 1990, won its first World Championship in 1992, and then won every Major Championship in 1993.
The band has won the World Championships in 1992, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022, becoming the first band to win all the Major competitions in a single year more than once adding Grand Slams in 2011 and again in 2013 to their maiden Grand Slam in 1993. 2013 was also the first year that the Drum Corps won the world title.
Honours
thumb|left|The band rehearsing for the 2006 World Championships in [[Kelvingrove Park]]
the band has won a total of 72 major championships, namely 17 Scottish Championships, 13 World Championships, 12 Cowal Championships, 13 European Championships, 12 British Championships, and 5 United Kingdom Championships. Further, the band has won 25 Ulster Championships, 27 All-Ireland Championships, and gained 15 RSPBA Champion of Champions titles.
Pipe Majors
- William Maxwell (1945-1970)
- Sandy Cumming (1970-1975)
- Ricky Newell (1975-1981)
- Richard Parkes MBE (1981-2024)
- Matt Wilson (2024-present)
Leading Drummers
- Donald McKay (1945-1950)
- Jim McMinn (1950-?)
- William Russell (?-1964)
- Jackson Shaw (1964-?)
- Harry Russell (?-1975)
- Richard Coffey (1975-1979)
- Gordon Parkes (1979-1998)
- Andrew Scullion (1998-2002)
- Keith Orr (2002-2022)
- Gareth McLees (2022-2024)
- Willie Glenholmes (2024-present)
Discography
- Debut (1991)
- Live In Concert (1996)
- Unplugged (2002)
- Re:Charged (2007)
- IMPACT (2016)