The Isle of Skye Pipe Band are travelling to the USA in March to perform at the Phoenix Scottish Games, where family of the crew lost to the Beinn Edra crash will be present.
The tale of how the pipe band’s trip to Arizona came to be starts with two Drum Majors: Peter MacDonald and Kevin Conquest.
Peter MacDonald is the Drum Major for the Isle of Skye Pipe Band.
In 2009, he was performing in Tattoo Hebrides where he met Kevin, Drum Major for Arizona’s Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band.
From Portree to Phoenix: How it came to be
Kevin recollects the befriending fondly.
He says: “Part of the magic behind these military tattoo shows is the instant bond of friendship that comes with building a show in a short run-up.”
“Performers may arrive as strangers but leave as brothers and sisters – and that spans the globe.”
Last year, the two Drum Majors were performing in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
This was where the suggestion of the Isle of Skye Pipe Band performing at the Phoenix Scottish Games was born, and has since become a reality.
Besides sharing a love for Scottish music and culture, Skye and the United States are also connected by a tragic event.
Remembering the Beinn Edra plane crash
Paul Overfield Junior was born in 1924 and was raised in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. In the early 1940s, Overfield would become a bomber pilot in the US Air Force.
On March 3, 1945, aged just 21, he was a pilot of a B17 Flying Fortress flying eight crew members.
Lt. Paul Overfield and his fellow crew mates were passing over the Isle of Skye on their way to Wales from Iceland when tragedy struck.
Due to foggy conditions, the plane crashed on Beinn Edra which is the highest point on the Trotternish Ridge in Staffin, Skye.
All nine crew members passed away. Parts of the wreckage can still be found at the site today.
In 2015, a plaque with the names of the airmen was added to the Staffin war memorial to commemorate the men.
‘There won’t be a dry eye in the audience’
When in Arizona, the Isle of Skye Pipe Band will be performing a tribute of their own.
The pipe band’s performance will be on March 3, marking the 78th anniversary since the plane crash in Staffin.
Family members of the deceased crewmen will be present during the evening of the Twilight Tattoo.
This includes Lt. Paul Overfield’s nephew, Doug Overfield.
Two of the drummers, Kathleen MacDonald and Ali MacFarlane, will open the solo set singing The Skye Boat Song in Gaelic with the band joining in.
“When the audience hear the lamenting and beautiful sound of Gaelic singing accompanied by the pipes, in the stillness of the Arizona sunset, there won’t be a dry eye in the audience,” says Peter.
£37,000 received in donations
Even 78 years on, the Beinn Edra tragedy still strikes a chord with both Scots and Americans.
According to Peter, the band have raised £37,000 in donations with both those local and stateside showing “overwhelming generosity”.
To thank their American hosts, the pipe band are taking local gifts with them across the Atlantic.
The goodies include Skye tartan ties and scarves donated by Lochcarron Weavers, Torabhaig whisky, Skye tablet and Skye Sea Salt. Additionally, the gifts will be presented in bags made by Skye Souvenirs.
“We enjoy a fantastic team spirit,” says Peter. “Everyone worked hard to generate such a huge amount.”
Donations to the Isle of Skye Pipe Band can be made on their GoFundMe page.
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