Now 64 years later, two current members of the pipe band have journeyed all the way to Scotland to continue the tradition. 

John Ralph and Sally-Anne Richter were among an exclusive group of musicians chosen for a private performance for Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle. 

The husband and wife duo serve as pipe major and pipe sergeant respectively for Launceston’s St Andrews Caledonian Pipe Band.

The couple traveled to Scotland in August for the royal performance, joining Canada’s Sons of Scotland Pipe Band on a national tour. 

Mr Ralph, who was chosen to perform a solo for the Queen, said it was a once in a lifetime experience. 

‘It is certainly something that will stay with me for quite a while,” he said. 

“I had previously performed for Prince Charles and Prince William, but this was the first time with the Queen. It was really something.”

Mr Ralph composed a piece titled Connorville specifically for the royal performance.

Named after the small township near Cressy, it was at this location where the St Andrews Caledonian Pipe Band performed for the-then recently crowned Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1954. 

Mr Ralph said the performance was a fitting way to tribute the band’s legacy.

“I think it is a testament to our history,” he said. 

“This performance, in a way, provides a link across 64 years of the band’s past and now its current members.”