The Tyneside Scottish Branch recently attended a Beating of Retreat at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland as the guests of Northumbria Army Cadet Force.

The Branch have been active in assisting the ACF, raising over £10,000 and taking them on trips to the WW1 Battlefields, Normandy and the Imperial War Museum in London. After a marching display by the Casino Band of Northumbria ACF, the Castle echoed to the skirl of the pipes.

The massed Pipes and drums consisted of the Tyneside Scottish Pipe Band, Somme Battlefield Pipe Band, and the Northumbria & Lothian Borders ACF Pipe Bands. With 24 pipers on parade, Scottish tunes, highland dancing and a finale of Highland Cathedral, a splendid display was enjoyed by all present.

The evening closed with the Casino band beating retreat before marching off to regimental tunes, ending an excellent evening. The Somme Battlefield Pipe Band (SBPB) from Peronne in France are honorary members of the Tyneside Scottish Branch. The Branch and the band have worked together on ceremonial occasions on trips to the Somme and Ypres.  

Despite the language barriers, the Branch and the SBPB enjoyed the comradeship of each other on social occasions over a weekend.