I don’t have much for you on this, other than George was said to be a turner for Shepherd back in the 80’s or 90’s. I encountered this set, which was stamped “Dobbie” while playing with Dafasco Pipe Band in 1997 & 1998. Great band. By all accounts, this looked, sounded, and behaved like a Shepherd bagpipe.
The following was received July 3, 2014 regarding George:
“I knew George in the mid eighties when I played as Pipe Sergeant with the Kirkintilloch Pipeband. At that time he was working out of a building in Kirkintilloch, Glasgow that sat on the Forth & Clyde Canal. The building was owned by a common associate and joiner/piper David Graham.
From memory, George was indeed making pipes for Shepherd (and others) on a sub-contractor basis. He was the foreman at Hardie’s at one time and I believe he served his time at Henderson’s, though I am not 100% sure on the latter point.
I purchased a set of full silver pipes from George and played them for years, including concerts in Frankfurt and Glasgow with the Vale of Atholl. These were played up to their sale last year and currently reside in Germany
Regards
Ian MacGregor
