Charlie Wicks (1915 – 1988) had strong ties with the Henry Starck family and worked for the firm in the 1930’s and 1940’s before leaving in 1946. Charlie and his brother John were the son’s of Grace Starck, a relative of Henry’s. He spent some time working for George Alexander. He made bagpipes off and on until his death in 1988.
Shown here is a set of late 1940’s pipes in African Blackwood made by Charles “Charlie” Wicks. They are said to be “rock solid” with a similar sound to the current Naill bagpipes…..which isn’t a surprise as Les Cowell also started out with Starck’s. They were played in SLOT a few years ago. The silver was added around 2015. I’m not sure where they are today.
