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Interview of James W. Troy, 1; 2
Description
March 23 2005 James Wallace Troy (b. 1942 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) is the eldest of three children (one younger brother, Gordon (d. 1961 in a motor accident), and one adopted sister (still living in Victoria)). His father, John (“Jawn”) Thomas Troy (b. 1900 in New Brunswick), was the second youngest of four boys. As a railroad dispatcher in Duncan, John commuted daily from Victoria (where they moved to when James was a few years old). During the Second World War he served as a sergeant major translating Japanese signals. James’ mother, Frieda Watson Troy (née Henderson; b. in Ottawa) was of Scottish ancestry. Throughout her life, she bred and showed miniature breed dogs.
Never a serious student, James spent the majority of his school-age years on musical pursuits. Piping replaced Highland dancing at age seven (he had begun dancing as a form of rehabilitation for his foot), and during high school he played the clarinet. James’ first piping instructor was Ian Duncan, followed by Archie Macendewar who taught James piobaireachd. At eighteen/nineteen, James joined the Royal Canadian Air Force where he was able to continue with piping. He was stationed in Clinton, Ontario for ten months before getting a regular job with the 4-14 Squadron in North Bay, Ontario. Shortly thereafter, James wrote a letter to Lillian Grant that got him transferred to headquarters in Ottawa. There, he played with JT Mackenzie, John Kerr, and Sandy Keith. From Ottawa, the band toured Calgary and Edmonton, eventually performing at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, Washington.
Shortly thereafter (after his brother’s accident), James left the air force and returned to Victoria where he got a job as an electrician’s helper at the dockyard. In 1997, after retiring from the phone company BC Tel at which he worked for thirty years, James bought the McAllister pipe reed maker business, relocating it from Shotts, Scotland to Victoria, British Columbia. James and his son continue to run the business, shipping reeds worldwide.
James met his future wife, Louise (née Watling), while performing at the original Woodwards complex with the now defunct City of Victoria Pipe Band. They married soon afterwards and together had two children, James Patrick (b.1978 in Victoria) and Jacqueline Louis (b.1980 in Victoria). Louise’s sister’s husband, Colin Magee, taught the two Troy children drumming; both James P. and Jacquie now play with the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band.
After a two-week “summer camp” in Cœur d’Alene, Idaho, James W. Troy and a number of his fellow pipers and drummers founded the City of Victoria Pipe Band. As the band’s original pipe major, James led the band during its expansion. They competed in a number of world pipe band championships as well as performing at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. The band took on the Duthart style as its drumming standard. Musical selection was a collaborative effort, with many contributions by Colin Magee. Despite the good rapport in the City of Victoria, the band eventually parted ways due to commuting difficulties/logistic issues.
In 2000, James was recruited to lead the [now] non-competitive Greater Victoria Police Pipe Band. When asked about the influential pipers in his life, James lists Donald MacLeod, Bob Hardie, and Archie Kerr. As a judge, James is aware of the balance between technicality and musicality (which he discusses in the interview).
When asked about his feelings of “Scottishness,” James attributes them to not only his piping and Highland dancing upbringing, but also to his parents’ musicality and his mother’s Scottish heritage (west coast of Scotland). There are no known Gaelic speakers in his family nor living Scottish relatives. As for politics and religion, neither were important factors in his upbringing (James was brought up nominally Catholic, but “changed his mind about things” at age thirteen). James has visited Scotland a number of times; on his first trip in the early seventies, there was a feeling of familiarity, but not necessarily one of belonging. If James were to relive his life, he would change a couple of things – namely having a better set of lungs (vs. being asthmatic and having smoked) and medals during his piping career. While his biggest disappointments have been the negative outcomes of various piping competitions (especially the 1979 World’s), his biggest satisfaction in life is his family.