Interview of Jimmy McMillan, 1, 2

March 16 2004, April 21 2004 Jimmy McMillan Born: James "Jimmy" Graham McMillan, Sept. 27, 1911 in Argyleshire. Oldest of 4 children (two sisters and a brother). Father: Born in Argyleshire in 1888. One of 13 boys and 2 girls, all the men in the family were blacksmith. He was the 4th born and was a twin, they both served in the military, and his twin brother was killed in the War. He continued to work as a Blacksmith in Victoria. Paternal Grandfather: Killed in a boiler explosion around age 48. Mother: Maiden name Margaret Graham. Born in Campbeltown, Aug. 25, 1890. Maternal Grandfather: Archibald Graham. Passed at a very young age (Nov.4, 1906). Also from Campbeltown, worked at the distillery. James' father would sing some Gaelic songs, but neither of his parents spoke Gaelic. James doesn't have any family left in Scotland to keep in touch with. He remembers going to school in Scotland, but can't remember the trip to Canada (he was around 7). His sister was born in Victoria. This was near the end of the First World War, in 1918. When his father came home from the War, Jimmy recognized him getting off the ship right away, before his Nana McMillan did. His family likely moved for an improvement in life. If you didn't work at one of the 7 distilleries in Campbeltown, you were likely unemployed. He had 2 uncles who had left Campbeltown and moved to Victoria for work before his father followed suit. Many more of the siblings ended up moving to Victoria. His first memories in Canada were going to school. James worked for Macmillan-Bloedel for the majority of his life in Victoria, before moving to Burnaby and retiring. His Nana lived on Holly St. in Victoria, and the family home was back-to-back with her. He remembers his mother picking turnips with horse & cart in Scotland. He can recall his father coming home smelling of soot from his job as a blacksmith with the City of Victoria. The City had dozens of Clydesdale horses, used for hauling carts in road & building construction. His mother went back to visit Scotland twice, which would have been pricey in those days. His father was the disciplinarian in the home. His mother would "give him hell" if he lost a piping competition. She had been active in the Knights & Dames of the Thistle. His dad would often play quoits (a version of horseshoes) in an empty lot. In later years, his parents were into carpet bowling. Even during the War in Scotland, he wasn't allowed to play the pipes on Sunday, as it was Sabbath – religion played a big role. Jimmy started taking bagpiping lessons around age 9. Alec Wallace, a former stonemason, was his first teacher. He was a Pipe Major. Jim was the only one in his family to pick up the pipes or chanter. He had to get a job to help out his family, and so he left high school. He worked as a grocery and paper delivery worker. He started in the Victoria Boy's Pipe Band around age 10 or 12. He won his first medal in 1926 in Vancouver. A band was formed in 1936 to perform at Vimy Ridge for the dedication of a monument, of which Jimmy was a member. They requested individual pipers from across Canada to perform, and Jimmy went on behalf of B.C. (sponsored by the Canadian government). He was the best piper in B.C. at the time – "Lucky, I passed that on to Jack Lee", he says. He went from the Boy's Band into the Canadian Scottish Regiment. He played at the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, when WWII was declared, and he was shipped out as part of the Canadian Scottish Regiment. James was married Oct. 18, 1935 Wife: Angelina Piccoli. She worked as a babysitter on the street he lived on, and they met through a neighbour. Before the War, Jimmy worked at Sydney Roofing in Victoria, and his job was held for him afterwards. The company became part of MacMillan-Bloedel. He was a shift boss and ran a crew, making pulp products. He then accepted a job as a daytime shipper in the MacMillan-Bloedel paper mill in Burnaby, in 1958. Jimmy taught piping while in Victoria, some students included Jimmy Couts, Theresa MacGuinness, etc. In WWII, he was stationed in England, and went over to Germany on D-Day. He travelled to Scotland to study while on leave from his Regiment in the War. The greatest thing to happen to him while in Scotland was meeting and learning from "the Blind Piper" Archibald MacNeill. James went to visit Archie before he passed away, and was surprised he still recognized his voice. Jim remembers learning 11 songs in 11 days at one point. Jimmy's great love was piobaireachd (genre). The first one he learned was "Mary MacLeod". Since the War, he has only been back to Scotland once (1962). His feelings of "Scottishness" come from bagpiping his entire life. Alec & Seamus MacNeill (son & nephew of the blind piper) had some success. Jimmy remembers hearing John Burgess play as a young boy. Donald Cameron was his first teacher in piobaireachd. He was Pipe Major of the Second Battalion in the Canadian Scottish Regiment. Jimmy won his first competition in the genre at age 16. A Doctor named Mr. French bought 6 bagpipes, which essentially started the Victoria Boy's Pipe Band. Jimmy has won the Cairn for piobaireachd more than once. He knew many of the big names in piping at the time. Alex Johnson taught piobaireachd in Vancouver. In his opinion, the War was good for piping, as they were training and playing all day. The Seaforth Highlanders Pipe Band and Vancouver Police Pipe Band were great quality. Jimmy still recalls spending time with the Blind Piper Archie MacNeill. He lost his sight as a young boy. He would keep 10 chanters in a drawer and could tell the difference by ear. Archie composed a tune for him called "James McMillan". Jimmy learned a lot from him and they had a great friendship. Sammy Scott was the one who introduced the two. Willie Ross was his instructor in the Army School of Piping at Edinburgh Castle. Jimmy met John Wilson from Campbeltown in B.C. at one point. Jimmy still plays the practice chanter at times. Notable students of his include Darlene Milloy, Hazel Ramsey, Sharon MacKinnon, and Terry and Jack Lee. Jimmy was taught there should be "more phrases than bars" in composing a piobaireachd. He found it surprising that some pipers were also heavy smokers. Jimmy feels Simon Fraser is the only quality pipe band around nowadays. The drummers are more heavily featured than in the past. He played with Donald MacLeod when he came to town. Jim has composed several songs himself. He plays the most famous tune he has composed, "The Flying Scotsman", on the practice chanter for the recording. He composed this song during his time travelling by train between Glasgow & Edinburgh, while being trained by Willie Ross. He also composed many waltzes. Jimmy feels he played his best during his time in the War. There was an 8 hour group march in which he had to play every tune he knew. He played the pipes while sitting on the hood of the lead Jeep when the Battalion convoy crossed the Rhine into Germany. He attended the Nine Schools with John McLellan. "Don MacLean's Farewell to Oban", a tune composed by Archie MacNeill, is played on the practice chanter for the recording. Jimmy found it interesting that Tommy Pearson and Seamus MacNeill played such different styles. Archie was very outspoken, even on members of his own family. He had been hit by a car and injured his arm during the time Jimmy knew him, and was unable to play after that. Jimmy passed away the year after recording of these interviews, in 2005.