Allan Joseph Cameron, of Springfield, Antigonish County was born on December 7th, 1903 to John A. and Elizabeth (Sullivan) Cameron, both of whom were fluent Gaelic speakers, a language that Allan could speak and understand throughout his long and very active life. As boys, the bagpipes fascinated Allan and his younger brother Hugh. Two of their father’s brothers were pipers - Archie, who died at the age of 29, and John Joseph (Jack) who went to live in San Francisco where he joined a band and worked as a policeman. The boys’ grand-uncle, John MacGillivray was a piper and their grandmother, a renowned step-dancer, was a near relative of “The Big Piper”, another MacGillivray piper of considerable fame in the 1800s.

Allan had no formal lessons. He received some help from Duncan ‘Big Colin’ Chisholm of Marydale, and for several summers he went to live and work on a farm belonging to his father’s first cousin, Dougald Gillis, of Pleasant Valley, perhaps the finest Eastern Nova Scotian piper of his day. He was reputed to have had a ‘sweet finger’ for the pipes. Dougald taught Allan the basics of proper fingering and to read music, two skills that enabled him to carry on during the winter months.

Allan did not spend a lot of time in school once World War I started. The boys were often taken out of school to work on the farms, replacing the older boys who had enlisted. They were passed along from grade to grade, which made matters even more difficult as they fell further and further behind their classmates. Finally, Allan left school and went to the United States in search of work.

Allan made his first appearance at the Antigonish Highland Games in 1922, placing first in the Junior Piping. That November, and again in 1923, and 1924, he played at the annual St. Andrews Night Banquet hosted by the Antigonish Highland Society. In 1923 he placed second in the Strathspey and Reel and in 1924, he won the event. In 1925, he entered the Professional Piping events, placing second in the March and first in the Strathspey and Reel. In 1926, he placed second in the Strathspey and Reel. In 1929, he placed second in both the March and the Strathspey and Reel. In 1932, he won the March and in 1933 he placed second in the March and also won the Strathspey and Reel.

In 1937, Allan was admitted as a member of the Antigonish Highland Society, and that November, he was named the Society’s Official Piper, an office he would hold almost every year for the rest of his life. He resumed playing for the annual St. Andrew’s Night Banquet and kept it up with very few breaks for over fifty years.
He won the March again in 1939 and placed second in both March and Strathspey and Reel events in 1940. In 1943, he won both events. In 1944, he placed third in the Strathspey and Reel. In 1945, he placed second in the March and first in the Strathspey and Reel. In 1946, he placed 2nd in the Strathspey and Reel. In 1947 and 1948 he placed third in the March.

Allan Joseph Cameron

In 1950, the Antigonish Highland Society honoured Allan by presenting him with a set of silver and ivory mounted Henderson bagpipes. Society Chief, Leo Chisholm, made the presentation and Allan responded by playing several selections on his new pipes. In 1951, he placed third in the March and first in the Strathspey and Reel. That year, he was called upon to play the lament at the St. Andrew’s Night Banquet in memory of Angus “The Ridge” MacDonald, who had been the first Official Piper of the Antigonish Highland Society. In 1952, he placed second in Professional Piping at Pugwash.

In 1955, Allan took part in the Opening of the Canso Causeway and, for several summers thereafter, he entertained tourists who stopped to view this tremendous wonder of the world. Later on, he was the Official Piper at the Nova Scotia/New Brunswick border, and played there for about fifteen years. Grace and Herman Beaton would often bring their family to Antigonish during the summers and would stop for a brief visit with Allan. When they heard his pipes, the children would say, “We’re home!”

How he made his music was sometimes a mystery to those not familiar with the Great Highland Bagpipes. He often told the story of one American lady who slowly circled round him as he played. When he finished his tune and the music stopped, she circled him, studying the instrument, and asked, “Where is the engine?”

In 1958, he placed second in the Strathspey and Reel at the Antigonish Highland Games. In 1960, Allan won the Men’s Professional March, Strathspey and Reel. That December, the Society paid special tribute to Allan and his wife on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, praising him for his prowess as a piper and for the many sacrifices he had made to be at the disposal of the Society as their Official Piper. In 1961, the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism issued a new promotion, a colour brochure called “Follow The Piper To Nova Scotia” which had a picture of Allan Cameron on the cover. In 1962, he was interviewed on CBC’s ‘Sightline’ program. The following year, he performed as part of Nova Scotia Tourism’s presentation at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto and in 1964, he travelled to Wilmington, Ohio to perform in a presentation called “Picturesque Canada”. In the early 1970s, he was pictured surrounded by gorgeous professional models dressed in tartans in a center spread of “Sports Illustrated” magazine. He was also seen for a full season on the children’s television show, “Sesame Street” along with fellow Antigonish piper, Scott Williams and several of the Dartmouth Boys’ Pipe Band pipers.

Allan had the strong, lilting accent of his Highland ancestors. On one occasion, the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band performed in Antigonish and Allan went along to hear them play. After their performance, he spoke to one of the pipers and, a minute or two into the conversation, the Scot asked, “What part of Scotland are you from?” Allan answered in his thick but authentic Highland accent, “Och, I live just down the road!”

With his fame as a piper, it was said that he was the second most photographed man in North America, second only to the President of the United States. He enjoyed competing, but was never concerned if he missed out on a prize. He considered that his strength was in playing Marches. His favourite was “The Glengarry Gathering” though he admitted to a lot of success with “The Abercairney Highlanders” as well. His skill was such that he often played difficult tunes the calibre of “Blair Drummond” when playing for the Highland fling. “The dancers like that one,” he said. “The music gives them such a lift!”

Allan Joseph Cameron

Allan played for dancers for over fifty years, but he also played in bands. He was a member of the first Antigonish Highland Society Pipe Band, which was formed in 1946 under Pipe Major Herman Beaton and which continued for many years under Pipe Majors Andrew Braid, Donald Urquhart, John ‘Piper’ MacMillan, Francis ‘Willie Hector’ MacDonald, and Major C.I.N. MacLeod. In the 1960s, reorganization and new sponsorship brought about the formation of the Antigonish Legion Senior Pipe Band under Pipe Majors Jim MacLellan, James Fraser, and Bill Magennis. Allan was an active member in these bands for more than two decades. He played publicly for the last time at the age of 91 on Canada Day, 1995. He died in 1996 at the age of 93.