A special award for the VPD’s pipe band
Posted January 10, 2015 12:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A distinguished honour has been bestowed upon some members of the Vancouver Police Department, its pipe band has been hand-picked and honoured by the force’s police chief.
The award is officially called the Chief Constable’s Unit Citation.
The band has been performing for more than 100 years and last year was finally able to attain, what it once thought, was an unreachable goal. The troupe became the first non-military pipe band to play at the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. It was first time that had happened in the ceremony’s 350-year history.
The journey to get to Buckingham Palace actually began back in 2012. The group had to get special permission from several levels of government in both Canada and Britain then finally in February of 2013, was granted permission to participate.
VPD Constable Brian Montague explains the citation is well deserved. “The Chief wanted to honour and recognize their contribution to the department. They’re an institution within the department. Everyone knows they play at all the ceremonies and parades in Vancouver, they travel all over the world and they’re a real ambassador for not only the department but the city too.”
The group is the longest serving police pipe band in Canada and ranks among the most senior police pipe bands in the entire world.
“The band is made up of both current and retired officers as well as special constables who put a lot of time into the band practicing. And there is a lot of time commitment involved here, they do a ton of travelling, they play all over the world and are very well respected.”
The award was handed out earlier this week at a special event to celebrate dozens of regular people and police officers who went above and beyond.
“A lot of these stories, as they happen throughout the year, I read the reports, I hear about them through the department and as the commendation ceremony approaches I see the written stories, we review them and I’m still amazed at some of the things that both, not only our members do, but regular civilians and people who live in the City of Vancouver do to get these awards. I’m amazed at some of the situations people will put themselves into and the amount of courage people have,” adds Montague.
You can read all the brave stories from the VPD’s ceremony here.
