Bagpipes in service
of Remembrance
Since 2015, B.O.W.U International has brought together pipe & drum bands, soloists and families around one conviction: memory is carried forward through music, on the front line.
bands
represented
commemorations
2024
An association
in service of remembrance
B.O.W.U International is above all a family: friends from every corner of the world, united by a shared love of music and a common conviction: memory is carried forward standing tall, bagpipe, drumsticks and banner in hand.
The heart of our commitment is D-Day. Every year in Normandy, our pipe & drum bands, soloists and families gather to commemorate 6 June 1944 and pay tribute to those who fought for freedom, starting with Bill Millin, the piper who landed on Sword Beach under enemy fire, his bagpipe his only weapon.
Beyond D-Day, B.O.W.U brings its members together at events across France, in historic settings: concerts, parades, ceremonies in prestigious and unexpected venues. One association, one friendship, one music.
B.O.W.U International
on video
Who are the Bagpipers of the World United? Where do they come from, and why do they gather in Normandy every year? This presentation film tells the story, the faces and the values of our association.
Meet the team →On 6 June 2024, for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, TF1’s teams accompanied B.O.W.U International throughout the day. Our musicians appear on the front line alongside military personnel and officials at this 7:23 AM ceremony.
Bill Millin
The Mad Piper
On the morning of 6 June 1944, a 21-year-old man stepped onto Sword Beach under enemy fire, bagpipe in hand. William "Bill" Millin, piper to Lord Lovat's commando, played tune after tune on the Norman shore, ignoring the bullets. German soldiers, by their own accounts, thought he was mad.
“The German soldiers said after the war that they did not shoot at him because they thought he was mad.”
His statue, sculpted by Gaëtan Ader, a member of B.O.W.U International, stands today facing the sea on the beach where he landed. It has become a place of pilgrimage for every piper who comes to commemorate D-Day, and the symbol around which B.O.W.U was founded in 2015.
(Photo credit: Sébastien Galopin)
John Millin
son of the Mad Piper
John Millin, Bill's son, has been an honorary member of B.O.W.U International since the association was founded. In this photograph, he holds his father's bagpipe, the very one that filled the air of Sword Beach on the morning of 6 June 1944.
Each year, when he is able to, John joins the association's pipers and drummers to commemorate the Landings at Colleville-Montgomery, where his father came ashore. His son Jacob, Bill's grandson, sometimes accompanies him. This direct lineage with history lies at the heart of B.O.W.U's identity.
(Photo credit: John Millin)
Are you a solo musician, a Pipe & Drum Band, or would you like to get involved in running the association? Join B.O.W.U International.
MembershipIndividual, company or organisation: your support enables our bands to commemorate every year. Online donation, bank transfer or sponsorship (French Loi Aillagon, 60% corporate tax deductible).
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