Delta Police Pipe Band

The Delta Police Pipe Band was formed in 1971 by members of the Delta Police Department in the Municipality of Delta. Local school teacher and respected piper Bruce Topp helped form the band and was appointed its first Pipe Major, a position he held for the next 28 years.

In honour of the co-founder of the Delta Police Pipe Band, the late Chief Constable Mervyn W. Smith, the Band wears the predominantly green and blue Ancient Smith Tartan, along with full highland dress with feather bonnets.

The Band has now grown to its present strength of 33 pipers and 18 drummers and is under the direction of Pipe Major Colin Abel and Drum Major Al Brown.

The Delta Police Pipe Band participates in many events, festivities and ceremonies throughout Delta and surrounding communities. Some of the regular events are the Ladner May Days Parade, North Delta Family Days Parade, Tsawwassen Sun Festival Parade, Remembrance Day ceremonies, Tsawwassen D-Day Commemoration parade, North Delta Terry Fox Run opening ceremonies, Delta Police Annual Awards Ceremony, Delta Police Reserve and Recruit Swearing-in Ceremonies, Richmond Salmon Festival, Port Coquitlam May Days Parade, Provincial Police Memorial Service, St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Vancouver, Ladner’s Festival of Lights Parade in December and the prestigious Provincial Police Honours Night Awards Ceremony held yearly in November at Government House in Victoria.

The Delta Police Pipe Band is renowned for their smart appearance, military bearing and crowd pleasing musical presentations and are great ambassadors for the Delta Police Department and the Municipality of Delta. As such, they have been invited to and attended numerous National and International events. Some of the more memorable events the Band has been associated with were the 1983 performance for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, at Vancouver, British Columbia and the 1986 opening of the Vancouver World Exposition by Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

It was the premier band in the 1987 Niagara Falls Police/Military Tattoo. In 1987 they participated in a “Tourism Canada” television presentation and in 1989 and 1991 they competed in the Hawaiian Highland Games. The Delta Police Pipe Band has performed at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Show, the Salem Oregon Tattoo, and Scotland’s world renowned “Edinburgh Military Tattoo” in August 1994.

In 1995 and 1998 the Pipe Band performed and competed as the guest band at the Monterey, California Highland Games, took part in the Pleasanton, California 1996 Highland Games and performed in Halifax in 1997 at its famous “Nova Scotia International Tattoo”. In August 2001 the Pipe Band participated as part of the Royal Canadian Legion Massed Pipes and Drums tour of Scotland. A highlight of the tour was performing for Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Highland Games at Braemar Castle. In 2003 the band performed with the RCMP musical ride at the Edmonton Klondike Days and in July 2004 the band returned to Nova Scotia to take part in their International Tattoo once again.

In April 2006 the band also performed at the Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk, Virginia. The Pipe Band has been invited to perform at the Netherlands Military Tattoo held at Rotterdam in September, 2007.