Piper Kenneth Mackay was born and brought up in the village of Reay on the North coast of Caithness.

At the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 he famously ignored furious incoming enemy fire to play his pipes to encourage a beleaguered 79^th Cameron Highlanders to ultimate victory.

During sustained cavalry attacks by Napoleon’s Army on Allied positions at the Battle, Piper MacKay stepped outside the relative security of the regimental square to play the rousing ancient tune Cogathd na Sithd (War or Peace, the Gathering of the Clans). This act of individual bravery became famous after the battle.

After the battle the 79^th were stationed in Paris and during this time Mackay was presented with a silver set of pipes by King George III.

The 79^th had the distinction of being only one of four infantry regiments specifically mentioned in Wellington’s Waterloo Dispatch. The Colours carried by the 79^th during the battle are still on display in The Highlanders’ Museum.