Lone piper Denise to play haunting tribute to D-Day fallen at iconic UK venues

The haunting sound of bagpipes will reverberate around some of the country’s iconic landmarks as part of the countdown to D-Day 80.

Lone piper Denise MacRae-Ramsbottom will lead a solemn tribute to the 22,442 soldiers who gave their lives under British command during the Normandy landings which started on June 6, 1944. 

Her 10-day vigil will start at 8am on April 28 at Sandringham and take in Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Hampton Court, before ending at Somerleyton Hall, near Lowestoft on May 7.

As a child, biomedical scientist Denise, who lives in Taverham, Norwich, was told by her teachers that due to hearing loss in one ear, it would be impossible for her to play a musical instrument and pursue a musical career. 

She ignored the advice and now plays the euphonium, tenor horn, trumpet and cornet, and Highland Pipes in bands including the RAF Honington Voluntary Symphonic Wind Band and the RAF Waddington Pipes and Drums.

Her daily laments will see her play Highland Laddie, the uplifting ditty played by Commando Bill Millin on Sword Beach as thousands of soldiers scrambled ashore, and an act that saw him enter British Army folklore and becoming forever known as The Mad Piper. 

Denise, 46, said: “It is a huge honour and it will be one of the most memorable experiences of my piping career. I am fully aware of the sacrifice made by so many. We should never forget those who gave so much.”

Her tribute will also take in Framlingham, the Tower of London, St James’s Palace, Norwich Castle, and Woburn Abbey.

Denise, who works at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust, is following in the footsteps of father-and-son pipers John and Jacob Millin who last month embarked on a similar tribute, playing the bagpipes in their gardens in honour of their father and grandfather “Mad Bill” and the Normandy lionhearts whose heroism helped liberate occupied France and Europe. 

As he waded towards the beach, shivering in 6ft of water, his commanding officer shouted, “Give us Highland Laddie, man”.

When he reached the sand Bill was asked to pipe Commandos ashore with The Road to the Isles.

He later recalled: “That sounded rather ridiculous to me - to play the bagpipes and entertain people just like on Brighton sands in peacetime. Anyway, I started the pipes up, and marched up and down.”

As heavy artillery fire rained down, Bill calmly paced along the beach providing morale boosting tunes. One sergeant was said to have screamed: “Get down, you mad bugger. You’re attracting attention to us.” From there his nickname was born. 

The pipes Bill played on D-Day are now on display at Dawlish Museum in Devon. 

Veteran Tom Duncan said: “I shall never forget hearing the skirl of Bill Millin’s pipes. It is hard to describe the impact it had. It gave us a great lift and increased our determination. As well as the pride we felt, it reminded us of home and why we were there fighting for our lives and those of our loved ones.”

Denise's tribute comes weeks before the world stops to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day when 156,000 British and Allied soldiers spearheaded the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe by launching an audacious air and sea invasion of Normandy, the biggest military assault in history.  

D-Day pageantmaster Bruno Peek said: “We are delighted Denise decided to ignore her teachers all those years ago and will pipe for us in front of some of the country’s most distinguished and famous landmarks. Her 10-day tribute will be a fitting honour to the memory of those brave soldiers who played their part in Normandy and in the Second World War.”