US man’s delight as mystery of 181-year-old Scottish brooch solved

A US resident has told of his delight after a Highland Games expert in Scotland helped to solve the mystery of his 181-year-old family heirloom.

Bruce Cameron Williams, 77, was given the silver plaid brooch by a distant relative on a visit to Inverness in 1983.

The front of the brooch is engraved with thistles, the initials “D.C.H.F.S.” and the date “1845”, while the other side has the words “To Jas. McPherson” and “for Pibrochs”, with pibroch being music played on the bagpipes.

The relative told Mr Williams, who himself plays the bagpipes, she was happy to pass it on to him to keep it in the family and in the hands of a piper.

The brooch is engraved in elegant script (Bruce Cameron Williams/PA)

Mr Williams has displayed the brooch for more than four decades and has spent years trying to solve the mystery of what the initials stand for.

The enigma was finally solved when he recently contacted the Royal Scottish Highland Games Association (RSHGA).

Alasdair MacDonald at the association was swiftly able to identify that the initials stand for the awarding body Dunkeld Caledonian Highland Friendly Society.

An association spokesman said: “Alasdair was also able to point to a press article from the Perthshire Advertiser of July 10 1845 which reported that at the meeting of that society, a ‘handsome silver brooch’ was presented for ‘Pibroch to J. McPherson, Fonab’.

“In a twist to the tale, it was also reported that he was judged to be the ‘best attired Highlander’ and awarded ‘a silver-mounted Snuff-Mull’.

Further research revealed Jas McPherson was one of the pipers to Lord Glenlyon of Blair Atholl.

Mr Williams, who lives in New York state, said: “I have displayed the silver Pibroch prize brooch for over 40 years, always wondering what the initials were trying to tell me.

“I wrote to everyone I could think of for information, and in later years Googled again and again, but was never successful.

“Then one recent day, I located online the Royal Scottish Highland Games Association, sent an email requesting help, and in less than 24 hours had the most remarkable response from one of their members, Alasdair MacDonald.”

Mr Williams said he had been convinced the brooch must have been a prize awarded at a Highland Games as it was clearly not regimental, and said he is “thrilled” to finally know its origins.

Bruce Cameron Williams playing the bagpipes at Cape Cod in Massachusetts in 1974 (Bruce Cameron Williams/PA)

He added: “I have always treasured this brooch because of what it is, and the way it was given to me from the most distant of Inverness relatives on that exceedingly moving Remembrance Day Sunday along the banks of the River Ness.

“Now, over 40 years later, I am enjoying it all the more thanks to the helpful people at the Royal Scottish Highland Games Association, and in particular to their scholarly, professional and friendly expert, Alasdair MacDonald.

“To say that I am grateful is inadequate: I am thrilled with the information, and overwhelmed by the responsiveness of Mr MacDonald and the RSHGA.”

Mr Williams is interested in eventually returning the brooch to Scotland and hopes an appropriate place can be found where it could be displayed.

Mr MacDonald said he was happy to help identify the brooch’s inscription.

“As soon as I saw it, within a minute I had the results because I knew what it stood for,” he said.

“I’ve got the history of 1,616 different Highland Games so anybody who wants to know the history of Highland Games, I can spit it out instantly because I’ve got all the history.”

Iain Watt, director of the Royal Scottish Highland Games Association, said: “It’s nice to be able to help people out with these queries which reach back to another time – times change but the Highland Games carry on.”