There was a Scots soldier, Bill Millin The sound of his bagpipes was thrillin' The Germans thought how sad- The poor man's quite mad- We'll not waste a bullet on him then
Limericks are usually light-hearted, this one not so much. The tradition of going to war playing morale-boosting bagpipes was forbidden in the British army during the 1914-18 war as it tended to attract enemy fire. On June 6th 1944 however, Bill Millin was ordered to play the pipes on Sword beach as the D-day landings were in full swing. He escaped injury because the German gunners, deciding he was completely bonkers, did not fire on him.Β Β He died aged 88 a couple of years ago.