Jimi in demand for 2025 - 'gig diary' filling up fast.

 It's still only early January but Jimi has issued a gentle reminder to anyone hoping to book his services during 2025 - please get in touch asap!

"My gig diary is filling up fast" he said. "Provisional bookings are cool. Pricing, precise requirements, tune preferences etc can be sorted out later.

"I had to knock back several weddings last year because the bride and groom left it too late to get in touch and I was already booked. Oh dear. They were not happy."

The best way to contact Jimi is by email - mcraejimi@gmail.com

Here's some pics from a few recent Jimi performances, a couple of famous faces included.

Happy New Year! Slainte Mhor!

 

Waffen SS memorial in Scotland - concerned citizens advised to contact MPs

 

SS 'Galizien' volunteers in 1943. The SS Division's insignia clearly displayed lower centre left

              

SS memorial in Scotland, December 2024. 'Galizien' Division insignia on the right.

Over a year on from the revelation that a memorial to a notorious WW2 Waffen SS Division – men condemned for the heinous massacre of civilians and for swearing an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hilter – was standing in Scotland it has been suggested that people concerned by the memorial may want to contact their MSP or MP about it.

In December 2023 I wrote and published a blog here which revealed that over £50,000 of taxpayers' money had been allocated by a Scottish Government agency to help upgrade a former WW2 Prisoner of War (POW) chapel at Hallmuir near Lockerbie in SW Scotland.

The decision was made despite the “brazen display” of SS insignia/uniform badges on a memorial stone just metres from the chapel door.

 The SS Division in question – the 14^th Waffen SS Galician (or Galizien, historians use both spellings) - was made up of Ukrainian speaking volunteers during WW2.

An organisation synonymous with bringing high profile former WW2 Nazis to justice – 'The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies' – has long condemned the SS Galizien for ''well documented'' crimes against humanity and the mass murder of innocent civilians “with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable” (The Canadian Press. September 2023)

For more information on these alleged atrocities please refer to my earlier blog, link here: 

http://www.jimithepiper.co.uk/2023/12/waffen-ss-ww2-memorial-standing-proud.html

I wrote and published this blog after my first visit in to the SS memorial at Hallmuir in December 2023. To date just over 30,000 people have read it.

Around the same time my blog came out, British historian and author Dr Mark Felton released a documentary on YouTube called 'Ukrainian SS Memorials UK' in which the Hallmuir chapel and “brazen display” (his words) of SS insignia featured prominently. To date almost 1.8M people have watched two documentaries produced by Dr Felton which essentially spotlight how an entire SS division of Ukrainians arrived in the UK after WW2. (More information in my initial blog)

 Despite this evident public interest it would appear that erecting a memorial to the Waffen SS - in a country where hundreds of thousands of citizens paid the ultimate price on the long, bloody road to victory over fascism in WW2 - barely raises eyebrows or a mere murmur of protest from members of the Scottish and UK press corps.

The silence from the fourth estate of British democracy has been deafening. The media outrage is nowhere to be seen.

In May 2022 the media did report that over £50,000 of taxpayers money had been allocated by the South of Scotland Enterprise Board, a public body acting on behalf of the Scottish Government, to a charitable organisation overseeing the upgrade and restoration of the former WW2 POW chapel at Hallmuir.

The reports said the chapel had become a focal point for Ukrainian refugees and a hub for donations in the Dumfries and Galloway area. Nobody mentioned the SS memorial.

 Late last year, in the Autumn of 2024, I finally found some time to resume investigations into the SS memorial at Hallmuir. This time I hoped to focus on the charitable group responsible for managing the chapel.

A newspaper article published in the 'Kiev Post' dated June 2022 described an individual named as Mike Ostapko (70) as 'a trustee and overseer of the chapel' at Hallmuir.

Mr Oskapko's father was one of over 400 Ukrainians dispatched to Hallmuir POW camp following WW2.

“By June 1947, 463 Ukrainian POWs – members of the Galician Division – had arrived” stated the Kiev Post. (In fact over 8,000 came to the UK in total with many later emigrating to Canada.)

In the article Mr Ostapko said his father, Michael, had volunteered to serve in the 14^th Waffen SS Galizien in 1943 when he was just 16.

Mr Ostapko said his father was wounded at the Battle of Brody in 1944 but went on “to form part of the group that set up the first Ukrainian building in Munich where they were working with Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera.”

SS Galizien parade in Lviv 1943. The SS Division's insignia right and left of the swastika.

 

Mr Ostapko gave details of how the £50,000 + grant money from the South of Scotland Enterprise Board was being spent - repairs to the chapel roof and building and the creation of a visitors centre in a nearby hut. The final phase of work, said Mr Ostapko, would hopefully see the erection of 'a Cossack cross'' beside the chapel. “The type you see on graves in Lviv where soldiers are buried” the Kiev Post quoted him as saying. “Our intention is to have that type in memory of the men that were at Lockerbie.”

 Mr Ostapko said the chapel had become a humanitarian hub in the Dumfries and Galloway area during the Ukraine crisis. No mention was made of the SS memorial.

 After their arrival at Hallmuir the former SS men were put to work on local farms and forestry. They were allowed to leave in the early 1950s. “Some stayed but a lot went to live in the south of England, Canada, America, New Zealand, Australia and some returned to Europe” the newspaper stated.

“The guest book at the chapel illustrates that people from all over the world visit. They are usually relatives of the men that were at the camp” the article reported.

 Mr Ostepko's email address was included in a list of contact details at the end of the article so I sent Mr Ostepko an email with a list of questions. One week later I sent another email as no reply had been received. To date I am still awaiting a response to either email.

Here is my second email to Mr Ostepko:-

 

Hello, I hope this finds you well.

I'm writing to you in your capacity as a trustee and overseer of the former Ukranian POW chapel at Hallmuir near Lockerbie.

My name is James (Jimi) McRae. I'm a self employed Scottish musician and forklift truck driver.
18 months ago I became aware that a monument bearing the insignia of the 14th Nazi Waffen SS Division was standing at Hallmuir.
I visited the site in early December 2023 and wrote a blog about it.
This can be read here:

http://www.jimithepiper.co.uk/2023/12/waffen-ss-ww2-memorial-standing-proud.html?m=1

Over 30,000 people have read the blog over the past year and it has generated considerable feedback and interest.

Please note Mr Ostapko that, to date, I have spoken to/have knowledge of absolutely nobody who takes issue with the POW Ukrainian chapel at Hallmuir.
On the contrary quite the reverse - everyone appreciates the building has considerable historical interest and also acts as a focal point for refugees and aid collection at this time.
However, the presence of Nazi Waffen SS regimental insignia - men who volunteered to serve in the military wing of the German Nazi party, men who swore an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler - is another matter entirely.

As you may be aware Mr Ostapko, the entire Waffen SS organisation was declared a 'criminal organisation' guilty of war crimes and genocide, at the Nuremburg trials following WW2.
Surely, Mr Ostapko, the former POW chapel and proposed visitor centre at Hallmuir can exist and thrive without the presence of Nazi insignia?
I am referring, of course, to the monument which currently greets visitors when they arrive on site

Mr Ostapko, do you not agree that this blatant display of SS insignia is a gross insult to the UK and Scotland's Polish and Jewish communities not to mention the 650,000 + British and Commonwealth citizens who gave their lives in the fight against Fascism in WW2?

I see from an interview you gave to a newspaper 'The Kiev Post' in June 2022 that your father, Michael, a former internee at the Hallmuir camp, was a volunteer when he joined the 14th Nazi Waffen SS Division.

The article also stated that your father later worked directly with Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera in Germany.

May I ask if this latter role was during WW2 or after your father's release from
internment at Hallmuir?

I note from the article that your father was wounded at the battle of Brody in July 1944.
Prior to this, during the early months of 1944, men from the 14th Nazi Waffen SS are accused of committing war crimes and massacring civilians - namely the mass slaughter of  Polish villagers at the settlements of:-

 Huta Pieniacka (February, 1944)

Vitsyn, Palikrowy, Malinska and Czernicy (March 1944)

Lasenytsia Pol'ska, Budki Nieznanowskie and Chatki (April 1944).

Did your father ever comment on these accusations and events?

On May 16, 1944, SS supremo and right hand man to Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, personally addressed men of your father's division. (There are many photographs online of this event. You may have seen some of them.)
At this event, Himmler was recorded as praising your father's regiment and sharing with them his satisfaction “with how the land had improved after it lost, through our intervention, those inhabitants who often sullied the name of Galicia, namely the Jews.”
On this same occasion Himmler is also recorded as stating: “I know that if I ordered the Division to exterminate the Poles in this or that area, I would be a very popular man”.

Did your father ever talk about Himmler's address? Was your father parading before the Nazi SS commander on that day?

Can I inquire also if your father ever talked about his SS training at the notorious SS complex and Nazi concentration camp at Heidelager in Poland? Did your father ever talk about the two-hours per week of 'political education' he and his Galizien comrades received as part of their SS training?

One final question, Mr Ostapko if I may? When was the current monument with the SS insignia erected at Hallmuir? I have seen photos online dating from 2014 or 2015 which appear to show a different monument/war memorial with no Nazi insignia. If this is indeed the case why was the former monument replaced and who paid for it?

Heindrich Himmler meeting men of the SS Galizien, May 1944.

 

The Hallmuir site lies on the sprawling 28,000 acre Castlemilk & Corrie Estate. On their website, the estate owwners – the Buchanan-Jardine family - describe Castlemilk & Corrie as “a historic family-owned and managed rural estate that has been part of the Scottish landscape for Centuries.”

I emailed estate director James Buchanan-Jardine to ask how it felt to have a memorial honouring men who swore allegiance to Adolf Hitler and wore the uniform of Heindrich Himmler's SS standing on his land.

After introducing myself and once again stressing that no-one, to my knowledge, was objecting to the presence of the Ukrainian chapel at Hallmuir, I wrote:

 Everyone appreciates the site is of historical interest - perhaps like the former high security WW2 POW camp at Cultybraggan near Comrie in Perthshire where the most committed German Nazis captured by the British were held. The camp at Cultybraggan is now home to several local businesses and is also a tourist attraction. However, unlike at Hallmuir, upon arrival at Cultybraggan visitors are NOT greeted by a monument bearing the insignia of the hard-core Nazis who were once imprisoned there.

I would like to ask if you or anyone associated with Castlemilk and Corrie estate was consulted prior to the 'SS' monument at Hallmuir being erected? It looks like it was done relatively recently? Perhaps a modification of an earlier memorial? Also, may I ask how you feel about it being there?

 Surviving huts at the former high security POW camp at Cultybraggan in Perthshire

 

 I sent the email twice and a week later received the following reply from Katryn Buchanan-Jardine :-

 

Dear Mr McRae,

 Thank you for getting in touch with us about the Hallmuir Ukrainian Chapel, and the memorial that stands next to it.

 I understand the concerns you have raised about the Galician insignia on the memorial.

 As you may be aware, the Chapel, and the site on which it stands, is managed by a charitable organisation. I am happy to pass on the contact details of the Chapel’s custodians so that you can share the concerns you have outlined with them.

(The private email of a Mr Peter Kormylo was provided.)

 Katryn Buchanan-Jardine then concluded:

Thank you once again for contacting us about this. You will, no doubt, be aware of the important role the Chapel is playing as a haven for those fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian, and in providing a hub for donations to those unable to leave.

 Kind regards,

 Katie

 Katie Buchanan-Jardine

 

 I thanked Katie Buchanan-Jardine for the reply and immediately sent a message with questions to Peter Kormylo. To date I have sent two emails to Mr Kormylo but no reply has been received.

In my emails I introduced myself and explained that his email had been passed to me
by Castlemilk & Corrie Estate.

Can I ask you, Mr Kormylo, why a monument commemorating WW2 Nazi Waffen SS volunteers is standing beside the chapel?
.
Mr Kormylo, do you appreciate how such a monument could be viewed as a gross insult to the UK and Scotland's Polish and Jewish communities, not to mention the 650,000 + British and Commonwealth citizens who gave their lives in the fight against Fascism in WW2?

As far as I know, nobody is taking issue with the POW Ukranian Chapel at Hallmuir. However, the very visible display of the regimental insignia of the 14 Waffen SS 'Galician' Division is another matter entirely.

As already stated in an email to your colleague, Mr Ostapko, many allegations have been made about war crimes committed by the 14th Waffen SS Division - namely the slaughter of thousands of Polish civilians in eastern Poland and Galicia in early 1944.
Respected Holocaust historians have also stated that the 14th Waffen SS Division was almost certainly guilty of rounding up Jewish civilians for extermination.

Can I remind you, Mr Kormylo, that the entire Waffen SS organisation was declared a 'criminal organisation' by international judges at the Nuremburg Trials following WW2.
To this day in Germany, any attempt to display Nazi symbols or insignia like at Hallmuir would be illegal. In fact it could result in prison sentences

May I ask, Mr Kormylo, if the presence of the SS memorial was mentioned in your application to the Scottish Borders Development Agency for grant funding? Was any of the £53,000 granted for chapel restoration and visitor centre creation used to pay for the SS memorial?

 

A concerned member of Scotland's Jewish Community, who asked to remain anonymous, suggested that people worried about the SS memorial at Hallmuir may want to contact their political representatives and ask them to raise the issue in Parliament.

In North America an organisation called 'Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies' has been active in ongoing campaigns to remove memorials honouring the 14^th Waffen SS Galizien Division from Canadian soil.

 In March of 2024, a stone monument bearing the insignia of the 14^th Galizien was removed from a private cemetery in the town of Oakville, Ontario, Canada after a long campaign by ordinary Canadians and the North American branch of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre (FSWC). Full story here: https://www.oakvillenews.org/local-news/oakville-monument-honouring-nazi-collaborators-removed-8474982

 At present, the city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada still hosts two comparable monuments, honouring the 14th Galizien Division and Roman Shukhevych, a Ukrainian nationalist and military figure accused of collaborating with the Nazis and involvement in massacres of Poles and Jews. FSWC is still advocating for the removal of these monuments.

During August 2021 both monuments were 'vandalised' with graffiti. Full story with pics here: https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/ukrainian-monuments-vandalized-group-calls-for-their-removal-over-historical-record-1.5546656

 In October 2022 Edmonton Police charged local journalist Duncan Kinney in relation to one of the acts of vandalism which occurred during 2021.

Mr Kinney (41) has pleaded not guilty to 'one count of mischief' for defacing the bust of Roman Shukhevych with the words 'Actual Nazi' in red paint. 

So far the case has been the subject of several court hearings and a trial date has been set for April 2025. Mr Kinney first broke the story by publishing photographs of both defaced monuments he claims were sent to him anonymously.

Mr Kinney has launched a fund-raising campaign on GoFundMe to help cover legal costs. The campaign was almost ¾ of the way to reaching its target of $20K by late December when I last checked. Anyone interested in donating or learning more can do so here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/duncan-kinney-legal-defense-fund

“It's almost 25 months since I was initially charged” said Mr Kinney. “This thing has really dragged on. It's taken an enormous toll on my life and my family. I am facing up to ten years in prison because the Edmonton Police and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service charged me with mischief against a war memorial, which has a maximum penalty of ten years.”

 To date, no descendants of Waffen SS veterans in either Scotland or Canada have replied to my emails. During research I did receive an anonymous message via my blog. Here is the last paragraph:

Soviet-era propoganda being regurgitated by Russian Federation operatives, their fellow travellers in the West and other “useful idots” needs to be recognized for what it is – an attempt to distract attention from the genocidal war of agression (their spelling) being waged by the KGB man in the Kremlin and his confederates against Ukraine and Ukrainians.

 

In an academic paper entitled 'The Cult of Roman Shukhevych in Ukraine: Myth Making With Complications' published in 2016 by Swedish-American historian Per Anders Rudling the “Ukrainian diaspora” and Ukrainian academics are accused of “manufacturing a whitewashed version of Shukhevych's life” in which his role in the massacre of tens of thousands of Polish civilians, mainly women, children and infants by many accounts, is “ignored, glossed over, or outright denied.”

Wikipedia also stated that up to 100,000 Poles were killed by Ukrainian nationalists during this period with a further 300,000 made refugees as a result of ethnic cleansing. “Conversely killing of Ukrainians by Poles resulted in between 10,000 and 12,000 deaths” (Wikipedia)

 

The bust of Roman Shukhevych in Edmonton following the graffiti attack in August 2021 

 

Emily Bonnell at The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre in North America said she worked with the FSWC officer involved in the Edmonton case.

“Unfortunately we are not familiar with these issues in Scotland, and it is not in our jurisdiction so it is not something we would be able to comment on” she said.

In 2004 Simon Wiesenthal, the man himself, at the age of 94 was awarded a knighthood by the Queen for “his lifetime of service to humanity”.

The BBC said in a report at the time that Mr Wiesenthal was being honoured for helping “the many members of the Austrian, German and Central European communities who made their post war homes in Britain, through his work to bring the Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust to justice.”

The BBC article added: “The main body of Mr Wiesenthal's work was focused on the countries were concentration camps were set up and on those to which perpetrators escaped.”

There are currently no FSWC officers in the UK. Perhaps it's time the situation was reviewed.

 

 

 

 

 

Jimi's music reaches 65 countries on Spotify - thousands of listeners worldwide.

 

Over 12,000 people listened to Jimi's music on Spotify in countries around the world over the last year.

According to results released by the music streaming site Jimi had 5,920 listeners and 6,240 streams during 2024.

Overall his most popular albums were from his 2010 release 'Scottish Pipes & African Drums' and  'Last King of Pictland' from 2015.

Jimi was delighted to report that songs from his latest release - 2022's 'The Hills Where I Began' saw a big increase in listeners too.

 "Hills Where I Began was the first ever release where I used my voice on every song and the pipes played a supporting role" he said. "This was perhaps a gamble in that it was a break from the pipe driven music of my past. However, the results show people have been checking out the new tracks and then returning to listen to them again and again which is very encouraging".

 His 2011 release 'Global Gathering - The Music of Clan MacRae' was also consistently popular with Spotify listeners.

Top countries for Jimi's Spotify listeners were the USA, UK, Germany, Canada and France.

'Scotland the Brave meets the Jolly Beggerman' from 'Scottish Pipes & African Drums' was the most listened to track with 'Alba Gu Brath' and 'Queen's Piper Medlay' both from 'Global Gathering' coming second and third respectively. The title track from 'Last King of Pictland' finished a close fourth.

Most popular tracks from Jimi's latest release 'Hills Where I Began' were 'Johnnie Armstrong' and 'No Frae Round Here'.

Jimi is planning a new album release for 2025 featuring totally original songs.

He added:"2023 and 2024 were huge years for me with tours and performances all over the world. Right now I'm hoping to spend a quite Christmas and New Year with my wife, focus on the new songs and also explore ways of developing my live set."

Jimi would like to thank everyone who took the the trouble to check out his music, either through Spotify or other music sites. 

He wishes everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Slainte Mhor!

SCHADENFREUDE!

 Schadenfreude - a German word for the pleasure derived  from observing the misfortune of others.

Many of us are guilty of it. Some perhaps overindulge. 

Song by myself and guitarist Neil Warden. 

Video filmed near Edinburgh in Bilston Glen, Loanhead and the Pentland hills beside Hillend ski slope during the merry month of May.

Big thanks once again to pal Justin Molotnikov for helping out with the camera work. Hope you enjoy. 

Slainte! 😎👍

 

Piping in Marrakesh - Jimi's first performances in Africa.

 

 

Jimi is back home in Scotland after his first ever piping performance in Africa - at the wedding of Scotsman Drew Munro and his Moroccan bride Imane at the prestigious Beli Country Club in Marrakesh.     

Jimi was on good form piping for the bride and groom and entertaining guests at the all day ceremony. Many Moroccan musicians both traditional and contemporary also participated.

Bride Imane said: "We loved having Jimi at our wedding. He made our dream wedding come true. 

She added: "The Country Club mentioned that it was the first time they had bagpipes in the place. We made history!"

Groom Drew, originally from Edinburgh and now based in Dubai, said: "It was really great having Jimi at our wedding and hearing him play. Absolutely fantastic. It could not have gone any better and I'm sure it will be talked about by both families for quite a while."

As well as piping at Imane and Drew's wedding, Jimi also fulfilled a lifelong ambition by 'striking up' in Marrakesh's famous 'Jemaa el-Fnaa' - the main square and market place of the city. (see pics above)

"The city and its famous 'Medina' have been a mecca for western musicians for decades" said Jimi. "There are plenty stories of how the Rolling Stones, Donovan and The Beatles hung out there in the late 1960s.

"More recently Jimmy Page and Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin did an impromtu busking gig there late 1990s/early 2000s. It's a terrific, colourful place with lots of live music especially after sundown. I had to give the pipes a skirl there." 

Jimi said everyone seemed to enjoy his short performance, particularly the local snake charmers.

"A couple kindly offered me a loan of their pet cobras for dancing " he added. I politely declined."

More pics and videos from the Medina and Imane and Drew's wedding in due course.

Thank you. 

Canada and Scotland's Nazi war criminal shame.

                                                                  

Sharing a link to a UK 'Daily Mail' newspaper article which reports that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is blocking attempts to release the names of almost 1000 NAZI 'SS' volunteers and recruits who were settled in Canada at the end of WW2.

The news article is pertinent to Jimi's recent blogs which drew attention to the shocking fact that a monument bearing the insignia of a notorious WW2 Nazi regiment is standing in Scotland. 

A link to Jim's first blog is shared below the article. 

Thank you. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14072549/Justin-trudeau-refuses-release-900-names-nazi-war-criminals-canada.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0_ORqrMWvhcF7b0r9ad54oRNu_p-V3XwnwXSru0UpPn1RwHEeqeEfaP0s_aem_Ffuwe6w3H_nUCMV4WHPRLQ

http://www.jimithepiper.co.uk/2023/12/waffen-ss-ww2-memorial-standing-proud.html?m=1

Jimi Marrakesh bound

 Jimi is delighted to be heading to Marrakesh, Morocco to pipe at a wedding.

Jimi will be performing with dozens of Moroccan musicians at the high-society wedding being held at the prestigious Beldi Country Club, not far from the centre of Marrakesh, this week.

"The groom is Scottish and he and his family were very keen to book me" said Jimi.

"Seemingly my reputation for flying the flag, doing a good job and performing alongside many African musicians over the years meant I was their first choice as wedding piper.

" Carole, my wife, is joining me on this trip which is fab. We're looking forward to having lots of fun. Marrakesh is one of the world's great cities with a fascinating history. It is well known for amazing music too. I hope I get a chance to play my pipes in the city's famous Medina central square. We are so lucky."

Jimi promises to share a few pics from the adventure once back in Scotland.

The Marrakesh trip follows a busy October of piping around Scotland for Jimi with the possible highlight being a performance at a unique commemorative remembrance event at St Machar's Cathedral in Aberdeen. 

The acoustics were stunning. A few pics from a very memorable day in the 'Granite City' are shared below.

Slainte!