Annotation:Kitchener's Army (1)
KITCHENER'S ARMY [1]. AKA and see "George the Fifth's Army," "George's Army March," "King George V's Army." Scottish, March (2/4 time). A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD. "Kitchener's Army [1]" is a pipe march composed by Pipe Major George S. MacLennan (or McLennan, 1883-1929), in honor of the forces of Lord Kitchener, commander of the British Army during World War 1. MacLennan himself served in the conflict with the Gordon Highlanders. MacLennan's title for the tune, however, was "King George V's Army," the 2/4 march became known as "Kitchener's Army [1]" when it was adapted for the fiddle by Cape Breton musicians[1]. MacLennan did compose a tune with the title "Kitchener's Army (2)," but it is in 6/8 time. As the story told by the Gordon Highlanders goes, the 6/8 time tune was composed by MacLennan first, in 1915, and was named "Kitchener's Army" for the newly raised troops. About 2.5 million volunteered, another 2.5 million were conscripted from January 1916, spurred on by the recruiting poster featuring Kitchener's stern likeness along with the words "Your Country Needs You," which became famous. It was to honor the old regular troops that MacLennan afterward composed his "King George V's Army."
Paul Stewart Cranford notes that Cape Breton fiddlers often play the tune ABDC.
- ↑ The name "Kitchener's Army" for "King George V's Army" may or may not have originated with Cape Breton musicians. The tune appears as "Kitchener's Army" in the mid-20th century publication by Pipe Majors James Robertson and Donald Shaw Ramsay.