| The Pipes and Drums Platoon are a fundamental and symbolic part of the Gurkha Contingent’s ethos. They make a considerable contribution to unit esprit de corps and are viewed as an embodiment of it by a wide cross section of the public and SPF. The band was formed in 1954 when the then Commander – Major Scott Leathhart MBE – recruited a retired Pipe Major from the 4 th Gurkhas of the old Indian Army to train a small group from scratch. On hearing of this, the Commanding Officers of the 7 th and 10 th Gurkha Rifles of the British Army, who were at the time based in Malaya fighting the Communists, offered to assist in the provision of instructors. To mark this association, these two units also donated new equipment and instruments to the fledgling platoon.
The Platoon regularly combines with the Singapore Police Force Band and Women Police Pipes & Drums. In addition to various performances in Singapore, the Platoon has performed at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (1991), the Adelaide International Police Tattoo (2001), the Malaysian Combined Police & Military Tattoo (2002), and the Musikchau der Nationen in Germany (2005). They have been invited to return to Edinburgh in 2008
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