Dance: The Reel of the 51st Division

Also known as »The Wee Lovely Whitby's Thirsty Chicken« (unofficial), »The Saint Valery Reel«

32-bar Reel
3 couples
Set shape: Longwise - 4

Devised by:

James Edward McCartney Atkinson (1940)

Formations:

Set to and turn Corners (S&T;CRNRS;)
Balance in Line (BALNCE)
Hands round - 6 - and back (HR;6P;BACK;)
Note: This list may be incomplete.
Note: Due to limitations in the underlying data, the relative order of formations in this list may be different from the order of formations in the actual dance.

Steps:

Pas-de-Basque
Skip-Change
Slip-Step
Note: This list may be incomplete.

Notes:

Atkinson wrote this whilst a POW in Nazi Germany. He and others organised dancing lessons in order to keep up morale. The design of the dance - a saltire within a circle - was a symbol of Scottish pride and also the badge of the 51st Highland Division.

Featured in:

J.C. Ball 2009
J.C. Ball 2009
2009 Christmas program
Van Isle Social Feb 10

Published in:

Book 13 - Victory Book [10] *
Pocket: Books 13,14,15 [10]
Thirty Popular Scottish Country Dances [9]
101 Scottish Country Dances [86]
Scottish Reels are Fun [50]
Collins Pocket Reference [159]
Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 7 [135]
Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 6 [125]
Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 8 [160]

Full description:

http://www.javastandrewsociety.com/Scottish%20Country%20Dances/reelofthe51st.htm

Recommended Music:

The Drunken Piper (Alexander McLeod)
The Scottish Legacy ((unknown))

Recordings (46): Show tunes

Book 13/14. Eight Scottish Country Dances (Bobby Crowe and his Scottish Dance Band), track 1 [pace 35.4]  
Fifteen Dances, Part Two (Bobby Crowe and his Scottish Dance Band), track 5 [pace 35.4]  
Scottish Dance Favourites Volume 1 (Bobby Crowe and his Scottish Dance Band), track 2 [pace 35.4]  
Scottish Country Dancing (Callum Wilson and his Scottish Dance Band), track 4 [pace 35.2]
Saint Andrew's Ball - Volume 1 (The Cavendish Dance Band), track 11 [pace 32.6]
Saint Andrew's Ball - Volume 1 (The Cavendish Dance Band), track 12 [pace 32.6]
Music for Scottish Dancing (Neil Barron and his Scottish Dance Band), track 2 [pace 35.1]
Caber Feidh (Caber Feidh), track 1 [pace 32.6]
Dance to the Pipes (Bill Clement), track 9 [pace 34.9]
Honour the Piper (Bill Clement), track 2 [pace 34.9]
Scottish Dance Time Vol 4 (Stan Hamilton and his Flying Scotsmen), track 4 [pace 33.2]  
Dancing Strings of Scotland (Dancing Strings of Scotland), track 1 [pace 32.4]
Note 'N' Away (Nicol McLaren & The Glencraig Scottish Dance Band), track 1
King of the Melodeon Men (Jimmy Shand and his Band), track 19 [pace 33.8]
Capital Reels (Auld Reekie), track 17 [pace 32.9]
More Capital Reels (Auld Reekie), track 17
Scottish Dances (Jimmy Blair and his Scottish Dance Band), track 10 [pace 33.9]
Step in Time (Bobby Crowe and his Scottish Dance Band), track 6 [pace 34.4]
O'er the Border (Jimmy Shand and his Band), track 4
On Stage With..., Volume 1 (The Thistle Band), track 4
The Sound of Scotland (Jim MacLeod and his Band), track 5
Saint Andrew's Ball - Volume 2 (SCD Band of the Black Watch), track 2 [pace 31.4]
Music for Collins Pocket Reference. Vol 2 (The Colin Dewar Quartet), track 8 [pace 35.6]
Come Dance Wi' Me (Bert Shorthouse & the Glenlomond Band), track 7 [pace 31.2]
A Scottish Choice (Bert Shorthouse & the Glenlomond Band), track 6 [pace 31.2]
More Capital Reels (Auld Reekie), track 16 [pace 34.4]
Skip Change with Scotch Measure (Scotch Measure), track 11 [pace 36.1]
Cavendish Dance Band Plays SCD in Traditional Style (The Cavendish Dance Band), track 7 [pace 32.8]
Capital Reels (Auld Reekie), track 18
Just What the Doctor Ordered (Sandy Nixon and his Scottish Dance Band), track 9
Lindsay Ross & his Scottish Dance Band (Lindsay Ross & his Scottish Dance Band), track 9
Comin' Thro' the Rye (Jimmy Shand and his Band), track 9
On With The Dance (Ed Brydie and his Band), track 1
Play the St. Andrew's Ball (Ron Kerr and his Scottish Dance Band), track 9 [pace 33.4]
A Dozen Dances (Jim Berry and his Scottish Dance Band), track 5 [pace 34.2]
The Reel Party (Neil Barron and his Scottish Dance Band), track 3 [pace 33.6]
The March Hare (Imbrie, A/Bentley, S W/Bentley, M), track 11 [pace 35.0]  
Scottish in Salem (Lissa Schneckenburger & Tom Pixton), track 11 [pace 35.4]
Special Requests Volume 6 (Colin Dewar and his Scottish Dance Band), track 10
What You Hear is What You Get (Fred Moyes), track 9
Medal Tests for Young Dancers (Rutherford, Maureen & Copland, Neil), track 20 [pace 38.0]
Take Your Partners For Vol 1 (Luke Brady's Scottish Dance Band), track 16 [pace 33.6]
Book 13. Music for 12 Scottish Country Dances (Neil Barron and his Scottish Dance Band), track 10 [pace 35.0]
Jim Cameron's Scottish Dance Band Vol 2 (Jim Cameron's Scottish Dance Band), track 3 [pace 33.2]
Tim Wright and his Scottish Dance Band (Tim Wright and his Scottish Dance Band), track 6 [pace 33.2]
Fraser McGlynn and his Scottish Dance Band (Fraser McGlynn and his Scottish Dance Band), track 6 [pace 33.5]

Search the Strathspey Archive for information on The Reel of the 51st Division

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Additional information

This dance was devised in a POW camp in Germany during WWII and sent to Scotland, where leaflet copies were sold for charity. It caught on very quickly.

HRH Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother got the (then) SCDS to publish the Reel of the 51st Division, back when she was Queen in 1944. See the messages by Lee Fuell and Alan Mair.

Important Public Service Announcement

The entry for this dance has not yet been verified against the original publication, Book 13 - Victory Book. If you have access to this publication, please consider cross-checking the information given here and submitting a correction if necessary, preferably using the link below.

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