In 2015 Corporal Rob Scott was studying at the Conservatoire de Versailles, only a few hundred metres as the crow flies from the Palace of Versailles.
"I went to study with some of the best clarinet teachers and players in the world," Corporal Scott said.
"There were 30 to 40 applicants from all over the world auditioning and only two were accepted."
It was a long way from playing recorder at Lakes Entrance, Victoria, where he grew up on his family's farm.
"I began performing locally, accompanied by my older brother and father on piano, before moving to Canberra to study clarinet at the Australian National University." he said.
While studying in France, Corporal Scott saw an opening for a clarinet position with the Air Force Band.
"The job looked like fun and the pay was attractive, so I flew home and auditioned."
Not long after leaving his studies and joining the band, he discovered that Air Force didn't have an official bagpiper. This sparked a new interest and within a week of completing recruit training, he'd bought a practice chanter, joined a local pipe band and begun taking lessons.
Six months later, Corporal Scott was playing the bagpipes in the Air Force Band.
While on piping duties he wore a triservice bagpiper uniform, which was all that was available. Noting the lack of an official tartan, Air Force Band then led the development of one that would represent the Air Force with pride.
As the Air Force Band's bagpiper, Corporal Scott has experienced many rare and memorable moments performing in ceremonies around the world, including in Turkey, France, Belgium, the UAE, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The most moving part of Corporal Scott's career came in November 2018 when he performed at the National Australian Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux on the Centenary of Armistice. He, along with the Air Force Band, supported extra funeral processions for WW1 soldiers recently uncovered on the Western Front, including a poignant procession through the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium.
"[I was] piping from the top of the tower and getting pelted with sideways sleet," Corporal Scott said.
"Leading those World War 1 diggers to their final resting place next to their mates and in front of their families gave me the chills. I'll never forget [it]."
