The band was formed in 1930 by Revd Joseph Waddington Graves, the minister of Osborne Hall Congregational church.
[1] He chose 12 girls from the Sunday school with an average age 11, and they had their first practice on 4 October under the direction of Pipe Major Douglas Scott-Taylor.
[2] The girls were initially taught in secret, as Taylor thought teaching women would damage his reputation.
[2][5] The Girl Pipers toured to pre-war Germany, and at one performance Hitler was heard to remark: "I wish I had a band like that.
In an essay by Douglas Adams published in The Salmon of Doubt, Adams described the Dagenham Girl Pipers as a wonderful pipe band, writing "With all due respect and love to my dear wife, there are some things that, however loving or tender your wife may be, only a large pipe band can give you.".