 Ramsay was born in the parish of Muiravonside, near Torphichen, on 4 August 1919, to parents Donald Ramsay and Elizabeth Eadie.He went to primary school at Drumbowie, near Avonbridge, and then went to Falkirk High School before taking an engineering apprenticeship in Bathgate.He was taught by Sandy Forrest, pipe major of the Torphichen and Bathgate Pipe Band, and competed successfully as a soloist, coming second in the under-21 Pibroch competition at the Northern Meeting.