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I
have come to think of my visits to the UK
as a search for the Holy Grail
or a Crusade!
The
only agenda I had was to attend
the 250th
anniversary of
the Battle of Culloden
ceremonies
and
remember
the
name Boyd as being one that had
a
prominent
role
to
play in the Cumberland scenario.
After an eighteen
18 day Atlantic crossing, I found as
I embarked
at
Antwerp I had tendonitis in my wrists
and arms due to the constant use of
binoculars and from opening heavy passageway
doors from the bridge to the decks.
I was watching the pack-ice alive with small seals drifting
southwards. Antwerp
began my Boyd crusade --it was here that Lord
Boyd, Earl of Arran was interred
at the
expense of
the Duke of Burgundy in 1474, with
a lavish
monument and
glorifying inscription to
his
memory. It
was Thomas Boyd
who brought back
from Denmark a bride for the king,
only to find that while he was away
he had lost his lands and was out of favour with the court
--while she
ran into the
arms of her betrothed and warned
him -- Thomas quickly escaped back
to Denmark on
a Danish vessel, was treated
royally over there again,
went to France
to get assistance
to try to regain
his titles
and lands and favour with King James but was unsuccessful.
His wife Mary (the King's sister)
was divorced
declared null and void by the king. Thomas served the Duke of
Burgundy and was fighting
in his wars,
and old story, when
the cats away the mice will play.
Mary was
forced to marry a Hamilton and therefore
gave the Hamilton's access to Arran and Broddick.
See
P. Hume Brown
London
next stop - no time to check
out further Boyds
in France
and Belgium, - another time I said - in a few months time,
and see
Baron Dauphresne de la Chevalerie,
and visit
Flanders to get more
history.
Bombing
through London (24 hours) I left my lighter clothing with
a friend
who would accompany
me later back to France and Europe,
but I felt the
chills of passing the "Tower
of London" and
the underground as it
passed the Tower Hill (where the 4th Earl was beheaded) whilst en
route to get a train to London airport to get
the Easy-Jet to Aberdeen (35 pounds for
this 1 1/2 hour flight: (call
0990-29-29-29). It was possible to see Old Slains
as we were
approaching the airfield, a quick
transfer to Scots Rail got me
to Inverness
that evening and off to Culloden in the morning.
I
found myself standing at a bus stop in Inverness, at the
appropriate time with a couple from Australia
and an
American (U.S.) wearing a
belted kilt
and quite prepared to sleep out
in the field that night. And you have got to be prepared for buses and trains that stop and
terminate their schedules without
notice.
Another
bus driver
going off shift
(terminating his tour) took
us to the
depot, left his bus
there and came back in his car
and drove us in style to the reception centre and
everyone was
preparing to
walk out onto
the field for the ceremony and
subsequently visit and hold private
visitations at the various Stones of the Clans.
I walked with
a Colonel from the
Cameron's and Gordon's and stopped at the French
and Irish
Picquettes, which
location had
a good view of
the field since it was on a slight mound or ridge,
backtracking to the
line directly behind,
saw a girl hunched on top of the Stone of Strathallans, alone and in deep silence.
The sign showing the last line of the groups of the
Strathallans, Pitsligo and Elcho and Kilmarnock was
also the retreat
line off the battle field.
I
waited and soon several persons paused at the sign with bewilderment and
awe that in
front of them
was heather and brush-- I walked over and of course they were Boyds
or persons
aware
of the battle
and of Boyds as a family
and a great
conversation arose with anecdotes, discussion
of the
battle tactics of Charlie and his generals
and of
course "should he or should he not have gone on and
taken London" one
reply was
"and what would he have done with it?
One of
the group was wearing a Graham tartan and as
chiefs and
others passed out through
the back route
the Graham chief recognized
the tartan
and our group enlarged and
conversations were enriched.
And after
several partaking of
a quaich of good single
malt there was a
greater feeling of warmth between our
friends and it wasn't long before the Strathnallan and laphroaigh
were consumed and there were
two more
dead soldiers...
Present
for the ceremony were chiefs and family
members among
whom were
the MacDonalds, Camerons, Gordons, Chisolms, Clanranald,
etc., but notably
of much
interest to Canadians was
the Bruce, Earl of
Elgin and Kincardine
whose ancestor was
a Governor General in Canada. Lord Elgin will
be remembered
as being the
Chief of
the Montreal Games a few years ago and Chief of the Games
at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina (USA) where we
both supported
the right for the MacRowdys to take part in the Games in their
camouflage uniforms.
There
was a
stunningly brave Englishman
at the ceremony
wearing the uniform of the
1745. He gained respect although
some thought it sacrilege- -but do not forget some English
died too!
Surveying
the lines of battle
and looking at both sides--it was interesting to look back
again to see that a young man commanded a group that
later
became the hero of the battle of the
field of
Abraham, it was also a very short battle and resulted in the
death of
Montcalm that was of course General Wolfe, then a
lieutenant in the English Army.
Our
discussion brought light to the fact that the
battle was
not Scots
versus English. There was a showdown within the Scots itself
for power--one sees that the
arguments Charlie
had with his generals
on site,
location,
tactics, stubborn and mad in some ways are
the Scots -- to see a
man who would be king taking his
volunteers on a five mile
march through the
night, tired and
hungry (if not starved) to see the enemy general celebrating his
birthday with a large
feast, wine,
whisky, and well fed and rested on the eve of the battle Instead of
attacking in an ambush and
single-handedly eliminate the enemy--and enjoy a good meal-- and not to undertake a
battle the following morning --Charlie marched his tired, weary
group back five miles from the River Nairn, most of whom then left
and continued on to Inverness
and went home. To allow an open bog site to
be a battle ground
is hard going, especially up
against cannons
and bayonets and
can you blame the English for not taking advantage of
stupidity?
James Henderson Boyd (1927-2002) Ottawa, Ontario |
