Hector the Hero
Hector MacDonald was the son of a crofter (small farmer) on the Black Isle, across the Firth from the monument. He enlisted into the 92nd Gordon Highlanders on the 11th of June 1870, having previously served with the local volunteers.
Enlisting into the regular army as a private, Hector MacDonald took his soldiering very seriously from the outset. This dedication and his application to his Army career ensured his rapid promotion through the ranks to become a high ranking officer. During his service in the Queen’s Colors, he served in countries such as India, Afghanistan, South Africa, Ceylon and the Egyptian Sudan.
The most significant monument to MacDonald is the National Memorial in Dingwall. This was constructed between 1904 and 1907 (architect James Sandford Kay), its hundred foot high tower dominating the hillside above the town. Sited on the summit of Mitchell Hilll above Dingwall, this beautiful castellated tower stands (now amid a beautiful cemetery) in silent tribute to Ross-shire’s (and Scotland’s) most famous son, Major-General Sir Hector Archibald Macdonald KCB, DSO, ADC, LLD.(1853-1903), otherwise known as “fighting Mac” and “Hector the Hero”.
For his services in South Africa he was created a K.C.B. in 1900, and given the command of the Belgaum district in southern India in 1901. In May 1902 he was transferred to the command of the troops in Ceylon. However, as the local tea planters did not welcome the son of a crofter, disaster befell him.
Early in 1903 an opprobrious accusation against him (of homosexuality) was reported to the governor of Ceylon (Sir West Ridgeway), who at once granted Macdonald's request for leave to return to London and discuss the matter with the war office authorities. The latter directed a court of inquiry to be held in Ceylon. Macdonald left London for Ceylon on 24 March, and shot himself next day at the Hôtel Regina in Paris. He was buried in the Dean cemetery, Edinburgh.
Another Claim to Fame for Hector
An original 'Camp Coffee' label. The Paterson Company of Glasgow was catapulted to fame with the world's first instant coffee in 1876: Camp Coffee (an essence of coffee-beans, chicory and sugar poured from a distinctive bottle).
The origin of Camp Coffee is believed to have come from a request from the Gordon Highlanders to Campbell Paterson for a coffee drink that could be used easily by the army on field campaigns in India. The regular process of grinding and brewing coffee beans was too complicated and time consuming for a military field kitchen. The creation of a liquid Camp Coffee provided a simpler method.
Originally the picture depicted the Sikh as carrying a tray of coffee -- an intermediate version, with the Sikh standing but the tray missing is widely believed to have been changed to avoid the imperialist connotations of the Sikh as a servant. The newest label is a drawing of a Gordon Highlander soldier and a Sikh soldier sitting down together outside the tent.
The label is classical in tone, drawing on the romance of the British Raj. It includes a drawing of a seated Gordon Highlander (supposedly Major General Sir Hector MacDonald) being served by a Sikh soldier holding a tray with a bottle of essence and jug of hot water. They are in front of a tent, at the apex of which flies a flag bearing the drink's slogan, "Ready Aye Ready". That was also the motto of the 59th Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force) of the British Indian Army. In this context, the Scots word 'aye' has the meaning of 'always' rather than 'yes', and indicates, in the case of the drink, that it is 'always ready' to be made.
New ‘PC’ Label
Drummond Castle is well known for its gardens. Situated near Crieff, overlooking Strathearn at the eastern edge of the Trossachs, these gardens were used in Outlander season 2 in the episode “Untimely Resurrection” as the Gardens of Versailles. While there, Claire and Jamie unexpectedly come across “Black Jack” Randall. Click here for a drone tour of the grounds.
MASTER ANDREW GRANT was composed by Alexander Forbes "Sandy" Skinner (1833–1883), the elder brother of the famous fiddler-composer and dancing master James Scott Skinner (1843-1927). (James Scott was the youngest of six children.)
The Skinner's mother Mary Agnew came from Strathdon, Aberdeenshire. Their father, William Skinner, a fiddler and dance teacher, had been a gardener until a shotgun (fired as part of wedding celebrations) took off three fingers of his left hand. After his accident, he learned to play his fiddle by holding the bow (instead of the fiddle), with his damaged left hand.
Sandy Skinner taught his young brother James to play tunes on the violin, and to ‘vamp’, or play a bass line on the cello. By the time he was eight, James was playing the cello at dances with local fiddler Peter Milne (1824–1908), who came from Kincardine o’ Neill, Aberdeenshire. As there were no village halls, dances were usually held in barns. Young James often had to trudge many miles to play at these dances. For this, Peter Milne paid him five shillings a month. The elder Skinner was a champion dancer and fiddler in his own right. It was Sandy who arranged for James to audition with Dr. Marks Little Men, a touring group composed of very talented boys with whom J. Scott Skinner signed on for a six-year apprenticeship.
The title of the reel possibly refers to Andrew Grant (1855-1943), a son of John Grant, Queen Victoria's head forester at the Balmoral Castle estate.
MORE SKINNER STUFF
James Skinner left Dr. Mark’s Little Men in 1861, shortly before his apprenticeship was due to finish, and returned to Aberdeen. After some months touring with the New Orleans Theatre Company, he took a course of dancing lessons from ‘Professor’ William Scott, who lived at Stoneywood, near Aberdeen. They got on so well that James adopted ‘Scott’ as part of his professional name, calling himself J. Scott Skinner.
In 1862 he took part in Highland dancing competitions in Ireland. He won first prize in a Sword Dance competition, accompanying himself on the fiddle, and beating John McNeill, an acknowledged champion. The following year he won a violin competition in Inverness.
That same year, he became a professional dancing-master. He held his first classes at Strathdon, Aberdeenshire. His growing reputation eventually led to work at Balmoral Castle, Queen Victoria’s Scottish retreat, where he taught dancing to more than 100 tenants and children.
(from the Aberdeen University website: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/biography.shtml , author Pat Ballantyne
