14 minute read
History Special
Local History Eagle 99 Special
The Kellas Connection by Sandy Mitchell
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Further to the article written by Duncan Macrae (Eagle 95) about Alexander Mitchell Kellas of Himalayan fame, some other connections of the Kellas family with Ballater may be of interest.
A.M. Kellas’s mother, Mary Boyd Mitchell was born at Sluievannachie in 1844, a younger sister of my great grandfather. She married James Kellas in 1866 at Sluievannachie and they had seven children. The second child of the seven was Alexander as previously mentioned.
The seventh child took an MBChB at Aberdeen University and volunteered for service in the RAMC in WWI as a Major. He was sent to Gallipoli in the ill-fated campaign there and was killed by a sniper. We still have a copy of the letter of condolence sent by his CO to his mother.
Of more local interest was child number four, Henry (Harry)1871-1923. He married Mary Brown of New Zealand and lived in Carlton Place in Aberdeen and was a very successful solicitor. In fact, he was a partner in the locally well-known firm of Grey and Kellas, now incorporated into Laurie & Co. Like his brother Alex, he was a keen hillwalker and mountaineer, spending much of his spare time in the Cairngorms. It was during one of his holidays in the hills that he died from a heart attack in the Fife Arms, Braemar.
Harry and Mary had four children; Ronald, Arthur, Derek, and Lorna. Ronald was a GP spending his working life in the
English Midlands. Arthur attended Aberdeen and Oxford universities and was a career diplomat; one time British Ambassador to Nepal. Derek won an MC in East Africa during WWII studied forestry at Aberdeen and became the National Trust for Scotland’s first factor of Crathes estate. He and his wife Ella bought Old Ford House in Ballater where he latterly set up as a clock and watch maker. He died in 1968, but Ella lived on in Ballater for several years.
The youngest child was Lorna who took a degree in Zoology and worked in Africa for many years. When she retired she bought the old stationmaster’s house at Cambus O’ May where I gather she was not too kind to the local wildlife, occasionally chopping up adders with her spade! Eventually she moved to London and died about two years ago.
Clearly the Kellas family was a talented clan with a strong connection to Ballater which still exists; because Old Ford House is to this day owned by Susan Kellas who is the widow of Ronald Kellas’s son, Michael. Both Michael and Susan were lawyers.
38 Local History
Eagle 99 Special
Stories Behind the Tunes MacCrimmon’s Lament by Stuart Archer
MacCrimmon’s Lament is a pibroch, which can be defined as an extended composition, played at a slow tempo, centred on a repetitive theme or ‘ground’ that is then embellished with slightly varying finger movements. Donald Ban MacCrimmon, who was commonly believed to be the best piper in Scotland in the mid-1700s, allegedly had the power of second sight. MacCrimmon’s Lament
is also known as MacCrimmon Will Never Return because it surrounds the prediction of his death. This tune was composed after Donald’s death by his brother Malcolm (both sons of Pàdraig Òg). The MacCrimmons were the hereditary pipers for the MacLeods of Dunvegan on Skye who were supporters of the Hanoverian lineage and fought against the Jacobites in the ’45 rebellion. A skirmish called the Rout of Moy took place in February 1746, two months before the Battle of Culloden. Moy, south of Inverness, is the ancestral home of the Mackintosh Clan chiefs. After the long retreat from Derby, Prince Charles Edward Stuart was being entertained as a guest of Lady Anne Mackintosh at Moy Hall. He had arrived from the south earlier in the day with a small guard of only fifty men, some distance ahead of his retreating Highland army. At the same time, Lord Loudon, the commander of the Hanoverian forces in the north of Scotland, had mustered 1,500 troops
from the Independent Companies in Inverness. John Campbell was the fourth Earl of Loudon and while in Inverness he received information from Grant of Dalrachney regarding the presence of Charles at Lady Mackintosh’s house, and importantly that he was attended by only a small bodyguard. So, with MacCrimmon playing his pipes at the head of the MacLeod column, Loudon set off south from Inverness Garrison towards Moy Hall just before midnight on 16 February in an opportunistic bid to capture the Bonnie Prince, who by this time had a £30,000 price tag on his head. Pitch darkness interspersed with thunder and lightning both slowed and unsettled the men on the 12-mile march south from Inverness to Moy along General Wade’s road. Unknown to the detachment, a young boy called Lachlan Mackintosh had overtaken them, under the cover of darkness, to alert Lady Anne and the Prince. The 15-year-old lad ran with the warning from Lady Mackintosh’s mother, who lived in Inverness, and had been tipped off about the Hanoverian plan. Coming from Moybeg, Lachlan knew the ground between Inverness and Moy well and he hid behind stone dykes and navigated the valley of the Nairn quicker than the redcoats, overtaking the troops just in time to get Lady Anne out of bed and allow preparations to be made! After some initial panic, Lady Anne set
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40 to the task of protecting the Prince by sending him south and round Loch Moy and she then immediately called for her blacksmith, Donald Fraser. Within a short time, watching and waiting near the road, three miles northwest of Moy, was an outer guard of just five men, ably led by the blacksmith of Moy. He had chosen a clever location whereby they could observe movement on the skyline to the north, even in the darkness. Nearby, peat stacks remained out on the moor and using these for cover in the imposing terrain between the spur of Ciste Creag an Eòin and Meall Mor, he hatched a cunning plan to harass, and perhaps, just perhaps, deceive the enemy.
As the first troops of the Hanoverian column approached in the darkness, led by MacLeod of MacLeod, they were surprised by sudden musket fire and loud war cries urging clansmen to battle. Not only were the five men of Moy shouting at the top of their voices, but ingeniously they shouted the war cries of the Mackintoshes, MacPhersons, Camerons and MacDonalds and barked orders for their Lords Lochiel and Keppoch to advance their men on the right and left. This clever tactic, added to the choice of ground, the shrewd timing of the use of their weapons and several different points of attack, was no doubt a threatening and confusing sight and sound in the continuing lightning storm. Convinced that the whole Highland army lay ahead, and an ambush underway, Lord Loudon’s men turned in panic and fled back to Inverness.
The Government troops hurriedly carried off the mortally wounded body of Donald Ban MacCrimmon, who had fallen at the feet of Lord Louden at the hand of the blacksmith’s first discharge. MacCrimmon’s premonition of his imminent death had been realised: “Cha till mi tuille” (I’ll return no more) Donald Ban died of his wounds in Inverness. An eerie story from this time is that it was said that MacCrimmon was seen in Inverness the day before the engagement and
‘the shade of death was on him’. The tale of the Rout of Moy highlights the resourcefulness of the Five Men of Moy and the bravery of young Lachlan Mackintosh. Donald Fraser – Captain of the Five – and the mastermind behind the deception, died at Corrybrough in June 1804 and lies buried in Moy Churchyard – his blacksmith’s anvil is still preserved at Moy Hall.
Another pibroch linked to Donald Ban’s death is The Pretty Dirk, composed by his father Pàdraig Òg. The dirk in question was owned by Donald Ban’s father, but because Donald was the family member accompanying his chieftain to war against the Jacobites he was given the dirk to carry while in service. The dirk was dropped either when Donald Ban was shot or when, in the ensuing panic, his body was quickly removed from the field in the dark of night. It was later recovered by Donald Fraser. The tradition of hereditary pipers allied to important Highland families is well known and other examples include the MacArthurs who played for the MacDonalds of Sleat; the MacGregors for the Campbells of Glenlyon; the Cummings for the Grants of Strathspey and Badenoch; the MacKays for the MacKenzies of Gairloch and the Rankins for the MacLeans of Duart, but undoubtedly, the most famous of them all were the MacCrimmons. Both the MacCrimmons and the MacArthurs were known to have piping colleges, where apprenticeships would last up to seven years.
42 Local History
Eagle 99 Special
The George Beddie Story by Joan Anderson
The Eagle has helped solve a 106-yearold mystery and provide the next piece in the fascinating story of George Beddie. He was an inspirational teacher who had run away from his Balmoral home to fight in World War I while still underage, was snatched back from the brink of death on the battlefield in 1917, and later benefitted from the post-war intervention of King George V when all others had pronounced him unfit for work of any kind because of severe mental and physical injuries.
In Eagle 97 we told of the lengthy search by George Beddie’s younger cousin, Dr John Stephen, for the story of the man who had taught him and others in what is now the Mike Sheridan Room in the V&A Halls complex, during WWII. The teacher had been recalled from Peterhead Central School to help out in Ballater while all Upper Deeside schools were bursting with child evacuees from the UK and overseas. Several former pupils, still in Ballater, have recently responded to the Eagle’s request. All of them remember “Dod” Beddie as an inspirational teacher whose habit of after-class, relaxed storytelling – and his enthusiasm for the poetry and works of Robert Burns and Charles Murray – added colour to the lives of children coping with wartime restrictions.
One of those pupils, Dod’s young cousin John “Jock” Stephen, set out to record the life of a most remarkable man who would go on to become depute rector of Peterhead Central School. There was no official record of George’s service in the Gordon Highlanders and it was suspected the young runaway might have given a false name or date of birth so he could serve his country.
However, that part of the jigsaw has just fallen nicely into place, following a letter from former pupil Arthur Chisnall – known in Ballater as Wee Chis – who had discovered that George Beddie was discharged as disabled in 1918 from the Machine Gun Corps, one of 170,500 casualties (including 12,500 killed) from that section alone, giving it the sad nickname of The Suicide Unit. Dr Stephen and his wife were initially convinced that Dod was in the 4th Battalion Gordon Highlanders. They now think he gained some machine gun capability early in the war, so would have answered the call – in 1915 – that went out to all regiments to provide experienced soldiers to form the Machine Gun Corps.
The Stephens – and I – are very grateful to the Eagle and the Chisnalls for the latest piece of the George Beddie puzzle, and to all who have been in touch, despite some of the difficulties of contact at present.
Mr Chisnall and his wife Beryl (née Glashan), who is also from Ballater, have also provided more colourful stories about George Beddie. In one of these, Wee Chis says that George Beddie still owes him for two undeserved strokes of the “tag” or belt. A girl we won’t name (to spare her blushes) tried to deflect the teacher’s ire at her constant giggling by accusing Chis of making her laugh by reading rude words from his dictionary.
The wholly innocent Chis was called out and given two of the tag before he could blurt out that he didn’t even possess a dictionary, much to the teacher’s embarrassment. For two perfectly valid reasons, the incident is unforgotten. First, the teacher assured Chis he’d be credited with the mistake and would escape punishment “next time”. Unfortunately, and possibly unusually in those days, that was the one and only time Wee Chis received the
tag in his entire school experience.
But it’s the second part of the tale that rankled the most, as Chis recalled the “Fibbing Quine’s” fate. “Did she get the tag? Oh no! Dod wouldn’t hurt a quine and all she got was a severe lecture and a hundred lines. Perhaps the tag would have been preferable?”
I am still collating these stories, along with further research into Dod’s time in Peterhead where he and his wife Jane had a joint total of 71 years’ teaching. The stories will be available publically as soon as practical.
Please contact me with any information on 01339 755393 or 07561 834952 and I will pass everything to the Stephens.
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The Auld Kirk is a fine example of an early Victorian Scottish Free Church building that is set in the heart of Royal Deeside. We offer 7 en-suite letting rooms with the addition of a family room all situated on the first floor. Our coffee lounge offers an informal and relaxed space for customers to enjoy a small but daily changing offering.
The Covid-19 Phase 4 decision on access to indoor venues, which includes community halls, indicates that indoor activities in the V&A Halls will not be possible until towards the end of August 2020 at the earliest. In preparation for re-opening, Covid-19 Guidelines have been finalised by the trustees, with assistance from Aberdeenshire Council Trading Standards department and Cllr Paul Gibb, who also provided very helpful information and summaries concerning the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 guidance published from time to time during lockdown.
The Covid-19 Guidelines will be distributed to Halls users in due course. Covid-19 safety items are being put in place in the halls. As soon as the trust receives clearance and determines a reopening date, it will contact user groups with information on Covid-19 guidance so that each can then decide on dates to return. We have been receiving enquiries from users on re-opening the halls and are taking provisional bookings which will be subject to reopening guidance.
Following Phase 3 lockdown easing, AJC completed much of the stonework for the frontage of the Ballater Community and Heritage Hub. The door and window frames are measured and under construction. As this nears completion, the Trust will be reaching out to community organisations to resume discussions on plans for the interior of the Hub. The roof and ceiling 44 repairs for the Mike Sheridan Room and Kitchen are complete. Redecoration for these areas has been done and is in progress for the Victoria and Albert Halls. The Trustees extend their thanks to local contractors, Allan Milne, Gordon Croll and Forbie Duguid for the hard work in getting this completed when possible during the lockdown period.
Again, just to emphasise that, on re-opening, the trust will have much work to do and would welcome assistance from volunteers in the village.
The Trust has reconfigured its email contact addresses which are as follows:
Halls Bookings: bookings@victoriaandalberthalls.co.uk
General Enquiries and Correspondence: info@victoriaandalberthalls.co.uk
Membership: membership@victoriaandalberthalls.co.uk
Updates and halls availability as before can be found at our website: www.victoriaandalberthalls. co.uk/ with updates also on Facebook.
