THE 73RD REGIMENT AT MARYHILL BARRACKS--INCIDENTS OF HOME
LIFE--MILITARY LIFE AT YORK--APPOINTMENT TO SOUDAN CAMPAIGN.
In the autumn of 1892 Colonel Wauchope's residence in Limerick came
to a close on his appointment to the command of the 73rd Perthshire
Regiment, or the 2nd Battalion of the Black Watch, then stationed at
Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow. This well-earned promotion to a position
he had long aspired to occupy enabled him to be more frequently at
Niddrie than formerly. During the twenty-seven years he had been
connected with the Black Watch, he had risen slowly but steadily from
the rank of subaltern through the various intermediate stages to the
first position, by dint of persevering effort and close application
to his military duties. He was by no means a dilettante officer. He
loved his profession, and he made it his life work, while the
enthusiasm with which he was inspired he imparted to those around
him. We find this exemplified in a speech made at a large gathering
of the old members of the 42nd held in the Trades Hall, Glasgow, on
the 17th September, where he presided. Many of those present had
been with him through the Ashanti and Soudan campaigns, as well as in
Cyprus, Malta, and Gibraltar, and in referring to former times he
{132} recalled their relationship with no little satisfaction. He
felt, he said, as if he was back at Aldershot under his dear old
colonel, now Sir John M'Leod, and once more an ensign, and the
adjutant of the 42nd. But let them not forget their comrades of the
73rd regiment. Almost since the beginning of the century, the 73rd
had been part and parcel of the 42nd, having been indeed the second
battalion of the regiment. That alliance had been a happy one.
Personally he had now served the second battalion for eighteen
months, and it had been to him a period of great pleasure in his
duties. That which bound them together and gave them so much in
common was the glorious traditions of the 42nd. Their hearts warmed
to each other and the old regiment as they thought of Waterloo and
Quatre Bras. But it was not only traditions they had. He saw men
before him who had fought in a European theatre of war, and who had
taken part in the great battle of the Alma, of which they were now
celebrating the anniversary. He had spent twenty-seven years in the
old regiment, and the longer he was in it the better he loved it. In
concluding an eloquent address, he said: 'The 42nd stood high in the
esteem of the Scottish people, for there was no regiment that
Scotland loved more than the "Auld Forty-twa," and well they might.
By sea and by land, at home and abroad, the 42nd had fought and
always deserved well of its country. Our old regiment has become
renowned chiefly, I believe, because of the strict and stern yet good
discipline exercised by such commanders as Sir Daniel Cameron, Sir
John M'Leod, and others. These men had always stood up for
discipline, and it was discipline that brought the soldier comfort,
whilst it was the reverse that brought disorder and crime, and
everything that was disagreeable.'
{133}
[Sidenote: 'Right-about wheel!']
The Colonel was not, however, always so successful as a speaker. An
amusing incident is told of him when in command at Maryhill Barracks
which shows that an eloquent man may not always have command of his
tongue. One morning on parade he purposed giving the men an address,
and from the demeanour of their colonel the men anticipated something
eloquent. The genial Andrew, however, had only got the length of
'Men of the gallant 42nd,' when his tongue seemed to cleave to the
roof of his mouth. Thrice did he make the attempt, and thrice did he
fail to make progress, until, exasperated with himself, he suddenly
exclaimed, to the astonishment of the regiment--'Men of the gallant
42nd, right-about wheel!'
But while the Colonel was strong in politics and diligent in the
discharge of barrack duties, he did not forget his old ancestral home
at Niddrie. It was never his lot to make anything like a permanent
residence at Niddrie House, but so long as he was stationed either at
Maryhill or afterwards in Edinburgh Castle he embraced every
opportunity of making short visits home; and when home he never
failed to interest himself in the welfare of all in the
neighbourhood. In the spring of 1893, being then in command in
Edinburgh Castle, he had more frequent opportunities of being among
'his ain folk,' and taking a more active interest in their welfare
than was formerly possible. It is with almost a smile we read of his
being at home at that time, and attending a meeting mostly composed
of miners and labourers in the Niddrie School, to present prizes to
the members of the local Bowling Club, in whose success he took a
lively interest. A social meeting held after this ceremony was
heartily enjoyed by all present, the Colonel entering freely into the
spirit of the occasion, making himself the gayest of {134} the gay
and 'everybody's body,' among men, women, and children. As one has
well said, 'he had a magnetism about him which not only made him the
friend of all, but made all his friends.'
It will be long before the people of Niddrie and New Craighall
villages forget his kindness to them. One and all while he lived
regarded him with pride, affection, and gratitude. Nor is this to be
wondered at, for he held their loyalty and friendship by simple and
unaffected acts of kindness and helpfulness, never making them feel
that his friendship was an act of condescension, but rather the
outcome of a warm heart and a generous nature. Their acknowledgment
of his services when occasion arose was always spontaneous and
sincere.
This was strikingly exemplified on the occasion of Colonel Wauchope's
marriage in 1893 to Miss Jean Muir, the daughter of the venerable
Principal of Edinburgh University. On the Saturday previous, the
villagers and others turned out in full force, and by their gifts as
well as by their presence showed how gratified they were with the
lady of his choice, and how their good wishes went out towards them
both. Two bands headed the procession to the mansion-house, and when
the lawn was reached the Colonel was presented in name of them all
with a silver punch-bowl, on a polished cannel-coal stand taken from
the Niddrie coal-pits. The presents from the school children, the
tenants on the estate, and other incidents of the day testified
unmistakably in the same way to the cordial relations subsisting
between the laird and his neighbours and dependants.
'A better man never lived' was the terse estimate of one of the
villagers when speaking of him lately, and the echo of it will long
keep his memory green.
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[Sidenote: Charlie Egan]
One touching incident illustrating his goodness of heart is told by
the Rev. George Dodds, the Free Church Minister of Liberton, as
occurring about this time. When in command at Maryhill Barracks the
Colonel one day inspecting the hospital had his attention directed to
a boy--one of two brothers in the band of the Black Watch--who was
dying of consumption, and it touched the soldier's heart. Finding
out that the boy was an orphan, he had him removed to a room in his
own house, the Colonel himself accompanying the lad from Glasgow to
Niddrie, where every possible attention was paid to him. Dr. A.
Balfour of Portobello was asked to look after the case, and it was
the Colonel's wish that a nurse should attend him. The lad, however,
got so attached to the housekeeper at Niddrie--one of the kindest and
most faithful of servants--that he would have no other attention than
hers. During all the illness of the brave little chap, no one knows
but the kindly nurse, the doctor, and the minister, the Colonel's
tenderness and anxiety and unstinted generosity towards his little
friend. When at length after some weeks he died, it was a sight not
to be forgotten, how at the close of the funeral service he stood
weeping at the head of the coffin which was laid on trestles in the
hall. It was a stormy wintry day at the end of April, the snow lying
thick on the ground; but, following the bier, he walked uncovered
through the snow with all the reverence of a bereaved man to the
grave in the little private burying-ground in the Niddrie policies,
where the young soldier, whose closing weeks of life he had soothed
so tenderly, was laid to rest by his comrades from Edinburgh Castle.
Poor little Charlie Egan, with only his fifteen summers over his
head, truly found in his commanding officer one {136} who was touched
with the truest Christian sympathy, and acted well towards him the
part of the Good Samaritan. Such conduct is a noble example. It is
the secret of lasting popularity. It is more,--it is the secret of
true happiness.
In 1894 occurred a protracted strike among the colliers throughout
the country. The Niddrie coal-works were affected by it, and for
seventeen weeks the men were out of employment, and their families
suffering the severest hardship. On this question he expressed
himself at a later date most forcibly in these words:--'I do not know
anything to a patriotic mind more terrible for the country, and bad
for it, than anything in the shape of strikes--those industrial wars
which the country has witnessed and which had been an evil thing in
every way. I know it will be said that I am a man of war, and that I
love war, and all that sort of thing. Never was there a greater
fable. Though I have never had to stand on a great European field of
battle, I have seen too much of war in all its horrible aspects not
to hate it in every sense of the word. In the same way with those
industrial wars, there is nothing more deplorable and nothing which
has tended more to unhappy homes, and all the consequences thereof.'
But the Niddrie miners were in sore straits, and a deputation of them
went to the Colonel to lay their case before him, and they did not
appeal in vain. He told them very plainly he had no sympathy
whatever with the strike; 'but man, Tam,' addressing the leader of
the deputation, 'I would rather do anything than see the women and
weans starving,' and there and then he promised to give one pound
daily to keep the soup-kitchen going, so that they might at least
have one good meal a day. Not only so, but as long as the strike
lasted, vegetables in abundance were supplied from the Niddrie House
gardens.
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[Sidenote: The country gentleman]
In New Craighall there is a large reading-room and bagatelle-room.
Many years ago the building was erected by the Wauchope family for a
school, and was used as such up till 1896, when it was superseded by
the large school erected by the Board at Niddrie Mill. Niddrie
bowling-green, gifted to the villagers lately by Sir Charles
Dalrymple, has been a great boon to the men; and Colonel Wauchope
contributed largely to the expense connected with its formation. A
bleaching-green in the centre of the village--part of it fenced off
for football; the local football club; the local brass band--these
were all objects of his liberality. Was a site for a church or a
chapel wanted, it was given ungrudgingly, and his grounds were thrown
open for Sunday-school excursions and picnics during the summer
months. In cases of accident to any of the miners, he had an
ambulance waggon ready at the collieries, and in many other ways he
indicated his interest in the villagers.
Similar instances of generosity among the people of Town and Kirk
Yetholm--where the other family estate is situated--made him, we are
told, the 'admired of all admirers.' There he bestowed large
monetary help in providing better water supply and sanitary
requirements for these villages. In Yetholm district he was an
open-handed benefactor, and will probably be longer remembered as
such than for his warlike achievements. And all this kindness was
done without ostentation. It was the outcome of a noble and generous
disposition. 'No man is truly great who is not gentle,' it has been
wisely remarked, for a gentleman must be kind and considerate for
others; and though the work of a soldier is to fight, and if need be
to kill, he is all the stronger in his hour of struggle against the
enemy that he carries within him a gentle heart.
{138}
Colonel Wauchope's heart was in the right place, and his influence
was consequently far-reaching. It is told of him that one day he had
as a companion in a country walk an ex-brother officer, not very
popular among the private soldiers. As they sauntered along, they
forgathered with a big boisterous bully who had been drummed out of
his regiment, taking with him a rankling ill-will against this
officer. He gave vent to his wrath against the Colonel's companion,
and threatened that he would 'do' for him, showing at the same time
every disposition to carry his threat into effect; but Wauchope
promptly stepped between the two, when the rowdy somewhat changed his
manner, saying, 'Captain, I would not lift a hand against so gallant
an officer as you; it is lucky for Mr. ---- that you are with him,'
whereupon the Colonel lectured him upon the impropriety of his
conduct, and with sundry other good advices parted from him by
leaving a silver coin in his hand. This was too much for the man,
and he burst into tears.
Nor was he above doing a kindly action, even though asked in not the
most polite fashion. Once he happened to be visiting his friend Sir
Charles Dalrymple, at Newhailes, dressed in plain rustic costume. He
had scarcely entered the grounds, and closed the gate behind him,
when he heard a shrill voice calling out, 'Hae, man! come and open
the gate, will ye?' Looking round, Colonel Wauchope descried two
fish-women with their creels on their backs, vainly endeavouring to
effect an entrance. On the request being repeated, he at once turned
back, politely opened the gate, and walked on! They had taken him
for one of the workmen, and were rather disconcerted when they
afterwards discovered who had been acting the part of porter for them.
{139}
Such acts of courtesy came natural to Colonel Wauchope: they were not
put on for occasion. Whether in openhanded generosity and
hospitality, or in the mere opening of a gate, he exemplified
Emerson's idea of what a gentleman should be. As that writer
expresses it, 'When I view the fine gentleman with regard to his
manners, methinks I see him modest without bashfulness; frank and
affable without impertinence; obliging and complaisant without
servility; cheerful and in good humour without noise. These amiable
qualities are not easily obtained, neither are there many men that
have a faculty to excel this way. A finished gentleman is perhaps
the most uncommon of all the characters in life.'
[Sidenote: The miners' strike]
Colonel Wauchope stood well by the miners through their long enforced
idleness, with all its concomitant troubles, and when the time of
distress was at last over and the pits had resumed work, the men
determined to show their appreciation of his conduct by a public
recognition of their esteem. On the 3rd May 1895, a large gathering
took place in the New Craighall schoolroom, presided over by the
manager of the works, when an illuminated address expressive of their
gratitude, affection, and admiration, was presented to him in a
silver-mounted casket. That he valued such an expression of
affection from 'his own people,' as he liked to call them, goes
without saying. In acknowledging the gift he said: 'This address
will stand foremost among our household gods. On the face of it is a
view of the old house of Niddrie, where for centuries my forefathers
have lived before me. I will say that in distant lands and in
moments of danger, my thoughts have always been of my old home and
the people of Niddrie and this neighbourhood. And as to my poor
services, I feel proud when they are brought to the {140} notice of
my own people in my own country. And you may depend, that when the
hour of danger is, if there is one thing that supports me in that
hour, it is the knowledge that those at home are thinking about me,
and should I fall, that their thoughts would be kindly towards me
when I am no more.' Referring to a passage in the address that spoke
of his relationship as owner of the soil to his dependants being ever
of a kindly nature, he said: 'I would be no man at all if I were not
pleased to hear that.' Then as for the unfortunate strike some
months ago: 'I knew there were difficulties, and I stepped forward in
a small way to try and help my countrymen and women. As for strikes,
I don't like them. They are not good for our pockets, they are not
good for our tempers, and they are unfortunate in every respect. It
is an ill wind that blows nobody good, however, and that strike has
done this good for me--it has given me this presentation, which shall
for ever be valued. The strike will also have done good to the
community, inasmuch as it has shown that when difficulties are around
us, and trials and tribulations come, we can stand shoulder to
shoulder.' After a graceful allusion to Mrs. Wauchope as one
desirous of doing her duty, and who in the address had been called
his 'Gentle Consort,' the Colonel concluded amid great applause by
thanking them all for the great kindness which had prompted such a
meeting.
It does one good in these times, when capital and labour are too
often in antagonism, to find such cordiality of affection and
identity of interest.
[Sidenote: Departure from Edinburgh]
After three years' residence in Edinburgh Castle, the and Battalion
of the Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) received orders in the autumn
of 1896 to take up their quarters in the city of York, and
accordingly on 26th {141} September they left Edinburgh, where they
had so long enjoyed the esteem of the citizens for their excellence
of conduct. Colonel Wauchope and his gallant Highlanders paraded at
seven in the morning at the Castle Esplanade, and although one
hundred and seventy of the regiment were at the time at Ballater as a
guard of honour to Her Majesty, the muster was five hundred and fifty
strong. It spoke volumes for their discipline and good conduct, that
Colonel Wauchope was able to say as the regiment was addressed before
their departure, that 'there was not a single absentee from parade,
nor yet a prisoner.'
The Black Watch were garrisoned in York for the following eighteen
months, and both officers and men gained for themselves in that
ancient cathedral city much popular favour. Effective discipline and
systematic drill were never relaxed, and what they might lose in ease
or pleasure was compensated by admirable efficiency.
In the Sussex military manoeuvres of August and September 1897,
Colonel Wauchope with a brigade of the Black Watch went from York to
take a part in the proceedings. Joining the force of General
Burnett, which had fallen back from Waltham, and had bivouacked
overnight near Arundel, Wauchope's timely reinforcement enabled him
to retrace his steps westwards. Passing through the ducal Arundel
Park, he struck across Houghton Forest, deploying his battalions as
the area of conflict neared, and encountered the opposing force under
General Gosset, when some smart skirmishing (continued for several
days) took place at Burton Down, Dignor Hill, and Bury Hill. The
attempt to drive Burnett and Wauchope back over the river Arun,
though gallantly attempted, was ultimately declared by the umpires to
have {142} failed. Wauchope and his brigade were reported as having
done splendidly.
[Illustration: GENERAL WAUCHOPE. _From a Photograph by arrangement
with Mr Thomas Kemp, Dalkeith._]
In such exercises Wauchope was an adept. In military science he made
it a point to be thoroughly conversant not only with the details of
drill, but in general strategy, to be able to grip a given situation
with comprehensive tact. A born soldier, he instinctively realised
what was the right thing to do and the right time to attempt it. Nor
was he the man to ask his men to do anything that he would not
himself do, or take a part in. When in Edinburgh Castle it was his
habit, in order to keep the regiment up to the fighting standard of
physical endurance, to march them out a nine or ten miles round of
country, and that in all sorts of weather; sunshine or rain
apparently made no difference. Frequently have we seen him swinging
along at the head of his men, sometimes on horseback, but more often
on foot, over roads inches deep with mud. Like most favourite
officers, he had his pet name. As we have already said, the name by
which he was familiarly known in the Black Watch was 'Red Mick.' One
day the regiment had been ordered out for a march, and in passing a
group of the men the Colonel happened to overhear one of them say,
'Red Mick will be going to ride to-day.' The regiment was in due
time drawn up on parade, and addressed by their commander as to the
order of march; then looking the man who had made the remark straight
in the face, he finished up by saying, 'but to-day Red Mick will
walk!'
[Sidenote: Military life at York]
While the regiment was in York, Wauchope took a deep interest in the
benevolent institutions of the city, and specially in the Scotch
community. He was the President of the St. Andrew's Society, which,
through his active interest in its affairs, greatly increased in
numbers and {143} influence. 'He always,' says one who knew him
there, 'let it be known that he was a Scotsman, and was proud of his
country. The stirring speeches that he made before the St. Andrew's
Society are still remembered with delight; and as an evidence of the
regard in which his memory is still held there, that Society is about
to erect a tablet in the Presbyterian church to the memory of the
officers and men of the Black Watch who have since fallen in battle.'
It was noticed also that the same chivalrous feeling of relationship
existed between him and his men as existed formerly between a
Highland chief and his clan. His interest in them and their families
was ever showing itself in kindly visits to the married quarters of
the barracks, in order to look after the welfare of the women and
children, so as to increase their comfort. Fêtes and social meetings
were not unfrequent, and at Christmas time it was his custom to have
a well-laden Christmas tree, on which were suitable presents for the
children, while the mothers had welcome little gifts of money
distributed to them. All this, says the Rev. Alexander Stirling,
minister of the Presbyterian church, York, was at his own private
expense, and must have cost him not less than £50 on each occasion.
In spite of the attractive splendours of a grand cathedral, Colonel
Wauchope preferred to worship according to his accustomed manner in
the simpler form of the Presbyterian church. There, too, by his
arrangement, the regiment worshipped in force, and he always insisted
upon a full complement of officers accompanying the men. Not only
so, but, as Mr. Stirling informs us, Mrs. Wauchope and the officers
of the Black Watch were in many ways helpful to him and his
congregation, taking a part in much of their church work, and showing
their loyalty to their Presbyterian principles in many ways.
{144}
In July 1898, Colonel Wauchope was selected by Lord Wolseley to
command a brigade in the expedition then being organised under
General (now Lord) Kitchener for the reconquest of the Soudan. The
42nd regiment was not ordered out for this service, and so the time
had come when, after thirty-three years of close connection with them
both in peace and in war, that connection must for a time be broken.
One of his brother officers, writing afterwards of that period and
the grief that was in every heart over the prospect of losing him,
says: 'The send-off he received at York when he left will never be
effaced from the memory of those who took part in it. I have never
seen Scotch soldiers exhibit any such emotion, or give way so
thoroughly to their feelings. They knew whom they were losing; they
realised their loss, and gave vent accordingly.'
At the same time, the circumstances, if touching, were not without a
dash of the ludicrous; but they show how warmly attached the Black
Watch were to one who from the rank of subaltern had risen steadily
to be their colonel, and was now to leave them for the command of a
brigade. Many a man among them wished he had the chance to accompany
him.
[Sidenote: Send-off from York]
The regiment was at the time camped out for summer quarters at
Strensall camp, about five miles from York. On the evening of a hot
July day, when Colonel Wauchope was to leave for the Soudan, there
was an open mess among the officers, and the health and prosperity of
their departing colonel was enthusiastically drunk. It was arranged
that he was to go south by the midnight train at York, and as the
evening hours sped on, the regiment as usual retired to their tents
to rest for the night, after tuck of drum. They did not, however,
retire to {145} sleep, for no sooner were the wheels of the Colonel's
carriage heard than there was a general move. It was a little after
twelve o'clock, and the men were stripped and in bed. But in an
instant every tent was astir, and like a swarm of bees the whole
regiment broke loose. Every tent belched forth its quota of excited
men, and without taking time to dress they had surrounded the
carriage, cheering, and enthusiastically shaking hands with their
departing chief. Many of them, with only their nightshirts on, ran
after the carriage a considerable distance, still cheering as they
went along! It was such a send-off as few officers ever experienced.
It is a striking testimony to the impression made during these two
years upon the community of the city of York by this good Scotsman
and his regiment, that at the unveiling of a handsome marble memorial
in the Presbyterian Church, Prior Street, on the 26th November 1900,
all classes were represented, and the Dean of York gave expression to
the thoughts of many when he said that, although he never saw General
Wauchope until he came to York, and during his residence there with
his regiment it was not very often they met, 'yet there was in some
characters a sort of magnetic attraction so that one felt at once
drawn to them because they were sterling material, true metal. It
would be impossible to be in General Wauchope's company, and be
associated in any way with him, or to hear very much about him,
without feeling that he was not only a soldier of the Crown but
eminently a soldier of the Cross. It was right that his memory
should be perpetuated in York, it was right that it should be
perpetuated in that house of God which he specially identified
himself with, and which specially belonged to his nationality.'
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