General Wauchope

by F.S.A. Scot. William Baird

CHAPTER VIII

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 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.'

'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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.'

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 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.

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 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 failed. Wauchope and his brigade were reported as having done splendidly.

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!'

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 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.

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.

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 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.'