Grace Notes Newsletter of the Memphis Scottish Society, Inc.

Vol. 35 No. 6 • June 2019 President’s Letter

We will have a ceilidh potluck on the evening of June 15th at St. Luke Lutheran Church, 2000 Germantown Pkwy, Cordova. If you have a poem, song, or story let Sammy Rich know. We also plan to have tables to display hobbies. There are details later in the Grace Notes. I apologize that we were having a hiss in the sound system Memphis at the last couple of meetings. I have checked the equipment and Scottish found the cause, so this should be back to normal at the meeting. My manager wanted each of her group to make a presenta- Society, Inc. tion on any topic. Well, they got to see this month’s program. They seemed to enjoy it, and my manager had great comments, Board so I hope you do, too.

President John Schultz John Schultz 901-754-2419 [email protected] True Story As Told By Gavin Anderson Vice President Gavin was recently in Russellville, AR, to compete in the Russ- Sammy Rich Vegas Half Marathon, and he was dressed, as any self-respecting 901-496-2193 Scot would be, in kilt, hose, flashes, and even a sporran. While [email protected] he was waiting for the start of the race, not one, but two women Treasurer independently came up to him and asked if he was Scottish, to Debbie Sellmansberger which he replied, “Yes.” Each woman asked him the same ques- 901-465-4739 tion. Did Gavin play an instrument, which they didn’t know by [email protected] name but described it as a square box, hung across your chest, which you pulled open and then squeezed shut, and had piano- Secretary like keys up one side. Gavin was dumbfounded by what they Mary Clausi thought was the most common instrument associated with the 901-831-3844 Scots. He answered, “No, I don’t play an accordian!” [email protected] Members at Large Marcia Hayes 901-871-7565 [email protected] Kathy Schultz 901-754-2419 [email protected] June Meeting Program: Holly Staggs 901-215-4839 presented by John Schultz [email protected] “The S.S. Politician” See page 2 for further information

Tennessee Tartan. Created by the Heart of Tennessee Scottish Celebration as a State tartan. Passed by Tennessee Public Acts 1999, Chapter No.82, Senate Bill No. 73. The source of the tartan 2526 was: Bill Bickford of the Tennessee Tartan Committee. June Meeting Program “The S.S. Politician” Presented by John Schultz You will learn all about the true story of the S.S. Politician which ran aground on a thirsty Scottish is- land while carrying 50,000 cases of scotch. The incident was made into the movie, “Whisky Galore.”

(Notice to Program Presenters) John Schultz requests that if you plan to use his computer equipment for your presentation at the monthly meeting, please contact him at least a week before the meeting so he knows to bring his equipment and can work out any bugs ahead of time. His phone number is 901-754-2419.

Ceilidh 2019 Thanks to Sammy Rich M.S.S.I. is presenting our annual Ceilidh for the sheer pleasure and enjoyment of our members’ talents and hobbies. Many Ceilidhs in Scotland, particularly at the bothy and farmhouse of the land- owners, were impromptu, with dancing and singing until late into the night. Of course it helped if the landowner had a pretty daughter or two. So what is our Society providing? We are going to provide a ham, scotch eggs and cock-a-leekie soup. Listed below are the suggested donations for our other members to bring. If your last name be- gins with..., then bring… A-E: Desserts F-K: Drinks L-R: Sides and Salads S-Z: Breads That isn’t all we want you to bring. If you have a hobby you would like to share, we would love to learn a bit more about you. This is supposed to be fun, so we have to provide the energy for us to have a good time. We are not a dull lot, unless we don’t reach out and enjoy each other as fellow companions. Doors open: 3 to 9 pm; Set up: 4 to 5; Dinner: 6 to 7; Festivities; 7 to 8. If you can come early and help set up the tables and the chairs it is helpful. But don’t do it if you can’t have some fun with it. Why don’t we dress up in period costumes? I understand one of our members is bringing a very old loom and plans to demonstrate how it used to be done. This means we can call ourselves the Weavers.

Editorial Staff

Melissa Gibson Grace Notes Editor, (901-299-3170) [email protected] Grace Notes is the official publication of the Mem- phis Scottish Society, Inc. It is published monthly. George Malone Like the Society itself, the credo of Grace Notes is Publisher, (901) 385-1938 “to foster education and promote understanding [email protected] of things Scottish.” to foster education If you have something of interest to readers Gavin Anderson and promote understanding of this newsletter, please submit a typewritten Circulation Editor, (901-485-8270) of things Scottish manuscript to the editorial staff. If the article or [email protected] notice is very brief (30 words or fewer), e-mail

or just use the telephone. Grace Notes will accept Karen English and publish good quality photographs. Please address all correspondence to: Circulation Editor, (901-396-9134) The deadline for all submissions is the fourth Grace Notes [email protected] week of each month preceding the month of The Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. publication. Please include a self-addressed [email protected] stamped envelope with each submission, if you Submissions P. O. Box 770028 want the material returned. [email protected] Memphis, TN 38177-0028

2 The D-Day Piper Who the Nazis Thought Was Mad By Sue Reid for The Daily Mail on Sunday (updated 2010) Under the fire of Nazi guns and wading He stood at the front of the landing craft pip- through a sea turning crimson with the blood of ing The Road To The Isles. When the commandos fallen colleagues, Bill Millin struggled towards the were just off the Isle of Wight, they met thousands Normandy sands. of other boats and ships carrying troops. “They Waist deep in water, he led the commandos of heard the pipes, and they were throwing the 1st Special Service Brigade on to the beach as their hats in the air and cheering,” he remembered. they fought to their deaths on the most famous He only stopped playing because the waves day of World War II. had become choppy and he was losing his balance. Amid the clatter of battle and dreadful cries of He continued, “After we left the Solent and were the injured, Millin only just caught the five words out in the Channel, the hatches on the landing that turned him into a hero. “Give us Highland craft were put down and we were very cramped. Laddie man!” shouted Lord Lovat, the charismat- “There were some people playing cards, but ic Chief of Clan Fraser and Brigadier of the 2,500 most were violently sick, including myself. The commandos, who was determined to put some next morning I pushed open the hatch and looked backbone into his invading forces. out at a grey dawn. The wind was blowing and Obediently, 21-year-old Millin, Lovatt’s per- freezing sonal piper, put the mouthpiece of his bagpipes to “Then after another half an hour people were his lips, ignored the carnage and thundering crash starting to get gear together, their rucksacks on of gunfire - and played as he had never played be- and were making towards the front of the craft. fore. We could see the mist of the French shoreline and It was 8:40 on June 6 1944, the morning of the neat bungalows along the seafront.” D-Day. In the largest amphibious assault ever The only weapon Bill carried on D-Day was a mounted, 150,000 troops from Britain, America small dagger tucked into his sock and Canada were landing along a 60-mile stretch Bill continued, “Everyone was checking their of the Normandy coastline. kit, and putting their kit on. I didn’t think of being D-Day was the turning point in the Allies’ shot, how many Germans there were or anything battle against Hitler. And the name of Bill Millin other than the smell of seasickness on me. We all is intrinsically linked with the events of that early got up on deck and we stood in the freezing wind summer’s day. He is a remind- watching the shoreline. Then the order came to get er of the bravery and sacrifice ashore and I was very pleased.” of ordinary soldiers as they Lord Lovat, 32, jumped into the water first. fought to protect this nation Because Lovat was over 6ft tall, Bill waited to see from the Nazis. He will live what depth it was before going in. He said: “My forever in the annals of history. kilt floated to the surface and the shock of the The playing of the pipes freezing cold water knocked all feelings of sick- lifted the spirits of hard- ness from me.” pressed British troops, and Within seconds the commandos were being dumbfounded the German de- struck down by German mortar shells and ma- fenders. chine-gun fire. One commando was killed as Lo- The long stretch of sand vat got into the sea, his body floating up by Bill as where his haunting music he made for the shore. stirred his fellow soldiers into Millin in 1944 Yet Lovat asked Bill to play again. He nearly battle near the French town of Ouistreham was refused. “Well, when I looked round - the noise code-named Sword, while the other four beaches and people lying about on the ground, the shout- to the west were Omaha, Gold, Utah and Juno. ing and the smoke, the crump of mortars,” he said By the time Millin landed, it had already been later, “I said to myself, ‘Well, you must be joking, a tumultuous journey across the Channel. “I had surely.’” my pipes with me as we set off from England the But Lovat insisted, and Bill said, “Well, what night before,” he explained later. “I had been play- tune would you like, Sir?” ing to the troops waiting to board the landing craft “How about Highland Laddie and The Road To as we went along the Hamble river, and then I put The Isles?” said Lovat, telling him to walk up and them back in the box.’” down the beach as he played. “Lord Lovat said, ‘You better get them out again because you can play us out of the Solent and into the Channel. You will be in the leading Continued on Page 4 craft with me.’” 3 The D-Day Piper Continued from Page 3 Bill could see soldiers lying face down in the gun him down. He couldn’t have been more con- water as he played. “Troops to my left were trying spicuous in full Highland dress and with blaring to dig in just off the beach,” he recalled. “Yet when bagpipes. they heard the pipes, some of them stopped what Pipers were banned in conflict zones after they were doing and waved their arms, cheering.” World War I because so many died. Lovat’s orders Lovat’s commandos were heavily machine- for Bill to play on D-Day breached all Army rules. gunned and mortared, but had a vital objective [When Bill called attention to the regulation, Lord and pressed on. They had orders to link up with Lovat responded, saying, “That regulation is from the British 6th Airborne division and keep secure a the English War Department. We are Scots, so it strategically vital bridge over the Caen Canal three doesn’t apply.”] miles down a road full of German snipers beyond It would take Bill more than 40 years to find out . why he survived. He said: “I met a German com- The airborne division had captured the bridge mander at a D-Day reunion and asked why they in the early hours that day in an assault later im- hadn’t shot me. mortalised in the classic film The Longest Day, in “The commander just which the part of Millin was played by Pipe Ma- tapped his head and said jor Leslie de Laspee, the official piper to the Queen ‘We thought you were a Mother. ‘Dummkopf‘, or off your Throughout that morning, the airborne divi- head. Why waste bullets on a sion had to repel repeated counter-attacks at Pega- Dummkopf?” sus, which was surrounded by Panzer divisions. The French awarded Mil- And by early afternoon, the jaded British troops lin their Croix d’Honneur, were urgently needing help from Lovat and his and in 2013, they unveiled commandos. a statue to him close to the Suddenly, at 1 pm, there was the sound of bag- beach where he marched pipes. With Bill Millin playing Lovat’s favourite ashore on Sword Beach - the tune Blue Bonnets Over The Border, the commandos most eastern of the beaches marched into view. despite heavy German fire, picked by the Allies for the as the red berets of the airborne division and the invasion. green berets of the commandos mingled there was In 2006, a Devon folk sing- a lightening of spirits. er, Sheelagh Allen, wrote a Major Howard approached Lovat. Holding out song about him, The Highland his hand, he said: “We are very pleased to see you, Piper. old boy.” Lovat responded: “Yes, and sorry we are two and a-half minutes late.” Millin at the 35th The commandos went over the bridge to con- Anniversary of D-Day front the Germans - with Bill Millin playing his pipes as brave as a lion leading the way. “Not once did I think I was going to die,” Millin died in hospital in said Bill afterwards. “I was too busy playing. We Torbay on 17 August 2010 at had been attacked by snipers once we left Sword age 88. Beach, particularly from cornfields on the right of One set of Millin’s bagpipes are exhibited at the the road. At one point I glanced round, stopped Memorial Museum of in Ranville, playing and everyone was face down on the road. France. even Lovat was on one knee. Then the next thing Another set of his bagpipes are now displayed this sniper comes scrambling down from a tree at Dawlish Museum. Millin presented his pipes and Lovat and our group dash forward. to Dawlish Mu- “We could see this sniper’s head bobbing about seum prior to in the cornfield. Lovat shot at him and he fell. Lo- the 60th anni- vat sent two men into the cornfield to see what had versary of the D- happened, and they brought back the dead body.” Day Landings in remarkably, the only weapon Bill carried that 2004, along with long day was a Scottish dirk in his sock. He sur- his kilt, bonnet vived unscathed The Germans put a hole in his and dirk. These bagpipes with shrapnel. So he just pulled a spare items are still set out of his rucksack. shown at the The great mystery is why the Germans didn’t museum library. 4 THE HISTORICAL USE OF THE TERM “SCOTCH-IRISH” Scottish America (Facebook), By Michael C. Scoggins, York County Historical Center If you’ve ever corrected someone (like me) for Irish. The Pennsylvania Gazette in 1756 mentioned having said “Scotch-Irish”, READ THIS & learn! “some Scotch-Irish kill’d” by Indians on the Penn- As far back as the fourth century AD, the Ro- sylvania frontier. Further south, Governor Arthur mans used the word “Scots” (Latin: Scotti) to des- Dobbs of North Carolina, an immigrant from Ul- ignate the inhabitants of Ireland. In the early sixth ster himself, wrote of seventy-five families “from century, Scots from the province of Ulster in north- Pennsylvania of what we call Scotch-Irish Presby- ern Ireland began settling in northern Britain, and terians” who settled in his colony in 1755. In the late this area of Britain eventually came to be known 1760’s, the Anglican minister Charles Woodmason as “Scotland”. The adjective “Scotch” has been preached among “Scotch-Irish Presbyterians from used since the Middle Ages to refer to the inhabit- the North of Ireland” who were living in the South ants of Scotland and their language. According to Carolina backcountry. And in 1772, a newspaper Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary “Scotch” is a na- advertisement in the “Virginia Gazette” reported a tive contraction of the word “Scottish”, and has the runaway African slave named Jack who “speaks in same meaning. The use of the name “Scotch-Irish” the Scotch-Irish dialect”. is documented as far back as 1573, when Queen In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Elizabeth I employed it to describe Highland Scots American historians and geographers almost uni- who were migrating back to Ulster. In the seven- versally employed the term “Scotch-Irish” to refer teenth century, King James I of Great Britain be- to the Ulster Scots who colonized America. The gan settling Protestants from Lowland Scotland 1956 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana used and northern England in the Ulster province of the term no less than eleven times when referring northern Ireland, and the term “Scotch-Irish” be- to the early settlers of Pennsylvania, Virginia and gan to be used to describe these settlers. The term the Carolinas. The term “Scotch-Irish” has also is chiefly a geographical description and refers to been used by modern Irish historians. William F. Scots who settled in northern Ireland, since for the Marshall, a native of Ulster, used “Scotch-Irish” most part the Protestant Scottish settlers in Ulster throughout his 1943 book Ulster Sails West, along- did not mix with the native Catholic Irish. The re- side such terms as “Ulster-Irish” and “Ulstermen” spected English historian G. M. Trevelyan of Cam- and R. J. Dickson of County Tyrone, Northern Ire- bridge, in his 1926 History of England, referred to land employed it in his 1966 work Ulster Emigra- this settlement as the “English and Scotch colony tion to Colonial America 1718-1775. in Ulster”. In 1675, the Latin term Scoto-Hyberni- In the late twentieth century, a movement was cus, meaning literally “Scotch-Irish,” was used by launched to abolish the use of the historical term the University of Glasgow in Scotland to describe “Scotch-Irish” and replace it with “Scots-Irish,” a Presbyterian divinity students from Ireland, in- word that has been touted as more accurate and cluding Francis Makemie, who went on to become respectable. One of the champions of this move- the father of the Presbyterian church in America. ment, Billy Kennedy of Northern Ireland, states in However, the term “Scotch-Irish” did not be- his book The Scots-Irish in the Hills of Tennessee: come widely popular in Great Britain or Ireland, “Scots-Irish is the modern term used to describe the where names like “Ulster Scots” and “Scoto-Irish” people who settled in the American frontier in the 100 were more frequently used by scholars. The name years from about 1717. Some in the United States today would probably have been a historical footnote refer to the “Scotch-Irish”, but this term now causes of- had it not been adopted by the Ulster Scots who fence to many of the Scots-Irish tradition in Britain and migrated from northern Ireland to North America America where “Scotch” is looked upon as an alcoholic in the eighteenth century. The English colonists in spirit. In Northern Ireland the designation Ulster-Scot America generally referred to these Ulster Scots is very widely used by the Presbyterian descendants of simply as “Irish,” so the newcomers adopted the the early frontier settlers. Nevertheless, for all the sen- term “Scotch-Irish” to distinguish themselves from sitivities it still touches upon, the term “Scotch-Irish” the native Irish. In 1723, two different Anglican has an historical reality and utility. The form “Scotch- ministers in Delaware stated that the settlers from Irish” would have been used in the vernacular, as northern Ireland referred to themselves as “Scotch- “Scotch” was the proper idiom until the 20th century Irish,” and in 1730 James Logan, secretary to the for both language and people.” Penn family, stated that the term was also used by Taking offense to the term “Scotch” because it settlers in Pennsylvania. In 1737, the editor of the happens to be a type of whiskey makes no more Virginia Gazette referred to several ships “from sense than taking offense to the terms “Irish” or the North of Ireland, and from Holland [that] have “Canadian”. There is no escaping the conclusion brought a great Number of Irish, Scotch-Irish, and that “Scotch-Irish” is a historically accurate and Palatines, Passengers”. Here we clearly see the viable name for the early American settlers from native Irish being differentiated from the Scotch- Northern Ireland and their modern descendants. 5 Archaeological dig of early whisky distillery in the Cabrach BBC News, 10 April 2019

Archaeologists have begun excavating one of had set up barricades all around Aberdeen. My Scotland’s earliest legal whisky distilleries. Black- great, great uncle hired a horse-drawn hearse and middens was one of the first small-scale whisky loaded the coffin with whisky. When he reached farms to be granted a license to produce the drink the excisemen, they all took off their hats as a following the Excise Act of 1823. Its ruins are in mark of respect for the dead, and the whisky went the Cabrach, on the border between Moray and through.” Aberdeenshire. The dig aims to record the “char- Blackmiddens would have had a small 180 li- acter and extent” of the distillery and its relation- tre (40 gallon) still compared to whisky stills today ship with an adjacent ruined farm steading. which hold many thousands of litres. Whisky pro- duction at the farm stopped just eight years after it began and the site fell into ruin.

Thanks to John Schultz

Old Bra Helps Cow With Calf to Avoid Mastitis By Steven McKenzie BBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter, 11 May 2018 Blackmiddens Farm An old bra has been put to use in an effort to help a cow to avoid its udders becoming inflamed The Cabrach Trust is leading the dig with sup- by a condition called mastitis. A farming couple port from Forestry and Land Scotland and Historic in Easter Ross in the Highlands came up with the Environment Scotland. The trust was established idea. The cow’s calf was feeding from the front to preserve the history of an area notorious for il- quarter of its udders, but not the back quarter legal whisky distillation and smuggling before the which was filling with milk and becoming sore. introduction of the Excise Act. The bra can be used to cover either quarter to re- Anna Brennand, chief executive of the Ca- lieve the pressure on them. brach Trust, said the area was a place of “many A friend of the couple, fellow farmer Donald secrets”. She added, “For decades local farmers Ross, has been sharing an image of the set-up. He secretly distilled whisky and smuggled it away said, “I like to share new ideas among the farming under the noses of excisemen. Then, when the law community.” There is also a light side to it too. In was changed to make small-scale whisky produc- Scotland, we’ve just come through a hard winter tion profitable, Blackmiddens was one of the first but we’ve retained our sense of humour through farms to take advantage of this.” that.“ Mr. Ross added, “Using the bra is a tech- nique that has been done in the interests of the White stallion cow’s welfare. The fabric is soft and has been fit- ted using an elasticized band. The udders could Ancestors of local resident Joan Harvey were be milked by hand, of course, to relieve the pres- involved in smuggling illicit whisky to Aberdeen sure. But there is the risk of this causing the cow before the legal distillery was set up. The 66-year- further discomfort, and it kicking out and injuring old, whose ancestors farmed at Blackmiddens, the person milking it.” which lies between Rhynie and Dufftown, said: “I was always told that my great, great uncle was the head of the gang at the time.” Stories about their adventures were passed down my family. “Appar- ently my great, great grandfather had a white stal- lion and when the excisemen were billeted locally he would ride his white horse, alerting everyone that the excisemen were there so that the whisky smugglers could go to ground.” She added: “I was also told that, one time, the excisemen were trying to catch the smugglers and 6 Calendar of Events Mondays MSSI Scottish Country Dancers Wolf River Pipes & Drums, 7:00 pm at Riveroaks Reformed 6:00-9:30 Contact: Band Mgr, Presbyterian Church 1665 S. Germantown Road Kenny Hiner: 494-4902 for info. [email protected] Monday, June 10 MSSI Monthly Meeting Saturdays 7:00 pm, at Jason’s Deli, Memphis Phoenix Pipe Band Poplar/Highland. Program: 9:00-12:00 - St. Luke Lutheran Church “The S.S. Politician”, presented 2000 Germantown Pkwy by John Schultz Rick Clausi: 831-3843 for info. Thursdays Monday, June 10 Board Meeting Jason’s Deli, after the regular membership meeting. Scottish - Celtic Radio Shows

Sundays, 6-7 p.m. “The Thistle and Shamrock” WKNO-FM 91.1

Sat, 10 a.m.-1p.m. “Strands of the Celtic Knot” Robert Campbell, host WEVL–FM 89.9

Sun and Mon, 6 p.m. and Fridays, 7 p.m. June 09: Raise Your Voice “The Thistle & Shamrock,” WMAV–FM 90.3 While solo singing is revered in grditional singng circles, layers of harmony and massed voices create stunning arrangements of traditional folk songs. Program Note: Don’t worry. “Thistle and Sham- rock” is still on air at WKNO on Fiona Ritchie Sunday nights, but no program synopsis has been published past June 9th. A representative at WKNO said he wasn’t aware of any change in programming. Hopefully, Fiona will resume her synopses, but in the meantime, you just have to tune in and be surprised! George Malone

7 Royal Mint Honors Sherlock Holmes Scottish Life, Spring 2019

While Arthur Conan Doyle was studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, he met Pro- fessor Joseph Bell, a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Ed- inburgh. Dr. Bell’s attention to the smallest details when diagnosing a patient served as the inspiration for Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes character. (See Grace Notes, March 2019.) This year, the Royal Mint will be marking the 160th birthday of Conan Doyle by releasing a 50 pence Sherlock Homes coin, likely to be prized by collectors.

Next Monthly Meeting - Monday, June 10, 2019 at 7:00 pm Jason’s Deli - Poplar and Highland — Program: John Schultz presents “The S.S. Politician”.

MSSI Board Meeting - June 10, 2019 Jason’s Deli - Immediately after the monthly membership meeting.

GraceNotes

The Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. P. O. Box 770028 Memphis, TN 38177-0028

www.memphisscots.com