THE CLAN MACRAE WITH ITS ROLLS OF HONOUR AND OF SERVICE IN THE GREAT WAR JAN 6195Ö THE CLAN MACRAE WITH ITS ROLLS OF HONOUR AND OF SERVICE IN THE GREAT WAR DATE MICROFILMED MAY 2 0 1985 \vm# LL PROJECROLLT # an d CALG.SL. # XLIBfrlO^ n 994065 COMPILED BY ELLA MACRAE-GILSTRAP OF EILEAN DONAN AND BALLIMORE GENEALOGICAL SOCiÉT* OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CftRlSI OP LATTER-OA.Y WJMT* , £8780 ABERDEEN: AT THE ROSEMOUNT PRESS M-CM -XXIII ©eeícaféb to fØe (Jttemorg of fØe (Qtén of ih Cfctn wøo gave f(Mr £tt>eø ín føe tëreaf War. " feííífe waf ge wfla'ø cotnín', a' t$t wífï» (gtacQRaø are comínV' " Of a' fØe ^íefan' Cfanø (gtacHaB te moøi feroctouø, ercepf f 0e Otac^nfgreø, í%t (BtacQRaø, anb f$e (PacdtinfoøØeø." FOREWORD WHEN the life of a people is perfectly sound and wholesome, one of the chief sources of their inspiration, for the manly and honourable conduct of life, is what is best in the achievements and traditions of their fathers. The epic poet sets forth those achievements and traditions in an idealized light, and makes them beautiful and attractive for the imitation of the worthier type of youth, to whom a noble and honourable life is thus made to appeal as the right thing to strive for. But the bare, dry facts of history may also speak with a message, equally clear and inspiring, to him who is gifted with sufficient imagination to see them in their true significance. The Roll of Honour recorded on the War Memorial, which is now so prominent a feature of almost every village and parish through­ out the King's dominions, consists usually of nothing more than a bare list of names. To the stranger passing by such a list conveys little or no meaning, but to those who see the names of their loved ones there en­ shrined, it speaks with pathetic though silent eloquence, for to some one or other every name may be the name not only of a loved and lost one, but possibly of the hero of some deed or story that will grow more and more interesting and inspiring as the years pass by, and the halo of romance gradually gathers around it. " Tlie brave Die never. Being deathless they but change Their country's arms, for more, their country's heart." in this book we have before us a Roll of Honour and of Service of the Clan MacRae. The MacRaes, whose homeland was in the parishes of Kintail and Glenshiel, under the chiefship of the great Earls of Seaforth, have always been regarded as one of the minor clans. Nevertheless, their name in the various forms in which it appears now in all parts of the British Empire and the United States of America has provided 3,624 men and women who answered the call of FOREWORD duty and honour, of whom 423 men laid down their lives for their King and country. This Roll has been compiled by Mrs. MacRae- Gilstrap of Eilean Donan, and may well be described as a work of love. It could be done in such completeness only by the most careful examina­ tion from day to day of all the long lists appearing in the London Gazette and the daily press, supplemented, no doubt, in many cases by private inquiries, and nothing but a real and whole-hearted devotion to the fame and honour of the clan of her adoption could enable her to maintain the patient watchfulness and perseverance necessary to continue such an undertaking for the four long years of anxious and agonizing tension through which our country was then passing, and of which she herself, like many another brave and noble woman, had to endure her own share. For this work, so carefully and so completely accomplished, all members and connections of the clan owe Mrs. MacRae-Gilstrap a deep and lasting debt of gratitude. The memory of those who achieved the victory for us in the greatest war in which we have ever been engaged, will surely not be readily allowed to perish, and in days that are now far off in the dim and distant future, worthy men and women will point with justifiable and uplifting pride to the name of some ancestor recorded on this Roll, which will still remain as a lasting memorial to the cherished memory of the gracious lady by whom it has been compiled with such care and reverence. SHEPHALL RECTORY, HERTS, 19th August, 1922. -^MJCft/KCKJY J1 XCULVOJL » viii PREFACE THIS volume is intended to be a permanent record of the part played by the Clan MacRae in the Great War, and also to be, to a certain extent, a history of the Clan. It has been compiled for the sake of the Clansmen and Clanswomen of the present day, in the hope that it will be handed on to those who come after them, so that they in turn may not be ignorant of their " goodly heritage." The existence of the book is entirely due to the zeal and enthusiasm of the compiler—Mrs. MacRae-Gilstrap of Eilean Donan, who has ex­ pended an incredible amount of time upon the Rolls of Honour and of Service. To her the Clan MacRae owes a deep debt of gratitude for having thus placed on record the noble services which were rendered to the Empire by its members, and which might otherwise have passed into oblivion. There are some regrettable points. It is unfortunate that the volume could not be published sooner, but the amount of detail which had to be gone into made this impossible. With regard to the portraits, it is disappointing that in some cases better results have not been obtained ; the very best, however, was made of the photographs which were received.' No effort has been spared to obtain complete and accurate information ; one can only regret that in the case of some individuals, and also in thé case of certain Government Offices, little or no assistance was given, this being true in particular with regard to the War Office. On the other hand, it is a pleasure to acknowledge the courteous assistance received from the Admiralty, from Record Offices at home and from those of Overseas Contingents, from Chief Constables, and from many others. When the printing of the volume was far advanced, further in­ formation was obtained which necessitated the addition of two Appendices. Appendix I contains the names of 109 MacRaes belonging to different Scottish Regiments. Appendix II is of very special interest and importance, and forms what may be called the PREFACE American Section of the Roll. It contains the Rolls of Honour and of Service of the MacRaes who served in the United States Navy and Army, transcribed from the Official Records of the United States through the courtesy of the Admiralty and of the Adjutant-General, and is thus a complete record of their names and services, and also gives many valuable details which deserve to find a permanent place in any account of the Clan. The Rolls give the names of 3,624 men and women who either served at sea, on land, or in the air, or did work of National im­ portance. The total is made up as follows :— BRITISH EMPIRE. Roll of Honour 423 Roll of Service (including Appendix I) . 2,364 2,787 UNITED STATES (Appendix II). Roll of Honour 18 Roll of Service ...... 819 837 3,624 The very great assistance rendered by Miss M. D. Allardyce in the preparation of the Rolls for the press has to be acknowledged, and also that of Mr. Theodore Watt, M.A., in the printing of the book. One is glad, too, to have this opportunity of thanking the Reverend Alexander Macrae (the Clan MacRae Historian) for the kindly assis­ tance he has afforded, and for writing the Foreword. In spite of the shortcomings and omissions of the Rolls, during its compilation links have been forged and friendships formed which, it is hoped, will foster the true Clan spirit. Incomplete though the Record may be, none the less it tells the story of many a heroic deed, typical not only of what actually was done, but of what, had opportunity occurred, would have been done by every member of the Clan MacRae. CONTENTS PAGE SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE CLAN 1 THE FIR CLUB MOSS—CLAN MACRAE'S BADGE 6 FEADAN DUBH CBTNTAILLE (BLACK CHANTER OF KINTAIL) 7 THE CLAN PIPE MUSIC 8 CUMHA CHEITHIR IAINEAN NA H-ALBA, LE COINNEACH MACRATH, AN AIRD-EILBH 9 LAMENT FOR THE FOUR JOHNS OF SCOTLAND, BY KENNETH MACRAE, ARDELVE . 12 THE CLAN MEMORIAL CAIRN ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF SHERIFFMUIR ... 15 EILEAN DONAN CASTLE (VERSES) 16 EILEAN DONAN CASTLE (HISTORICAL NOTE) 17 THE BRAVE MACRA—DUNCAN MCRA, ACTING CONSTABLE OF ELLANDONAN CASTLE, 1537 . 19 THE SCATTERED CHILDREN OF KINTAIL 23 LlEUT.-COLONEL JOHN MACRAE-GILSTRAP (NOTE ON HIS MILITARY SERVICE) . 24 11TH ROYAL HIGHLANDERS'SOUVENIR BOWL 25 MRS. MACRAE-GILSTRAP (NOTE ON HER WAR WORK) 26 ROLL OF HONOUR 29 ROLL OF SERVICE g5 ORDERS, DECORATIONS, MEDALS, ETC. ........ 165 THE CLAN WAR MEMORIALS 167 CONTENTS APPENDIX I—ROLL OF SERVICE—ADDITIONAL NAMES . APPENDIX II—THE CLAN IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA- ROLL OF HONOUR . ROLL OF SERVICE . INDEX OF REGIMENTS, ETC. INDEX OF NAMES .... xii ILLUSTRATIONS ARMS OF MACRAE OF CoNCHRA (COLOURED PLATE) .... Frontispiece STUART MACRAE OF CONCHRA Facing page yxv JOHN MACRAE-GILSTRAP OF EILEAN DONAN AND BALLIMORE . „1 PEDIGREE OF STUART MACRAE OF CONCHRA . Between pages 2 and 3 JAMES ALEXANDER FRANCIS HUMBERSTON STEWART-MACKENZIE, BARON SEAFORTHOFBRAHAN Facing page 5 THE BADGE OF THE CLAN (COLOURED PLATE) ...