£ 0.70 The Upper Tweed Community News Issue 67 December 2014 Sarah LouiSe SacrificeS BroughTon Bonfire a roaring Success her hair for cancer chariTy Photo: Claudia Ferguson-Smyth Photo: Claudia Ferguson-Smyth Making iT happen Voluntary action, money and families and others attending made it all happen. The community raised £1,271.95 to support the splendid event. This came from contributions from donations collected from businesses and the general public Sarah Louise Grierson, who lives in together with contributions from the Upper Tweed Community Council, the Upper Springwell Brae, Broughton, recently Tweed Community News, the Parent Teachers Association, and a balance from the attended the Girls National Moto Cross previous freworks. Championships at Upton Court, Tenbury Wells, in Worcestershire with her elder Chris Lewin, Chairman, Upper Tweed Community Council writes: sister, Rebecca, to compete against all ‘On behalf of the Upper Tweed Community Council, I should like to thank everyone who helped girls in the UK. Sarah Louise came 5th to make Broughton’s bonfre and freworks display on 8th November such a great success Many overall in the 85cc Small Wheels class people did something to assist, whether as contributors to the cost, providers of refreshments, and her big sister was 6th. bonfre collectors and builders, marshals, frst-aiders, or helpers in other ways. Special thanks To top off the whole day, Sarah Louise must go to Christopher Lambton, who organised the spectacular freworks display. It was a real decided to shave off her hair for Cancer community effort, with everyone pulling together.’ Research and asked the UK Ladies Champion Natalie Kane to do the deed. ‘Murder’ in upper Tweed It looks suspicious. A body foating in the Tweed, police vans, white marquees, Sarah Louise raised the sum of £1,307.56 huddles of people conferring in the distance. What was going on for a week in and then donated her hair to the Little October? Princess Trust ( www.littleprincesses.org. uk) where it will be made into wigs for children with cancer. She would like to thank everyone who made donations that contributed to this amazing sum. The Upper Tweed Community News Film crew on location by the Tweed. Photo: Sandy Welsh. would also like to congratulate Sarah But all was not as deadly it seemed. It was a flm company, Touchpaper Television, Louise on her wonderful achievement. part of a large media company, Zodiac Media, flming a series called ‘Murder’ for BBC Two. They explained: ‘The flm has 3 episodes and they all share the same theme of a whodunit style crime story, although every episode is stand-alone and has a different cast and storyline. This series comes after the success of the pilot – which won a BAFTA award a few years ago. The episode that we were flming at the river is set in Peebles and has taken 14 days to shoot. We are also flming up at the old Wellington School, where we have set up a production base. We’ve also flmed in Edinburgh City Centre and the courts. Once we fnish flming this second episode, we will move on to flming the third and fnal episode, completing in early December. The Crook Inn car park was crowded for 5 days The series will be broadcast on BBC Two in 2015, although we do not have a broadcast during flming. date yet’. This issue is sponsored by THe Orchard & Biggar Flavour Page2 Upper Tweed Community News 1 Upper Tweed Community News 2 WW1: Dead Remembered In June 2014, the Upper Tweed Community News listed the men from our communities who died in the disastrous, tragic World War 1. Some families still live in our community. We will continue to feature some of these men over the next 4 years. Private JT Scott Bell Corporal Gavin Semple Private Thomas Tweedie Highland Light Infantry Lanarkshire Yeomanry RASC Motor Transport trans 1st/7th Royal Scots Scott Bell was a ploughman and son of Gavin was the son of James Semple, Thomas Tweedie was born in 1876 John and Mrs Bell, of Wrae Cottage in farmer at Pyatknowe and was educated at at Hearthstanes in Tweedsmuir and is Broughton. Biggar School. He is commemorated on commemorated on the Tweedsmuir the Broughton memorial. Memorial. He is commemorated on the Broughton war memorial - the only one listed He joined the Lanarkshire Yeomanry He trained as an engineer and was so keen with his initials “JT” rather than with a in 1913 and mobilised with them at the to go on active service that he did not wait Christian name. outbreak of war. After being stationed at for the opportunity to get a commission Cupar in Fife, he was sent to Gallipoli in and enlisted as a private in the Royal In November 1914, soon after the September 1915 and was killed in action Army Service Corps Motor Transport outbreak of war, he enlisted in the 8th on Christmas Eve 1915, aged 23. division. Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry but was transferred to the 1st/7th Royal His offcer wrote to his father. ‘Dear Sir, He was sent initially to Egypt and then to Scots. you will have learnt before this of the sad Salonica in northern Greece, where there He sailed from Devonport on 13th August news of the death of your son. It was was an Allied Expeditionary Force for 1915 for the Dardanelles and was killed caused by a shell bursting in the part of operations against pro-German Bulgaria. the trench where he was sitting. Death in action less than two months later, on He was invalided back home and died on was instantaneous and he suffered no 30th September 2015. 6th December 1916 at the age of forty. pain. The chaplain on board the HM Hospital Ship “Nevash” wrote to his parents saying He was one of the bravest and most that their son was brought on board very promising of our non commissioned badly wounded in the head and never offcers. His death leaves a blank which regained consciousness. it will be diffcult to fll. He was buried in the cemetary of the 52nd Division’. He was buried at sea about 10 miles west of Cape Hellas. When the fatal shell burst, a comrade said The tragedy for his parents did not end that he was reading one of Robert Burns’ there because his elder brother, John was poems, thinking of the old country . conTenTS pageS killed in action only nine moths later on World War 1: Dead Remembered 3 1st June 1916. The Church in the Community 4 The Ever-changing Crook Inn 5 A Short History of Polmood 6-7 Our attention was drawn to an excellent book by Dr Gunn, Book of Remembrance Elements of Garden Maintenance 7-8 for Tweeddale Burgh and Parish, published in Peebles in 1925. It provides short biographies together with photographs of those who died. Defbrillators & First Response 9 Noticeboard 10 We have used the photographs and the texts as sources for these articles.Additional Tweedsmuir Talk 11 information from families for future articles will be welcome. Bananas Playgroup 12 For anyone wishing to do their own research on their families it is available in an Windfarm photos impressive digitised version from The National Library of Scotland at https://archive.org/stream/bookofremembranc1925gunn#page/n9/mode/2up. Upper Tweed Community News 3 The church in The coMMuniTy oLd BroughTon, The Church is not just for Christmas but usual, we will be holding a variety of druMeLzier, Manor, SToBo services all over the parish. Posters will be we do it rather well!! and TweeedSMuir When we think of the church, it’s often going up soon advertising these events so the big building on top of the hill that we look out for them and please come along nn aTheSon think of but the church is so much more. to any that appeal. You and your family, a M . 2014. 56 pages. £9.00. The church is a group of believers coming of every age will be made very welcome. together to worship God in whatever way And remember, the church is not just for This book is more than a collection we can. Over the millennia traditions and Christmas, so if you would like to join of fascinating historic photographs customs have built up into the pattern of us for any of the regular Sunday services of Upper Tweed Communities. Each worship we have today. It might not be to (Tweedsmuir and Broughton at 10.00am photograph is accompanied by a succinct, everyone’s taste but it’s diffcult to change and Stobo and Skirling at 11:30am) readable history, not just of what is in the long held traditions; after all we’re throughout the year, you and your family photograph but also of the background to just a bunch of people trying to put our can be assured of a very warm welcome. the scene. So it is as much a local history faith into action in the best way we can. A very Happy Christmas from all churches as a photographic record. We welcome ideas of how to make our in the Parish of Upper Tweeddale. Ann Matheson, from Biggar, has written services more accessible and inclusive so Parishes of Upper Tweeddale on other local places and histories, don’t be shy if you have an idea, share it particularly on Biggar. with the church www.treesurv.co.uk This book would make a wonderful The church is part of the community. It is Christmas present. there in times of joy like Christmas and eSTaBLiShMenT, Available from Atkinson-Pryce baptisms and it is there in times of sorrow ManageMenT and Bookshop, Biggar or order on line.