£ 0.70 The Upper Tweed Community News Issue 66 September 2014 S tagecoach travel again in upper tweed It had been a long time since stagecoaches travelled through Broughton and Tweedsmuir. However, history was renacted as part of an impressively organised journey of stagecoaches from Edinburgh to Gretna Green between the 16th and 18th August, all part of a drive in aid of McMillan Cancer Support. Some residents travelled from the Mount to Broughton on Saturday 16th. Others went from Broughton to the Crook Inn on Sunday 17th, where horses and the coach were changed. Then on to Tweedhopefoot, the Devil’s Beeftub and Moffat. Travel through Moffat was slowed by the Moffat The stagecoach travelling through Broughton Photo: Sheila Milne sheep races! Seven miles before Moffat, a wreath was laid at the monument to the Guard and Coachman of the Dumfries to Edinburgh Royal Mail Coach. They perished in a snowstorm on 1st February 1831, having had to abandon the coach stuck fast in a snowdrift. Delivery of the Mail was so important that they attempted to continue the journey on horseback frst and later on Final polish before leaving The stagecoach leaves the Crook Inn foot, but sadly only reached Tweedshaws. Coaching was in its heyday locally the evolving Story of carlowSe Bridge - see also page 12 between the 1700s and mid-1800s, ending with the development of the railways. Edinburgh people travelled to the fashionable spa in Moffat, after a sulfur spring had been found in 1630, piped down to what is now the Town Hall, (and described as smelling of rotten eggs). Hospitality and the changing or stabling horses were available in Broughton, the Crook Inn, the Bield and Tweedshaws. The mail coaches were, perhaps, more important, travelling between Edinburgh. Dumfries and Carlisle. The Bield was the Then. post offce between 1765 and 1813, when One of the many timber lorries crossing the Carlowse Bridge over recent years it moved to the Crook Inn. The PO at the Crook Inn closed in 2006. The roads throughout Scotland were Now. terrible, deeply rutted from the cart tracks. The fne, listed, historic bridge Who would pay for and maintain them? now - only the arch remains. Following long inaction, the Turnpike Act in 1751 allowed turnpike trusts, with contentS Page toll houses to be established. Tolls could be charged only when the roads had been 1 Stagecoach travel. Carlowse Bridge 7 May Fox - obituary improved. 2 Barc Coach Hire 8 Gardening for Plenty Fortunately travel was smoother on this 3 WW1: Dead remembered 9 Farming Appreciation & Challenges journey. 4 Bananas Playgroup News 10 Tweedsmuir Talk 5 Defbillator (AED) & First Response 11 Noticeboard 6 Robert Little - obituary 12 Photopage This issue is sponsored by Barc Coach Hire Upper Tweed Community News 1 barcbarcbarc coachcoachcoach hirehirehire It’s diffcult to believe that we’re now in our third year . and still loving every minute serving local communities in the Scottish Borders. We started running some school contracts from Scottish Borders Council but very quickly expanded into local service work and providing a wide variety of private hire. Some of you will use us in all three areas and we welcome your business. We also welcome your feedback and would be delighted to hear any comments . good or bad. Of course, it’s great to get positive input and we’re very proud of the letters, e-mails and calls received over the months and years. It’s also great to share this with our staff who are all very much part of the business. Regular users of Service 91 and Service 93 will have come across some of our drivers who try very hard to keep passengers happy in what can be very challenging circumstances. I’m thinking here of coping with adverse weather like the recent fooding, coping with other road users, especially the larger vehicles on our minor roads and dovetailing with other services like Stagecoach at West Linton. Anyway, here is an opportunity to put names to some of the faces! · Leanne – our youngest and newest driver · Ian – who has years of experience on these routes with another operator! · Andrew – hails from Innerleithen · Richard – he’s from Liverpool & Galashiels but loves the Peeblesshire countryside We also do a large variety of private hires with anything from 16-seaters to 57-seaters and have wide experience of sporting events, weddings, day trips, longer tours and lots of other things. Try us out and you will be pleasantly surprised. Lynsey . Offce Manager 01721 721222 [email protected] 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 feature some of these men over the next 4 years. Captain Patrick Dick Booth, DSO, MC 2nd Lieutenant Thomas Tudhope Royal Field Artillery 9th Cameronians (Scottish Rifes) Patrick Dick Booth was born at Oliver in Tweedsmuir, the house of The Tudhope family originated from Lesmahagow and his aunt, Mrs Tweedie-Stoddart in 1886. His maternal grandfather settled in Broughton in the early19th century. Thomas was the Rev John Dick, Minister of Tweedsmuir and his paternal Tudhope, known by all as ‘Tommy’, was the fourth son grandfather, The Rev Patrick Booth was minister in Innerleithen. His of John Tudhope, farmer at Broughton Place and his wife parents lived in Liberton. Margaret Steel. He was one of twelve children (two died in infancy). His brother Andrew, a farmer near Kelso served Patrick was educated at Bonnington School in Peebles and at in the Lothian and Borders Horse throughout the war and Edinburgh University. He was keen on gunnery and became survived. Thomas served with the Imperial Infantry in the a member of the Edinburgh University Battery. After leaving South African War and after that he returned to farming university, he qualifed as a surveyor and moved to Canada where he in Broughton. Soon after the start of WW1 he joined the held a commission in the Royal Artillery, Canada. Lanarkshire Yeomanry on 7th September 1914 as a trooper As soon as war seemed inevitable, he returned home, boarding a ship - he was soon promoted to corporal. for Britain on the very day that war was declared on 4th August. On He trained for his commission at Harrogate in 1915 and was his return to UK, he joined the Royal Field Artillery. gazetted to the 10th Scottish Rifes as an offcer. After further After training, he was posted to the 29th Division and commanded training at Nigg, he was sent to France on 6th August 1915 the frst two guns brought ashore at the Gallipoli landings, where and joined the 9th Cameronians (Scottish Rifes). he was severely wounded. He recovered in time for an action on He served with that Regiment until the Battle of Loos,the 28th June 1915 when he won the Military Cross for his gallantry largest British offensive until that time on the Western Front and devotion to duty. He was also Mentioned in Despatches for his in the war, where he was reported missing on 25th September. outstanding leadership in another action. He was 33 years old. In a letter from his Commanding He returned to Europe and served at the Somme, Ypres, Arras and Offcer, it was stated that he was last seen leading his men fnally at Cambrai. On 30th November 1917, Capt Dick Booth and into the attack. Out of fourteen offcers involved with him in his men held a ridge near a gun position against advancing Germans the action, only one escaped unwounded, six were killed, six for several hours. On 1st December the enemy captured the village wounded and Thomas Tudhope was missing. All enquiries as of Mosniers. In the chaos of war he found himself temporarily in an to what has happened to him were fruitless and nine months infantry role instead of being with his battery. He led his troops back after the action, the War Offce reported him dead. He was into the village and captured fve Germans but then encountered a one of three men from Broughton to die on 25th September larger band of Germans and in the ensuing fre fght, he was wounded in the battle of Loos, William Mackie from Hartree and John by a grenade burst. He lay in No Mans Land for ten minutes Inch from Cloverhill being the others. In total, twelve men before before being recovered but his injuries were so severe that from Tweeddale died that day. he survived for only a few hours - he was 31. He was awarded a Thomas Tudhope is commemorated on the Loos Memorial posthumous DSO for his action. in France and also on both the Broughton War Memorial and In the words of the chaplain, “he was the best loved offcer in the on his father’s gravestone in Broughton Cemetery. Two of his Brigade”. It was said that all from the General down to the youngest sisters, Helen and Barbara Tudhope lived at Broughton Place gunner regretted his death. Farmhouse, the latter died there in 1979 aged 99. Another sister, Mary, married and lived at Drumsheugh, Broughton. Our attention was drawn to an excellent book by Dr Gunn, Book of Remembrance for Tweeddale Burgh and Parish, published in There are still family connections in Broughton. Thomas’s Peebles in 1925. It provides short biographies of those that died great niece Lyndsey Wilson, who is an offcer in the Royal together with their photographs. For anyone wishing to do their Logistics Corps, lives just a few miles south of the village own research on their families it is available in a digitised version and in her childhood, she remembers visiting both her great from The National Library of Scotland at aunts at Broughton Place Farmhouse.