Until the end of World War 2, a private soldier in the British Army was paid little more than a shilling per day plus keep, for which he was expected under oath to serve his king and country to the extent of laying down his very life.Successive British governments greedily exploited the loyalty of thousands of ordinary men (and more recently women) who volunteered their lives to join the ranks – and when actual volunteers were seen as insufficient for the needs of Whitehall, thousands more were ‘legally’ pressed into service to defend and uphold British vested interests at home and overseas.Since the Union of the Crowns, 1603, Scotland also provided — possibly more than — its fair share of what came to be described as ‘human cannon fodder’, all in the greater interest of an ever-expanding British Empire which came to dominate vast areas of the globe and which were often depicted coloured pink on most world maps!
In the September isssue of our newsletter MacFarlane’s Lantern we are proud to present a brief look at how Scottish soldiers have been depicted through the ages, giving some insight into the more than worthy contribution the Scottish nation has given to the steady development of what we call modern human society across the world.Even in these so-called enlightened times, many Scots and their descendants still rally to the Colours and battalions in countries worldwide.
This article has been extracted from the newsletter for the benefit of all.
The Scots in Wartime – Part One
Are you a retired piper or drummer who would like to rekindle your interest in a social non-competitive environment?
Are you a secondary student or interested adult who would like to learn to play the great highland bagpipe, or drums to accompany same?
The Clans O’ the West Highland Pipe Band are looking for new members.They are a social band based in the Shire of Melton, Victoria. The band has been performing and playing together since 1985 and all members of the band wear different coloured tartans to represent their own clans.
For more information have a look at their poster New Members Wanted or visit the website: www.clansothewest-highlandpipeband.com
In the June issue of the ‘Lantern’ we told the story of James MacFarlane (b.1796) who migrated from Arrochybeg Farm, Loch Lomond-side, 1824 and set up the first cattle station at Omeo, Gippsland, Victoria.We now tell of his brother Duncan MacFarlane (b.1798) who became one of the very first settlers in South Australia.
Once again, the article has been extracted in full from the newsletter and made available below as a pdf document for the benefit of those who are not members and therefore unable to access the newsletter via the Members Area.
Arrochybeg to Australia – Part Two
As we delve further into our Clan’s history, we come across more and more references to those clan folk who were settled along the eastern shores of Loch Lomond.Thus our lead story in the June 2011 issue of the Australian “MacFarlane’s Lantern”, Issue No.118, concerns two MacFarlane brothers from the small farm of Arrochybeg, Buchanan parish, Stirlingshire, who were among the many Scots that migrated to Australia during the mid-19th century and contributed greatly to the development of this huge country.
James (b1796) and Duncan (b1798) were the sons of Walter and Marjory MacFarlane (nee Colquhoun) who farmed Arrochybeg, beside Loch Lomond.Walter (1755-1836) was a seventh generation direct descendant of Andrew Dubh MacFarlane, 2nd Laird of Gartartan, Gartmore, Stirlingshire, which, in turn, linked the family to the main line of MacFarlane Barons of Arrochar and to the ancient Earls of Lennox – by all accounts a pedigree to be proud of.
Part one of this article deals with James, who was a pioneering cattleman in Victoria.His brother Duncan, who made his own mark in South Australia, will feature in the next (September) issue.
The article has been extracted in full from the newsletter and made available below as a pdf document for the benefit of those who are not members and therefore unable to access the newsletter via the Members Area.
Arrochybeg to Australia – Part One
2nd Lt.Ian Cameron Macfarlane – A Yorkshire Regiment Officer Who Died in the First World War
A Memorial Roll of The Officers of Alexandra Princess of Wales Own Yorkshire Regiment Who Died 1914-1919, Compiled by Robert Coulson (1952-2008)
http://www.ww1-yorkshires.org.uk/pdf-files/bob%20coulson/officers-died-ww1.pdf
I came across this document quite by accident.I was reading a comment made on another posting regarding the discovery of a name scratched on a wall at Bertangles, that of an A.McFarlane 1918 Australia and decided to do a Google search to see what I could find. I then was sidetracked by this document which lists information about another person entirely, 2nd Lt.Ian Cameron Macfarlane.
Following is an extract of the information which appears on page 146 of the document relating to this officer.Anyone interested in information on the other officers of the regiment who died during World War I should look at the original document mentioned above. read more…
Genealogists always say to begin with yourself and work your way backwards through official records, such as birth, marriage and death certificates.When you finally come to your immigrant ancestor, the Scot, you hopefully will have also found out the name of the Parish in Scotland he or she was born in.
Good in theory – but not always so easy.
The amount of information recorded on an Australian certificate varies greatly depending on the time period in question, and the State in which the event took place.We are fairly fortunate here in Victoria as our certificates are fairly comprehensive and we are able to find out the parent’s birthplace on the birth certificate of their child, or from their marriage or death certificate.Bearing in mind however, that the information on the death certificate is only as reliable as the informant (obviously not the person themselves). However, a person looking in South Australian records would find that this information was not recorded on birth, death or marriage certificates until 1907.
For an excellent guide to what you can expect to see on an historical Australian birth, death or marriage certificate please visit http://www.jaunay.com/bdm.html
Taming the Scots
(English language version) by Malcolm Lobban
The Scots may think they were hard done by during the period of Margaret Thatcher’s Tory regime. Well, I would like to put the historical record straight. The rot set into that old country up there long before the arrival of the ‘Iron Lady’.As a matter of fact, it was another dame called Margaret who helped to head the ball, as it were, into the Scottish goalmouth, and she too was English.
It probably all began as far back as the year 1030.The body of a king was found lying outside a blacksmith’s forge near Elgin, Morayshire. His name was Duncan ~ although some people called him ‘Duncan the Gracious’. I think this was due to the fact that he never used swear words, and always said “pardon” after breaking wind! Nevertheless, it appears that the poor sod was murdered. read more…
www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info
This is the website of our New Zealand member and genealogy advisor, Andrew Macfarlane from Palmerston, and it is a fantastic resource for those tracing their family history.
Many years have been devoted to the research and documentation of Macfarlane and associated families, as well as connected clans.Andrew gratefully acknowledges all those who have made submissions to the website, in particular, Chevalier Terrance MacFarlane for his continuing research into Clan MacFarlane and its cadet branches.
There are some interesting statistics listed on the site:
- Total individuals: 82,216
- Total families: 36,278
- Average lifespan: 59 years, 254 days
- Earliest Birth: Abt 1001
- Longest lived: Lillias Dunlop McFarlane (132 years)
- Top 25 Surnames: No.1 spot, not surprisingly, is Macfarlane with Fraser taking out No.25
You can do a wide variety of searches on the site.Searching on a surname will bring up a list of individuals with further data.You can also search by a number of other criteria such as place name or cemetery.Photos of some headstones are also displayed, such as the one I found of the burial slab for Malcolm MacFarlane and wife Elizabeth in Luss Churchyard.The site also has a comprehensive listing of the source of the information.Information can also be downloaded from the site.
Our Society would like to show our support by encouraging members to contribute information to this site.This may either be done by contacting Andrew directly, or by giving me, as Secretary, your permission to pass on your family history information.Your privacy will be respected as the site does not publish information on living people, apart from mentioning the source of the information.It is helpful, however, if you provide this information to Andrew so that he can help establish family connections.
If you already have your family history information in Gedcom format then Andrew can easily incorporate it into the site (living persons will be automatically removed), however he is just as happy to receive information or suggestions via email or to input it from paper based documents.
Andrew Macfarlane is also a Group Co-administrator for the Official MacFarlane DNA Project at Family Tree DNA.
For further information please contact:
Andrew Macfarlane – Email: clanman@inspire.net.nz
Recording Your Family History
Recording Your Family History
If you are looking for a genealogy program to record your family history you can’t go past the FREE download available from the Family Search website.http://www.familysearch.org/paf
On the download page you will also see a link to FREE online lessons in how to use the program.
The following is the “blurb” from the website: read more…
Saints of the High Road
Having been raised close to Loch Lomond, I have long been fascinated by the legendary tales that surround this beautiful district of Scotland.My childhood imagination thrilled with stories of fish without fins, waves without wind, a floating island and a submerged church.
‘The Loch’ ~ as it is known locally – is the largest area of fresh water in Great Britain (27 square miles, and over 600 feet at its deepest point) and was at one time an arm of the sea, becoming land-locked at the end of the last Ice Age.
Loch Lomond environs show signs of man’s presence dating back to Neolithic times (4000 BC).Early Celtic activity in the district is reflected in various place-names, in particular those with ecclesiastical connections.It could be said that the ancient clerics were among the first to ‘take the high road’, as it were! Thus, it is with these religious sites that my interest lies, whilst inviting the reader to come with me, in theory at least, on my pilgrimage into olden times around The Bonnie Banks.