May 2008 - Leith Rules Golf Society

Issue 3
MAY 2008
The aim of the society is to increase the recognition of Leith Links as the home of
the earliest recorded rules of golf and one of the game’s prominent early locations.
The Gowffer’s Tattle
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J o h n R a t t r a y , D u n c a n F o r b e s
a n d t h e F a t h e r s o f G o l f ( c o n t )
Illustration 1:
The Battle of Culloden,
16 April, 1746. (British
Library, photograph The
Bridgeman Art Library)
IN THIS ISSUE:
•
Part 2 of
Golfing
History
Feature
•
Winter &
Spring
Events
•
Interview
with
Tim Bell
•
Letter
from the
Editor
Part II: The Aftermath
Those of us versed in golf
history probably heard the
story of how John Rattray,
about to be executed, was
saved by his friend Duncan
Forbes in the aftermath of
Culloden. (Illustration 1)
The story goes that Forbes
defended his golfing buddy,
making a good case for why
the doctor should be spared.
This is how James Rattray of
Perth, Chairman of the Clan
Rattray Society, put it in 1998
as part of a document entitled,
Historical Account Regarding Dr. John Rattray, Captain of the Golf...: “In 1746,
John Rattray’s older brother,
James Rattray, the Laird of
Craighall Rattray, as a token
of support of the Jacobite
cause... suggested that John
Rattray offer his medical services to Bonnie Prince Charlie...during the Uprising. On
16-April-1746, after the battle
of Culloden...Rattray was
captured by the English-led
forces and sentenced to be
executed. Fortunately for
Rattray, his good friend and
golfing companion, Lord
President Forbes...had considerable influence and inter-
vened on behalf of Rattray
and his life was spared.
Eventually, Rattray was
able to return to his golfing
and was again Captain of
the Golf, in 1751.”1
Few can imagine the scene
with authenticity, as history
wounded held together, those
guarded were a jumble of
highlanders and gentlemen.
The highlanders had joined
because the promised gain
supported their ideals of raiding and bringing back
bounty. The gentlemen were
genuinely supportive to the
cause.2
In one house near Culloden,
a huge number of captured
Jacobite supporters were
held. Those bleeding had not
had their wounds dressed.
Sores were beginning to fester andthfood was scarce on
the 19 of April 1746, three
days after the battle.
Illustration 2
Gentlemen Golfers on Leith Links
Detail from William Inglis Portrait
has glamorized and sanitized the picture. Like most
of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s
adventures, there is nothing
romantic about Culloden.
The reality was a horror.
We won’t revisit the battle;
suffice to say the Jacobites
lost, and Dr. Rattray was
captured as described
above. With prisoners and
Several accounts of the aftermath of Culloden were compiled into a collection between 1746 and 1775 by the
Bishop Robert Forbes of
Ross and Caithness. He
strived to have an account
sealed for posterity, but opponents to the Jacobite cause
continue to call The Lyon In
Mourning a propaganda ploy.
Here is one testimonial related by a woman as described to in Forbe’s col(Continued on page 2)
W i n t e r
&
The AGM took place on 30
Jan at the Cricket Club on
Leith Links. 25 members
were present. Subscriptions
were renewed and committee
members (re-)elected. New
member Punet Sachdev entertained us after the business-end of the meeting with
a slide show on golf in India.
S p r i n g
E v e n t s
The 7 March Anniversary of
the Signing of the First Rules
event was a lunch/speaker
do at the Cricket Club. Members enjoyed 3 courses prepared and served by Cornelius Waugh and David Kay.
This year was especially significant as our oldest member, Dan Orr, turned 100 on
.
2 0 0 8
the day and we passed a card
around to sign before listening to a “Historical Perspective “ talk by archivist and
historian Philip Knowles.
The year’s first challenge
match between LRGS and
Musselburgh Old Golf Club
took place on 28 April with
LRGS victorious at last!
P a g e
2
T h e
(cont. from page 1)
lection:
“She said that the [soldiers]
came to her house, and told
the wounded men to get up
that they might bring them
to surgeons to get their
wounds dress’t. Upon
which, she said, the poor
men, whom she thought in
so miserable a way that it
was impossible they could
stir, made a shift to get up;
and she said they went
along with the party with an
air of cheerfulness and joy,
being full of the thought
that their wounds were to
be dressed. But, she said,
when the party had brought
them to the length of the
hollow above mentioned,
which is at a very short
distance from her house,
she being then within the
house, heard the firing of
several guns, and coming
out immediately to know
the cause, saw all those
t h e
The featured LRGS member for this 3rd issue is Tim
Bell. Tim, an Elder with
the Church of Scotland and
Port of Leith Chaplain, in
addition to being involved
with Leith Rules Golf Society has been hosting walking tours around Leith for
the past five years or so.
These days Tim is so busy
with his new walking tour,
“Trainspotters Guide to
Leith” that he has had to
step back from LRGS involvement. But even if he
is no longer an ever-present
force at committee meet-
(Continued from above)
If we are to take the above
accounts as evidence to
what Rattray was subjected to when being held
prisoner, we see a horrendous, wasteful slaughter of
the country’s best gentlemen: highly accomplished,
highly regarded men; surgeons, ministers, lords.
No riff-raff here; and the
highlanders were cream of
the crop in their own right.
Prior to the “Uprising” (if
you were English) or “the
Jacobite Cause” (if you
were a Scot), these same
gentlemen had been man-
carts, which they imagined
were to carry them to Inverness to be dressed of
their wounds. They were
soon undeceived. The carts
stopt at a park dyke at
some distance from the
house; there they were
dragged out of the carts;
the soldiers who guarded
them, under command of
three officers, carried the
prisoners close to the wall
or park dyke, along which
they ranged them upon
their knees, and bid them
prepare for their death.”4
This eye witness was a bit
closer than the woman at
the house, for he goes on
to describe what the soldiers were ordered to do
after firing their muskets:
“But as those gentlemen
who proceeded thus deliberately in cold blood had
their orders to do nothing
by halves, a party of them
went along and examined
the slaughter, and knocked
brought out of her house
under the pretense of being
carried to surgeons, were
dead men.”3
Another account (very
likely at the same scene)
describes a rescue which
could have mirrored the
circumstances of the rescue of Rattray by Forbes:
“John Fraser... was shot
through the thigh by a
musket bullet at the battle
of Culloden, and was
taken prisoner, after the
battle, at a little distance
from thye field, and carried to the House of Culloden, where a multitude of
other prisoners lay under
strong guards. There he
and the other miserable
gentlemen (for most of
them were gentlemen), lay
with their wounds undressed for two days in
great torture. Upon the
third day he was carried
out of Culloden House and
with other eighteen of his
fellow prisoners flung into
M e e t
G o w f f e r ’ s
T a t t l e
out the brains of such as
were not quite dead; and
observing signs of life in
Mr. Fraser, one of them
with the butt of his gun
struck him on the face,
dashed out one of his eyes,
and beat down his nose
flat and shattered to his
cheek, and left him for
dead.”5
But he wasn’t dead. After
the slaughter, Fraser managed to crawl some distance away from his fallen
compatriots until he was
spotted by a lord on horseback. The lord offered
him money because he
knew the Master of Lovat,
to whom the wretched man
was an officer, but:
“Mr. Fraser said he had no
use for money, but begged
him for God’s sake to
cause his servant carry him
to a certain mill and cott
house, where he said he
would be concealed and
taken care of.”(ibid)
(Continues below)
m e m b e r s
ings, nothing can diminish
Tim Bell’s initial LRGS
contribution.
Modesty seems to be a
common trait among our
members, for though Mr.
Bell was hailed by Pat in
last issue’s interview as the
main spearhead, Tim was
quick to reciprocate with
fervent insistence that due
to Pat Denzler’s “staying
power”—her standing in
the business community,
her ability to chair meetings, pull things together
and keep things on the
road—LRGS has gone
ning the infrastructure,
making decisions, and
spending their free time on
Leith Links playing golf
with each other.
When he pleaded for Rattray’s life, Forbes reasoned
that “there are not two hundred gentlemen in the
whole kingdom who are
not very nearly related to
some one or other of the
rebels.” He was saying, in
other words, what a waste
of life; we know these people; they are our relations,
our friends, our neighbours,
our golfing buddies...
which is why Forbes is
recorded in history as hav-
smoothly from an ambitious dream to a concrete
reality that has stood the
test of time.
No one can deny, however,
that what Pat brought to the
table in terms of organization skills, Tim matched
with his initial zeal in getting the idea off the ground
and getting people involved in the first place.
He gave an interview to the
Gowffer’s Tattle from the
comfortable member’s
room at the Scotch Malt
Whiskey Society on Giles
(Continues page 3)
ing “tempered justice with
an abiding mercy.”6
Bibliography:
1. Rattray, James Historical Account
Regarding Dr. John Rattray, Captain of the Golf... 1998: Clan Rattray.
www.electricscotland.com/history
2. McHardy, Stuart MA Hons . Lecture on 08/May/2008: The Jacobites
3. The Lyon In Mourning Vol 2
p.188-189 Scottish History Society
1895
“–great Forbes,
patron of the just
The dread of the
villains, and good
mans trust
When spent in toils
in saving human
kind
His body recreates
and unbends his
mind”
4. Ibid. p. 260
5. Ibid. p. 261
6. Pottinger, George. Muirfield and
The Honourable Company Scottish
Academic Press. Edinburgh 1972 p.5
By Thomas Matheson,
minister of Brechin
from his poem
“The Goff”
first published in 1743
T h e
G o w f f e r ’ s
T a t t l e
P a g e
3
T i m B e l l r e v e a l s a l l a t t h e
S c o t c h M a l t W h i s k e y S o c i e t y
Scotch Malt Whiskey Society
Giles Street, Leith
Street in Leith. Over a cup of coffee (yes, coffee) Tim reminisced
LETTER
THE
FROM
EDITOR
Next issue will be my personal last issue; I am stepping down as editor after
issue four, which means the
position of editor for the
Gowffer’s Tattle will be
open.
I have created a template for
a bi-annual light read that
informs our members and
others. What I personally
want to see would be more
input into the Tattle from
our members, i.e. articles
and photos. I hope the new
editor can coax a bit of
creativity out of y’all.
I have thoroughly enjoyed
creating and writing the
today. They have lasted.
And playing with hickory
clubs gets people into the
fun of the period when the
first rules were made.
Was LRGS an offshoot of
an earlier group?
Not an offshoot. I was involved on the Tourism
Board,the late-lamented,
which was a voluntary optimistic group of amateurs.
Edinburgh was interested in
Leith at last, after decades
of disinterest, and Leith
suddenly was included in
Edinburgh’s portfolio on the
tourism trail. We were con-
about the days when LRGS first
got off the ground.
He was quick to make two very
important points: 1) if anyone deserves credit for trailblazing, it was
the Rotary Club in 1984 for having
an event and erecting a cairn 240
years on from the signing of the
first rules, and 2) rather than relying on individuals, our success
relies on the core product which is
the history of the rules of golf.
“No one can take that fact away
from us,” he says. “The history
has always been there; it’s been
neglected, but no one can take
away that golf as a formal society
game started in Leith and the very
first written rules that set the game
up as a competitive event started at
Leith Links.
Tattle and I’ve learned a lot
from the experience. I’ve
even gone into the habit of
frequenting the history section of the library again,
which I never thought I
would do after having the
most boring history teacher
ever at college. This year I
took a course in Jacobiean
history at Edinburgh Universtiy to help hone my
knowledge for the period
during which the rules of
golf were written. It is a
very volatile period of Scottish history and well worth
visiting.
You might have noticed
what probably seems a random publishing period for
the Tattle: 1st issue in
March, then Nov,
then...June? With a May
date on it? My apologies
for a late May issue. May
and November are the two
cerned that Leith should
have it’s own voice, that it
shouldn’t become an extension of the Edinburgh High
Street, and Douglas
McKay, who was also the
founding chairman here at
the Scotch Malt Whiskey
Society, he and David
Blakely kept muttering in
meetings that the direct decendents of the Honourable
Company of Edinburgh
Golfers were holding an
Open in 2002 at Muirfield
and if we can’t tell the
world that it all started here
then we weren’t worth our
salt. We gathered all interested members together at
Who’s idea was it to name the
society Leith-Rules-Golf?
It’s a cheeky name. I don’t know
who actually said it first but we all
thought it would be an attentiongetter, that people would stop to
think, Leith-rules-golf? What’s
that?
It sounds as if you are saying
there are special rules of golf that
apply only to Leith.
Only special in that they were the
first ever penned rules. And those
thirteen rules and amendments
formed the basis of the rules of golf
(Continues below)
months the Tattle should
ideally be published. May
to coincide with the mailing
of the Hickory Open fliers,
and Nov for the mailing of
invitations to the AGM.
The Tattle is published
online through the LRGS
website, which makes it a
worldwide readership. Being editor has been a good
experience in writing for a
wider audience. I know
there has been new membership from across the
pond because of reading the
Tattle. I personally hope
the new editor will pick up
the torch and run with it.
I am stepping down to work
on other writing projects,
including the development
of the 3-Act musical comedy I wrote which features
the history of golf in Leith.
Yours with much fondness,
Lorna Moon
the Cricket Club. It was late
in 2001 and we were still
“This is a claim
that belongs to
Leith; you can
walk on it. You
can hit a golf
ball on it.”
Special Project
Update:
The first draft of
a 3-act play
incorporating golf
history on
Leith Links
written as a
musical
comedy with nearly a
dozen original songs is
complete. The author has
been meeting with “Stage
Write,” a subgroup of
Leitheatre, to hear the
script read aloud by actors in order to hone and
develop the draft into a
script ready for production in the 2009 Fringe.
P a g e
4
T h e
G o w f f e r ’ s
T a t t l e
looking for what we were going to
do although we were clear about
the history.
What did you decide to do for the
first event?
I got in touch with Event Management and they almost laughed me
out of court. They talked about
having to have a marquis; they
were talking about a budget of
thousands of pounds, talking in
business terms that went straight
over my head, and I could see their
point. If we were going to do it
their way we might as well forget
it. But Corny from the Cricket Club
where we held our meetings said,
“Why do you have to spend any
money at all?” The Cricket Club
sits on part of the first fairway. We
were prepared to work on a shoe-
Golfers at the original fairway on Leith
Links.
string budget. And Pat approached
John Dixon, who provided the
clubs and still lends us the clubs for
all of our hickory events. We had a
museum-like exhibit with information about golf history, and Archie
Baird and others dressed up in period golf
wear.
We approached
the city
with our
idea. And
Graham
Croucher,
a new
appointee
with a
clean
desk, we
were his
first project. And
he gave
us the nod
and we
got funding for
the first
event and
the rest is history.
What would you say is the overriding reason why Leith-RulesGolf is still going strong?
In marketing terms, the success
relies on the core product. The
genuineness of the central claim
attracted good quality people; John
Dixon, who is an out-and-out businessman as well as golfing enthusiast, Philip Knowles, golf archivist,
the list goes on. To have that quality of participants was evidence
that they could see it was, well it
was just a good story and they
wanted to be a part of it. I could
see all that from the beginning, that
this is a claim that belongs to Leith.
You can walk on it; you can hit a
golf ball on it. You can’t replace
the distinctiveness of that core
claim. If there had been anything
shaky about it—if it isn’t verifiable
or something—then it wouldn’t
take off. But this little legacy belongs to Leith.
Above photos of early LRGS events
between 2002 and 2007
So Leith is the “Cradle of Golf?”
It certainly isn’t Saint Andrews.
Now that I have a bit of knowledge
about golf history I could see
clearly how Dutch traders would
come into the harbour at Leith and
must have played golf on the
Links. And then they took it into
the world. Or it was the other way
around and they brought it here;
nobody really knows where it
started as a game, but as an established game with rules the Cradle
of Golf is certainly Leith Links.
WEBSITE:
www.leith-rules-golf.co.uk or write
to Leith Rules Golf Society c/o 14
Pirniefield Terrace Edinburgh
EH6 7PW