LATEST NEWS FROM LOW PARKS

January 2010

We have been contacted by Jeremy Banning on behalf of the Tunnellers' Memorial Fund to raise money for a Tunnellers' Memorial to be sited in Givenchy, France.

The story behind the proposed memorial begins on the morning of 22 June 1916. Sapper William Hackett and four other miners of 254 Tunnelling Company were driving a tunnel towards the enemy lines below the cratered surface of the Givenchy sector of northern France. At about one-quarter of the way towards the German trenches at a depth of about 35 feet, the timbered gallery 4’3” high by 2’6” wide was still in the early stages of development; it was served by a single shaft – the Shaftesbury Shaft. At 2.50am the explosion of a heavy German mine (later known as the Red Dragon) blew in 25 feet of the tunnel, cutting the five men off from the shaft and safety. On the surface, a rescue party was immediately organised.

After two days of digging, an escape hole was formed through the fallen earth and broken timbers, and the tunnellers contacted. William Hackett helped three men to safety. However, with sanctuary beckoning, and although himself apparently unhurt, he refused to leave until the last man, seriously injured 22 year-old Thomas Collins of the Swansea Pals (14th Battalion, Welsh Regiment), was rescued. His words were said to be, “I am a tunneller, I must look after the others first”. The rescuers worked on, but were frequently immobilized by German shelling and mortaring of the shaft-head. Conditions above and below ground became more treacherous by the minute. Eventually the gallery collapsed again, entombing the two men. Both still lie beneath the fields of Givenchy today.

For his act of selfless valour William Hackett was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross - the only such decoration ever to be bestowed upon a Tunneller. He is remembered in perpetuity on Panel 1 of the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing near Armentières whilst Thomas Collins’ name appears on the Thiepval Memorial on the Somme. Why two men who died together and still lie together are not commemorated in the same place is unknown.

With William Hackett's courage exemplifying the Tunnellers' work, an appeal for funds for a new memorial in their memory is just £5,000 short of its target now. The memorial (see sketch) is due to be unveiled on 19 June 2010. It will stand - just forty metres from the original shaft location beneath which the bodies of Hackett and Collins lie still - in celebration not only of William Hackett, but all his military mining comrades from around the world, men whose critical but hidden role has been long overlooked. Although heroes of obscurity and with their names featuring only marginally on the great lists of dead, wounded and missing, their contribution to the surface war was vital.

If you feel able to contribute in realising this fitting tribute, all donations, however small, would be very gratefully received. Details of how to donate, plus a comprehensive account of Sapper Hackett’s VC action and a brief history of the Tunnelling Companies in the Great War, are available on the website.

All are invited to attend the unveiling on 19 June.

The Tunnellers' Memorial Fund
PO Box 258, Faversham, Kent, ME13 3AN
Tel: 01795 533035 or 01795 533024
www.tunnellersmemorial.com

William Hackett V.C.

August 2009

We are grateful to Stephen Burrows for providing photographs of the Regiment's tree at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA). The Cameronian tree was planted in 2007 and is among 50,000 trees at the Staffordshire arboretum. More information about the NMA can be found on their website http://www.thenma.org.uk/

To see photographs of the Cameronian tree, please click here.

May 2009

New Cameronian Exhibition open at Low Parks Museum

The Precious exhibition is now open at Low Parks Museum in Hamilton, and will be on display until 19th April 2010. To view exhibition details and photographs click here >>

The exhibition is based around the Regimental Silver collection, with the display including items which have never been displayed before at the Museum.

Directions to the Museum can be found here.

February 2009

We are pleased to be able to announce that this year's temporary Cameronian exhibition is called Precious, and will look at the Regiment's collection of silver. Over 70 items will be on display, and we are looking forward to showcasing some of the unique and beautiful items of silver we have in the collection.

The exhibition opens at Low Parks Museum on the 3rd April 2009, and more information will be posted here closer to the time.

December 2008

We would like to wish all website users a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Please do look at our new 'Soldier of the Month' - Private David Cruickshank. It tells of his amazing wartime experiences hiding from the Germans while living in a French village, disguised as a woman.

October 2008

We have recently been donated a very interesting item in the form of a silver spoon engraved to Private A. F. Hassenstein of 'N' Company of the 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers. Although the reason for awarding the spoon is not known, Private Hassenstein was the grandfather of the donor, who was able to provide some background to his relative.

Allen Frederick Hassenstein was born in Glasgow in 1878 to German parents, with his father being a master mariner with the Anchor Line which sailed to the Mediterranean and America. At just seven years old, Hassenstein signed up as cabin boy on his father's ship to New York, but returned to Glasgow and joined the 1st LRV in his late teens or early twenties. Always keen on horse riding, Hassenstein later served as a volunteer with the artillery . He served with the Royal Field Artillery in Egypt during the Great War until he was honourably discharged in 1919 after attaining the rank of Sergeant. He died in 1964 in Glasgow.

Please note - the Museums Department have now moved offices from 116 Cadzow Street to Brandongate, however we are still contactable via Low Parks Museum as normal.

July 2008

We are pleased to be able to announce the opening of our new exhibition, At Ease! - the result of many months of hard work behind the scenes at Low Parks. The exhibition is on display at Low Parks Museum from 5th July 2008 to 5th May 2009 and focuses on regimental life away from the battlefield. To view exhibition details and photographs click here >>

We would also like to highlight a new page which has been added to the Research section of the site in recent months. Our FAQs address some of the common questions we are asked, particularly by family history researchers. We hope this new section will answer some frequently asked questions, but please do contact us if you have any further suggestions of information you would find useful. Combined with our downloadable Research Guide which is regularly updated, we hope that researchers will find this section of the site to be a useful resource..

April 2008

At the Museum our digitisation work is continuing with the transcription of the diaries of Field Marshal Viscount Wolseley. We have thirteen diaries which cover the years of 1877 to 1906 (the series is incomplete) and the first diary has now been fully transcribed. The diary gives a fascinating insight into Wolseley's role in High Society as well as his military duties.

The Museum staff are looking forward to the 40th Anniversary Commemoration of the 1st Battalion disbandment. A group of seventeen staff from Low Parks Museum will be at Douglas on the 11th May.

We also draw your attention to the website for The Army Children Archive (http://www.archhistory.co.uk/taca/home.html). The site is an interesting resource dedicated to exploring the experience of being an army child.

February 2008

For the past month we have been continuing our work behind the scenes to carry out research for this year's temporary exhibition. Marking the 40th anniversary of the disbandment of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), the exhibition reveals a different side to the regiment beyond the fighting and war-time activities with which army life is often associated. The Cameronians’ unique character will be explored through the universal themes of sport, travel, recreation and relationships, with many objects being displayed in the Museum for the first time.

The exhibition will open to the public on the 5th July in the Fives Court and Portland Gallery of Low Parks Museum.

The Friends of Low Parks have been awarded a grant to allow them to purchase copies of the remaining War Diaries for the Regiment which cover the First and Second World Wars. We are very grateful for the hard work the Friends continue to do to transcribe documents and diaries for us, and are delighted that they will be able to contiue this with the War Diaries we do not currently have.

December 2007

Low Parks Museum would like to wish all website users a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We would also like to pass on birthday greetings to James (Jimmy) Broadfield who will be 90 years old on the 5th January 2008. Jimmy enlisted in 1932 and remained with the regiment until 1946. He served in India before WWII, was wounded at Dunkirk and returned to France after D-Day.

The Museum has had a busy year, with over 300 Cameronian objects accessioned into the collection, our temporary Cameronian exhibition opening in June and digitisation projects progressing well. We are also pleased to report that our three Museums sites recieved full Accreditation with Commendation from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. This recognises that we have met the nationally agreed standards for Museums in how we care for, document, manage and allow access to the collection.

For a full report on the Museum's work this year click here.

November 2007

The Museum Needs Your Help!

Do you recognise these men?

Photo © RIA Novosti (ref: A70-1614) Photographer: Oleg Knorring        

Photo © RIA Novosti (ref: A182008) Photographer: G Kapustyansky

We wish to identify the Cameronian Corporal (on the right) in these two pictures taken by Soviet Russian photo-journalists at Magdeburg, Germany in May 1945.

Can anyone identify either the Cameronian Corporal or his Red Army comrade in arms? 

If so, please contact the Museum via email on lowparksmuseum@southlanarkshire.gov.uk or Phone 01698 328232 Fax 01698 328412.

The images celebrate the shared victory in Europe in World War 2 of the Allies, including Soviet Russia and Britain, over Nazi Germany. Magdeburg, on the River Elbe, is where the Russian Red Army and the British forces met as Germany surrendered.

Captain Cliff Pettit identified the bridge on which the two men are standing. The Allies built the pontoon FriendshipBridge across the River Elbe that linked the Soviet Russian and British zones of control of occupied Germany.

We are very grateful to RIA Novosti, the Russian News and Information Agency for permission to use these photographs from their photo library. As Bill Coughlan wrote in the 2004 edition of The Covenanter, one of these images was used in a photographic exhibition in 2003 at London’s Guildhall to welcome the Russian President Vladimir Putin to Britain on the first visit by a Russian Head of State since 1874.

Famous Cameronians

We are currently carrying out research at the Museum for a temporary exhibition to open in Summer 2008. As part of this, we are hoping to recognise some of the individuals who served with the regiment across the years and went on to make their mark on the world in a variety of ways.

For example:

• Lord Reith of the BBC – Horse Transport Officer in WWI
• Artist and former Director of the National Galleries of Scotland, Stanley Cursiter – Served in France WWI and later became Captain while attached to the Royal Engineers
• Poet Siegfried Sassoon - Attached to the Cameronians in WWI whilst serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers
• Iskander Mirza, the first President of Pakistan – Served with the 2nd Battalion in India from 1921
• Sultan Qaboos of Oman – Served with the 1st Battalion in Germany in the early 1960s

Can you think of any other noteworthy individuals? Please contribute to the associated thread on the website forum, or contact the Museum:

Low Parks Museum:
129 Muir Street
Hamilton, ML3 6BJ
Phone 01698 328232
Fax 01698 328412
Email lowparksmuseum@southlanarkshire.gov.uk

Other work recently carried out at the museum includes the digitisation and transcription of the memoirs of Lt-Col. J. D. Hill, M.C. Recollections of an Infantry Subaltern recounts Hill’s experience with the 1st Battalion in France during the first year of the Great War. Described by General Jack as the Battalion's ‘stout-hearted comedian’, Hill gives us an unique insight into life with the British Expeditionary Force, which is at times both highly amusing, and extremely poignant. Extracts from Hill’s memoirs will feature in the 2008 Cameronian exhibition at Low Parks Museum

The Museum recently helped the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to update their records on a Cameronian Officer, Captain Eric Templeton Young who died on 28th June 1915. Captain Young had previously been erroneously commemorated on the memorial for the 6th Battalion in France, however we were able to confirm that he had served with the 8th Battalion and was killed at Gully Ravine. Captain Young’s name will be added to the Helles Memorial in Gallipoli in due course.

September 2007

The Cameronians are now represented by a tree at the National Memorial Arboretum. On the plaque accompanying the tree is the quotation:

"No old forgetful age will end our story,

Death cuts our days but could not stain our Glory."

This quotation is taken from a poem written by Colonel Dow in 1968 on the Regiment's disbandment, which was in turn influenced by the famous poem written by an unknown author to the first Commanding Officer William Cleland in 1698. Colonel Dow's poem begins most appropriately with the line:

 "Would you approve of how the tree has grown?"

The Friends of Low Parks Museum Society have now finished their digitisation of the enlistment books. Their hard work has made the information held in these volumes much more accessible for researchers. Running from regimental number 3233001 to 3245039, the books contain varying amounts of information for each individual, such as the date a soldier enlisted, age and profession on enlistment, next of kin details and details of discharge.

Researchers may also be interested to know that the Research Notes downloadable from the 'Research & Enquiries' page on this site have now been updated to include a book list and information on researching pre-WWI soldiers.

May 2007

This year’s temporary exhibition, called Without Glory: Counter Insurgency Campaigning with the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) is on display from 1 June 2007 until 30 May 2008. It covers three insurgencies in which the regiment were involved – Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, Malaya in the 1950s and Aden in the 1960s. To view exhibition details click here >>

The Friends of Low Parks Museum Society have been making excellent progress with their digitisation and indexing of the enlistment books. Covering the 1920s and 1930s, the books are an invaluable source of information on recruits into the regiment. Once completed, we will be able to more easily search the records from this time for information on recruits.

The regiment will soon be represented by a memorial tree at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The tree commemorated men from all ranks of the Cameronians who died in service from 1689 to 1968. Thanks to Rfn. William Bannister of the 7th Battalion for bringing this to our attention.