How was John
Michie appointed as Balmoral Factor against the hostility of Donald
Stewart?
John Michie
Dr Alexander
Profeit was Queen Victoria’s second commissioner at Balmoral between 1875 and
1897. He died in office after declining
in health, including in his mental capacity, for some years. This made life very difficult for John
Michie, due to the Commissioner’s erratic and unreliable behaviour. It is not clear if John Michie had any
aspirations to succeed Alexander Profeit in the top job on the Royal Deeside estates,
though in 1897 he was almost 44, had accumulated 19 years’ experience on
Deeside and would have been a credible candidate for the role of
commissioner. At the start of 1897 John
Michie was unaware that it was planned to replace Dr Profeit and by mid-February
James Forbes had been offered, and had accepted, the role of Commissioner at
Balmoral. John Michie had been passed
over for the top job at Balmoral, but was that because he was considered
unsuitable in some way, or because he had not made clear that he had
aspirations to become commissioner, or simply because a highly qualified
alternative candidate had been uncovered?
James Forbes,
the new commissioner, was an ambitious man in a hurry. He was nine years
younger than John Michie and with no experience of the Deeside estates, but
with factorial experience elsewhere.
However, Forbes’ own aspirations led to him resigning in 1901 to go to
an even bigger role at Blair Atholl. The
question therefore needs to be posed, “Why was John Michie considered for the
role of factor on the Royal Deeside estates in 1901, when he had apparently
been passed over for the same role in 1897”?
One obvious difference between the years 1897 and 1901 was that at the
earlier date, Queen Victoria was still on the throne, though aged and declining
in her own faculties, and at the latter time her son, King Edward VII, had
ascended to the throne.
Blairs Castle
There was
another issue which may have come into consideration when evaluating John
Michie as a potential commissioner and that was his difficult relationship with
Donald Stewart, the revered head Keeper, still in post, though aged 71 in
1897. He eventually retired in
1901. Donald was respected by the senior
members of the Royal family due to his long and loyal service at Balmoral, right
from the start of Royal possession of the estate in 1848, through 1897 and
beyond. It was not just a matter of
loyalty and length of service. Queen
Victoria had a close relationship with Donald and his family, and many times
visited the Stewart house to take tea and sample Margaret Stewart’s scones and
jam. King Edward had been tutored in the
art of deer stalking by Donald Stewart and, like the monarch’s mother, was
close to this senior servant.
To appreciate
just how close and influential was the position of Donald Stewart with the
Royal Family and the Court, reference can be made to the celebration of his
achieving 50 years of service at Balmoral in 1898. The Aberdeen Journal’s description of the
event encapsulates its significance.
“When Donald Stewart had served 50 years in the Queen’s service in 1898,
he received a number of gifts.
Personally, from Her Majesty he received a fine mantlepiece 8-day clock
inscribed as follows. “To Donald
Stewart, head forester at Balmoral in remembrance of his faithful service for
50 years to the Queen and Prince Consort – VRI October 8 1848 – 1898”. The bigwigs from the Court joined in with the
Royal sentiment by presenting Donald with an inscribed silver salver. “Donald Stewart, 8th September
1898, Entered the Queen’s Service, 8th September 1848, From, Colonel
the Right Hon Sir Fleetwood J Edwards KCB, Lieut – Colonel Sir Arthur Bigge KCB
CMG, Colonel Lord Edward Pelham Clinton KCB, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edmund
Commerell GCB VC, Captain Walter Campbell MVO, Colonel Lord William Cecil MVO,
Colonel the Earl of Strafford KCB KCMG VC, Major the Hon H Legge MVO, Captain
Fritz Ponsonby MVO, Lieutenant-Colonel A Davidson MVO, Lieutenant J Clark CSL
CVO, Sir James Reid Bart KCB, Mr Mather MVO.
There had been
a long-running disagreement, at least since 1892, between John Michie and
Donald Stewart over the need to keep down rabbits which caused substantial
damage to young trees in the Balmoral plantations. The keepers, probably backed at least
surreptitiously by the hunting afficionados within the Royal family, often paid
mere lip service to orders to kill down the hungry lagomorphs. Densely planted plantations offered poor
hunting country, whereas more natural, open forests gave much better
sport. Further disagreements arose
between Michie and Stewart concerning staffing, especially the appointment of
the poorly qualified Albert Stewart, Donald’s son, to the role of foreman of
John Michie’s squad of workmen at Birkhall, apparently without reference to the
head wood forester. However, the most
serious bone of contention between the two was dug up and fought over in 1897,
when Donald Stewart accused John Michie of illegally selling salmon taken from the
Dee at Balmoral. The unproven accusation
was never withdrawn by Donald, no apology was made, and the matter remained
unresolved, no doubt simmering malevolently below the surface of normal human
discourse. Although never a credible
candidate himself for commissioner, Donald was a person whose views mattered at
Balmoral, and it later emerged that Donald had at some stage made his negative
opinions of John Michie known privately to the monarch’s representatives, or
even the monarch himself. This difficult
relationship with Donald Stewart might have been a serious impediment to John
Michie’s candidature if Stewart’s view were communicated before mid-1901.
One factor which undoubtedly helped John
Michie’s candidature was the close and supportive relationship that he
established with the incoming commissioner James Forbes. Michie, without a hint of rancour at being
passed over, set out to make James Forbes’ transition to Balmoral as smooth as
possible. John’s experience of the
geography, history, servant complement and commercial relationships of the
estate, which he made freely available to his new boss, clearly impressed James
Forbes. The new commissioner came to
rely on Michie for guidance as to how matters had been conducted on the estate
and, in return, Forbes delegated freely to the head wood forester on matters
much wider than the management of forest business activities. This close relationship, which extended to
the social sphere, led in July 1901 to James Forbes confiding in John Michie
that he (Forbes) was leaving to take the top job at Blair Atholl and that he
was recommending that John Michie should be his successor. Forbes may even have made his recommendation
directly to King Edward VII when he sought leave to resign office. While such an endorsement was no guarantee
that John Michie would be the successor, it would certainly have been
important. On this occasion, John Michie
did inform the King, through Sir Dighton Probyn that Mr Forbes had told him of
his impending transition to a new charge and that he (Michie) hoped that His
Majesty “… will consider him to succeed”.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/838 letter dated 1 July 1901 from John Michie to Sir
Dighton Probyn).
Circumstantial
evidence suggested that James Forbes had been warned about the tensions which
existed in the relationship between the head keeper and the head wood
forester. Forbes would also have been
aware of the status that Donald Stewart enjoyed both with Queen Victoria and
with her eldest son. James Forbes had a
difficult path to negotiate between the two antagonists. However, while James Forbes often seemed to
appease Donald Stewart, for example by giving him representation on committees
which he was barely qualified to hold, he was not taken in by the old man’s
views. In October 1901, James Forbes in
a letter to Sir Dighton Probyn (RA) wrote, “Donald Stewart is a very old and
fanciful servant and I agree this case is quite an exceptional one and may
safely be dealt with as such.” This may
have been a reference to the granting of a generous pension of £100 pa to the
former head keeper (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/844 letter dated 1 October 1901 from
James Forbes to Sir Dighton Probyn).
John Michie’s
relationship with Donald Stewart was not uniformly difficult. There were several periods between bouts of hostility
where the interactions between the two men were at least cordial. Without doubt John Michie did not harbour
grudges, as his behaviour towards the retired head keeper showed in the period
1902 – 1909, that is, after Michie’s appointment as factor and before the death
of Donald Stewart. But, as will be seen,
the same cannot be said for Donald Stewart.
The atmosphere
between the newly-appointed factor and the just-retired head keeper appeared to
be tense in late 1901 to early 1902 as shown by the entries in John Michie’s
diary – not so much in what he said about Donald Stewart but in what Michie
omitted to record. On 28 November 1901,
John Michie wrote “Meeting privately of a few representative men at the Croft
to consider what should be done to give effect to a desire to show respect to
Mr. & Mrs. Forbes on their leaving for Blairatholl. Resolved to call a
public meeting at Abergeldie on the 9th prox”.
Michie was silent on the fact that The Croft was Donald Stewart’s
residence and that the meeting must have been called by him, which was a
presumptuous and even provocative act.
When the leaving party was held for James Forbes, with John Michie in
the chair, he again managed briefly to record the occasion without mentioning
Donald Stewart’s prominent role. “Mr
Forbes send-off cake & wine banquet held within the Ballroom at Abergeldie
Castle at which I presided. Rose bowl
and Candelabra, with a brooch to Mrs Forbes costing £109.7.0 was the
result. Of course, there were speeches
& there were a very representative gathering, including 14 from the Royal
Tradesmen in Aberdeen”. The most
memorable speech had been made by Donald Stewart who had been given the role of
presenting the very expensive brooch to Barbara Forbes, which he did in couthy
and humorous style much to the delight of the audience but especially to the
wife of the departing commissioner. At
that time, John Michie clearly wanted to scrub Donald Stewart from the script.
Donald Stewart
was installed in the Dantzig Shiel, five miles from the Castle, to spend his
retirement in semi-isolation from the running of the estate but in the company
of his wife, Margaret and his two daughters, Lizzie and Helena. This previously settled menage did not long
endure. In July 1902, Margaret Stewart
died, and John Michie represented the King and Queen at her funeral, placing a
wreath from the monarch on the coffin.
The inscription on this floral tribute read, ““From the King and Queen
Alexandra with sincere regret, in memory of a worthy wife and mother”. Margaret’s three brothers, two of whom were
in Royal service, attended to bid farewell to their sister. James Forbes also made the journey from Blair
Atholl for the funeral.
In January
1903, John Michie’s relationship with Donald Stewart was at least outwardly
normal. “Drove to the Danzig Shiel and
saw Donald Stewart who is in good health, but his daughter Lizzie is not very
well”. Lizzie was suffering from
tuberculosis and death again stalked the hinterland of the Dantzig Shiel. By early the following year, Lizzie’s
condition was worse. “Mrs. Michie went
to Danzig Shiel to see Lizzie Stewart who has been in worse health than usual
recently”. Thereafter calls by the
Michies at the Dantzig Shiel became more frequent. In February 1904, “… in the afternoon drove
to the Danzig to ask for Lizzie Stewart who is worse in health than usual. She is said to be so nervous that she cannot
be seen by visitors”. By this time Dr
James Noble was attending the Stewarts’ elder daughter regularly but all he
could do to help was to prescribe champaign to “sustain her strength”. At the King’s expense, Lizzie was sent to a
sanatorium down the valley in Banchory, but she died there in mid-June. Her body was returned to Ballater by train
for her funeral which was held two days after her demise. John and Helen Michie drove down to the
station to accompany the coffin back to Crathie and to attend the funeral,
which was conducted by Rev Sibbald, who had especially returned from holiday to
officiate.
John and Helen
Michie’s interactions with Donald Stewart seemed to continue on a friendly
basis in the early years of the new century.
In June 1903, “Donald Stewart drove Mr Mounsay down for the
evening”. The annual New Year shooting
match in 1905 was an opportunity for the Forbeses to visit both the Dantzig
Shiel and Baile-na-Coile. “Mr. & Mrs
Forbes of Blairatholl who have been staying at Danzig Shiel as the Guests of
Donal. Stewart came to the Shooting Match - the former participating in the
competitions. … Mrs Forbes & Helena Stewart lunched at Baille na Coille
with Mrs Michie”. In November 1905,
Helena Stewart acted as a local collector of cash and goods donations to a
“Great International Fair”, (patron HM the Queen) being held in Waverley
Market, Edinburgh, “in aid of funds of the Royal Victoria Hospital for
Consumptives (Patron HM King)”. This
hospital was established in Edinburgh in 1894 and the treatment of consumption
was a cause close to the hearts of the Stewarts.
Occasional
calls by the Balmoral Factor at the Stewart home continued. April 1906.
“In office most of the day but drove to Danzig Shiel in the evening and
arranged to have the passages papered, also the sitting room. Saw Donald Stewart and his daughter
Helena. Promised to send Ritchie the
foreman Painter up in a day or two's time with patterns to choose from”. Later the same year, John Michie made
arrangements to provide more support for the now declining Donald. “I went to the Danzig Shiel and arranged to
put a man to stay there in the bothy to attend to D Stewart's pony and do road
work in the locality. This on account
of Donald's age and more feeble health - he is 80 years past June”.
The following
year, 1907, there were further instances of John Michie’s friendly behaviour
towards the old, but still revered, retainer.
In January, “Drove my sleigh to the Danzig to visit old Donald Stewart
and delivered a 5 lbs packet of tea from Sir D Probyn who has sent 18 such
packets as Xmas presents - a piece of beef from the King's ox which is killed
annually for distribution among His Majesty's servants and others in the
district”. May saw the Balmoral Factor
meeting socially with Donald Stewart.
“Drove to the Danzig to fish with Donald Stewart & Arthur
Grant. The former landed one salmon, I
landed 3, Arthur who took the last chance had no luck”. And again, in November, “… called on Donald
Stewart at the Danzig on my way back where Mrs Mussen & her daughter were
at tea. I had a cup”.
By 1909, it was
clear that Donald Stewart’s mortal time was almost complete. Solicitous visits by the Michies became more
frequent to the Dantzig Shiel. “Drove
with Mrs M. to the Danzig afterwards and found Donald Stewart and his daughter
Helena well”. “Mrs. Michie visited old
Donald Stewart at the Danzig. He has not
been quite well recently but is better”.
“Drove to Danzig Shiel to see old Donald Stewart who is now in his
ordinary health. He had a turn of bad
breathing recently”. By July, John
Michie’s comments became more sombre.
“Drove (after office work in morning) to Danzig Sheil where saw old
Donald Stewart who appears to me to be nearing the end although his daughter
thinks him better in health recently”.
On 10 August, Michie’s diary recorded the inevitable news of the death
of the retired head keeper. “Donald
Stewart, retired Head Stalker died this afternoon at 4.20”.
However, all
the time that John Michie had been acting in a considerate and conciliatory
manner towards Donald Stewart, following his retirement, the latter had been
hiding a dark secret, which emerged from its hiding place at the time of
Michie’s own retirement in the summer of 1919.
On 27 May 1919, Sir Dighton Probyn wrote a revelatory missive to Sir
Fritz Ponsonby, Assistant Private Secretary to King George V, concerning the
succession at Balmoral. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 27 May 1919
from Sir Dighton Probyn to Sir Fritz Ponsonby).
“But you know from conversations we have had together how highly I have
thought of Michie and really feel for him in the very difficult position he was
put in thanks to that cowardly “stabbing in the back” old devil Donald Stewart,
who did his best to damn him even when he (Donald) knew Michie was the King’s
nomination. Had not His Majesty
authorised me, in fact told me, to speak as I did to Donald and others on
Michie’s first appointment as Factor, they the anonymous writing slanderers,
would have had the poor fellow out of office before he had been many weeks in
it.”
There is one
cryptic entry in John Michie’s diary which may, or may not, be relevant to the
campaign against him. On 19 April 1901,
John Michie “Received a letter from Sir Henry Arnold White, 14 Great
Marlborough Street, London which I do not quite understand”. Sir Henry White, of Arnold and Henry White,
Solicitors, acted for King Edward VII.
All that can be concluded is that the communication was likely from the
new monarch, likely concerned Michie’s employment at Balmoral but was unlikely
to be related to James Forbes’ resignation later that year. This was another frustrating example of John
Michie’s caution in not revealing sensitive issues, even to his own diary.
So, Donald Stewart,
though the ringleader, was not alone in trying to terminate Michie’s tenure at
Balmoral. There were “others”, though
Probyn did not identify them. Also, this
group had committed their views to paper (“writing slanderers”). It is likely they were also to be found in
the ranks of the keepers. Further, the
attempted sabotage took place “even after he (Donald) knew Michie was the
King’s nomination”, which suggests there may have been a campaign against
Michie which went on into the latter half of 1901 and possibly also into 1902
after Michie had assumed office. It is
also interesting that Edward VII had formed his own view of John Michie and
followed Royal convictions, even to the extent of instructing Sir Dighton “to
speak as I did to Donald and others”.
Sir Dighton was honest enough to admit in the same letter that, “Yes,
although I myself might have been – in fact was – in the first instance opposed
to Michie being appointed Factor …”.
John Michie was
nominated as factor at Balmoral because it was Edward VII’s view that he was
the man for the job, despite voices around him holding a different
opinion. King Edward emerged from the
episode with much credit having been put in the position of having to reprimand
the retiring head keeper, a man of great standing at Balmoral, for
disseminating false accusations about a fellow senior servant. It appeared that the respect, even adulation
heaped upon Donald Stewart had gone to his head and convinced him that he held
more sway than was actually the case. One wonders if he ever felt any pangs of guilt
in the subsequent years, during which the Michies did so much for the welfare
of him and his family?
It
remains unclear what was the exact nature of the machinations of Donald Stewart
and his co-conspirators, but it is possible that they managed to have some
influence on the Royal Family and Court even after John Michie’s appointment
and assumption of the role at the start of 1902. The timing of a known series of relevant
events throws up a plausible hypothesis.
John
Michie was frustratingly discrete in his diary entries when discussing personal
matters and items which might be sensitive for his employer. However, it has been speculated earlier that
he left some markers behind, inadvertently indicating the state of his emotions
and the stress to which he was being subjected.
These were the length of diary entries, gaps in diary entries and
cessation of entries before the ends of some years. The shorter the entries, the higher the
frequency of gaps, the greater their length and the earlier the making of
entries were terminated in the year, the higher the emotional disturbance that
John Michie may have been experiencing.
The two years, 1901 and 1902, appear to
have been times of stress for John Michie as projected from the diary
markers. Total entries in 1901 were 169,
compared with 47 in 1902. The very few
entries made in 1902 tended to be short, 17% falling into the “brief” category.
There were several major events in 1901.
Queen Victoria, to whom John Michie was devoted, died, the Balmoral
Commissioner, James Forbes resigned and by the beginning of August, John Michie
had been told he would succeed Forbes.
In September, the King and Queen arrived at Balmoral for the first time
since the start of his reign. Donald
Stewart, no fan of John Michie may not have been in a position to mount a
campaign against him before the public announcement of Michie’s appointment,
since he is likely to have been unaware of the thinking of the monarch and his
Court. Did Donald Stewart and his
acolytes only initiate their subversion of the new factor after Michie’s
appointment but before he assumed office?
Sir Dighton Probyn’s words, “even when he (Donald) knew Michie was the
King’s nomination”, suggest that this may have been the case. If so, it would have been understandable that
Michie would have been feeling stressed in the latter part of 1901. He had to settle in with a new monarch with
different ways and priorities from the late Queen, especially during the King’s
first autumn visit to Balmoral in his reign and John Michie had to plan for his
own accession to the new job. It is
known that at the end of November 1901, Donald Stewart tried to subvert
Michie’s authority over the arrangements for the departure of James
Forbes.
The
following year, 1902, was also eventful with John Michie assuming control at
Balmoral almost from the start of the year and needing to establish his own
authority, especially over some senior servants who appear to have still been
plotting against him. The King’s
coronation, planned for the end of June, had to be postponed due to his
development of acute appendicitis, the placing of the crown finally being
accomplished in early August. This was
quickly followed by the King’s autumn visit to Balmoral and all the planning
that entailed. This year, on the basis of the diary indicators, appears to have
been the most stressful time for the new Balmoral Factor. However, the absence of any diary entries
from much of the year eliminated direct clues as to the nature of the
relationship between Factor and monarch.
Did the campaign of Donald Stewart and his co-conspirators gain some
traction? Stewart certainly achieved his
desired impact with the Prince of Wales, as later revealed by Sir Dighton
Probyn. Did the King also succumb to
Stewart’s tittle-tattle? Was there any
significance in John Michie’s omission from the invitation list to the first
coronation event, when by historical precedent, he would have been expected to
travel down to London for important state occasions?
Nineteen hundred and three appeared to
have been more settled for John Michie, as judged from diary
characteristics. He made 345 entries,
only 5% of which were “brief”. When King
Edward arrived at Balmoral for his Scottish holiday on 14 September, his whole
demeanour towards John Michie seemed to have changed. He congratulated Michie on the execution of
changes in the Castle which the monarch had ordered, he invited John, Helen and
Beatrice Michie to be present at the Royal supper associated with the Ghillies’
Ball, he visited Abergeldie Mains (where the Michies were living at the time)
socially and he rewarded John with the MVO and “expressed himself pleased with
all I have done”. That this represented
a change of behaviour towards him was supported by John Michie’s statement
after being made a Member of the Victorian Order, ““HM’s kindness surprised
me”. (author’s emphasis).
The
year 1903 was also an important one for King Edward, since in August his
representatives managed to persuade the Brown family to sell Baile-na-Coile
back to the monarch. However, it was the
end of June 1904 before the Browns relinquished the keys, presumably in line
with the agreement which had been made.
Interestingly, the King did not retain the house for the use of his many
guests, as he had done with Craig Gowan, though it would have served that
purpose very well. Baile-na-Coile is a
very grand house not far distant from Craig Gowan and nearer to the
Castle. However, it was offered instead
to John Michie as an alternative to Abergeldie Mains, another fine house but a
bit distant from Balmoral Castle as a base for the Estate Factor. Was this another supportive gesture to Michie
for work well done, and possibly as recompense for the negative campaign he had
had to endure? The actual date on which
Michie was told that he would be moving to Baile-na-Coile is not currently known
but it must have been well before the end of June 1904, when the Browns handed
back the keys to the house. During the
first three weeks of July 1904, John Michie was extremely busy arranging for
carpets and furniture. He slept in
Baile-na-Coile for the first time on 22 July.
During King Edward’s annual visit to Deeside starting on the 12th
of the month, a programme of enhancements to Baile-na-Coile was agreed and Sir
Robert Rowand Anderson engaged for the design work. He was one of the most famous Scottish
architects of the time and, as the monarch would discover, not the
cheapest! Was this project, too, a
reward for Michie?
Mains of Abergeldie
There is a
remaining puzzle concerning the appointment of John Michie to the job of
managing the Royal estates on Deeside and that is the choice of job title. Andrew Robertson, Alexander Profeit and James
Forbes were all appointed as “Commissioner”.
John Michie was titled “Factor”, but his successor, Douglas Ramsay, and
Ramsay’s replacement, Douglas Mackenzie, reverted to the original
description. It was made clear to John
Michie from the start that his title wouId change from that of his
predecessor. “Was officially informed by
Sir D.M.Probyn G.C.V.O.&c &c. Keeper of H.M. Privy Purse that the King
had been graciously pleased to appoint me successor to James Forbes Esquire
M.V.O. Commissioner at Balmoral. My title to be Factor instead of
Commissioner”. In practical terms, there
seemed to be no difference in the managerial role being fulfilled but it was
implied by Sir Dighton Probyn that there was some difference in status adhering
to the two appellations, in two separate documents. “Note to James Forbes. Sir DP to communicate with Messrs Martin and (indecipherable)
WS to prepare a document or mandate appointing Mr John Michie as Factor at
Balmoral not Factor and Commissioner”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/838 note dated
22 Oct 1901 from Sir Dighton Probyn to James Forbes). “Michie’s successor, who I am glad to see, he
being the Sovereign’s servant, is to be called “Commissioner” and not “Factor””.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 27 May 1919 from Sir Dighton Probyn to
Sir Fritz Ponsonby). Almost all other
estates with which John Michie had dealings were managed by Factors. One exception was William McIntosh, Factor
and Commissioner on the Fife estates in 1912.
Even in this instance, the title varied from time to time. The puzzle remains, but was the implication
of the title “Factor” that it was a step down in status from the
alternative? If so, was this change an
attempt by the King to appease those at Court who thought that Michie was not
the ideal candidate for the role?
The family
of John and Helen Michie
In part 1 of
this biography of John Michie, which roughly covered his life up to 1902, the
educational history of the Michie children was explored. Here, the subsequent careers of the family
members and some other close relatives are presented, since these details are
important in understanding John Michie senior’s period of office as the
Balmoral factor.
Annie Michie
(1879 – 1958)
At the time of
the 1901 Census of Scotland, Annie Michie, then aged 21, was still living at
home, perhaps acting as mother’s help in a busy household. But just a few months later, in August, at
the time of the announcement that her father would be the next factor on the
Balmoral estates, Annie appeared to have been working at the Fife Arms hotel in
Braemar. In November 1901 she departed
for a position in France, though its nature has not been uncovered. Annie returned from the Continent three years
later, about November 1904, stopping to see friends and relatives in Kent and
Glasgow on her way north.
The next
employment of the Michies’ eldest daughter was as housekeeper to “Mr & Mrs
Pirrie of Harland & Wolff”, the Belfast shipbuilder, Annie taking up the
role in March 1905. William Pirrie was
an important figure in British national life.
He was chairman of the company between 1895 and 1924 and held the post
of Lord Mayor of Belfast in the period 1896 – 1898. Probably the most famous ship constructed at
the Harland and Wolff yard was the Titanic, completed in 1912. Pirrie had made a number of public statements
about the vessel being unsinkable, which tragically proved to be
inaccurate. Annie Michie only remained
in post for about 11 months for in February the following year she was
appointed housekeeper at Sandringham House, the Royal family’s residence in
north Norfolk. She must have parted with
the Pirries on good terms because in August 1906 the Pirries were staying at
the Fife Arms hotel, Braemar, and invited John and Helen Michie to meet them
there for tea. John and his wife were
accompanied by his brother David and his daughter, “Ceylon” Annie. In September of the following year Lord and
Lady Pirrie, accompanied by Lord and Lady Bathhurst (a newspaper owner) called
on the Michies at Baile-na-Coile. This
social call was followed by an invitation for lunch to Helen and Annie Michie
with Lady Pirrie. It is to be wondered
if Annie originally made the acquaintance of the Pirries while she was working
at the Fife Arms.
Viscount Pirrie, Chairman of Harland and Wolff
Annie Michie
would remain as Sandringham housekeeper for the rest of her working life. She would often return to Balmoral in the
autumn for an extended holiday, that being a time when Sandringham was not in
Royal occupation. When Annie Michie
first arrived at the Sandringham estate, the land agent there was Frank Beck,
who had succeeded his father, Edmund, in this role in 1891. Annie became good friends with Frank Beck’s wife,
Mary, and John Michie would sleep at the Beck’s house when he visited the Royal
estate in Norfolk. (Frank Beck would
later be the moving force in the formation of the Sandringham Volunteers, which
he led during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915.
Frank and many of his colleagues were killed in action at Suvla
Bay. John Michie got the news on 25
August. “Saw Sir Frederick (Ponsonby)
when told me a telegram had come to Mr Beck, Sandringham, been missing at the
Dardanelles since the 12th August!!
Very sorry at this sad news”. In
1915, Sir Dighton Probyn had presented Frank Beck with an engraved wristwatch,
which was with him when he died. After
the War, this timepiece was found in the possession of a Turkish officer,
bought from him and returned to the Beck family).
Until 6 April 1915, Annie Michie
had remained single but then she married widower J Walter Jones, a local
schoolmaster at West Newton in the Parish of Sandringham, which was on the Royal
estate. Annie was 36 and Walter rather
older at 58 years. Walter Jones was
first mentioned in John Michie’s diary in September 1911, when the schoolmaster
accompanied the Royal party to Balmoral, though it is unclear if a friendship
with Annie Michie had been ignited by this date. Although the marriage took
place during WW1, many of the Michie family managed to make the journey to
Norfolk from various parts of the country.
John and Helen Michie started by train from Aberdeen and met their son,
Henry in Newcastle, joining up with brothers David and Jack in
Peterborough. John Michie noted, “The journey without incident other than
a big fleet of war craft in the Forth and soldiers travelling by rail in large
numbers, in fact "Khaki" in evidence everywhere”. From Peterborough, the Michies travelled on
to Kings Lynn by rail where the group was supplemented by son Victor, his wife
Georgie and Annie Kitchin, a cousin who lived at Tonbridge in Kent.
Although Walter Jones had no
formal role on the Sandringham estate he was well connected there. Walter was particularly close to the two
oldest boys of King Edward VII, Princes Albert and George. Their regular tutor was Henry Hansell, a
former master at Eton College, who taught various Royal children between 1902
and 1915. When Hansell went on holiday,
Walter Jones would step in as his unofficial understudy. Walter, a skilled naturalist, often used to
conduct the Royal princes on nature walks through the parks, woodlands and
marshes around the Sandringham estate.
Jones also organised occasional football matches involving the princes
and lads from the local school, when no quarter was given to the Royal
participants.
Walter Jones also took on another
honorary role at Sandringham, that of looking after the Royal racing pigeon
loft. Pigeon racing is generally looked
upon as a proletarian activity. It is
not a sport of great antiquity, the first regular pigeon race in Great Britain
being initiated as recently as 1881.
Royal involvement in this obsession of the working man began in 1886
when Prince Albert of Wales received a gift of racing pigeons from King Leopold
II of Belgium, and his father Prince Albert Edward of Wales arranged for a loft
to be constructed to house the new Sandringham residents. The breeding program at the Royal loft was
successful and in 1899, the Prince of Wales’ bird won the National Flying
Club’s Grand National. From 1893, the
Royal racing pigeons competed under the name of Walter Jones.
Walter died at Sandringham aged
80 in 1938. He had been headmaster at
West Newton for 40 years. In her
widowhood, Annie retired to Edinburgh, surviving her husband by 20 years. However, her remains were returned to
Sandringham for burial.
David Kinloch Michie (1881 –
1949)
The second
child, but oldest son, of John and Helen Michie and the first to be born on
Upper Deeside was baptised with the given names “David” and “Kinloch” in honour
of his paternal grandfather. By 1901 he
had begun work in the factor’s office on the Durris estate, Kincardineshire,
which lay between Aberdeen and Stonehaven.
Durris House, the principal residence on the estate, was built, or
rebuilt in the 16th century, though subsequently much modified. By 1901, this estate was in the hands of the
Baird family, who had made a fortune from their industrial interests in the
West of Scotland, principally the Gartsherrie Iron Works. When DK Michie started his employment at
Durris, the Laird was 30-year-old Henry Robert Baird, an enlightened owner who
did much to improve the living conditions of the Durris tenants and
servants. The “estate agent and factor”
on the Durris estate during David Michie’s time there was Thomas Braid, who had
been born in Fife in 1851. Before
arriving at Durris, Thomas had worked as sub-factor to Lord Lovat at
Beauly. Durris was a good starting
position for aspiring estate manager, David Kinloch Michie.
Durris House
Henry Baird was
a keen supporter of the Volunteers and his new assistant in the estate office
at Durris sat his examinations in Aberdeen at the end of March 1901, for the
rank of captain, though initially he would only hold the actual rank of second
lieutenant in the Durris Company of the 5th Volunteer Battalion of
the Gordon Highlanders. David Michie was
soon embedded in the social life of the community around Durris, though he
would occasionally return home to Balmoral at weekends. At the end of July, the Durris Company of the
Volunteers held its annual picnic and games in a field near Kirkton of
Durris. DK Michie was a prominent
competitor, being placed third in throwing the hammer, third in putting the
ball, 4th in the caber, 3rd in the hop, step and leap and
2= in the high leap.
David Michie
attained his majority on 27 February 1902 and his father, as was traditional,
sent him his birth-certificate. The
Michies’ eldest son was promoted that year to the rank of Lieutenant in the
Durris company of Volunteers and he also competed at the Aberdeen
Wapinschaw. David did not resign his
commission until 1906, long after he had left the North-East of Scotland. However, David and possibly his father, were
keen for the first son to broaden his managerial experience. In February 1903, after attending meetings in
Aberdeen, Michie senior “Came out to Durris last night and spent it with Mr
& Mrs Braid to discuss David's leaving there for some other
experience”. He resigned his position in
the Durris office from early March. The
parting was amicable and David occasionally paid return visits to Durris. When Thomas Braid died in 1908, David Michie
travelled from the West of Scotland to be present at his funeral.
David gained a
new position in the office of the extensive Elderslie estates, located in
Renfrew. These estates were owned by Mr
Archibald Alexander Speirs who had inherited them, through his father, from his
grandfather, Alexander Speirs. The lands
included the Barony of Houston, the Fullwood estate and the lands of
Blackburn. Alexander had made his
fortune as one of the Glasgow Tobacco Lords.
These Glasgow merchants, who became fabulously wealthy, made their money
out of the triangular trade, exporting textiles, rum and manufactured goods from
Britain to Africa, slaves to the Americas and sugar, tobacco and cotton back to
Europe. At his death in 1782, Alexander
Speirs was claimed to have assets valued at £153,000. The Elderslie estate had at one time belonged
to Sir Malcolm Wallace, father of William Wallace, the Scottish patriot, and
Alexander Speirs is thought to have owned two double-handed swords previously
the property of Wallace. The Speirs
family crest was derived from William Wallace’s crest, but with the sword
replaced by a spear. James Alexander
Ferguson was the estate factor at Elderslie when David Michie arrived in 1903
as his senior assistant. Ferguson was
appointed in 1896 and had previously worked as the architect on the Glamis
estate.
Elderslie House
David Michie
often took his holidays from his job in Renfrewshire back on Deeside, where he
enjoyed the sporting facilities on offer.
He must have been getting along well with his immediate boss, James
Ferguson, because in September 1904, Ferguson and his wife, who had been on
holiday in Strathpeffer, motored over to Balmoral and spent “a night or two”
with the Michies.
In 1906, James
Ferguson resigned as factor on the Elderslie estate due to declining health,
dying two years later, and David Kinloch Michie was appointed in his
place. This was a remarkably rapid
promotion for Michie, who was 25 at the time and had only accumulated five
years’ experience of factorial work. He
must have impressed his employer, Mr Speirs, and likely the predecessor factor
too. David’s parents were no doubt
chuffed to receive the news. “Telegram
received from David Kinloch, our eldest boy that he had just been appointed
Factor at Elderslie”, was the modest entry in John Michie’s diary for 4 August
1906. Michie senior paid his first visit
to Elderslie in November 1906. “Spent
today with David at Elderslie. We went
to Paisley, Elderslie Village & Johnstone in the forenoon. Afternoon went to Houston”, though the West
of Scotland weather was unhelpfully “droppy”.
The same year, David gave his father a new rifle, which, on first use,
did not perform perfectly. “Went to the
deer on Craig Darign in very deep snow high up but had little luck. I tried the new rifle David gave me. It snapped at a hind but went off second try
& I got a hind, neither Smith (factor at Haddo House – see below) or
David had any luck”.
In December
1906, John Michie set out for London in order to attend the Smithfield fat
cattle show, taking in the similar show in Edinburgh on the way. There he met up with his son David, now
promoted to the ranks of the estate factors and the pair attended the Factors’
Meeting and dinner at the Carlton Hotel before they departed for their separate
destinations. With his new
responsibilities, David started to innovate at Elderslie, consulting with his
father about the practicalities of installing acetylene lighting in Neilson
House, since Michie senior had used this system of illumination both in Baile-na-Coile
and The Croft.
The M’Hardys of
Braemar were a family of big men.
William (1804 – 1867) was Head Keeper on the Mar Estate for many years
and performed competently in the heavy events at the Braemar Gathering. He had a family of eight legitimate
offspring, plus a couple who were “natural born”. Three of his sons became prominent
policemen. William (1836 – 1906) joined
the Aberdeenshire force and reached the rank of inspector, Alistair (1838 –
1911) became Chief Constable of Sutherlandshire and retired as head of the
Inverness-shire force and Charles (1844 – 1914) became the Chief Constable of
Dumbartonshire. Although these M’Hardy
coppers had departed Braemar before the arrival of John Michie on Deeside in
1880, they were known to him.
Charles
M’Hardy, as chief constable of Dunbartonshire, was responsible for policing the
launch of the ocean liner “Lusitania” from the Clydebank Shipyard and he
invited John and Helen Michie to attend the celebrations around the event. This was an ideal opportunity for the Michies
to fulfil both the invitation and to visit Elderslie at the same time. The Lusitania was launched on 7 June 1907,
which was also the day that the Michies travelled down to Glasgow. The following day John and Helen “Went over
the "Lusitania" the biggest ship afloat at the present time. Went up Loch Lomond in afternoon and got
rain”. (The Lusitania was subsequently torpedoed
and sunk by a German U-boat off the south coast of Ireland on 7 May 1915. There was a loss of about 1260 lives,
including many Americans, which event is thought to have been influential in
bringing the USA into WW1).
RMS Lusitania
After his
removal to the West of Scotland, David Michie became very active in athletic
and sporting activities. During the
summer of 1905 he was involved in several 100 yd and 200 yd handicapped running
races and from 1907 he entered Highland games, mostly in the heavy events, such
as putting the shot and throwing the hammer.
In 1911 he was a competitor at the Braemar Gathering. David also became a member of the National
Rifle Club of Scotland and played cricket regularly for Renfrew, where he was
appointed assistant captain in 1909 and captain the following year, a position
he held until the start of WW1. In the
1912 season DK Michie took 81 wickets, being first equal in the Glasgow
area. David Michie represented the
National Rifle Club of Scotland at Bisley in 1910. The following year he was present at Bisley
again and “found a place on the prize list even though he was a tyro”. Inevitably, given his upbringing on Deeside,
David Michie was also a keen participant at shooting, fishing and curling. In this latter sport he played for the
Renfrew King’s Inch club.
David Kinloch
Michie married Jean Walker in summer 1912.
He was 31 and his wife was 5 years his junior. Jean was the daughter of school headmaster,
Archibald Walker from Yoker, Dumbartonshire and Jean was herself an assistant teacher. The couple appear to have had only two
children, John born before December 1915 and Jean, born in 1919 after David
Michie’s return from war service.
Shortly after
the start of WW1, David Michie joined the Army and was soon promoted to be a
temporary captain in the 1st Glasgow Battalion of the Highland Light
Infantry. He was posted to Gailes Camp,
near Irvine in Ayrshire, presumably for officer training, which lasted for 4 ½
months. David was still at Gailes Camp
the following May but due to be moved out to Kendal. David Michie managed to get two days’ leave
at the start of 1915, when he travelled back to Deeside and took part in the
New Year shooting competitions traditionally held on the Balmoral estate on 1
January. He was first with a score of 23
out of a possible 25 and thus gaining a small gold medal donated by King George
V. The following day, in the company of
brother Victor, David went to the hill after hinds. He killed five out of a total bag of nine.
About 11 May,
David Michie was posted with his regiment to Prees Heath Camp in North
Shropshire but was able to get a few days leave and travelled with his wife
back to Deeside, before having to return to his regiment for the next move to
Salisbury Plain at the start of September 1915, where serious training in
simulated war conditions took place. A
few days after arrival, David was “… wounded in the leg by a splinter from a
bomb while observing practice …”. He was
sent home to Renfrew to recuperate and was well enough to travel to Deeside to
see his parents. John Michie found him
“… yet very lame from his bomb wound …”.
In February 1916, David Michie was promoted to the rank of temporary
captain from 9 February, but with seniority backdated to 1 September 1914. He was first posted to France in 1916. In December of the same year, David was
promoted again, this time to temporary major in the Highland Light
Infantry. David Michie was mentioned in
dispatches and was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order in January
1918. He was still serving in France in
mid-October of that year and did not arrive home from the continent until 20
February 1919, on which date he relinquished his command. DK Michie then resumed his position as factor
on the Elderslie estate of WAA Hagart-Spiers, though he soon found time to
visit Deeside.
With the war
over, it was time for David Michie to reconnect with the various strands of his
civilian life. He had had a good war,
his status in the Renfrew community was now substantial and local politics
appeared to beckon. In the School Board
elections for Renfrewshire, held in April 1919, there were 74 candidates for 35
seats. Major DK Michie was successful in
the Upper Renfrewshire Division. At the
Scottish National Milk and Health Association Preliminary meeting held in
Glasgow in November 1924, Major DK Michie was present as the representative of
the Association of Education Authorities in Scotland. By 1927, David Kinloch Michie was a local
councillor in Renfrew and in the municipal elections of that year he was again
a candidate in Ward 3. He sailed under
the label of “Mod” (Moderate?) and was opposed by a Labour candidate. David Michie was elected again. There were many Labour candidates in the
West of Scotland in these elections, plus an occasional Communist or
Socialist. This was a time of
substantial unemployment and significant social unrest in the aftermath of
WW1.
After the war,
David was soon back on the cricket green, playing for Renfrew against other
Scottish counties. He also resumed the
captaincy of the team. By 1922, David
had also returned to competitive rifle shooting at Bisley, as a member of the
Scottish team contesting the Elcho shield.
In 1925 and
1926 there was a major sale of land by the Elderslie estate, which was fronted
by David Michie. This disposal included “West
Forth farm and croft; Eaglesham estates for sale including the Mansion house
and policies”, consisting of 9886 acres, with an upset price of £147,000 and “Fingalton
agricultural estate”, with an upset price of £17,330.
The Secretary
of State for Scotland established a committee on allotments in Scotland in
1931, presumably with the intention of helping the working class to feed
themselves cheaply and Major Michie was invited to serve on this body. In 1932, David Michie, who by this year had
become Provost of Renfrew, opened an unemployed men’s social club in a shop in
Fulbar Street, which had been fitted out by the beneficiaries. In his role as Provost, David Michie took a
leading role in community initiatives, such as raising money for the relief of
suffering resulting from the Gresford Colliery disaster, near Wrexham, when an
underground fire resulted in the deaths of 266 men.
But Major
Michie (he continued to use his Army rank in civilian life), perhaps influenced
by his no-nonsense, military background, could at times behave in an authoritarian,
even autocratic fashion, a charge which had previously been laid at his
father’s door too. Renfrew had an
airport which started life as a military airfield during WW1 but became a
civilian facility subsequently. The
first scheduled flights from Renfrew, serving Campbelltown on the Mull of
Kintyre, started in 1933. Sir Alan
Cobham had been a military aviator in WW1 and subsequently was involved in a
variety of aviation businesses and pioneering flights. In 1929 he initiated his Municipal Aerodrome
Campaign to encourage town councils to build airport facilities, by touring the
country giving free flights to dignitaries and paid flights to the general
public. From 1932 he ran National
Aviation Day displays at many venues around Britain. These displays were very popular. In planning for a further program of events
in early 1935, Cobham wrote to Renfrew Town Council asking for permission to
mount an air display at Renfrew Airport in the following July. Provost Michie was unimpressed, giving the
view that “Renfrew had had sufficient air displays”. The councillors fell in behind their leader
and permission was refused.
The rejection
of Sir Alan Cobham was as nothing compared with the Renfrew Provost’s next spat,
this time with a national authority. In
April 1938 he took the dramatic decision to shut down Renfrew Airport with only
two weeks’ notice. The affair was
reported in the Aberdeen Journal. “This
dramatic announcement was made by Major DK Michie Provost of Renfrew during a
civic luncheon yesterday the purpose of which was to celebrate the new Glasgow
– Perth – Inverness air service. Renfrew
had been due to operate 26 air services in the coming season. Michie said that the unanimous decision of
the Renfrew Council was due to the “procrastination and discourtesy by the
Civil Aviation Department of the Air Ministry.”
The Council have spent about £11,000 on airport improvements as well as
sustaining £300 to £500 annual loss, since taking over the property. “We are most anxious to have an airport in
Renfrew” said Provost Michie “and to encourage civil aviation but at a
price. It is all wrong for a
municipality to subsidise what ought to be a national service. Reasonable ratepayers will not allow this
state of affairs to continue”. “Guarantees had been sought from the Air
Ministry that if certain extensions were carried out Renfrew Airport should
remain as the recognised civil airport for the south-west of Scotland during
the next two years”. Michie’s
announcement was a bombshell and caused quite a fuss. A telegram was quickly dispatched from the
Air Ministry in London giving a guarantee for the next two years but
emphasising that it could not be given for longer because of the limitations at
Renfrew relating to its further development.
In truth, a replacement site was needed, and a new airport was
subsequently developed at Abbotsinch east of Renfrew and remains as Glasgow
Airport today.
David Kinloch
Michie played a prominent role in the civil defence of Renfrew and the
surrounding area during WW2. In early
1939 with the prospect of war looming, he was appointed ARP (Air Raid
Precautions) Controller for the county of Renfrew. In this role he was responsible for the
organisation of support services needed should there be a bombing raid on the
town, such as enforcement of blackout regulations, recruitment of ambulance
drivers, organisation of rescue parties and liaison with police and fire
services. One decisive action that he
took concerned a Council employee in the Roads Department, who refused to
undertake decontamination training but, intolerably in the eyes of the provost,
actively canvassed his colleagues to decline instruction too. The provost moved a motion in council for the
man’s dismissal, which was passed by 21 votes to five. Michie then had a spat with the Home Office
over the costs of providing a warden service.
In 1940 he caused notices of suspension to be sent to 122 full-time paid
ARP workers but with an agreement to meet on the apportionment of costs, the
suspensions were lifted. This was the DK
Michie way of getting things done.
In 1942, David
Michie resigned as Provost of Renfrew, for “health and business reasons”. This was the start of his retreat from public
life. He suffered from bowel cancer and
heart disease and died in 1949. Other
than his war service when he received the DSO and was mentioned in dispatches,
he was a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Renfrew, Lord Provost of Renfrew
between 1930 and 1942, a member of the Town Council for 25 years and of the
County Council for 32 years and a member of the County Education Committee for
ten years, including six years as its chairman.
In 1943 he was awarded the OBE for his work as the Renfrew ARP
Controller. David Kinloch Michie had led
an interesting, productive and prominent life.
Victor
Michie (1882 – 1952)
The latter years of Victor
Michie’s schooling and his early adult life remain obscure due to the absence
of John Michie’s diaries for 1898 – 1900 but it is known that at the Braemar
picnic (not the Braemar Gathering) held in July 1898, Victor won the boys under
15 race and three years later, he was again a competitor in the sports, coming
first and second in the golf driving competition. As early as 1901, Victor, then aged 17 years
attended a meeting where it was proposed to establish a corps of mounted
infantry in association with the Gordon Highlanders. Victor signified his intention to join the
proposed corps.
By early 1901 Victor was working
as an assistant seedsman at the nursery of Ben Reid & Co in Aberdeen. Victor lodged in Aberdeen but often came home
to Balmoral at the weekends. It is
likely that Victor secured this position through the good relationship that his
father had with the principals of the Ben Reid company. However, in May 1901, Victor’s father noted “Saw Victor who has again been troubled
with his eyes” and these sight problems forced
the lad to give up his work with Ben Reid & Co.
By 1903, Victor’s vision had
improved sufficiently for him to undertake a new job at Walhampton, near
Lymington in the New Forest. Victor’s
father, on a visit to the Smithfield Show in December 1903, extended his
journey to travel down to Lymington. “Arrived in London this morning &
proceeded to Walhampton, Lymington, Hampshire to see
Victor, who is well & in good spirits. He introduced me to Major his
master. Put up at the Hotel for the
night”. Thereafter, occasional reports
of Victor’s whereabouts indicated that he was still working at Walhampton. On 10 April 1904 he appeared to suffer an
accident when riding into the mews of the Angel hotel, Lymington, when his
horse fell, pitching him to the ground.
He was shaken but not seriously hurt.
The following December he travelled home to Deeside on holiday and in
January 1905 he danced a Highland fling at a Burns supper organised by the New
Forest Caledonian Society and held in the Town Hall, Lymington. Everything seemed to be in order in Victor’s
work and social environment.
However, an
alarming, but cryptic, diary entry by John Michie on 27 April 1905 suggested
that all was not well in son Victor’s world.
“Heard awkward news of Victor from John Kitchin. … Received harassing
news from Lymington Dr Maidstone rather”. (John Kitchen was a brother of Helen Michie
who farmed in Kent. “Dr Maidstone”
probably refers to a medical doctor in Maidstone, Kent.) The same day as John Michie’s anxious diary
entry, Victor received a leaving present at a gathering in the Angel Hotel,
Lymington. The event was recorded in the
Western Gazette. “Presentation at Angel
Hotel, Lymington to Mr Victor Michie who is leaving. “Mr CW Orman occupied the chair and Mr HC
Heppenstall the vice-chair. At the close
of an excellent repast served in Host Walter’s best style, the Chairman
presented to Mr Michie on behalf of his numerous friends a handsome travelling
dressing case and a silver cigarette case expressing a few appropriate words of
regret at his departure from Lymington and of good wishes for his future. Mr JA Coughlan gave expression to similar
sentiments and Mr Michie suitably acknowledged the good wishes and the handsome
gifts. The remainder of the evening was
convivially spent”. (HC Heppenstall
was a solicitor in Lymington and “Major” and “Mr CW Orman” may have been Major
Charles Orman, soldier and cricketer).
One possible
explanation for this sketchy series of events was that Victor suffered an
injury or illness, possibly a recurrence of his previous eye problem, and
retreated to his uncle’s house in Kent to seek medical help and family support
and that the problem was so severe that there was no prospect of him continuing
in his job at Lymington. However, it
seems more likely that the true reason for Victor leaving his job at Walhampton
was that he had planned to emigrate to Canada and had sprung the news on his
family at the last minute, perhaps knowing that they would disapprove and try
to persuade him to change his mind.
Perhaps he visited his uncle in Kent to use him as a conduit of
information back to Scotland? Victor
departed from Liverpool on 4 May 1905 for Quebec, sailing on the “Kensington”
of the Dominion Line. He does not appear
to have visited Deeside before his departure from Britain.
Why did Victor
choose Canada as an emigration destination?
He may have been influenced by his younger brother Henry Maurice, who,
in 1900, had won a bronze medal in a competition promoted by the Canadian
Government to improve knowledge of the Dominion and thus to encourage
emigration there (see below).
After 27 April
1905, there was no further reference to Victor in John Michie’s diaries until
23 December 1911, when John noted, “Received a telegram at 8 o'clock from
Victor saying he and his wife had arrived in Liverpool last night - that they
would be at Ballater at 5 o'clock, which they were”. This absence of any reference to Victor was
despite diaries being available for 1905, 1906, 1907 and 1909. Did this omission indicate a level of family
disapproval for Victor’s actions? Victor
had married Georgina Myrtle Anderson at Strongfield, a very small settlement in
Saskatchewan in November 1910. It
appears that the visit by Victor and Georgina to Deeside at Christmas 1911 may
have been the result of a reconciliation between Victor and his family, after
his surprise departure six and a half years previously. “Walked as far as Boat pool with Victor &
Jack. Mrs. M., Alix. &
"Georgie" Victor's wife attended Xmas service”, was part of John
Michie’s diary entry for Christmas Day.
Brother David Kinloch arrived from Renfrew on 28 December and stayed
over the New Year period. Victor enjoyed
both grouse and roe hind shooting during his Balmoral sojourn.
Early in
February 1912, Victor and Georgie departed from Liverpool on the “Empress of
Ireland”, arriving at St John, New Brunswick on the 17th of the
month. Victor was categorised as a
returning Canadian and was destined for Winnipeg, Manitoba. Two years later Victor and his wife were
living in a different province, at Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. But their next visit to Britain’s shores had
an altogether more sombre purpose. In
August 1914, shortly after the start of WW1, Victor enlisted with the 5th
Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Valcartier but about a month
later he transferred to the Imperial Forces overseas. Victor and his wife travelled from Montreal
to Liverpool on the “Missanabie” of the Canadian Pacific Line. He was described as a civil engineer and his
destination address was Baile-na-Coile, the home of his parents on the Balmoral
estate.
Christmas 1914
must have been a time of anxiety and anticipation in the Michie household but
with two sons at home, Victor and David, the worries of what was to come could
be put aside for a few days while the traditional shooting competitions and the
pursuit of game were indulged by the estate residents. On 2 January 1915, John Michie noted, “Victor
has been appointed for the 2nd Scottish Horse, but has not yet received his
marching orders”, so the fun continued for a while, the temperature being low
enough for the curling passion of the Michie males to be indulged. In a match skipped by John and Victor on 6
January, Michie senior won 17 : 3 but a few days later Victor gained revenge,
winning 10 : 6. A final fling at the
“roaring game” occurred on 28 January, which ended equal. The following day, Victor left Deeside for
Chester-le-Street to join his unit.
With all four
Michie sons (David, Victor, Jack and Henry) away with their units, the women at
Baile-na-Coile were free to travel. In
mid-February 1915, Georgie Michie departed for Newcastle on her way to
Sandringham, where she was to stay with Annie Michie, though she hoped to break
her journey to visit Victor at Chester-le-Street. Annie was due to marry Walter Jones, the
local school headmaster, on 6 April. It
was a first marriage for Annie at the age of 36 but a second marriage for
Walter, whose first wife had died.
Following the wedding, Georgie, Alix Michie, with John and Helen Michie
spent some time at Chapel Rossan Bay, Dumfries and Galloway, where son Henry
had been appointed as factor shortly before the start of the war and where
daughter Alix (Alexandrina) was also employed.
The following month, Georgie also visited Gosforth Park, Northumberland,
where Victor was then stationed.
By Friday 13
August 1915, Victor had received orders to depart for Egypt the following
Monday. Georgie quickly departed from
Deeside for Morpeth, Northumberland to see her husband before he embarked for
the East. Henry Michie was also sent to
Egypt. From that country the two Michie
brothers were moved to Turkey and the Gallipoli Campaign. In late September two postcards arrived at
Baile-na-Coile from Henry Michie, one dated 4th of the month,
reporting that he and Victor were both “in trenches but well”. However, it did
not take long for Victor to catch, and be hospitalised at Mudras, by an attack
of dysentery. Further news was
sporadic. At some stage that autumn
Victor received a wound and was moved to the Greek island of Lemnos. He was also promoted, firstly to the rank of
Lieutenant and then to captain in the 27th Light Horse. He was placed on reserve on 23 September
1916, due to medical unfitness. Victor
returned to Canada on 17 March 1917, where he was employed in the headquarters
of Military District 12 in Ottawa. He
was further promoted to the rank of captain in July of the same year. Victor remained in this post until his
resignation on 31 March 1918 and was discharged at Regina.
By September
1919, Victor and Georgie were residing at Loreburn, Saskatchewan. After his return to civilian life, Victor
Michie was engaged in a long and confusing correspondence with the military
authorities regarding gratuities due to him.
The problems arose from his sequential service, first with the Canadian
military, then the Imperial Forces and finally with the Canadians again. It was difficult for the authorities to
establish the details of his mixed military career and thus to be in a position
to calculate his entitlements. This
confusing episode was not finally resolved until mid-1920.
At the 1921
Census of Canada, which was taken on 1 June, Victor Michie was boarding with
Alexander Cameron a farmer born about 1853 in Scotland, who was living at Mill
Road, Boissevain, Manitoba. Victor who
was 39 years old and married, was described as a “Cont Engineer” (contracting
engineer?). He had Canadian nationality,
was a Presbyterian and could speak both English and French. It is likely that by this year Victor was
involved in the extension of the rail network in Western Canada, where he is
known to have worked for both Canadian National Railways and Canadian Pacific
Railways.
According to
the recollections of John Michie’s descendants, after Victor came home from the
war he found a new love, Nellie Sadie Smith, left Georgie, his first wife and
eventually, in 1928, married Sadie. At
the time of his second marriage, Victor was 46 and his new bride was 35. The reaction to this turn of events in the
staunchly Presbyterian Michie family back in Scotland was one of both shock and
disgust. Expressions of this revulsion
included the obliteration Victor’s image in group photographs of the family and
the severance of communication with him.
Despite the negative feelings of the British-based Michie family
members, the Aberdeen Press and Journal carried a report in 1946 of a new
appointment for Victor. “Major Victor
Michie a native of Aberdeen has been appointed surplus property engineer of War
Assets Corporation, Canada. Major Michie
takes charge of a new division responsible for the acceptance of surplus lands
and buildings and their custody and maintenance pending their clearance or
disposal. He has been with the
corporation for some time as chief of the construction and engineering division”. Victor died in 1952 and was buried in Elmwood
Cemetery, Winnipeg.
Henry
Maurice Michie (1885 – 1949)
Harry Michie
was the fifth child and third son of John and Helen Michie. In September 1901 Henry Maurice started
attending Aberdeen Grammar School but did not subsequently go on to university. He was not comfortable living away from home
and often returned there at weekends.
However, he was clearly a bright boy, as shown by his performance the
previous year in a competition promoted by Lord Strathcona on behalf of the
Canadian Government. Lord Strathcona had
been born in Scotland but had emigrated to Canada where he was highly
successful in business and national life.
Schools were invited to receive textbooks and atlases for the study of
Canadian geography and resources and then for individual pupils to take part in
an examination of their acquired knowledge of this vast dominion in North
America. Crathie School was a
participating institution and Henry Maurice Michie entered as a candidate in
the examination. He came first and was
rewarded with a bronze medal, which bore the inscriptions, “School Competition
1900 subject “The Dominion of Canada” and “presented by the Canadian Government
1900””. The aim of the Canadian
Government, which appeared to have been successful, was to make the younger
generation more familiar with the resources of Canada and thus more likely to
emigrate there. At a meeting of the
Crathie and Braemar School Board held on 19 March 1901, “Medal won by Henry
Maurice was shown to S.B. and an entry made in the minute expressing the
Board's pleasure”.
Lord Strathcona
Henry Michie
left Aberdeen Grammar School in 1903 and embarked on a career in estate
management in emulation of his father and brother David. In his diary entry for 12 November, John
Michie wrote, “Maurice left for Strichen Estate Office to begin his career as A
Factor!!”, by which he really meant that Henry Maurice had been enrolled as an
assistant to John Sleigh, the 77-year-old factor on the Strichen, Auchmedden
and Fedderate Estates, though given Sleigh’s age, Henry may have had
aspirations to an early promotion. These
properties, which included Strichen House, had been acquired in 1850 by William
Baird, who made his fortune from iron and steel production in Coatbridge.
In late January
1904, John Michie visited the Strichen Estate “to see how Henry Maurice was
getting on”. He found his son to be
thriving in the estate environment. “Mr.
& Mrs. Sleigh were all kindness and approved of Henry who went to Mr.
Sleigh, Factor to learn estate work on the 12th November last. He seems to like his work and the
place”. During August, Henry returned to
Deeside for a holiday and while he was at home a friend from Strichen, Mr.
Wilson senior clerk in the estate office, paid a visit to Baile-na-Coile. Unfortunately, this happy state of affairs
did not last for Henry Maurice, as a message to his parents in mid-November
showed. “Got a letter from Henry to say
that he has now been laid up with rheumatic fever for about a fortnight &
is getting worse”.
John Michie,
ever the concerned parent, immediately took a train to Strichen to assess the
situation. “Went out to Strichen this (Friday)
morning to see Henry whom I found looking very ill. He had a bad turn yesterday & his
temperature was 103º this morning. We
have made up our minds to make arrangements for getting him home in the
beginning of the week if he is well enough to stand the journey provided the
Dr. gives permission”. The following
Wednesday, the plan was put into action.
“Went from Aberdeen to Strichen by first train where I found Henry
better than he was on Friday & ready to undertake the journey. We had him taken from his lodgings to the
station in a carriage where he was put to bed in a saloon carriage attached to
the 9.50 train from Strichen. On arrival
at Aberdeen, we had some lunch handed in to the carriage & the saloon shunted
on to the 12.20 Deeside train. On
arrival at Ballater there was a closed carriage waiting into which he was
placed & arrived home without mishap about 3.15. Henry was exhausted with the fatigue but the
Dr. who saw him soon after his arrival seemed to think that the journey really
hadn't done him harm”. By the end of
March 1906 Henry’s health was returning to normal and by the middle of May he
had returned to his position on the Strichen Estate, though his father noted,
“He is fairly well but I confess not looking so robust as I would like
him”. Ann Sleigh, the Strichen factor’s
wife, became friends with Helen Michie and started to make occasional visits to
Balmoral, the first of which was in October 1907. “Later drove to
Ballater with Mrs Michie in pouring rain. Met Mrs Sleigh off 2 pm train. We all had tea in the Invercauld Hotel &
attended a presentation to Mr James Cowie, late Stationmaster at Ballater who
retired last spring …”.
Henry Michie
gradually picked up the pieces of his life and started to take on roles in the
community. In 1906 he became secretary
of the Fraserburgh and Strichen Curling Club and he also fulfilled the role of
interim clerk and inspector for Strichen Parish Council. Henry was elected to the committee of the
Strichen Cricket Club too, where he was a regular player. A fancy-dress ball was held in the village in
early 1909, when Henry attended dressed as a Cavalier and the following year,
he was awarded a certificate in the Strichen Ambulance examinations.
In 1910, Henry
Michie was appointed to a new position as assistant factor on the Raith Estate,
Kirkaldy, Fife. This property was owned
by Ranald Munro-Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar. John Sleigh supported Henry’s application
with a testimonial in which he said he had developed a high opinion of HM
Michie in the seven years that he was in office at Strichen. A leaving presentation was made to Henry in
November of that year. However, his
ambition was such that from mid-1911 he began applying for factorial
positions. The following year, Henry was
appointed as factor on the Logan Estate in Wigtownshire, where he succeeded the
long-serving Mr MacClew. Henry had been
supported in his application by the dying John Meiklejohn, the factor on the
Novar Estate at Dingwall, who expressed a high opinion of him. Sir Ranald had offered to give Henry a
testimonial, if one had not been forthcoming from the Novar factor. The Logan Estates, which enjoyed a mild
climate, were located on the southern peninsula of the Rhinns of Galloway and
belonged for several hundred years to the McDouall family. In early 1914, Henry was a candidate for the
School Board at Kirkmaidan, Chapel Rossan.
Like his
brothers, Henry Michie was brought up to have an interest in the military and
took an early opportunity to join the Deeside Volunteers in March 1901. “Henry Maurice joined the Volunteers at
Braemar last Saturday altho’ only 15 years old last August”, was the relevant
entry in John Michie’s diary. In August
1914, Britain declared war on Germany and military service suddenly became a
deadly business. In late August, Henry
Maurice Michie was commissioned in the Scottish Horse as a second lieutenant
but not immediately given a posting.
Thus, he was able to attend the marriage of his sister Annie at
Sandringham on 6 April 1915. Henry, a
member of A Squadron, 1st Scottish Horse was posted to Morpeth for training but
soon became infected by measles, which resulted in him being hospitalised in Newcastle
for a few days. He was able to return
home for a short period of leave in July, before departing for the
Mediterranean. His father observed that
“He looks fairly fit …” but “…not quite well”.
In
mid-September 1915, Helen Michie received a letter, dated 28 August, from her
third son, then on board HMS Transylvania sailing between Malta and the
Dardanelles. The Transylvania was a
civilian liner requisitioned as a troop carrier shortly after her completion in
May 1915. Two years later, in May 1917,
the vessel was sunk by a U-boat while ferrying troops to Egypt. Henry told his mother that they were going on
active service in two days’ time (30 August) on the Turkish coast. A further letter from Henry, dated 30 August
indicated that a landing was imminent and that it would be under
shellfire. It was his 30th
birthday. Five days later he wrote one
(or perhaps two) postcards to home telling his parents that both he and Victor
had landed at Gallipoli safely and were in the trenches. The next news of Henry’s status was not
received on Deeside until 20 December 1915 when the Michies learned that Henry
had been hospitalised in Malta with deafness, having been knocked out by the
noise of artillery fire at Suvla Bay on the coast of the Gallipoli peninsula. Five days later a telegram arrived at Baile-na-Coile
informing his parents that Henry had just landed at Plymouth from Malta. He was immediately sent to St Thomas’
Hospital in London.
After his
recovery, Henry subsequently served on the Struma Front, opposing the Bulgarian
Army which had occupied part of mainland Greece. He was mentioned in dispatches for his
actions at Salonika. Once the Bulgarians
had been defeated, Henry trekked to Sofia, the Bulgarian capital and then on to
Varna on the Black Sea coast in command of a convoy. Henry Michie had been allowed to maintain his
role as factor on the Logan Estates while he was away at the war but by early
1918 that generosity by Mr McDouall was starting to bother Henry. He wrote to McDouall to explain his concerns,
clearly wanting to treat his employer fairly.
Henry explained to McDouall that the war, in his opinion, was dragging
on, that he felt that he was getting out of touch with events on the estate and
that he did not think he would be home for another year. Also, his sister, Alix, who had been 22 at
the start of the War and had also been employed on the Logan estates, had
become engaged to Major John Milne and was planning to marry. In the circumstances Henry felt he should
proffer his resignation, thanking his employer on behalf of himself and his
sister. Mr McDouall replied regretting
that Henry was leaving but agreeing that a residential factor was now
necessary. Henry remained seconded from
the Scottish Horse and was promoted to the rank of acting captain in the Royal
Regiment of Artillery from September 1918.
He was still in Bulgaria, but in poor health due to malaria, in January
1919. Henry Maurice arrived home from
Salonika on 8 February and was met in Aberdeen by his parents. It was more than two years that he had been
absent from Great Britain.
After a month’s
rest on Deeside, Henry reported back to his unit in Edinburgh in early March
1919 and was still actively involved in military work. When John Michie visited Edinburgh on 7 April,
he found his third son out on the Forth Estuary on military duty. In early June, Captain Henry Maurice Michie
was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services on the Salonika
Front, this honour presumably being granted on his demobilisation. By March 1920, Henry had returned to estate
management, having by then been appointed to the Rosehaugh Estates, Avoch, Ross-shire. However, in 1921 he moved on to become land
agent on the Blagdon Estate, Lord Ridley’s (Matthew White Ridley, 3rd
Viscount Ridley) property at Seaton Burn, Northumberland. The 3rd Viscount Ridley married
Ursula Lutyens, daughter of Sir Edwin Lutyens and he was responsible for the
layout of the gardens from 1926 to 1938, during Henry’s time as land agent.
Henry Michie
became closely involved in the life of the community, as well as the work of
the Blagdon Estate. Specific
organisations enjoying Henry’s involvement included Stannington Wolf Cubs,
Stannington Young Farmers, Blagdon Estate Rifle Club, Berwickshire County Show,
Northumberland Agricultural Society, Northumberland Rivers Catchment Board and
the Stannington Branch of the Royal British Legion. Henry lived at Blagdon House but remained
single. He died, aged 64, in 1949.
John Michie
(1887 – 1917)
John was
popularly known as “Jack” and he reached the age of 16 in 1903. The Michies’ fourth son had expressed a
desire to work in a bank, so his father travelled to Aberdeen to enquire about
employment prospects with the North of Scotland Bank. “Thursday 3 September. Went to Aberdeen by 12-5 train and saw Mr. J
Hutcheon, Chief Inspector of The North of Scotland Bank, about our youngest boy,
Jack. Mr.H practically agreed to give
him a start in one of the Branches of their Bank.” Four days later, the employment process was
initiated when Michie senior “Took Jack to Aberdeen for Examination preparatory
to his entering The North of Scotland Bank. This proved satisfactory with the
result that he enters the Branch at Aboyne”.
Two weeks later it was Helen Michie’s turn to play her part. “The Mrs. went to Aboyne with Jack this
morning and secured Board & Lodging for him”. Jack was the only son of the
Michies not to aspire to a career in estate management.
Aboyne was only
18 miles from Crathie and Jack frequently took the opportunity to travel home
at the weekends, where he could indulge his passion for golf. He was a well-built lad and proved to be a
good competitor at Highland sports. By
1911 he was competing at the Braemar Gathering.
In 1906 Jack
Michie passed the Associate examination of the Institute of Bankers with a
score of 76% and by 1909 he had been moved to the Market Street branch of the
North of Scotland Bank in Aberdeen, now named the North of Scotland and Town
and County Bank, as chief teller.
However, his banking career was interrupted by the initiation of WW1,
though the Bank made a commitment to support Jack when he returned from active
service. At the outbreak of war in
August 1914, Jack was almost 27. He
enlisted in the 15th Battalion (1st Glasgow) of the Highland
Light Infantry with the rank of temporary second lieutenant, effective from 8
February the following year. He was soon
posted to Gailes Camp, a training base for officers located near Troon,
Ayrshire. On 6 April 1915, he was able
to travel from there, with his brother David, to Sandringham for the wedding of
sister Annie. Both Jack and his elder
brother David were next posted, in May, to Prees Heath in Shropshire for
training in trench warfare. Jack arrived
at Baile-na-Coile from Prees Camp for a short visit in late May, having stopped
off in Aberdeen on the way to get his teeth fixed. He made another brief visit to home in late
August. At the start of September, Jack and
David underwent a further relocation to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, from
where Jack was posted to France on active service.
Soon after his
arrival at the front, Jack was involved in action and quickly sustained a wound
when a bomb fragment lodged in his ankle.
He was hospitalised at Rouen, where the splinter was successfully removed. Further action and other slight wounds came
Jack’s way over the next two years, the details of which are poorly
understood. But on 15 July 1917 near
Nieuport, Belgium, his luck ran out and he was killed on the battlefield.
The Marquis de
Ruvigny was a French nobleman who conceived the idea of creating a biographical
listing of casualties from WW1 action.
It soon proved to be an impossible task, due to the scale of casualties
and the length of the war. In its final,
published form it contained biographies of more than 25,000 men, only a very
small proportion of all those killed in the conflict. Jack Michie was one of those included in the
de Ruvigny compilation and his entry is included below in its entirety.
“John Michie 2nd
Lieut 15th (Service) Bttn, HLI.
Educated privately and at Crathie Public School. Was Chief Teller in the Market Branch of the
North of Scotland & Town & County Bank, Aberdeen and had passed with
honours the Members’ Examination of the Bankers’ Institute. He joined the HLI 8 Feb 1915. Gazetted 2nd Lieut 5 March. Served with the Expeditionary Force in France
and Flanders from 22 Nov following. Was
wounded 8 Dec 1915 and 3 July 1916 and again slightly 3 July 1917 but remained
at duty to lead his platoon in the attack near Nieuport in which he was killed
15 July 1917 by machinegun fire. Buried
in the British Military Cemetery, Coxyde (Belgium). Capt Owen McLean CF attached 15th
Bttn wrote, “I knew your boy well and liked him. We were great “pals”. Many a confidential chat we have had
together. We had no more popular officer
in the Battalion. He was so keen, so
unselfish and so plucky and so modest too.
I saw him a day or two before the push.
He was in his usual good spirits.
I wish I could do something to help.
It is so little that I can do but it cannot be ill with your boy. Many a time I heard him say, “This is a
righteous cause, Padre!”. He heard the
voice of duty, which is the call of God.
He heard and obeyed. He gave his
life for honour’s sake. He died that
others might live. Brave, big-hearted
Jack Michie!””
John Michie’s
diary for 1917 has not survived so the immediate reaction of the family can
only be guessed. When Jack’s sister
Beatrice had died in 1905, John and Helen Michie were devastated and must
surely have been similarly affected when Jack was killed in action. After the end of the War, in July 1922, John
and Helen Michie travelled to Belgium to see Jack’s grave and photographs have
survived in a family album depicting their journey. Another memento which has endured is a
rectangular name plate with screw holes in the corners. Its inscription reads, “2nd Lieut
John Michie 15th HLI Killed in Action 15th July
1917”. It may have been a plaque on a
temporary grave monument, such as a wooden cross. Jack was 29 when he died.
The
Braemar carrier business of John Milne (1844 – 1898)
John Milne, the son of a farm labourer,
was born at Boharm, Banffshire in 1844.
By 1874 he had moved to Braemar at the western end of the Dee valley and
established a carting business, that low-cost entré to commercial life for the
rural working class. The first
definitive evidence that John was operating as a carrier came in August of that
year when he was convicted of assaulting a fellow operator, Charles
Sumner. Interestingly, the justice
system was sensitive to John’s circumstances.
Although found guilty, after pleading “not guilty”, the sheriff did not
impose a penalty on him, since he had lost two days’ work in travelling to
Aberdeen. The crime may also have been
significant in suggesting that this might be a man of determination and
drive. Although based in Braemar and
probably being orientated eastwards for the bulk of his carrier business, in
1878 John extended his operations five miles westwards to the village of
Inverey. Two further examples of John Milne’s
business activities from 1882 and 1883 were his involvement with the Devanha
Brewery in Aberdeen in returning empty beer casks, and in serving Colonel
Farquharson of Invercauld (John Milne’s landlord) in distributing venison to
needy villagers in Braemar.
John Michie entered his position as wood
forester on the Balmoral Estate in the summer of 1880. Although it is suspected that he kept a daily
diary from his earliest period of Royal employment, the first volume known to
have survived is for the year 1884. This
compilation shows clearly that a commercial relationship had already been
established between John Milne and John Michie before the start of that
year. On 18 January, Michie wrote, “Saw
John Milne who is taking away my carters and sending Bob Duncan and one
Andrew”. Throughout the year of 1884,
John Michie mentioned John Milne 13 times in a work context. In many months, the report related to John
Michie travelling to Braemar to settle his account with Milne. A typical example occurred at the start of
February. “Went sawmill and saw all
hands at work after which proceeded to Braemar paying J Milne £36.4/- for horse
work done in Ballochbuie and doing some message (Scottish argot for shopping)
for Mrs M.” Milne’s business was of such
a scale that when Michie suddenly had an increased need for further draft
animals, John Milne usually had the capacity to respond. “Yesterday I had a third horse from Milne
started and today a fourth”. John Milne
was also not averse to taking on the most difficult forest tasks. “Rode to Corrie Buie and saw John Milne's
horses & men commenced dragging wood for the Castle fuel. This Corrie Buies is about the roughest and
worst off for road accommodation of any district in our forests. Large boulders of granite closely scattered
over a very irregular surface and deep peat bog alternate”. This level of business with the Braemar
contractor was not just maintained but generally increased over the period to
October 1898, when John Milne senior died.
Indeed, “John Milne” (father and son) is probably the most frequently
mentioned name in the totality of the surviving Michie diaries.
The list of the goods and services that
John Michie bought from John Milne gives a partial statement of the range of
business activities of the Braemar man’s firm.
Driver with horse and cart for carting within and outwith the estate and
provision of horse feed (oats, corn, bran, straw) predominated. By October 1893, John Milne was also dealing
in coal, which the Balmoral Estate occasionally ordered. Milne also bought sawn timber from Balmoral’s
sawmills, for example for covering his manure court. Some measure can be got of the weight and
value of goods being transported by John Milne’s firm in statistics scavenged
from a variety of locations. In May
1884, “From 4 to 4 ½ tons per wagon (which had four wheels, as opposed to
two wheels on a cart) is the average of each load of larch wood conveyed at
present from Braemar to Ballater by the contractor of the job, Mr John Milne
carrier. The timber is from Mar Forest
and was lately purchased by Mr Burgess Dyce”.
August 1885. “John Milne lifts
4000 ft 1" boards for A Brown on Monday 31st inst”. In 1890, John Michie met with Richard Grove
of AG Paterson, wood merchants, at Birkhall Estate. John Milne was in attendance too. Grove bought about 1292 trees at a price of
£270 and then concluded a bargain with John Milne for the felled items to be
transported to Ballater at a price of 1/10d per tree (total price about
£118). The terms of another contract,
this time between Michie and Milne was recorded in 1891. “Met John Milne at Birkhall and ultimately
settled with him to cart trees amounting in number to about 200 for the Knocks stedding
and drive the sawn wood to the site for 2/9 per tree” (£17 10s). On another occasion, John Michie estimated
that a group of trees being felled contained on average 25 cu ft of timber
each.
Outwith his relationship with John
Michie, John Milne was particularly active in transporting goods and passengers
between Braemar and Ballater, the terminus of the Deeside railway line. In 1890, John Milne, “… has just started a
fast conveyance a spacious spring cart built specially for the purpose to do
the journey out and in daily”.
John Michie occasionally had reason to
upbraid Milne for not submitting accounts in the proper form and by a desired
date, and Michie also challenged items included in Milne’s monthly accounts,
for example in December 1884. “Paid him
everything up to 27th inst, except for £2.6.0 of time …”. Another example of account checking was from
November 1886. “Went to Braemar in the
evening to arrange accounts with John Milne which has always to be done before
payment can be made him”. By the
following month Michie evinced some irritation at John Milne’s pricing by
moving temporarily to an alternative feed supplier. “Drove to Abergeldie Mains and made
arrangements with Bruce the Grieve to get forage from him for horses having
become quite tired of John Milne's charges”.
John Milne’s push to keep all his human and equine assets productively employed
sometimes led to him over-trading. In
July 1890, John Michie was engaged in the construction of a long boundary fence
in a remote area of the Balmoral Estate but, “John Milne who I have let the
transport of all materials to has not carried out his promise to send 2 horses
last night. Sent 5 men along with the
single animal and Milne's brother, to clear the way of obstacles in the form of
stones of large size tree roots &c”.
Three days later there was more trouble from the Braemar carrier. “Stopped men last night from going to hill
today, on account of John Milne having disappointed me”. Even a year later, the contract had not been
completed. “Went to Braemar to press
John Milne on with getting fencing materials to Cairn Taggart in terms of his
contract”.
John
Milne’s determination to defend and enhance his business interests was
prominently demonstrated in a series of spats with the Great North of Scotland
Railway Company, or more specifically with its Ballater stationmaster, which
ended in the Aberdeen Small Claims Court in 1891. In June 1889, the following notice appeared
in the Aberdeen Journal. “Notice – John
Milne carrier Braemar begs respectfully to intimate to his customers and
specially those who have requested the Railway Agent at Ballater to send all
their goods by his carts that in the event of their goods being delivered by
any other carrier they should to save trouble in the future refuse payment of
the carriage and refer the carrier either to himself or to the undersigned for
payment (or, one suspects, non-payment).
James S Butchart Advocate in Aberdeen.
Mr Milne’s law agent”. This
announcement was repeated a number of times and was obviously born out of an
ongoing dispute over access to passengers requiring cartage beyond the Ballater
terminus. The precise nature of the
stooshie became clear during the court proceedings.
In
early November 1891, the litigants went head-to-head in Aberdeen, airing their
respective grievances. John Milne, the
pursuer, took action against the railway company for the recovery of £2, a
relatively trivial sum, being the loss he estimated he had suffered by having
to travel twice to Ballater to collect one ton of goods belonging to Lady
Kennard. But this was only a symptom of
a more general dispute. It was admitted that there had lately been a fraught
relationship between Milne’s men and the station staff, because most of the
inhabitants of Braemar wanted to use their local carrier but the railway staff
in Ballater refused to heed their wishes.
In the case of Lady Kennard, John Milne even got her ladyship to
telegraph the railway company to hand over her goods but still they refused,
which was the reason for John Milne to take formal action. The company claimed it did not have to take
instructions concerning the means of delivery and the sheriff agreed, stating
that they had acted within their rights as laid out in the Traffic Act. He dismissed the case. However, this public dispute could hardly
have improved the relationship between the Great North of Scotland Railway and
the inhabitants of Upper Deeside.
Perhaps as monopoly-holders, they felt that they could act in this
high-handed way with impunity? John
Milne senior had to abide by the legal position and remove his men from the
station.
It
appeared that this dispute then rumbled on for some years only to reappear in
the courts in 1899, after the death of John Milne senior and the installation
of his son as head of the firm. This
time the action was pursued by the railway company at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. “John Thomson an employee of John Milne was
charged that on 15 June he not being a passenger or intending passenger
trespassed on the platform at Ballater station and refused to leave when asked
to do so”. Mr Cowie the Ballater
stationmaster had appointed local carrier Mr Smart as his agent. Smart’s men were allowed onto the platform at
Ballater, but Milne’s men were not.
Apparently, “The late Mr Milne had a good many men in his
employment. These men did not come onto
the platform, but now young Mr Milne’s men were never off the platform”. Cowie had instructed railway employees not to
obey orders given them by Milne’s servants but if a passenger asked them to do
so they were to put the luggage out at once.
The Sheriff made clear in close questioning of Mr Cowie that he thought
this an absurd position. John Milne
junior, in evidence, suggested that Cowie’s behaviour in excluding his men from
the platform at Ballater was motivated by spite. Railway servants refused to hand over luggage
marked “per Milne carrier”. He had even
asked Mr Cowie directly to hand over luggage but had met with a refusal. Further, John Milne junior produced a label
in evidence which had “Milne” crossed out and “Smart” substituted, John
claiming that this subterfuge had happened “many times”. But the smug railway company knew that the
law was on their side, even though the sheriff stated in court that their
attitude would make the station “unworkable”.
The sheriff, in declaring that Thomson was guilty of trespass, made his
position clear by declining to impose a penalty on Milne’s servant but merely
admonishing him. The following day, the
Great North of Scotland Railway Company, realising the bad publicity that it
had sustained, made a public statement denying that its employees ever amended
passengers’ luggage labels. But the
railway company held the more powerful position. John Milne junior’s business transporting
passengers between Ballater and Braemar must have been seriously impacted in
1904 when the railway company started its own service between the two Upper
Deeside settlements.
On
other occasions, John Milne senior’s sharp negotiating got him into
difficulties. In 1890, he had a
disagreement with Richard Grove of AG Paterson, which was about to be resolved
in the courts when the parties sensibly asked John Michie to mediate. “Went up to Braemar in evening with Grove
& acted as mediator between he & J Milne in a wood contract with which
they have been in the lawyer's hands for some time - a settlement was made”. The two were fortunate to have John Michie as
a mutual friend, knowledgeable timber man and honest broker. Richard Grove and John Milne had another
disagreement over the interpretation of contract terms in 1892. Messrs AG Paterson had bought a lot of
standing timber from the Invercauld Estate and the company had themselves been
responsible for felling with John Milne contracted to lead the timber to the
sawmill. However, after the nearer and
easier to-extract-trees had been removed, they sold the rest of the standing
trees back to the Invercauld Estate.
John Milne then demanded they pay him 2d per tree, representing the
profit of which he had been deprived.
Patersons gave the counter argument that since Milne did not have to
remove the most difficult trees John Milne had, in effect, already got his
profit. That sent the Braemar carrier
scurrying to his lawyer. John Michie was
cited as a witness in the case, but the dispute was settled on unknown terms,
before reaching the door of the court room.
There is no doubt that John Milne senior was combative and always
prepared to fight his corner.
In
1873, John Milne senior married Catherine McPherson, the daughter of a farm
labourer, in Edinburgh, though the circumstances of him meeting and joining
with Catherine have not been uncovered.
The couple went on to have a family of two children, John and Catherine,
both born in Braemar in 1874 and 1876 respectively. But then Catherine senior died almost a year
after her second child had emerged into the light, the cause being that scourge
of the poor, phthisis pulmonaria (pulmonary tuberculosis). John Milne senior remarried, two years after
his first wife’s death, to Jane Downie, the daughter of a crofter, but no further
children were produced.
John
Milne senior did not enjoy good health.
He seemed not to avail himself of the sporting opportunities that
abounded on Deeside, and it is suspected that he was consumed by his business
interests to the exclusion of much leisure activity. In August 1891, John Michie visited the Milne
household to settle bills but “found he had not returned from Strathpeffer
whether he had gone for his health some time ago”. The following February, John Michie on a
visit to Braemar, found “John Milne, Carrier too is in very ill health, and I
fear the worst in the end of this attack”.
A week later, a sceptical John Michie found some improvement in his
carrier friend’s condition, “but my opinion, which cannot be said to be
scientific, but more a kind of instinctive idea, is that it is but seeming
progress toward better health”. In
February 1893, John Milne again was sufficiently unwell to prevent him
attending a party organised by Mr McGregor of the Invercauld Arms, Braemar. Three weeks later he was still a-bed and John
Michie, who described him as “anything but strong”, speculated that he might be
starting tuberculosis. But John Milne
rallied, “… looks better in health and is moving about”. This state of affairs would not last. In June of the same year, “To Braemar in the evening.
John Milne had a bad turn today his water having been affected”.
In spite of his indifferent health, John
Milne senior continued with his business, including having horses and men
almost continuously on hire on the Royal estates. However, John suffered an unfortunate
accident in 1895 when he was run into by three lads racing their bicycles down
a narrow passage in Braemar. Milne was
not seriously hurt but the lads were hauled up in court to be fined 10/- each. Two years later, John Milne again suffered
one of his “turns” and spent another spell confined to his bed. The hardy, driven Braemar carrier rallied but
John Michie still harboured doubts about his true state of health. “John Milne gets better of a severe illness
he has had lately. I confess he looks
bad”. By the end of the year, the
Balmoral wood forester’s concern for his friend remained. “Spent some little time with old John Milne
who looks unwell as indeed he has been for some years back”.
In October 1898, John Milne senior died
at his home, Millington Cottage, Braemar.
He had gained the rather modest longevity of 55 years. Milne died of fibroid phthisis of four years’
standing; John Michie had been correct with his lay speculation on the source
of his friend’s chronic ill-health. But
for the reduced Milne family, the tragedy still had to play out a final
act. Less than six weeks later, John
Milne senior’s only daughter, Catherine, then aged 22, expired at Millington
Cottage, the agent of her decease being tuberculosis, too. Had she acquired this infection from her
father? He must have been a likely
source of her disease. The Milne family
had thus been reduced to John Milne junior and his stepmother, Jane. At the age of 24, the son of the firm’s
founder was now in charge both of the business and the family. In 1910, Jane died, leaving John Michie
junior, still unmarried at that date, entirely alone.
The success of John Milne senior as an
entrepreneur can be gauged from the value of his moveable and personal estate,
which amounted to more than £9,126. One
final legal action was pursued by John Milne’s trustees after John senior’s
death. In 1898, he had taken action
against another Braemar contractor, Alexander McKenzie which had been continued
from March in the hope of reaching a negotiated settlement. After John’s death, the sheriff granted cessio
for two weeks, though it is not known if an out of court settlement resulted.
Nothing
has been uncovered about the early life or schooling of John Milne junior,
though it is known that he joined a Territorial unit, probably the 5th
/ 7th Company, Volunteer Brigade, Gordon Highlanders about 1890,
since that was probably the first year in which he shot at the annual Aberdeen
Wapinschaw in which the Deeside Volunteers were always prominent. However, the lad suffered an unfortunate
accident two years later when, in an act of youthful exuberance, he tried to
leap over a gate but fell on the narrow end of his walking stick which
penetrated his abdominal wall, fortunately without doing any serious internal
damage. John junior was patched up by Dr
Noble. At some stage of his young life,
he must have become involved with the carrier business but the death of his
father, who had been so heavily involved in directing the family’s commercial
activities, precipitated the younger man into taking responsibility much
earlier than his father would have wished.
As subsequent events were to show, he was fully equal to the task.
One
business innovation introduced by John Milne following his father’s death was
to start using traction engines in place of horses for some heavy-duty roles
and these machines were employed at times on the Balmoral estate. On 14 March 1903, John Michie recorded, “Went
to Braemar to see John Milne who however left home on the 4th inst. and has not
yet returned. His engines and waggons come to Garmaddie wood on Monday next to
remove stones for H.R.H. The Late Duke of Coburg's Memorial”. But these new, heavyweight monsters, which
usually weighed between 3 tons and 14 tons, brought their own problems. In those days the roads were constructed to a
standard suitable for horse-drawn transport and the traction engines,
especially following wet weather, caused considerable damage to the road structure. Complaints were made to Ballater Town Council
that the burgh roads were being damaged by the traction engines belonging to
Hutchinson and Sim of Braemar and John Milne, carrier. The Council threatened to charge these firms
for the damage. Like his father John
Milne junior was unafraid to seek redress in the courts when he felt he had a
strong legal case against someone owing his firm money. In 1912 he sued Livingstone and Thew,
painters, Ballater for £37.
In
1908, the Milne carrier firm was contracting by the Lochnagar Distillery,
though it was unclear for how long such a service had been in place. Although John Milne is known to have
continued with carting contracts for the Balmoral Estate, the extent of his
involvement became unclear after 1902 when John Michie assumed the factorship
and was no longer involved in day-to-day forestry operations. In 1914, John Milne’s firm gained the carting
and horsework contract for Ballater Town Council, which probably lasted for a
year. The firm had a large stable at
Ballater as well as its premises at Braemar.
However, in June 1914, the Ballater premises burned down, and six horses
died in the conflagration.
The
relationship between the Michie family and John Milne continued as before,
though with John Milne junior being unmarried there was less home visiting but
more meeting on the curling pond, the younger Milne being an accomplished
devotee of the roaring game. By 1911,
John Milne junior was also visiting Baile-na-Coile to play golf. Perhaps by this date he had started to take
notice of Alix (Alexandrina), the Michies’ youngest daughter, who would have
been 19 in that year. Certainly, by the
start of the War in summer 1914, they appear to have become an item, as evidenced
by the frequency of visits to Baile-na-Coile that John Milne started to
make. By 1908, John Milne had been
elected to the Crathie and Braemar Parish Council and was re-elected in 1910,
though during this year he suffered an unidentified but “severe” illness. In 1911, John Michie mentioned for the first
time that John Milne possessed a motorcar, a good indicator of his economic
status.
Between
1899 and 1914 John Milne held the rank of Lieutenant in the 5th/7th
VBGH and was second in command of the unit.
He conducted himself with courage and determination during WW1, but the
details of his service are only sketchily known. John was undergoing military training at
Bedford at the beginning of May 1915 but by the middle of that month he entered
active service in France.
John was mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the Military Cross, at
that time the second (behind the Victoria Cross) level military decoration
awarded to officers of the rank of captain or below for bravery on the field of
battle. In May 1917, he was promoted to
the rank of temporary Major, by which time he had been awarded his MC. This temporary rank was relinquished in
December 1917 “on ceasing to be employed as Major on Headquarters” of the
Territorial Force, though he retained the brevet rank of Major within the
Territorials. (A brevet promotion was
bestowed on someone who had acted with distinction but did not carry the
advancement in pay corresponding to the higher status). John Milne also received the TD (Territorial
Decoration) which was awarded to members of the Territorial Force on completion
of 20 years’ service. He was demobilised
on 17 April 1919.
Military Cross
Territorial Decoration
John Milne continued as commander of the
5th/7th Gordon Highlanders and was promoted to the rank
of Lieutenant-Colonel until June 1928 when he handed over command to Major R
Adam MC TD. John retained his rank in
retirement, with permission to wear the prescribed uniform.
Alexandrina
Michie (1892 – 1983)
Alix Michie was
ten years old in 1902, when her father was promoted to the position of factor
on the Balmoral estates and saw his salary increase substantially. This meant that the Michies could now easily
afford to have their youngest daughter educated privately in Aberdeen. The school chosen for Alix was Mackie’s Boarding
School, popularly known by this name in the early 20th Century
because of the fame of its principal Alexander Mackie. It catered for upper middle-class girls and
was located in Albyn Place in Aberdeen’s West End. Alix attended Mackie’s at least between 1906
and 1911, when she reached the age of 19.
She often travelled home to Baile-na-Coile at weekends, sometimes taking
a friend with her, such as Molly Leslie or May Walker.
As has been
pointed out above, Alix Michie and John Milne may have started taking an
interest in each other about 1911. Had
it not been for the outbreak of WW1 in the summer of 1914, it is possible that
the couple might have married sooner than they actually did. Alix’s brother,
Henry Maurice had been appointed factor on the Logan Estate, Galloway in 1912
and during the War, Alix Michie was employed in some capacity at that remote
location. Henry Maurice had continued to
occupy the position of factor at Logan while he was away on active service
during the War, but in May 1918 he resigned his position and his sister Alix
terminated her employment in Dumfries at the same time, as she was by that date
engaged to be married.
The betrothal
of the couple was published in the Aberdeen Journal of 6 March 1918. “The engagement is announced between Major J
Milne MC Gordon Highlanders and Alexandra youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs
Michie Bhailenachoile Balmoral”. The
typesetter at the Journal apparently could not believe the spelling of Miss
Michie’s given name! The
“Bhailenachoile” spelling was used by the Michies but is not correct in
Scottish Gaelic: it should read “Baile-na-coile”, House of the Wood. The couple then waited a respectful six
months before getting married. “The
marriage arranged between Major J Milne MC Gordon Highlanders and Alexandra
younger daughter of Mr and Mrs Michie Bhaile-na-Choille Balmoral will take
place at Crathie church on Wed 16th Oct at 12 noon. There will be no invitations, but all friends
will be welcome at the church”. In the
immediate aftermath of WW1, it would not have been seemly to appear too joyous
or celebratory. Two days after the
wedding, there was an extensive report of the event in the Aberdeen Journal,
with descriptions of the wedding dress and travelling clothes, the flowers the
bride carried and her jewellery, a long list of presents and the identities of
the donors. These included Sir Dighton
Probyn, the McDoualls of Logan, Mr Haggart-Spiers of Elderslie, Mr Donald
Gordon of Abergeldie and Dr Alexander Hendry.
This level of recognition served to emphasise just how significant the
marriage was in the public life of Deeside.
The Milnes
lived at Colinton, Edinburgh until Major Milne was demobilised in April
1919. In January of the same year, they
made an offer for the Manse and its associated glebe at Invermuick, which they
eventually managed to secure. Major
Michie, MC TD, who maintained the use of his military rank and decorations in
civilian life, continued to run his carrier company with its bases in Braemar
and Ballater, but he also played a prominent role in the Territorial formation
of the Gordon Highlanders and in the civic life of Deeside, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
generally.
Invermuick House, with flood damage
From 1921 John
Milne started to be invited as a member of the platform party at Ballater
station when minor members of the Royal family arrived on Deeside. He also
became a County Councillor and the Provost of Ballater. John Milne died at Invermuick in 1955 and the
carrier business was subsequently offered for sale. His widow, Alexandrina survived him until her
death in 1983.
David
Kinloch Michie (1854 – 1950)
John Michie’s
oldest brother was named David Kinloch Michie, like their father, the notorious
poacher. Little has been uncovered about
his early life, other than that in1871 he was working as a footman at Pitfour
Castle, St Madoes, Perthshire.
Subsequently, he trained as an engineer and went out to Ceylon, where he
became Managing Director of Walker, Sons & Co. This firm was established by Scot, John
Walker in 1854 and specialised in the manufacture of machinery for use in the
local coffee industry but later expanded into construction and car
importation. It still operates today.
David Michie
became wealthy as a result of his colonial business activities (he was also
involved in rubber planting). He married
Catherine Seymour in Ceylon about 1880.
The couple had one child, a daughter, Annie born in the colony in
1883. At the 1901 Census, Catherine was
living in London with her daughter Annie and her sister, Mary but her husband
was not present in the same household, though he is known to have visited the
UK during that year and called on his brother John at the Dantzig Shiel.
In 1906, DK
Michie and his daughter Annie, but without wife Catherine, visited the home
country again, this time for a more extended stay. They secured a house in London and then
travelled to Deeside in mid-June, staying at Baile-na-Coile. While lodging with his brother, David Michie
went to view “Linton House & shoot”.
This small mansion house located near Inverurie, was designed by Aberdeen
architect, Archibald Simpson and built about 1835. DK Michie rented Linton House from the
beginning of September 1906. While
living at Linton House, David sent his brother John a packet of Para Rubber
seeds (Hevea braziliensis), suggesting that John Troup, the Balmoral
gardener, might like to try them in his hothouse. At Christmas 1906, David and Annie spent the
holiday period with John and Helen Michie, afterwards travelling to Clunskea,
Pitlochry to see brother Tom, the farmer and dog breeder.
Linton House, Sauchen
After many
diary references to his brother, David and niece, Annie during the latter half
of 1906, John Michie made no further mention of the pair until 1911. That was also the year that David’s wife,
Catherine died in Colombo. This event
may have precipitated DK Michie’s retiral from business and his return to the
UK. At the 1911 Census, David Kinloch
Michie was described as “a retired engineer, director of Engineering Company
and Rubber Growing Company”, living at 60 Ashley Gardens, London, SW. By the end of July 1911, David and Annie had
moved to Scotland, where he took up occupancy of the Wardhouse Estate, Insch,
probably as a let from the owners, a branch of the Gordon family. In August, David was elected a member of the
Lonach Society, perhaps indicating that he intended to maintain a base in
Aberdeenshire. Wardhouse was designed by
John Adam and built in 1757. It has been
abandoned since 1952 but even in its ruined condition it is still an impressive
structure and emphasises the wealth that DK Michie must have accumulated by
this time.
Wardhouse, Insch
There followed
a further gap in John Michie’s diaries until 1915, when he again noted his
brother David’s activities. David Michie
had not given up all his business interests in Ceylon and it is possible that
he had returned to that country about the end of 1911. On 20 August 1915, John Michie travelled to
Aberdeen, where he “Met my brother David and his daughter in the Palace Hotel
where they have been staying since Tuesday”.
David and Annie moved to the Murtle Hydropathic Institution, Milltimber
in Lower Deeside, which specialised in applying various water-based
“treatments”, with supposed health-giving properties, to paying guests. On 1 September, David and Annie Michie
travelled from that haunt of the wealthy to Balmoral, to take lunch with his
brother’s family at Baile-na-Coile and a few days later moved there to stay,
before travelling on to Clunskea. At the
beginning of October, Arthur Grant, the Head Keeper, invited John and David
Kinloch Michie to try for some red deer stags and David was successful, Arthur
Grant arranging for the head of David’s victim to be stuffed. David Michie then returned to London and
sailed for Colombo on 17 December.
There was only
one further mention of David Kinloch Michie in the John Michie diaries. In 1920, John Michie, “Wrote brother David
& sent him my Share Certificate for Colombo Stores shares”. Presumably John was cashing in an investment
made on the advice of his younger brother.
Sometime after 1920, DK Michie moved permanently back to the UK. He acquired a house in Marylebone Road,
north-west London and another substantial property, Pitnacree House, located
near Strathtay in Perthshire. David died
at Pitnacree in 1950 at the age of 96, the cause of death being given as
“senile decay five years”. The informant
was Alison A Shirlaw, his Private Secretary, who was present.
Annie Michie,
only daughter of DK and Catherine Michie travelled a lot with her father and
did not marry until 1925 when she was 42.
Her husband was Charles William De Lemos, a tea planter. However, the London electoral register for
1920 shows her sharing an upmarket property, 107 Jermyn Street, London SW, with
“William Charles Michie”, who has not been identified. Was this person actually Charles William De
Lemos, sailing under a thinly disguised pseudonym? Subsequent to their marriage, the De Lemoses
travelled between the UK and Ceylon on at least four return trips in the
interval 1925 - 1947. Charles died in
London in 1955, leaving a personal estate of just over £12,006. His wife followed him in 1978, her
personality being £70,867.
Thomas
Veitch Michie (1858 – 1930)
Tom Michie was
fourth son and fourth child of poacher David Kinloch Michie. He was born at Fochabers, while his father
was a gamekeeper working for the Duke of Richmond and Gordon at Gordon
Castle. After the retirement of his
father from farming at Clunskea, Pitlochry, Tom took over the property though
he had been working on the farm since at least 1884 and was the occupier from at
least 1890, while his father remained the tenant. In his younger years and through into middle
age, Tom Michie was a competent heavy athlete at Highland games, mainly in
Perthshire and Aberdeenshire, including at the Braemar Gathering. In April 1884, Tom Michie walked the whole
way from Pitlochry to Balmoral to visit his oldest brother and then repeated
the journey, in reverse, at the end of his stay. At the 1890 Braemar Gathering, Tom Michie won
the Society caber, stone and was third in the hurdle race. The following year, at the same event, he won
both the hammer and the caber. At
Braemar in 1893, Tom Michie was again prominent in the heavy events.
Even in 1905 at
the age of 47, Tom Michie was still an able athlete. In a letter to John Michie, he related the
following incident. “Did not intend
competing at Blair Athol Games but saw caber competitors not very good –
feeble. Secretary gave permission to try
so off came plaid and tunic. And I had
the luck to get the “Stickie” over twice once straight other about ¾ scoring an
easy win”. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 box 3 letter dated 23 September 1905 from Tom
Michie to John Michie).
Another string
to Tom Michie’s bow was to act as an agent for land and shootings. He visited brother John in February 1897,
when the two travelled to Invercauld to enquire about a small grazing in
Glenshee. John Michie recorded the
outcome of the meeting. “Went to
Ballater driving Tom to see Foggo (Invercauld Factor) with the view of
giving him an offer for Corrydon a small grazing in Glenshee said by him to
carry 450 sheep which however require to be wintered away, Thomas's chief
object is the shooting, which he of course includes in his offer. He saw Mr Foggo who gave him encouragement
only to produce disappointment in the end judging from the general reports of
that man's character”. John Michie had
been mistrustful of Gordon Foggo for some years. In January 1906, Tom wrote to his brother
John concerning another shooting. Thomas
had been looking at properties on the south side of Glendrochart with Ben More
on the western boundary. The ground was
hard walking, but he thought that one of his clients, Mr Ismay, one of the
principals of the White Star Line, would take it. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 31
January 1906 from Tom Michie to John Michie).
(Joseph Bruce Ismay (1862 – 1912) was chairman and managing director of
the White Star Line. He survived the
sinking of the company’s flagship, RMS Titanic in 1912).
Tom Michie was
a breeder, trainer and hirer of working dogs, specifically those breeds
associated with field sports. His
brother John on occasion sold his own dogs to Tom and also acted as a scout for
him. In July 1893, John Michie “Saw
three setters worked belonging to Grant of 19 months old. They are puddling things from bad breaking
but of a good breed. £15 each is the sum
asked which is out of the question. I
offered 9 each for Tom as he is anxious to have dogs and these with a little
practice under a good man would be good”.
In the early summer of 1906, Tom Michie told his brother John, in a
letter, that he had 40 dogs engaged for the coming season (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1
Box 3 letter dated 14 June 1906 from Tom Michie to John Michie) and in a
further letter (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 16 August 1906 from Tom
Michie to John Michie) written after the “Glorious Twelfth” that figure had
risen to “over 60 dogs hired out”. The
following year, 1911, “The dogs are about all away” was the message at the
beginning of August. (RA). Clearly,
Tom’s dog-hiring business was substantial.
In 1909, John
Michie had apparently enlisted the help of brother Tom to alert him to any
suitable position in Perthshire for “young Michie”, presumably one of John’s
sons who was looking for an estate job at the time. However, Tom was a bit discouraging about the
prospects for such opportunities. “Not
much chance round here
as the large estates such as Atholl, Menzies
and Breadalbane grow their own crops of these chaps. Outsiders are seldom wanted”.
It was also
clear that by 1912, both Tom and John Michie were wealthy enough to dabble in
stock market speculation and traded stock tips with each other. In June 1912, Tom wrote to his oldest brother
that he was thinking of investing in East India Tea. The two brothers also engaged in occasional
gossip about issues of the day, such as the inadvisability of showing Tom’s
garron (hill pony) filly at the Pitlochry show as “… was told by the Secretary
that the Duke of Atholl invariably wins, so if he has a good one, he might get
2nd or 3rd”. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 28
July 1912 from Tom Michie to John Michie).
Another contemporary issue to generate comment in 1913 was the votes for
women campaign. “And women’s suffrage
has got the denial at Westminster for the present. They are a determined, ill to manage lot
though”. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 7 May 1913 from Tom Michie to
John Michie).
In 1911, Tom
had suffered some unidentified “heart trouble” but was “Glad to say I am much
better…” (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 3 August 1911 from Tom Michie
to John Michie). He did not survive his
brother, John, dying in 1930 at Straloch, Perthshire.
Henry
Lumsden Michie (1857 – 1915)
Henry Michie
was born in 1857 at Port Elphinstone, which was the northern terminus of the
Aberdeen - Inverurie canal until it closed in 1854, bought by the Great North
of Scotland Railway. By the 1881 Census,
Henry had moved out of the family home, married, had a young daughter and was
working as a gamekeeper in Merionethshire, Wales. At the following Census of 1891, Henry was
still working in Merionethshire, but his occupation was then noted as a
“Sportsman” to which had been added on the census form, in a different hand,
“Groom”. It is unclear if he was still a
gamekeeper, or if he had moved to a more elevated calling, though he was still
described as a gamekeeper in 1889 when his son, Henry, was baptised. However, he had probably become a dog breeder
by 1885 since he wrote to John Michie in that year “about staghounds”. In 1901, Henry’s specialisation in dogs was
noted. He had moved back to Scotland
with his family and was living in Stirlingshire, where his occupation was stated
as “Huntsman sporting dogs”. At the time
of his death, he was called a “Retired dog fancier”. It appeared that Henry followed a similar
career to his brother, Thomas, in specialising in the breeding of sporting
dogs, such as setters, pointers, deerhounds and staghounds.
Henry and John
Michie did not see each other very often, due to Henry’s locus in Wales between
at least 1880 and 1890. John Michie did
note a visit by Henry to Upper Deeside in 1884, probably his first, since the
younger brother had “never before seen the Castle nor the grounds”. The next known meeting between the two was at
the funeral in Blairgowrie in 1903 of their father David Kinloch Michie. Nothing more was heard of brother Henry until
his terminal illness in December 1915.
On the first of that month, while visiting his sister Augusta Katherine
near Edinburgh, John and Tom Michie “… went to see our brother Henry, who is
very unwell, at Wester Braehead, Carnwath (a farm). We stayed 2 hours. Neither Tom nor I think he is likely to get
over this illness, sorry to say, which the Dr whom we saw calls cirrhosis
liver. Henry, poor fellow, is weak and
downhearted”. Whisky had seduced another
victim through over-indulgence. Henry
Lumsden Michie did not last long, dying on 18 December, “The end came when he
was sitting in his chair at 5 pm after he had partaken of tea. There was no struggle, his head having just
fallen over on his chest”. Henry was
buried at Carnwath five days later.
Augusta
Katherine Michie (1861 – 1917)
Augusta
Katherine was John Michie’s youngest sibling and only sister. She was born at Fochabers, while her father
was working as a gamekeeper for the 5th Duke of Richmond and
Gordon. “Augusta” and “Katherine” were
the given names of Lady Augusta Katherine Gordon-Lennox, the daughter of the 5th
Duke of Richmond (who became the 5th Duke of Richmond and
Gordon). The naming was probably in Lady
Augusta’s honour. Augusta Katherine
Michie married Alexander Neilson, who was Registrar and Inspector of the Poor
in the Musselburgh area, in 1887. John
Michie and his brothers frequently travelled out to Olive Bank House,
Musselburgh to see the Neilsons when they found themselves in Edinburgh on
business. Reciprocal visits to Deeside
were also made by various combinations from the Neilson family. Augusta Katherine died of influenza and pneumonia
in February 1917 at the relatively early age of 55.
The close
advisors of Kings Edward VII and George V
Although John
Michie had direct dealings with both monarchs, many of his interactions were
indirect via members of the Royal Court and others. Brief biographies of some of the main players
in this game of Royal protocol are presented below to aid the reader in
understanding the Balmoral Factor’s dealings with his ultimate employer.
Sir
Francis Knollys
Sir Francis was
a courtier of long standing during the reigns of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and
George V. He fulfilled a long succession
of roles, the most significant of which, from the point of view of John
Michie’s tenure of the Balmoral factorship, was as Private Secretary to King
Edward VII and subsequently to King George V between 1901 and 1913. This role was shared with Sir Arthur Bigge, 1st
Baron Stamfordham, between 1910 and 1913.
He also served as a Lord-in-Waiting to Queen Mary from 1910 to
1924. John Michie often had to deal with
Sir Francis’ family when he came north in the company of the monarch, sometimes
to stay at Abergeldie Mains, though the matters discussed between Michie and
the Knollyses were often of a minor domestic nature, such as the supply of
firewood. In truth, John Michie’s main
role was to keep Lady Knollys happy while her husband was dealing with matters
of state.
Sir Francis,
Lady Knollys and their children were on friendly terms with John Michie, even
before he became factor of the Balmoral estates in 1902. In the autumn of 1901, when King Edward made
his first visit to Balmoral as monarch, Sir Francis and Lady Knollys
accompanied him. The Knollyses brought
their two children, Lavinia, then aged 13 and Edward, 6. It having only recently been announced that
John Michie would be the new factor, a gang of courtiers made a social call at
the Dantzig Shiel on 26 September, no doubt to proffer their congratulations in
person to the new head man. The group
consisted of “Sir Dighton Probyn, his sister Mrs. Hill, his niece Miss HiIl;
Sir Francis & Lady Knollys with their girl & boy; and Sir Edward &
Lady Bradford, Chief of the London Police”.
This was an early indication for the Michies of how their change of
status would impact their social interactions.
In autumn 1903,
the Knollyses were again visitors to Balmoral and John Michie became involved
in advising “Miss Knollys” about sources of granite for the base of the late
Queen Victoria’s statue to be erected outside Windsor Castle. The identity of “Miss Knollys” was not made
clear. Was it Sir Francis’ daughter,
Lavinia, then aged 15, or perhaps one of his sisters? John Michie had obtained some granite samples
from Baillie Taggart, the Aberdeen granite merchant and fabricator. Miss Knollys soon made her choice, and the
pedestal was ordered, Baillie Taggart making the journey out along the Dee
valley to meet with John Michie. “Miss
Knollys” must have been happy with the result because three years later, John
Michie collected “marble & granite ornaments at Mr Taggart's” for her. The following year, 1904, the Knollyses were
again present at Balmoral but this time staying at Craiggowan, which by this
date had been taken over by King Edward to accommodate his most important
guests. There was again a social visit
to Baile-na-Coile on 8 September. “Got
back home in time to have tea with Lord & Lady Knollys, Colonel Knollys
& Master C. Knollys from Craig-gowan”.
A few days later, John Michie took the trouble to call at Craiggowan to
say “goodbye” to the two young Knollyses, before their departure for the south.
Before she and
her family’s autumn journey to Deeside, Lady Knollys contacted John Michie to
request the loan of a piano for Craiggowan.
Michie obtained an instrument, an upright Bluthner, from J Marr Wood
& Co Ltd, Aberdeen, Piano Makers.
The same year an august group of academics from Aberdeen University
travelled to Balmoral. “Lord Provost
Lyon and Mr Crombie, Assessor to the Rector of the University visited Lord
Knollys to arrange about HM's visit on the 27th prox. Mr Dyack, Professor Matthew Hay and
Professor Hamilton came to see sewage arrangements. They all lunched with us”. Two days later, Lord and Lady Knollys,
accompanied by Lady AM (Ardyne Mary) Knollys’ relative, the Rev Tyrwhitt, took
tea with the Michies at Baile-na-Coile but the most important social occasion
for John Michie came on 18 September.
“Drove to Altnagiubhsaich and then walked to summit of Lochnagar with
Mrs Canon Harvey and Miss Lavinia Knollys.
Fine day but too hazy for distant view. Took from 11 am to 6.10 pm for the
expedition”.
The last visit
to Balmoral by the Knollys family mentioned by John Michie was in the autumn of
1911, when Lady Knollys wrote to John Michie in advance asking him to order
coal, the delivery cost of which caused her to grumble. During the visit there was the now expected
social visit by the Knollyses to take tea at Baile-na-Coile. There was a further visit to Deeside by the
King’s Private Secretary the following year, but that appears to have been the
last by the Knollyses before Sir Francis assumed a new role.
Arthur John
Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham (1849 -1931)
Sir Arthur
Bigge (Lord Stamfordham from 1911) shared the role of Private Secretary to King
George V between 1910 and 1913 with Sir Francis Knollys, but then continued in
the role of private secretary to the monarch, singularly, until 1931. Like Knollys, he travelled each autumn to
Balmoral with the monarch where he had frequent interactions with John
Michie. In autumn 1911 it was arranged
that the Stamfordhams would occupy Craiggowan.
Constance Stamfordham was rather more demanding of John Michie’s time
than even Lady Knollys had been. Before
her arrival on Deeside, she wrote repeatedly to the Balmoral Factor asking for
re-upholstering of furniture (“I am sending you some cretonne of my own, which
I wonder if you could have made up for the chairs and sofas for the drawing
room at Craigowan.”), a plan of the house, enquiring if there were sufficient
lamps, requiring an order of coal, a refrigerator and a piano! Marr Wood was again able to oblige John
Michie with the last item. Sadly, for
Lord and Lady Stamfordham, a national rail strike disrupted their travel plans,
forcing them to spend an unplanned night in Aberdeen. The following year the Stamfordhams took
Abergeldie Castle for their residence, with Lady Constance again making demands
on John Michie, this time for help converting the telephone room into a bedroom
and in acquiring a large bedroom water can.
In 1914, the Stamfordhams were moved back to Craiggowan but there was no
further visit by them to Balmoral during John Michie’s time as factor on the
estate.
Sir William
Carrington (1845 – 1914)
William
Carrington served as an extra equerry to King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910 and
then as Keeper of the King’s Privy Purse (King George V) between 1910 and
1914. This courtier frequently came
north with the monarch in the autumn, but John Michie had letter exchanges with
him at any time of the year, often concerning employment and domestic matters
on the Balmoral Estate, such as fishing rentals, Castle drainage, the monument
to King Edward VII, fishing conditions for the guidance of Balmoral visitors
and charitable donations by the monarch.
John Michie did not appear to enjoy a close relationship with Carrington
(see below).
Sir Dighton
Probyn
Dighton
MacNaughten Probyn was born in 1833 and became a soldier, serving initially in
the light cavalry arm of the East India Company’s Bengal Army, where he gained
his first commission in October 1849.
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the squadron which Probyn commanded
became known as “Probyn’s Horse” and its members were distinguished by their
blue turbans. Dighton Probyn was
personally mentioned in dispatches many times for his brave conduct. His actions at the Battle of Agra led to him
being awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest recognition of gallantry
available to members of the British armed forces and the first such award
during the Indian Mutiny. Dighton Probyn
was invalided back to Britain in 1858, when he received many further honours
both from his native country and from abroad.
He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Star of India in 1876, a
Knight Commander of the order of the Bath in 1887 and a Knight Grand Cross of
the Royal Victorian Order in 1896.
Dighton Probyn married Letitia Maria Thellusson in 1872 but the couple
had no children. They were living at
Park House Sandringham in 1891, where Lady Probyn died in 1900. Thereafter Sir Dighton appeared to live in an
apartment at Windsor Castle.
After his
prominent Army service, a second career beckoned for Probyn as a courtier. He was appointed an equerry to Prince Albert
Edward, Prince of Wales in 1872 and later Comptroller and Treasurer to the
Prince. Subsequently, he became Keeper
of the Privy Purse during the reign of Edward VII (1901 – 1910) and Comptroller
to Queen Alexandra, King Edward’s widow.
There is no
mention of Sir Dighton Probyn in John Michie’s surviving diaries until 19 April
1901, after the death of Queen Victoria but before Michie’s accession to the
role of factor on the Balmoral estates.
Sir Dighton was John Michie’s conduit to the King and Michie contacted
Sir Dighton on that occasion to apply for continuance of the use of the
appellation “Royal” in the title of the Braemar Highland Society. The request was granted.
During
his frequent visits to Deeside, Sir Dighton liked to lodge at Birkhall, which
was lent to him on most such occasions.
One call, in mid-August 1901, was for the purpose of informing John
Michie that he had been appointed as James Forbes’ successor in charge of the
Balmoral estates. John Michie had not
been Sir Dighton’s choice for the role of factor at Balmoral and it is perhaps
in this context that an early and apparently innocuous request by Michie was
turned down. In January 1902, permission
was sought to use two rooms, the Iron Ballroom at Balmoral and the Coach House
at Abergeldie, for a dancing class for local young people, but Sir Dighton
refused. Thereafter, Sir Dighton and
John Michie got to know each other very well and were in regular communication,
even when they could not meet in person.
Michie greatly admired Sir Dighton and was deferential to him, probably
out of respect for his military record and his service with the Royal Family. On one occasion Michie referred to him as “…
the noble old gentleman… “. In 1915
Michie was even more fulsome. “Also
letter from Sir Dighton Probyn. Always respected & admired by me he is
better than ever, and one would think getting younger in his views and remarks
although 82 years of age past last January. Noble Sir Dighton”! Probyn grew to admire John Michie’s loyalty
but theirs was always an unequal relationship.
Significant events and projects were always referred upwards by John Michie,
such as the death of a servant or the approval of plans for a new development,
for example the rebuilding of the Lochnagar Distillery in 1902 after a serious
fire.
Sir Dighton
usually managed three or four visits to Birkhall each year, though they were
short visits, with the exception of his summer journey, which was “for the
season”. In the summer he was usually accompanied by a number of relatives and
friends when he travelled to Deeside, most frequently his sister Mrs Alicia
Hill, widow of the late Bishop Rowley Hill (died 1887), and a niece, “Miss
Hill”, likely to have been one of Alicia’s stepdaughters, Laetitia or
Elizabeth, who, on one occasion, picked up the neologism “cleverful” from an
estate resident! During September 1915,
Sir Dighton was accompanied by his brother, Sir Leslie Probyn, a prominent
colonial administrator. Sir Dighton
Probyn and his guests were frequent visitors to the Michie household to take
tea, such as in September 1901 when “Sir Dighton Probyn, his sister Mrs. Hill,
his niece Miss HiIl; Sir Francis & Lady Knollys with their girl & boy”
and others “came to the Danzig and had tea”.
John Michie often met Sir Dighton Probyn at Ballater station on his
arrival and delivered him back there at the end of his Deeside sojourn.
After the
arrival of Sir Dighton Probyn on Deeside, one of his first tasks was almost
always to tour the estates in the company of John Michie. In April 1905, “Started for Ballater and met
Sir Dighton at Ballater Station on his arrival from London. After having
arranged a programme with him drove home…“.
The impression was given by Michie that such tours were, on occasion,
superfluous and interfered with his normal conduct of estate business. Sir Dighton certainly thought that his own
opinion was important. In September
1903, “Sir Dighton and I went through (tree) nursery”, not an area of
estate activity where the old soldier could add much useful advice. On 25 May 1909, immediately after Sir
Dighton’s departure from Deeside, John Michie wrote, “Working up arrears of
work in office brought about by Sir Dighton Probyn's visit”. But Michie had no choice but to indulge this
senior and revered member of the Court.
In 1900, Sir Dighton was already 67 and suffered occasional bouts of ill-health. In consequence, he rarely participated in field or competitive sports. But he and the Balmoral Factor shared a mutual interest in gardening, especially its landscaping and decorative aspects and as the years went by Sir Dighton, in consultation with John Michie, pursued many gardening projects in the grounds of Birkhall. An early example from September 1903 was, “Met Sir Dighton Probyn at Birkhall at 8am. and breakfasted with him. Went over the garden and promised to get a plan of the garden, lawn & field”. A month later Michie recorded that, “Finished plan of Birkhall garden …”. The following March, “Met Sir D.Probyn at Ballater Station 9.45 a.m. who arrived from London to stay at Brackley as the guest of Sir Allan Mackenzie. Met him again at Birkhall at 3 p.m. and went over the improvements to the gardens &c”. This was an ongoing saga. In March 1905, “Wrote late a long story to Sir Dighton about Birkhall Gardens &c”. Sir Dighton’s projects at Birkhall included a summerhouse (1904), new rose beds (1905) and a project involving a small island in the River Muick adjacent to Birkhall from 1911 onwards. Michie described the scheme in two dairy entries from April of that year. “Drove to Birkhall, saw and directed progress of planting field at Island, planting of Roses in Star and Herbaceous stuff in long new border”, and “Drove to Birkhall at 8.30 a.m. Saw Herbaceous plants just arrived from Sandringham. Gave Wilson & Duguid instructions for finishing touches in planting corner of field between the Island and "eagles nest" bank. Some willows yet to come and ferns for ends of foot bridge. Some wild plants for bank of stream. White-washed Brambles for bank so that they can be seen from island”. The old gentleman had also planned himself a retreat on the island. “Sir Dighton Probyn's summer house on Island under construction”, and “Sent Sir D. Probyn specimens of glass to choose from for windows of "Lands End " Retreat - a summerhouse on Birkhall Island”. It was completed within a month in May 1911, when John Michie had some photos taken of the structure for onward transmission to its instigator. In December of the same year there was heavy rainfall and serious flooding on Deeside. John Michie anxiously “Drove to Birkhall in afternoon to find that little damage had been done to the island. The little hut stood high and dry on the island - notwithstanding the Muick being in heavy flood”. Another 1915 project at Birkhall was described by the Balmoral Factor in October. “I went over with Sir Dighton Probyn the alterations which he desires in extending the centre walk out to the bulwark, with a new arch at the entrance and shrubs trained upon it. the new arch to stand on level ground 3 ft. higher than the present one. Narrow paths to toolshed and bridge to get away in front of arch”. Even in his 80s, Sir Dighton’s enthusiasm was undimmed. In 1915, during a wartime visit to Deeside, John Michie described Sir Dighton as “in great form with proposals for further alterations”. Sir Dighton also had a garden near the Norman Tower, Windsor Castle, which John Michie described as “… a gem & still being improved” and Michie supplied him with plants for it from time to time.
Sir Dighton
Probyn was a big fan of the caricatures of leading figures of the day in
“Vanity Fair” magazine between1900 and 1904 and 1910 – 1914. Michie was instructed to obtain a set to be
hung at Birkhall. The 116 cartoons cost £5,
and they were framed by the Royal Fine Art Gallery, Aberdeen. Hanging was completed in October 1915. “Sir Dighton & Miss Hill have finished
Sir D's Great Gallery at Birkhall of Vanity Fair Cartoons. The arrangement must
be perfect, and a wonderful collection it is”.
John Michie
visited Birkhall to see the old soldier in September 1901. “Drove by Birkhall and saw Sir Dighton Probyn
whose wrist, which was much improved, had taken a turn for the worst. This I
regret very much indeed”. When Sir
Dighton visited Deeside in April 1906, John Michie was “Sorry to find Sir D
with a cold and looking a bit fagged although he will not admit it”. But in September 1911 there was something
more seriously amiss with Sir Dighton.
“On arrival the Queen enquired of Dr Hendry, HM medical adviser in
Scotland regarding the health of Sir Dighton Probyn who is at present at
Birkhall recovering from a serious illness”.
A few days later John Michie went to see the old man. “He is improving & I saw him for about
one hour”. Dighton Probyn died at
Sandringham in June 1924 at the remarkable age of 91.
Sir
Frederick Ponsonby (1867 – 1935)
Frederick
(usually known as “Fritz”) Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby, had an
extensive career as an Army officer and also as a courtier. Ponsonby hailed from a prominent family with
strong aristocratic and Army connections and was surely destined to succeed in
life. He was commissioned into the
Grenadier Guards and served in the Second Boer War. Simultaneously, he was Equerry-in-Ordinary to
Queen Victoria between 1894 and the end of the Queen’s reign in 1901, adding to
that the roles of Assistant Keeper of the Privy Purse and Assistant Private
Secretary from 1897. The latter two
roles were continued under kings Edward VII and George V to 1914. From 1914 to 1935 he was Keeper of the Privy
Purse.
From John
Michie’s earliest days as Factor at Balmoral, Fritz Ponsonby was a main conduit
to the monarch and Michie’s surviving diaries are littered with examples of
Ponsonby’s conduct of this role, as will be seen throughout this account of
John Michie’s career between 1902 and 1919.
One of King Edward’s first actions regarding John Michie was to invest
him with the Victoria Medal for his services as Wood Forester at Balmoral. Ponsonby asked Michie for his details, so
that the award could be officially announced in the London Gazette. “Gave him John Michie, J.P., The King's
Factor, Balmoral Castle, Ballater. N.B.”, was Michie’s response. (As an aside, it is interesting to note how
the use of the term and abbreviation, “North Britain” (N.B.) has entirely
fallen from use in these contemporary times of nationalism and the
disparagement of the concept of “Britishness”).
During WW1,
Ponsonby was sent to Balmoral on several occasions, ostensibly to keep an eye
on the estate and he toured the holdings extensively in the company of John
Michie. Ponsonby, unlike most other
senior courtiers, is thought never to have visited the Michies socially, for
example to take tea. On only one known
occasion, in August 1915, were the Ponsonby family involved in social niceties.
“Lady Ponsonby, daughter & son had
tea with Mrs M”.
Henry Peter
Hansell (1863 – 1935)
Henry Hansell,
the son of a Norfolk country gentleman, was educated at Malvern School and
Magdalen College, Oxford. After
appointments at two other public schools, he took up a teaching position at
Eton College. In 1902, he became tutor
to King Edward VII’s sons, Princes Edward and Albert, though he had previously
tutored Prince Arthur of Connaught.
Apparently, it was Hansell’s character which attracted him to the Royal
Family. He wore tweeds, was an
inveterate pipe smoker and a good yachtsman.
He also remained a bachelor.
Hansell was very much a sporty, outdoors type who was an ideal mentor
for the young princes when they holidayed on Deeside. It appears that Hansell was responsible for
introducing serious cricket to the Balmoral Estate. Hansell was unimpressed with the quality of
the Balmoral cricket pitch and got Michie to relay it. In September 1911, John Michie, not a practitioner
of the noble game, reported as follows.
“Afternoon on the invitation of Mr. Hansell played cricket in a match
between gentlemen of the Household and Servants. The Servants beat us in an unfinished
match”. The outcome for Michie was
inevitable. “Personally, I got caught in
the 7th ball”.
From his
earliest days on Deeside, Henry Hansell often took his young charges to visit
the Michies at Abergeldie Mains or Baile-na-Coile, where they usually took
tea. Michie and Hansell developed a good
inter-personal relationship. In August
1915, when Michie was essentially in sole charge of the Royal estates on
Deeside, he acted in a formal capacity to receive Hansell and his Royal charges
at the door of Crathie church. The
following month, John Michie also attended at Abergeldie Castle to receive
Princess Mary when she arrived for a holiday.
When King George’s family were finally about to leave Deeside at the end
of September 1915, Henry Hansell phoned Michie and asked him to come down to
Abergeldie to say goodbye to the Royal children.
Hansell served
in a number of roles during WW1 but after hostilities had ended, he returned to
Royal service as Gentleman Usher to the King. He
died in 1935.
John
Michie’s management of the Deeside estates
On 17 August
1901, Sir Dighton Probyn informed John Michie that he was to succeed James
Forbes as the manager of the Deeside Royal estates, though it would be 8
January of the following year before Michie picked up the factorial reins. There was thus a period of 4 ½ months during
which Michie could formulate his plans for how he would exercise management in
his new position. John Michie’s diary
for 19 November 1901 records that, “At home wrote out some memoranda of
arrangements for the future”. Michie was
obviously committing his thoughts to paper, though in typical, cagey Michie
style, he did not reveal the content, or even the outline, of those plans.
In each volume
of Michie’s surviving diaries there is a list of contacts and addresses and in
the 1902 diary is recorded the address of the Country Gentleman’s Association
Ltd - 16 Cockspur St., Pall Mall, London SW.
This organisation was established in 1893 as a “society of landowners,
land agents, farmers and others interested in the land, numbering many
thousands, and residing in all parts of the kingdom”. The CGA also operated a
gentleman’s club in London. It is not
certainly known that John Michie became a member of the club, but it is quite
likely that he did so, since it was entirely appropriate, indeed helpful, in
his new circumstances.
Although John
Michie had initially been promised Craiggowan House as his residence, King
Edward VII changed that arrangement and the Michies’ domestic accommodation was
moved to Abergeldie Mains, with an office at the old Sanatorium situated near
the gatehouse by the Balmoral bridge. Abergeldie
Mains was partly furnished, and other perquisites included permission to keep a
cow, free coals and fuels, and a horse and cart kept at the monarch’s
expense. The Old Sanatorium was where
his clerk John Brown Macdiarmid both worked and lived (with his sister). Occasionally, John Michie had to stir up his
clerk to faster action. “Have told
Macdiarmid he must have his books written up by Saturday”. Macdiarmid suddenly absconded from Balmoral
in 1916, leaving behind a debt of £3 to the Northern Assurance Company
Limited. Michie’s office had acquired a
typewriter by 1906 and by the following year John Michie himself was using it.
One of Michie’s
most important tasks was the preparation and dispatch of accounts for the three
Royal estates to the Privy Purse Office in London. An example from early February 1902 was,
“Despatched Prince of Wales Abergeldie a/cs for audit”. John Michie’s accounts were always
immaculately kept. He was also
responsible for paying the servants on all three estates, whereas previously he
had only taken charge of delivering wages to the wood and other squads under
him. Rent collection at Balmoral,
Abergeldie and Birkhall was another regular task, traditionally occurring on
the four quarter days of the year (25 March, 24 June, 29 September, 25
December) though the actual collection days on the Royal estates seemed to lag
the quarter days by a few days to a couple of weeks and some rents were not
quarterly but half-yearly. From time to
time, the King would grant a concession to tenants in the form of a rent
reduction. One such gesture occurred in
August 1903. “Friday 14 August. Collected Abergeldie and Birkhall Rents
giving a remission of 20% from His Majesty, on account of bad harvest last year
and frosted grain necessitating the purchase of seed by the farmers”. John Michie was also responsible for
withdrawing cash from the various estate accounts and also with lodging cash at
the bank in Ballater. He did not seem to
take any special precautions against robbery, even though his movements were
predictable and the amounts of cash he carried were substantial. Collecting rents in mid-winter could be
problematical, as in late December 1906.
“Drove to Birkhall in a blizzard where all the tenants on that Estate
were forward. Got back after dark with
difficulty not being able to get as far as Ballater to deposit the rents”.
Inevitably,
John Michie had to deal with personnel issues from time to time. One particularly challenging circumstance,
which came to a head in April 1904, concerned the behaviour of the farm grieve
at Abergeldie Mains, 62-year-old George Cobb, one of the more senior Royal
servants on Deeside. John Michie
recorded the final incident and his decisive, but compassionate, response. “George Cobb refused to have my cow milked
and behaved in an insubordinate manner giving me impertinence as he has
frequently done before. Correspondence will show. Sergeant Dreghorn of Ballater
heard some of his abusive utterances”.
Six days later, “Called Cobb, Grieve at Abergeldie Mains Farm and
pointed out to him that I had made up my mind to have him retired but gave him
the chance of applying for that. This
course is on account of his inability of managing the place in a tidy &
proper manner and also for his insubordinate attitude to myself”. Michie had to make clear to all the staff
under him that, while he was a considerate manager, he was not a man with whom
anyone could trifle. This was illustrated two years later when, “Frank Gordon
at Glassalt reported that the King's boat was damaged last year when the Queen
was up in August. Reprimanded him &
McBeth for not telling me this sooner”.
In 1915, another grieve at Abergeldie Mains, John Robb, started to take
on the mantle of a member of the awkward squad.
In June of that year, Robb started absenting himself from Monday morning
visits to John Michie’s office to report on plans and progress. Michie then found that Robb had bought a
motorcycle and he was immediately instructed by the Balmoral factor to get rid
of the machine. He omitted to follow
this instruction and subsequently suffered an accident, which laid him up. In mid-July, Michie went round to Abergeldie
Mains and found Robb in bed and apparently not yet recovered from his
crash. In normal times, Michie’s
forbearance would have been tested to its limit by this stage, but these were
not normal times. If Michie had fired
Robb, he would have had great difficulty in replacing him because of severe
wartime labour shortages. Michie just
had to tolerate this bad behaviour, which was probably made worse by the fact
that Robb was also a boozer. In a state
of inebriation, Robb bought a steer that Michie had only told him to
evaluate. “Robb very unsatisfactory”,
was Michie’s muted comment, probably issued through gritted teeth. However, by 13 December 1915, Michie’s
tolerance had evaporated, and he confronted Robb about his behaviour. “Complained to Robb on his being worse for
liquor once more on the show day. He
pretended to be penitent but judging from past experience I can hardly believe
him”.
Michie had
freedom to engage labourers and junior servants but on occasion felt it wise to
refer specific cases to higher authority for guidance. One example was labourer John Durran whom
Michie was considering re-engaging after dismissal ended a previous bout of
Royal employment. Michie referred the
matter to D Hickey at Windsor Castle but was advised that, since Durran had
been fired for indecent behaviour, it would not be appropriate to take him on
again. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 31 August 1906 from D Hickey to
John Michie). Victorian morality reared
its head from time to time in personnel matters. William Cameron, the foreman gardener,
conceived an illegitimate child with the daughter of another member of
staff. John Michie acted swiftly, “I
arranged to discontinue Cameron's services at once, putting him off the Royal
Estates immediately”. Excessive drinking
amongst the servants was another perennial issue for Michie. In July 1907, David Luther Ogg was fired by
Michie for persistent drinking. He had
been warned repeatedly about his behaviour.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/944 note dated
14 July 1907 by John Michie). Ogg was
also denied a pension but Sir Dighton Probyn, being at heart a generous person,
agreed to pay him £25pa for the next four years, or “during the King’s pleasure”,
provided he lived outside Crathie district, and no reports were received of
further drunken behaviour. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 9 August
1907 from John Michie to David Luther Ogg).
Occasionally, drink was a problem with female servants. Annie Hunter, a servant in the Housekeeping
Department was a perennial offender. In
1909, John Michie dealt with her in a different way. “On to Abergeldie saw Rothnie, Housekeeper,
took her with me to Mains and in her presence, discussed with Annie Hunter her
position in having written & signed a paper confessing to having habitually
taken strong drink asking forgiveness for the same and promising not to touch
it again”. In the case of senior servants taking over a department of the
Estates’ work force, it was important to arrange a proper hand-over, including
an audit of the departmental equipment inventory, for example when a new
dairyman arrived in November 1904. “To
Dairy taking inventory as John Henderson dairyman is leaving & a new one
coming …”.
Occasionally,
servants were accused of poaching game on the Royal estates. In February 1915, John Michie recorded such
an instance. “On to Birkhall where
summoned David Rose to meet us on a charge of shooting a stag in Craig-Leadh
wood, preferred by Robert Lundie, keeper.
Took Lundie's charge first and then heard Rose, who made out that the
Girnoc farm grieve shot at in the turnip field. The stag being wounded. Rose said he agreed to finish it”. Michie did not recount how he settled between
the two contradictory accounts of the incident, but he had at least acted
fairly in giving both sides an opportunity to state their respective cases.
One of Michie’s
tactics for maintaining good relations with the neighbours was to invite them
to his home. A most important neighbour
was the Laird of Abergeldie and he was a regular visitor to the Mains and later
to Baile-na-Coile (see below).
Michie was also
careful to ensure that retirements of long-serving employees were appropriately
marked. In October 1904, “Went to a
meeting at 7 o'clock in the servants' hall to arrange about a presentation to
Mr. James Anderson, late Clerk of Works.
A committee was appointed to arrange for collecting & to meet at the
same place three weeks from this date.
Another important strategy, though superficially it might look like an
indulgence, was to fish, shoot and play sports, such as curling and golf with
those in the Deeside community with whom he needed to maintain good
relations. John Michie also donated
prizes for local ploughing competitions, that farm servant’s “sport”, where the
servants could show off their manual skills to their masters.
Michie
developed a weekly oversight strategy, when Monday mornings and sometimes part
of the afternoons, was given over to meetings in his office at the Castle with
the leaders of all his squads to raise problems and to agree programmes of work
for the coming week. This pattern was
first recorded in his diaries in April 1906.
“2 April. In office up to 3 pm as
is my custom on Mondays. Saw Roadman,
Forester, Clerk of Works. Blaikie's men
testing drainage at the Castle. Saw Mrs
Mussen and agreed to give her 2 new carpets to her bedrooms & new stair
carpet, paper her two bedrooms, also two sets new curtains for these rooms, all
for which she applied. She wants new
Linoleum for Tower Entrance, taking old oil cloth to Laundry. Four servants' rooms to be papered and some
painting of window sashes on north servants’ wing to be done. Also, Pastry Cook's Kitchen”.
John Michie was
at all times dedicated to the pursuit of his employer’s interests. One illustration of this occurred in
September 1906 when he and Helen received invitations to the King and Queen’s
opening of the newly extended Marischal College in Aberdeen. John Michie declined the invitation. “Mrs M and I had invitations to all the
functions stretching over 4 days beginning with Tuesday, but I thought it best
to attend strictly to duty remaining at home at my post in these busy times and
glad I am that it was so”. During the
War, in 1915, when two of his sons were due to leave for the Front, John Michie
was faced with another dilemma regarding absence from work. Again, he chose to support the interests of
the monarch, rather than following his personal agenda. “A telegram arrived from David wishing his
mother and I to go to Deanside for the weekend and visit the Camp at Gailes as
he and Jack with their Regiment leave for Kendal on Tuesday. At first, we both intended to go but after
careful consideration I could not see my way to leave my post for 3 days at
present. So decided that the Mrs would
go herself and I might get a chance of running through to Kendal later”. There was always a risk of fire breaking out
in both estate buildings and the Castle.
The Aberdeen Fire Brigade carried out a safety survey and, in 1911,
Michie “Had 4 men drill with Fire Brigade at 3 p.m. at Balmoral Stables”.
Labourers on
the Royal estates lived a hard life for poor remuneration, yet they were
probably treated better than by most Deeside employers. In May 1911, John Michie received details of
the advance in wages being granted by King George V to this lowest class of
employee. “Informed Heads of Departments
that The King had been graciously pleased to advance ordinary Labourers wages
on the three Estates from 18/- to 19/- a week for 8 months working 10 hours a
day and from 15/- to 16/- for 4 months working 8 hours a day”.
The ending of
WW1 was marked by a return of many thousands of soldiers to their home
communities. However, they soon became
disgruntled with the lack of job opportunities and a perception that the
privations and dangers they had experienced were not being properly
recognised. Industrial unrest started to
rise and culminated in the 1926 General Strike.
In the microcosm of the Royal Deeside estates, collective action started
to appear where none had existed pre-war.
As early as September 1917, it was clear that unrest was brewing when
John Michie received a letter, written in pencil, from five beaters employed on
the grouse moors, Andrew McDiarmid, James Gordon, John McDiarmid, James Deans
and Alex McIntosh. They asked for their
rate of pay to be increased to the rate for the district. Specifically, they wanted 6/- per day for the
whole season and the demand was accompanied by a threat to withdraw their
labour. “If this request is not granted,
we refuse to come back”. In February
1919, there was another instance of dissatisfaction. “James Bruce intimated that he wished to
leave the Balmoral Dairy as Cattleman.
He said he could do better. He
had no reason but that he could obtain higher wages than he was
receiving”. June 1919, the month of John
Michie’s departure from the factorship, brought yet another labour demand. “Tuesday 10 June. This morning produced a surprise in that 3
foremen handed in each an anonymous written request, really a demand for a wage
at the rate £2:5/- per week without War Bonus.
Phoned Mr. MacIntosh, Fife Factor, & Mr. Smith. Invercauld Factor as
to whether they could see Capt. Ramsay & me. The former asked us to Lunch with him at the
Hotel, Braemar. We motored up, did so
& discussed the situation. This we
also did with the latter. Both consider
the men's demand unreasonable but give no solution”. The following day, Michie “… sent for the 3
foremen above referred to. Asked them to
go to their men and explain that their position as regards wages was favourably
considered when Sir F. Ponsonby was here in the latter part of May. Advised the men through the foremen to wait
to next pay before attempting a strike which they threaten to do on the 17th.
if their demands are not acceded to.
The Country generally is in a rebellious state!”. This was but a holding response. In effect, John Michie was saying to Captain
Ramsay and the others, “over to you”.
By 1919, John
Michie started to give the impression that he was giving up on maintaining
discipline on the estates. The main
issue was again rabbits, the damage they caused, the casual indifference of the
keepers to this problem and, apparently their disregard of John Michie’s
authority. “Saturday 1 February. In the office in the morning. To the Croft but saw Arthur Grant who was
puddling about after rabbits with John Laird in Craig-gowan above the Boat
Pool, but although there are plenty, they had got none”. “Wednesday 19 February... In office all day. Went out in the evening twilight and shot a
pair of rabbits - They are peeling trees very badly. Have urged the killing of rabbits by the
keepers but with little effect”.
“Thursday 27 February. “… Henry
and I went out in Craig-gowan hill after rabbits which are doing damage by
peeling trees. We got 91”. In March, Arthur Grant again took a casual
attitude to an instruction from the factor.
“Arthur Grant (gamekeeper) never having sent in his Deer Record Book to
get the materials copied into Office Book- pressed him to do so. He promised once more”. The problem for Michie was that Arthur Grant
was the head keeper and a man of some status.
He could not be fired without reference to the King and with John
Michie’s retirement imminent, it is not surprising that the factor took the
route of least resistance and ignored the disregard of his authority. It is entirely possible that Arthur Grant had
been one of the supporting cast which surrounded leading man Donald Stewart in
his underhand attempts to unseat John Michie.
Medical
services on Upper Deeside
When Queen
Victoria acquired the Balmoral estate in 1848, there was no resident medical
practitioner in the village of Crathie.
Medical help emanated from the Parochial Board-appointed doctor for the
joint parish of Crathie and Braemar, who lived in Braemar, ten miles to the
west of the Royal residence. Of course,
the Queen and her entourage could turn for help to the monarch’s own medical
attendant accompanying her party to Upper Deeside. Sometimes, the Queen’s Physician was pressed
into service to treat an accident victim in the vicinity of the castle, such as
Dr Jenner attending a collapsed walker at Crathie in October 1864. The nearest medical practitioner to be found
east of Balmoral was usually domiciled in Ballater about ten miles away, but in
a different parish, Glenmuick, Tullich and Glengairn. Even so, Ballater doctors sometimes attended
accidents in the Crathie area, if they were called, or happened to be passing
the scene of an incident.
Queen
Victoria’s first commissioner at Balmoral was Dr Andrew Robertson. He had been practising medicine on Upper
Deeside since 1818 but gave up his practice on his appointment to the
management of the Balmoral estates.
Between 1848 and 1851, the Braemar-based doctor was Hotchkin Haynes,
who had been born in 1832 in Cambridgeshire and who had been awarded the degree
of MD by the University of St Andrews, though he married a Crathie girl, Jessie
Smith. In either 1851 or 1852, Dr Haynes
gave up the Braemar practice and emigrated with his family to Canada.
By 1853, a new
medical man was in residence at Castletown, the more easterly part of
Braemar. James Cameron had been
born in 1831 and was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. In 1863, he was also appointed vaccinator to
the Parochial Board, to protect children from the ravages of smallpox. Dr Cameron remained in post at Braemar until
1864. The status of a general
practitioner in an isolated village such as Braemar meant that there were two
distinct aspects to his life, his medical duties and his participation in
leisure and social events, especially those emanating from the two big local
landed proprietors, the Earl of Fife and the Laird of Invercauld, such as
attending a ball held at Invercauld House in October 1860. Mention of Dr Cameron’s involvement in the
treatment of accident victims frequently reached the pages of the Aberdeen
Journal. They often involved horse-drawn
vehicles, or workers falling from buildings under construction. Two examples were a carriage accident at
Corriemulzie in 1863 and the fall of a carpenter from the new Free Church under
construction at Crathie the previous year.
James Cameron
soon gained the respect of parishioners after his arrival in Crathie and
Braemar and in 1856, they presented a testimonial to their general practitioner
at a dinner held in the Invercauld Arms, Inver, conveniently located about
mid-way between Braemar and Crathie.
This status was probably gained for a wider involvement in parish life
than just providing medical care. James
Cameron was often called upon to chair meetings, such as the one arranged for
the organisation of local celebrations of the Prince of Wales’ wedding in
1863. Cameron was Secretary and
Treasurer of the Braemar Curling Club in 1860 and was also a regular attender
at the Braemar Gathering.
In 1864, a new
medical officer arrived in the parish, William Marshall, who was aged 29
on his appointment. Like Dr Cameron
before him, Dr Marshall led a varied existence with both medical and civic
experiences. Initially he lived in Braemar
but by 1871 he had moved to Street of Monaltrie close to Crathie. The reason for this change of location was
that Queen Victoria had appointed him to provide medical services to the
servants and tenants on the Balmoral estates.
The appointment required him to be permanently located in Crathie, with
the added inducement of a promise to build a “commodious cottage” for his use
on the Royal property. However, Marshall
continued to give medical care in Braemar.
William Marshall was a keen curler, a good shot with a rifle and a
supporter of the Mutual Improvement Society at Braemar, where he lectured on
“The Atmosphere” in 1870. In both 1870
and 1871, Marshall accompanied the Queen when she left for Windsor at the end
of her autumn break on Upper Deeside.
This led to a permanent appointment as one of the monarch’s physicians,
attending her and the Royal Family at Windsor.
A farewell dinner for the departing general practitioner was held in
Braemar in 1871.
George
Thomson, a native of
Belhelvie, a village located a few miles north of Aberdeen, where he was born
in 1845, and a graduate in Medicine and Surgery of the local University, was
practising in New Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire when he was appointed as the new
medical officer for Braemar and the Fife and Invercauld estates in 1871. He was also successful in obtaining the
Parochial Board practice, but he had no responsibility for the tenants and
servants of the Royal estates.
The successor
to William Marshall as medical practitioner responsible for the Royal estates
was a Dr Lyon. The cottage
promised to Dr Marshall was finally started in 1872, when the construction contract
was let to James Thomson, a mason living at Balmoral Cottages, Crathie. The location and identity of this cottage is
currently unclear. However, Lyon did not
remain in post for long, departing for a situation in Glasgow in October 1873.
Dr Lyon’s
replacement was Dr Alexander Profeit, who was well-known to Andrew
Robertson, the Queen’s Commissioner.
Robertson may have been instrumental in attracting Alexander Profeit to
practise at Crathie and he was soon appointed to provide medical help on the
Royal estates. Two years later, Andrew
Robertson, then aged 76, resigned from the post of Balmoral commissioner. Although he was not immediately seen as a
replacement for Robertson, Alexander Profeit was eventually recruited as the
Queen’s second commissioner on Upper Deeside.
However, unlike his predecessor, he did not give up his medical
appointment but continued to minister to the residents at Balmoral and
continued in this secondary role until late 1896, shortly before his death in
post early the following year.
Meanwhile, James
Noble had started a medical practice in Braemar about 1878. He was born in Fraserburgh in 1854 and
graduated from Aberdeen University, initially with the degree of MA but later,
in 1877, in Medicine and Surgery. In
1881, James Noble also gained the degree of MD.
He became a close friend of John Michie, while the latter was Head Wood
Forester living at the Dantzig Shiel, where Noble was a frequent visitor. Although he had no formal responsibility for
the Royal estates, occasionally James Noble was called to minister to accident
victims at Balmoral. In 1885, the
Braemar general practitioner got an urgent summons to attend a sawmiller
working at the sawmill in the Ballochbuie forest. The worker, John Smith had been using a
circular saw when he “allowed his hand to get entangled
in the machinery”. Smith’s first two
fingers of his left hand were severed at the third joint. James Noble patched up the careless
sawmiller. This may have been the
occasion on which the Balmoral forester and the Braemar GP first got to know
each other. At the end of Alexander
Profeit’s period of office as Balmoral commissioner, about 1896, he was
becoming progressively less effective and John Michie on occasion turned to this
medical friend for help.
James Noble
became deeply embedded in the working and social life of Braemar. He was an ardent supporter of the Mutual
Improvement Association and was often called to chair public meetings in the
village. In 1900 Noble presided at a
concert held in the Victoria Hall, Castleton, in support of the families of
soldiers serving in the Second Boer War in South Africa. He spoke movingly to the audience. “…upon the splendid response the nation had
given to their Queen and country and said they that night were endeavouring to
do their little best to cooperate by helping those whom our brave soldiers had
left behind them. (Cheers)”. Politically, he was a Liberal and openly
supported the local MP, Dr Farquharson.
Noble remained a bachelor for many years but eventually married Annabell
McGregor, daughter of the Invercauld Arms, Braemar, landlord, whose
establishment was frequently visited by the local GP in a social capacity. By 1894 James Noble had also been appointed
as Parochial Medical Officer for Braemar and in 1901 he was asked to “…undertake
treatment of patients and general supervision of the (Braemar) hospital
for £10pa”. This looked like a very good
deal for the people of the village.
Following the
resignation of Alexander Profeit from his medical appointment in late 1896 and
his death in early 1897, it was necessary for the Queen and her advisors, not
only to replace the Balmoral commissioner, but also to make new provision for
medical services on the Royal Deeside estates.
It was not surprising that they should turn their eyes westwards to the
established and popular General Practitioner in Braemar, James Noble. John Michie wrote in his diary in December
1896, “Called on Sir James Reid KCB MD with whom had an interesting
conversation regarding certain changes, chiefly in regard to Dr Profeit having
given up the medical part of the appointment, which he has held here for the
last 21 years and Dr Noble, my friend, having been appointed to it, with the
condition that he keep an assistant at Crathie &c”. Noble’s choice of an assistant was Joseph
Muir Corbett, usually known by his second given name, the son of an English
minister who served congregations in the Glasgow area.
Muir Corbett
was born in 1875 and, by 1898, had qualified as a doctor at Glasgow University
and was serving as House Surgeon at the Western Infirmary. There he was involved in the trial of one
Joseph McCoo who was charged with murdering his wife, Margaret, by pushing her
out of a window. She fell over 28 feet
to the ground, landed on her head and never regained consciousness. Muir Corbet had examined Mrs McCoo’s body and
gave his opinion to the court that her injuries were consistent with the fall
she had suffered. While he was a medical
student at Glasgow, Muir Corbett met and fell in love with a nurse at the
Western Infirmary, Helen Steele Dykes.
Muir was 20 at the time but Helen was of more mature years, being
39. Corbett was an outstanding student
and Helen Dykes must have thought him an excellent catch. Muir too must have been infatuated with his
work colleague and in May 1895, he sent her a declaration of marriage, signed
and post-dated by one year to 21 May 1896.
In effect it was a contract and once endorsed by both parties it had
legal effect. Helen immediately gave her
imprimatur to the declaration. The couple became engaged in the spring
of 1896 but even when the fateful day of 21 May was reached, they maintained to
their friends that they were still engaged.
Corbet graduated in 1897 and went to work at the Western Infirmary,
followed by a spell helping another doctor at Sanquhar, 40 miles south of
Glasgow.
No doubt Muir
Corbett was sincere when he made his fateful marital declaration but, certainly
by 1901 and probably by 1899, his feelings towards Helen Dykes had cooled. It was very much a case of “marry (or
commit to marry) in haste, repent at leisure”. Why else would Muir Corbett have taken a new
position as Dr Noble’s assistant more than 100 miles from Glasgow and in a
relatively remote Highland area, albeit one with Royal connections? Dr Corbett was appointed during the reign of
Queen Victoria, who died on 22 January 1901, though the exact date of starting
the new job is unknown. King Edward VII
confirmed Corbett in post. At Balmoral,
Dr Corbett initially lodged at the home of Donald Stewart the head keeper, who
lived at The Croft, a substantial granite house built for his predecessor by
Queen Victoria. Two of Donald and
Margaret Stewart’s daughters were still unmarried and living at home at the
time, Elizabeth and Helena. Lizzie was
chronically ill with tuberculosis and would die in 1904 but Helena, 36 on the
arrival of Muir Corbett, probably thought that with her maturity she was
destined to remain on the shelf.
Foolishly, Muir Corbett, then aged 24, allowed romance to blossom with
Helena but he did not tell her of his contractual arrangement with Helen Dykes.
From January
1901, Muir Corbett was often mentioned in John Michie’s diaries. On 3 January, Corbet arranged a concert at
Crathie. Michie noted the occasion. “At the sawmill and about home the whole till
evening when Annie, Beatrice and I went to Dr Corbett's concert, as it is
called, because his-brother-in-law Mr Galbraith came from Glasgow to conduct it
bringing with five other artistes all of whom performed well. Mr Forbes the Queen's Commissioner also sang
with acceptance”. The Glasgow doctor
also attended drives for roe deer and was quickly recognised by James Forbes,
the Balmoral Commissioner when a committee was put together in April 1901 to organise
a memorial for the late Queen. Both
Corbett (Secretary) and Donald Stewart were nominated as representatives of the
Balmoral estate, but John Michie, probably to his consternation, was
omitted. The same month, James Forbes
also went fishing with Corbett for salmon, not with rod and line but with two
fish traps. The following month, May 1901, there was a significant outbreak of
smallpox at Braemar, and Dr Corbett took the initiative in arranging
re-vaccination sessions for everyone over the age of seven. He also circulated advice to the Balmoral
staff, urging them to avoid visiting Braemar.
At the farewell reception for James and Barbara Forbes, who were leaving
for Blair Atholl, held in early January 1902, John Michie, chairing the event
as the new Balmoral Factor and included Muir Corbett on the top table. The new medical practitioner had made a
dizzying start to his Balmoral career.
But with Corbett’s dark secret still hidden from the Deeside community,
trouble surely lay ahead.
By the middle
of October 1901, it had been announced at Balmoral that Muir Corbett and Helena
Stewart were engaged to be married. In
the aftermath of his mother’s death, King Edward VII had quickly dispensed with
the services of her Indian Munchi, Abdul Karim.
His cottage at Balmoral, built for the Munchi’s use by Queen Victoria,
then became free and the King made it available to Dr Corbett. Its name was changed to the “Doctor’s
House”.
Back in the
West of Scotland, Helen Dykes did not give up on her signed contract of
marriage to Muir Corbett and retire quietly to forget about the whole sorry
episode. In 1902, she took legal advice
on the status of the marriage declaration and her absent partner was forced to
do likewise. Their married status was
confirmed on 20 October 1902 and the Lord Advocate ordered Dr Corbett to go
through a marriage ceremony within three months, which he declined to do. As a result, judgement was made against him
and he was ordered to pay Helen Dykes £25pa, if he did not adhere to her. Such a titillating story was quickly abroad
in the Scottish newspapers. In the
edition of the Aberdeen Journal of 8th June 1903, King Edward saw
the Corbett story and must have been outraged that a professional employed on
the Royal estates had been so deceitful and especially to the family of Donald
Stewart, whom the monarch held in high regard, having hunted all his adult life
under the guidance of Donald. The King
summoned John Michie to the castle, gave him the copy of the Aberdeen Journal
containing the shocking article and commanded Michie to deliver it to Donald
Stewart. John Michie recorded briefly
and without comment that he passed on the paper to Donald Stewart on 18
June. Perhaps on that day, Helena Stewart
learned that her cherished marital aspirations had been dashed. She died, unmarried, of scarlet fever and
meningitis in 1909. In contrast, life
did not pass by for Helen Steele Dykes.
She was joined in matrimony in Winnipeg, Canada in 1911.
It is not known
if Muir Corbett resigned or was dismissed.
Possibly, a more likely outcome was that he simply disappeared from
Deeside when the public disclosure of the Court’s ruling on his case became
inevitable. Interestingly, a letter has
been uncovered in the Royal Archives (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/903 letter dated
19 October 1902 from John Michie to Sir Dighton Probyn) which indicates that
contact had been made with Drs Noble of Braemar and Hendry of Ballater, by John
Michie, during October 1902, dealing with the provision of medical services to
Crathie and the Balmoral estate. This
may indicate that public knowledge of Dr Corbett’s Glasgow marital manoeuvring
became available before the dawn of 1903, though it is also possible that
Corbett had simply given notice of his impending departure. He had definitely left Balmoral by the end of
March 1903 as John Michie “Cleared out the medicine store in the Dr's old
house…”.
Another,
possibly significant, move concerning the provision of medical services to the
Royal estates on Deeside was the consideration given, sometime in 1902, to the
introduction of a medical service for estate employees, similar to the
Sandringham Medical Club. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/903 undated Sandringham
Medical Club leaflet). This arrangement
involved the staff paying 1/3 of the cost of medical treatment and the Estate
contributing the balance. However, Frank
Beck, the Sandringham Factor was not a supporter of the scheme, whose rules, he
felt, tended to “pauperise” the staff.
Beck also thought the proposed scheme should be administered by the
members themselves. The idea was not
implemented at Balmoral.
Dr Corbett
again sought to run from his own shadow by signing up as a ship’s doctor,
serving on the Anchor Line steamer, “Astoria”, 5,086 tons burthen, which plied
its trade between Glasgow and New York, with an intermediate stop at Moville in
Ireland. It is to be wondered if this
hoped-for escape route had been suggested to Corbett by his boss, Dr Noble. In
February 1892, John Michie gave an unusual undertaking to James Noble. “I saw Dr Noble, promising him to write Moses
Buchanan, Shipping Agent, Glasgow for information regarding the procuring of an
appointment as Doctor of Medicine aboard one of the P & O Steamers to the
East”. This information was apparently not
for James Noble’s benefit but for that of Fred, his younger brother who was
also medically qualified. Fred Noble actually took up such a job offer but died
in 1892 on board the steamer “City of Calcutta”.
Muir Corbett’s
first voyage as a surgeon on the ss Astoria, under Captain Wilson, sailed from
Tail of the Bank, a deep-water channel off Greenock on the south bank of the
Clyde estuary, on 25 June 1903. The
vessel called briefly at Moville, County Donegal to pick up passengers and mail
and arrived at New York about 5 July.
Steamship journeys by this date had become quite predictable and on the
Glasgow to New York route, the passage took typically nine or 10 days. On board Dr Corbett, with his usual
enthusiasm, had been busy training the ship’s stewards in ambulance work. The Astoria’s voyage back across the Atlantic
left on 11 July and reached the Clyde nine days later. In the period before his ship next departed
for the USA, Muir Corbett travelled to Whitby to spend a few days with his
parents, who were holidaying on the North Yorkshire coast. Corbett departed Whitby for Glasgow on 28
July and his vessel left the Clyde two days later, arriving in New York on 9
August.
The Astoria
again left for Glasgow on Saturday 15 August 1903, but Dr Muir Corbett was not
on the vessel. A body was found in the
North River, New York two days later.
Death appeared to have been due to drowning and the identity of the
corpse was confirmed by Dr McIntyre of the ss Columbia. It was Dr Muir Corbet. Apparently, he was not on board when the
Astoria departed but it could not be determined if he had joined the ship and
then fallen overboard, or if he never boarded the vessel. No direct evidence has been uncovered bearing
on the circumstances of Dr Corbett’s demise, but the indirect evidence led to a
strong suspicion that he had committed suicide to escape from the dreadful
emotional conflicts that he had allowed to engulf his life.
Dr Alexander
Hendry, born in 1868,
was a son of Braemar where his father was a merchant and the postmaster. Alexander was a bright lad who attended
Aberdeen Grammar School between 1883 and 1886 before entering Edinburgh
University to read Medicine. After
gaining the degrees of MB CM, in 1892 he succeeded to a practice in Ballater which
had become vacant due to the death of Dr Cran.
Later, in 1903, Hendry was awarded the degree of MD from his alma
mater. Like the doctors in his
native Braemar, Alex Hendry quickly immersed himself both in medical work and
in the social life of the village, together with its hinterland. It soon became clear that Dr Hendry had a
particular penchant for making social contacts.
In his first few years of practice, mentions of him in the local press
in a non-professional context greatly outnumbered references to his medical
work in the community.
Alexander
Hendry soon became the vice-president of the Ballater Mutual Improvement
Association, lecturing to that group on “Germs” in 1893 and two years later
giving a talk on “How to attain to long life”.
The same topic was offered to the sister MIA in Crathie in 1896. Politically, Dr Hendry was a supporter of the
Liberal Party, and he was instrumental in forming a Liberal Association in 1893
at Ballater, becoming its first president.
The following year he received further political recognition when he was
appointed a vice-president of the West Aberdeenshire Gladstonian
Association. At the General Election of
1900, Alexander Hendry seconded the nomination of Dr Robert Farquharson as the
Liberal candidate for West Aberdeenshire.
Becoming a prominent citizen in the village of Ballater meant that Dr
Hendry would quickly have come to the attention of Sir Allan Mackenzie of
Glenmuick and become an attendee at the many functions organised by that
gentleman. In 1894 Alexander Hendry was
present at the complimentary dinner given in honour of Sir Allan when he became,
in effect, the Laird of Glenmuick, though his formal position was that of
factor on the estate. Hendry was also a
guest at the coming-of-age dinner to Lieutenant AJR Mackenzie, Sir Allan’s eldest
son, at Braickley House in 1901 and also at the banquet held in the Victoria
Hall, Ballater in 1902 when Lieutenant Mackenzie left to join his
regiment. The United Free Church was the
denomination to which Alexander Hendry cleaved and in 1896 he was appointed a
deacon in the Ballater Free Church. In 1901 a baptismal font was presented to
Ballater UFC and was accepted on behalf of the congregation by the local
general practitioner. The following year
Alexander Hendry addressed the UFC Sunday School social meeting. However, later in life he transferred his
allegiance to the Established Church of Scotland.
There were many
occasions on which Dr Alexander Hendry took the lead in the social affairs of
Ballater. In the sporting sphere, he was
appointed president of the Ballater Skating Club and chaired a concert, held in
1898, to raise funds for the construction of a new skating pond for the town. A skating competition was held on the
Ballater pond in February 1902 at which John Michie and Dr Mitchell, another
Ballater GP, acted as judges. Sir Allan
and Lady Mackenzie presented the prizes and Dr Hendry thanked them for their
kindness. Alexander Hendry married Mary
Elizabeth Iverach, the daughter of an Orcadian pharmaceutical chemist, in 1900
but there were no children of the marriage, which may partly explain the wide
range of the GP’s social activities.
A significant
number of accidents in the Ballater area were reported in the pages of the
Aberdeen Journal in the aftermath of which Alexander Hendry was usually called
upon to apply his medical skills. As was
typical on Deeside, several of the events involved horses or horse-drawn
transport, such as a collision between two horse-drawn lorries belonging to Mr
Smart the Ballater carrier. The result
of this contretemps was that one driver sustained a broken collar bone. Hendry was summoned and patched up the
unfortunate man, presumably with a figure-of-eight bandage. As the turn of the century approached
bicycles became much more frequent on the roads of Deeside and with the growing
popularity of this form of personal transport, there was a concomitant rise in
accidents involving bikes. A lady
visitor to Deeside from Stonehaven fell off her machine in 1898 and broke her
leg and Dr Hendry was called to do the necessary splinting. Other accidents were much more serious, such
as burns sustained by a postboy when a lamp fell on him while he slept. In 1898 Captain Alexander Cook was thrown out
of his dogcart, landing heavily. Dr
Hendry was called but the unfortunate victim was beyond medical help, having
broken his neck.
This was the
life being led by Dr Alexander Hendry at the turn of the century and
beyond. But he was about to undertake a
new mission which would dramatically change the tenor of his life. Ten miles west of Ballater, the Royal estates
had been deprived of medical cover at some time in the period late 1902 - early
summer 1903, with the departure of Dr Muir Corbett, and King Edward VII’s
advisors, including John Michie, needed to find a solution. As noted above, contact with Dr Noble and Dr
Hendry, general practitioners respectively in Braemar and Ballater, had been
made in October 1902 and further correspondence indicates that at this time
John Michie was conducting direct negotiations on behalf of the Crown, but with
the indirect involvement of Sir Francis Laking (Physician-in-Ordinary to King
Edward VII) and Sir Dighton Probyn (Extra Equerry to King Edward VII). Michie urged Dr Hendry to “keep his terms
reasonable”. John Michie also thought a
solution to the problem might be found through a doctor starting a practice on
the Invercauld estate but, presumably, servicing Balmoral from the same base.
Further,
partial correspondence (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/903 letters dated 19 October
1902, 8 November 1902 and 19 December 1902 from John Michie to Sir Dighton
Probyn) shows that negotiations dragged on for months, particularly over the
level of remuneration to be awarded to the Deeside doctors. All three negotiators, Michie, Laking and
Probyn suspected that the price being demanded was inflated above the level
necessary to provide medical cover and they were anxious for the Privy Purse
not to be ripped off by avaricious medical men.
In a letter dated (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/903 letter dated15 October
1903 from Sir Dighton Probyn to John Michie) from Sir Dighton to John Michie,
he expressed the opinion that there must be medical men “with money” who, for a
“fixed salary” to see the people on the Balmoral estate, would start a practice
at Invercauld. Sir Dighton was clearly
anxious not to have an arrangement where the medical bill for Balmoral was
uncapped. In early November 1903, Alexander
Hendry wrote to John Michie telling him that Sir Francis Laking had asked to
see him personally. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/903 letter dated 5 November 1903 Alexander Hendry to John
Michie). At the meeting, it appears that
Alexander Hendry made a good impression on Laking but the Ballater doctor had
explained that he was reluctant to start a medical practice at Crathie because
“… there are too few people”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/905 letter dated 28
November 1903 from Dr Hendry to Sir Francis Laking). About the beginning of December, a proposal
was presented by Drs Noble and Hendry asking for a sum in excess of £200pa for
the medical service, excluding midwifery.
John Michie thought this demand was excessive, that £200 should be
sufficient and that midwifery should be included. Sir Dighton Probyn diverged from Michie on
this last point with the merry quip, “If chaps will marry and then have
children, they should pay the bill for their amusement.” (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/905 letter 6 December
1903 from Sir Dighton Probyn to Sir Francis Laking). There the matter was settled. The Deeside doctors took on the role of
providing medical cover at Balmoral for a fixed price of £200pa, excluding the
oversight of pregnancy and delivery. But
when acceptance was made, it was by Alexander Hendry alone. The reason for Dr Noble’s omission from the
arrangement was unclear. Perhaps the
Royal advisors held Noble responsible to some extent for making a bad choice of
assistant in Dr Muir Corbett and that unpleasant episode had caused them to
veer towards the established and popular Ballater general practitioner, Dr
Hendry?
In
August 1903, an unsolicited offer to provide medical services at Balmoral had
been received from JL Dickie, son of the late Professor of Botany at Aberdeen
University. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 letter dated 15 August 1903 from JL
Dickie). He received a polite brush-off.
“His Majesty is not thinking of making a
medical appointment at Balmoral. It is
equidistant from both Braemar and Ballater so medical help is always at hand”. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 letter to Dr Dickie dated 23 August 1903).
On 17 December
1903, Sir Dighton Probyn wrote to John Michie saying that he wanted to offer
the medical arrangements at Balmoral to Dr Hendry to look after the whole
estate and for Hendry to supply another medical man to look after the outlying
parts of the estate. To go with the
agreement, Probyn needed a list of those at Balmoral whom Dr Hendry would be
expected to treat for free, which Michie was to provide. A draft agreement was enclosed with Sir
Dighton’s letter. In summary, the
contract was to the effect that Hendry would attend the King, the Queen and the
Household when in residence at Balmoral, together with all the staff on the
Balmoral, Abergeldie and Birkhall estates for £300pa, this fixed price to
include medicines and dressings but not midwifery (which was to be paid for by
the patient), special foods and surgical instruments. Dr Hendry was given the freedom to delegate
the service for beneficiaries located away from Balmoral Castle. The contract would be yearly, with six
months’ notice on either side.
Specifically, Dr Hendry would not attend Royal guests free of
charge. The figure of £300 was curious
since Hendry had already agreed the lower sum of £200. The higher figure was correct, which John
Michie was responsible for paying by half-yearly instalments in arrears. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/930 list dated 20
March 1905 of Balmoral positions and salaries).
Further details
of the arrangements remained to be ironed out, including practical matters
relating to accommodation at the Castle, which were delegated to John
Michie. He prepared a list of
beneficiaries but excluded the staff at the Lochnagar distillery, since that
property was on a lease from the Abergeldie estate. Another problem arose in compiling the
list. Because the servant population
fluctuated frequently, the list of those qualifying for free medical care would
also fluctuate but would include all the King’s labourers. John Michie also suggested excluding the
phrase “and all the houses on the estates”, because a County Council sanitary
inspector was already in residence “and not slow to report anything of an
insanitary nature”. Free medical care
would give him opportunity to moan about any inadequacies in the drainage. A large stock of medicines had been left
behind by the departed Dr Corbett and Michie arranged for Dr Hendry to come
over to the castle to look at this veritable “Chemist’s Shop”. It was also made clear to the new Balmoral GP
that Sir James Reid’s medical cabinet would be available to him. The doctor’s surgery was located in the
Balmoral stable yard and contained two rooms, only one of which was then
available because the other was in use as accommodation for one of the
servants. Hendry asked for this room to
be cleared for his use, in due course, so that he could install a bed for when
he needed to attend to a patient at the castle during the night (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/907 letter from John Michie to Sir Dighton Probyn dated 27
December 1903).
At Michie’s
request, the agreement started on 1 January 1904 and Dr Hendry soon took the
opportunity to assure Sir Francis Laking that all was well, giving information
on two patients and assuring Laking that no champagne was kept for medical
purposes at the castle. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/908 letter dated (wrongly) 11
January 1903. Should be 1904? from Dr
Hendry to Sir Francis Laking). Alexander
Hendry also took the trouble to keep John Michie on side, calling to take tea
with the Michies on 15 January. When Sir
Dighton was next visiting Balmoral, in April 1904, he and Michie met with Dr
Hendry to clarify the interpretation of one section of the agreement on the
provision of medical services. John
Michie reported this matter in his diaries.
“Dr. Hendry came by appointment and talked over the health bill and the
point in his agreement relating to supervision of Sanitary matters at the
Castle & elsewhere. The meaning of
which that should the Dr. believe that illness is caused by any defect in
Drainage &c. that he report it”. The
year 1904 also witnessed the curious but also tragic case of Catherine
Cameron. She was the housekeeper at
Altnaghuibhsaich, who had suffered a hemiplegic stroke the previous year and
was under the care of Dr Hendry. He
discussed the case with John Michie. “I
talked to him about the advisability of giving Miss Cameron an electric
shock. He was to make a casual call at
Altnaguibhsaich & tell me the result”.
This was a bizarre suggestion as electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) was
not invented until 1938 and not for the treatment of stroke victims. It is not clear if Alexander Hendry went
ahead with his proposal, but his patient died two days later.
After his
appointment as the Balmoral doctor, Alexander Hendry continued to live near
Ballater, initially at Netherly Place, Glenmuick. When he went on holiday in November 1907, Dr
Mitchell of Aberdeen acted as his locum.
Almost immediately, Mitchell had a medical crisis on his hands. John Michie recorded events in his
diary. “William Lamond, Assistant
Gardener, Abergeldie & one of His Majesty's local pipers died of septic
peritonitis. He went home from his work
feeling ill at 3 pm yesterday and died at 9 pm today. Dr Mitchell of Aberdeen, Locum for Dr
Hendry, who left yesterday for a change, saw Lamont twice”. John Michie and Dr Mitchell both attended
Willie Lamond’s funeral and the Michies entertained the locum doctor to tea
afterwards.
By 1905,
Alexander Hendry was a well-established figure at Balmoral and started to be
pressed into service as a member of platform parties present at Ballater
station for the arrival or departure of members of the Royal family. The first detected example of this duty was
on 21 September 1905 when the Prince of Wales left Abergeldie for London. Dr Hendry was last in order of precedence of
the VIPs but at least he was placed ahead of the members of the railway
departments who were present. On 26th
of the same month when the King arrived at Ballater, the platform party
consisted of the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Lieutenant of the County, Sir Frederick
Milner, Sir Allan Mackenzie, Lord Kilmarnock, Sir John Clark, Mr Reginald HL
Gordon, Admiral Sir Arthur Farquhar, Colonel Caldwell, Dr Hendry and Mr William
Cowie, station master. An august
assemblage which Alexander Hendry would have been happy to acknowledge, even
though in precedence he was only placed above Mr Cowie. Hendry served again when the Prince of Wales
departed from Ballater on 3 October. On
that occasion, the youthful Prince Edward of Wales leaned out of the carriage
window and shook hands with the Balmoral doctor.
Thereafter,
attendance at Ballater station was a regular assignment for Alexander Hendry
and his status with the Royal family progressed inexorably upwards. He began to be invited to balls and other
events held at Balmoral Castle and in 1910 he was appointed Surgeon-Apothecary
at Balmoral. The same year he became a
council member of the St Andrew’s Ambulance Aberdeen Centre. Formal recognition of his role in Royal life
came later in the year when Alexander Hendry was promoted to be a Member of the
Victorian Order (4th class).
Alexander Hendry and John Michie met regularly, often over lunch at Baile-na-coile. In March 1911, Hendry informed the Balmoral
factor that, “… he has to go to London in the beginning of next month for Court
Uniform as Household Doctor”. However,
Hendry’s absence then caused problems because, as John Michie noted, “His Locum
(Dr Laing) took drink and was useless from about Friday”. However, this embarrassing deficiency
probably never reached Royal ears and Dr Hendry’s star rose with steady
inevitability in the heavens. He moved
to a new house in Ballater, Darroch Learg, and in 1913 he was appointed as a
Justice of the Peace. Hendry also
acquired a motor car which was damaged by fire early the following year.
After a busy
and productive war, which will be dealt with elsewhere, Alexander Hendry was
promoted to Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1924 and to Knight
Commander of the Victorian Order on his retirement as Surgeon-Apothecary in
1931. When his wife, Mary Elizabeth died
in 1920, he donated the “deep-toned” bell to the North Church of Scotland at
Ballater. Dr Alexander Hendry died in
1932, a year after retirement. He was
64. By this time John Michie had also
retired and the King was represented by Major MacKenzie, a successor to Michie
at Balmoral, at Hendry’s funeral. Dr
Hendry, a son of Braemar, was interred in his native village. He had led an interesting and successful life
and his inventory was valued at £27,614.
Just as the
career of Dr Hendry was in the ascendancy, the career of Dr Noble went
in the opposite direction. On two
occasions between October and December 1903, John Michie recorded meeting with
James Noble “about medical matters” and “on business” but Michie, coyly, does
not enlighten the reader of his diaries further. After the institution of the new arrangement for
medical services in January 1904, Dr Noble continued to take responsibility for
the care of Lizzie Stewart, daughter of the retired head stalker, living at the
Dantzig Shiel, who was in decline with pulmonary tuberculosis. All he could do for her was to order
champagne, which worried Michie a little as he thought it would not fall to the
expense of the King under the new arrangements.
On a social level, the relationship with James Noble and his wife
continued as before, with regular visits to Baile-na-coile to play golf, or
take tea, or just to chat, no doubt over a glass of John Begg’s finest. Dr Noble was involved in the care of Beatrice
Michie when she fell ill in 1905. The
social visiting between the Michies and the Nobles continued throughout 1906.
In November
1906, Dr James Noble suddenly submitted a letter of resignation from his role
as Medical Officer to Braemar Parish Council.
He had held the post for the past 29 years. No reason has been discovered for his
demission of office. He was only 54 or
55 at the time and in good health. His
letter of resignation was also read to the Deeside District Committee of
Aberdeenshire County Council, “Dr Noble intimating that he was giving up his
practice, he could no longer continue in the office of medical officer of
public health under the committee”.
Noble seemed to serve a period of notice as he was still providing
medical services through the first half of 1907. James Noble’s mother, who had been living
with the Nobles in Braemar, died there in 1907.
“A large company assembled at the Invercauld Arms Braemar to do honour
to Dr and Mrs Noble on the occasion of their leaving Braemar”. John McDonald, Deebank, presented James Noble
with a solid silver candelabra, followed by Mr McGregor, merchant, who
similarly proffered a gold necklace to Annabella Noble. The company was entertained to a cake and
wine banquet and spent the rest of the evening “in song and sentiment”. The Nobles then sold up and moved to Eureka Villa,
Cults, on lower Deeside. Curiously,
James Noble did not resume medical practice after the relocation. Indeed, he seemed to do very little in his
long retirement, surviving until 1947, when he died at the age of 95. His 40 years of retirement far exceeded his
period of active work.
One final,
unexplained curiosity of James Noble’s departure from Upper Deeside concerned
John Michie. The two had been close
friends for over 10 years, but in his diaries Michie made no further mention of
Dr Noble post-retirement and no record has been found of either visiting the
other after 1906, even though after his demission of office in 1919, John
Michie went to live at Kirkton of Maryculter, only four miles distant from
Cults.
It might have
been anticipated that replacing Dr Noble with another general practitioner to
serve Braemar would have been an uncontroversial task, but this proved not to
be the case. Although the provision of
medical services in Braemar was of limited significance for most Royal estate
residents, it was significant to those living at the western end of Balmoral
who were much nearer to Braemar than to Ballater, where Dr Hendry was
based.
Dr William
Brown had been born in
1879 at Selkirk in the Borders of Scotland.
He arrived in Braemar about 1904 and apparently at the request of “several visitors
and others” instituted a medical practice, even though Dr Noble held the
official position of Medical Officer to Braemar Parish Council. Dr Brown was unmarried, but his sister lived
with him. “He (Brown) soon became very
popular being an enthusiastic golfer and taking a great interest in the
community”. After the resignation of Dr
Noble late in 1906, the Parish Council met to deal with the succession. The post was advertised but instead of taking
the obvious solution to the problem, the Council, many of whose members were
hostile to Dr Brown, “unanimously resolved to offer the appointment to
Dr N. MacDonald, failing his acceptance then to Dr P.O. Jollie”. William Brown
was a candidate but was not even mentioned in the Parish Council minutes.
At that point
the Duke of Fife stepped into the imbroglio. Braemar had always had difficulty attracting
doctors to serve the community, partly due to its small, and therefore
unprofitable, population size and partly due to the difficulty of securing
appropriate housing, the best houses being taken by the upmarket visitors to
the village. The Duke caused Auchindryne
Lodge to be built for the accommodation of a doctor in 1874. The first occupant was Dr Haldane, who was
succeeded by Dr Noble. This
accommodation was rent-free to the incumbent doctor. After the resignation of Dr Noble, the Duke
assigned Auchindryne Lodge to Dr William Brown, without waiting to see if he
had secured the Parish Council’s appointment.
Dr MacDonald duly accepted the offer of employment
by Braemar Parish Council but then found that he could not secure a suitable
house for rent. The village was
effectively owned by the Duke of Fife and Mr AH Farquharson of Invercauld. There were no feus (building plots) available,
and yearly sub-letting required the permission of the feu superior. Having failed to find accommodation by the
date of his appointment, Dr MacDonald resigned.
A further meeting of the Parish Council took place in February 1907,
when it was resolved not to advertise the post again, or to offer it to Dr
Jollie, but to invite Dr Brown to fill the post. He accepted the position and his employment
starting on 23 February. Outside of the
formalities of the Parish Council, some of those who were unhappy with Dr
Brown’s tenure as Medical Officer, raised a petition in the village, signed by
¾ of the residents, inviting Dr Jollie to start a practice. Dr Jollie responded by moving to Braemar and
starting a rival practice to that of Dr Brown.
The Aberdeen Journal claimed that Jollie had in fact taken over Dr
Noble’s practice and that Noble had introduced him to the district. Wherever the truth lay, Dr Jollie only survived
for about a year before giving up his practice, on the grounds of ill-health,
to yet another incomer, Dr W.D. Forsyth.
In December
1907, after the election of a new Parish Council and one which was again
hostile to Dr Brown, another meeting was held to discuss the status of his
appointment as their medical officer. Mr
Milne proposed “That this meeting holds-as the minutes of the meeting held on 6
December of last year have never been rescinded-that the appointment of a
medical officer was irregular and that the office being at present vacant we
take the usual steps to make an appointment.”
This motion was seconded but John Michie, ever the realist, proposed a
counter motion. “That the question of
whether or not the medical officer’s appointment is in order be referred to the
Local Government Board.” On being put to
the meeting the voting was 3 for Mr Michie’s motion and 6 for Mr Milne’s
motion. At the next Parish Council
meeting a further resolution was passed calling for Dr Brown to be dismissed on
three months’ notice but giving no reason for his removal from office. The hot-headed ignoramuses on the Parish
Council had entirely overlooked the terms of Dr Browns contract of employment. Brown protested that he was entitled to six
weeks’ notice after his one-year contract ended in February 1908. However, the chairman, Andrew Smith, the
factor on the Invercauld estate and another realist, did consult the LGB who
confirmed that Dr Brown’s appointment had been regular.
William Brown
thus survived the actions of his detractors and at the 1911 Census, held on 2
April, he was still to be found living at eight-roomed Auchindryne Lodge with
his sister Dulcie. However, he had
probably had enough of Braemar and its in-fighting. John and Helen Michie, who had become
friendly with Dr Brown and his sister, visited them later the same year when
William Brown told his visitors that he was moving to a practice in
Aberdeen. John Michie must have had
confidence in the abilities of Dr Brown, because he continued to consult Brown
during his own protracted period of illness following retirement in 1919.
If, at this
point, the reader thinks that the machinations of the Crathie and Braemar
Parish Council and their ability to take the wrong decision, or no decision, were
at an end, this was not so. In 1915,
during WW1 when securing the services of medical practitioners was exceedingly
difficult, these parish councillors at the furthest end of Deeside were again
looking for a doctor for the village.
John Michie recounted events. A Dr
Thomson was resident in Braemar and had applied to be appointed. John Michie proposed offering the position to
the man who was already a resident, but a majority of his fellow councillors
were opposed to Thomson, and no appointment was made at that time. At the end of November 1915, Dr Thomson left
Braemar to take up a position at Edzell, leaving Braemar village in the hands
of a doctor recovering from war wounds.
He agreed to help but probably for only one month. The situation was becoming desperate, so the
Council turned to Dr Thomson, the man they had rejected for the post and asked
him if he could help in identifying a doctor for the village, with a guarantee
of appointment! Michie did not record if
Thomson cooperated, or what was the outcome of this latest Braemar
shambles.
The
Abergeldie Aberdeen Angus herd
Alexander
Profeit, the second commissioner on the Balmoral estates, was charged by Queen
Victoria with selecting cattle to form the basis of a new herd of black polled
cattle on the farm of Abergeldie Mains, after he took up his post at Balmoral
in 1875. The Queen had first become
interested in this breed of beef cattle in 1867, when her attention was caught
by a giant ox, called Black Prince, which belonged to William McCombie of
Tillyfour, Tough, Aberdeenshire. The
first purchases were made about 1876, with animals selected from the leading
herds in the North-East of Scotland.
When John Michie became Balmoral Factor in 1902, he then took responsibility
for the Royal herd at Abergeldie, though Michie, like Dr Profeit before him,
had no specialist knowledge of this breed.
The Perth Bull
Sales were initiated in 1865 and by 1900 they were the premier event at which
breeding stock of Aberdeen Angus cattle were traded. Inevitably, John Michie packed his bags and
headed for Perth in mid-February 1902.
By that year, the two founding fathers of the breed, Hugh Watson of
Keillor, Angus and William McCombie of Tillyfour, Aberdeenshire, were long dead
and gone and in their place, the leading breeder of the “Blacks” was now
recognised to be Sir George McPherson Grant of Ballindalloch, which lay just in
Aberdeenshire but close to the county of Moray.
John Michie reported in his diary, “Sir Geo. McPherson Grant's stock
were outside the prize list, but he got the best prices notwithstanding”. One of his yearling bulls sold for 360
gns. The following year McPherson Grant
sold a bull for an even higher figure, 480gns. Thereafter, the Perth Bull Sales
became a standard feature of John Michie’s annual program. He is known from his diaries to have been
present in 11 of the 17 years between 1902 and 1919, probably attended in a
further 5 years and only 1908 (no diary) lacks evidence of his presence, though
he could have attended. Michie both
bought and sold breeding stock for the King’s herd at Perth though, unlike some
Aberdeen Angus breeders, he was reluctant to pay “silly” prices even for
outstanding animals and his bids were often topped by competitors. At Perth in 1903, Michie bid what for him was
a high figure of 100gns for a cow, "Elmaise" (28038), but he was
outbid by Mr McLaren, Auchnaquie, at 110 guineas.
Michie also
bought and sold animals at other sales occasionally, such as the Aberdeen bull
sales, which followed immediately after Perth.
Purchases would occasionally be made at farm sales, too, if the herd was
well regarded. In May 1903, John Michie was also present at a firesale of
animals from the Marquis of Huntly’s herd of “Doddies”, perhaps hoping to pick
up a bargain. “Offered for two but
bought nothing - went to 15 gs for a "saint" calf”. The same month he was more successful at a
sale mounted by Sir John F Clark of Tillypronie (the diplomat son of Sir James
Clark, who had been a physician to Queen Victoria), though this was not
considered to be a leading herd, which was reflected in the sale prices. “… bought 4 animals, yearling bull
"Craig-glass" 24 gs; 2-year-old heifer "Priscilla 2nd" of
Tillypronie (31529) 21 gs; one-year-old heifer "Mary of Sandeman"
(33363) 18 gs; steer "Bobs" 18½…”.
Pedigree
Aberdeen Angus cattle were recognised by registration in the official herd book
of the breed, which was revised and added to each year and each registered
animal, which required a fee to be paid, was then given a unique identifying
number and had its parentage recorded.
In May 1903, John Michie wrote, “Afternoon went over the pedigree calves
at Abergeldie Mains and have decided to enter in Herd Book 5 male and 5 female
calves. The volume for current year
closes on 1st June”. A schedule had to
be completed in order for each animal to be registered.
Separately from
the breeding stock, Aberdeen Angus and other breeds of cattle were fed and sold
at fatstock shows and markets, the most important of which took place in early
December to supply the Christmas demand for beef. Not all stock to be fed for this trade were
bred at Abergeldie. Some were bought in
as young animals from other farmers, for example, “Went to East town Tarland
and bought 4 bullocks for £82”. John
Duncan was a very successful Aberdeen cattle dealer and was appointed as a
Royal Tradesman. Duncan imported cattle from Orkney and he started his cattle
business in 1867 on open ground in King Street, where he sold by private
bargain. Soon the site was divided by
portable wooden fences then a rostrum was added and later permanent buildings. He often disposed of Abergeldie animals
privately, as in 1912 when he suggested that he might get more money by this
route than offering cattle in the sale ring, bearing in mind from where they
had come. In 1915, John Michie
demonstrated good judgement in disposing of bull calves at the Perth Bull
Sale. “The King's calves were all too
young and not fat enough. They made -
"Prijoe" 26gs; "Givejoe"
26gs "Eljim" 21gs, and Eljoe I put a reserve of 100gs - He was
offered up to 50 gs in the ring and withdrawn. Afterwards, Mr D.M.Grant of
Ballintomb, Granton tried to get him, offering me 80gs but I stuck to the reserve put on him and at
last he agreed to take him at 100 guineas”.
The most
important pre-Christmas fatstock show was that at Smithfield, Islington, held
in early December each year and another routine fixture in John Michie’s annual
calendar. He appeared to attend every
year up to and including 1913 but may not have attended in 1914 and the
following year. Although the Show was
held on a reduced scale in 1916, it was then cancelled until after the end of
the War. The Aberdeen fatstock show
continued as previously and Abergeldie animals were on display there even while
hostilities continued.
Not all the
cattle on the Royal Deeside estates were of the Aberdeen Angus breed. Sometimes shorthorns and crossed animals,
which tended to be larger than pure breeds, were kept. A few dairy cattle were also retained to
provide a local milk supply and they appear to have been a rather nondescript
group.
There were
frequently visitors fetching up at Abergeldie to view the Royal herd of
blacks. Some were just curious to see
the King’s herd, but others were serious customers. In October 1903, “Met Revd W.Skipwith and his
Father in law to see black cattle. The latter speaks of making us an offer for Baron Kerrera 7-year-old bull”. This animal, later the same year, fell on the
ice while travelling to the Aberdeen Christmas Show and had to be put
down. Other callers at Abergeldie
appeared to prey upon Michie’s time, such as a Dr Gellespie who showed up in
October 1907 on the pretext that he wanted to write an article about the King’s
Aberdeen Angus herd. However, “… but has
not taken a single note. He wants me to
send him some particulars”. A more
profitable visit was made by “Mrs Duncan & Holmes” in May 1909. “Sold them "Eleanor" for £100 -
also two young ones "Elmar" & "Pran" £73 &
£25”. In 1910, a lady writer on
agricultural matters, Isabella Bruce, visited Abergeldie to collect material
for an article she was planning on the King’s Aberdeen Angus herd. The Aberdeen Daily Journal prepared a similar
article the following year after the accession of King George. Another fruitful visit by a prominent
Aberdeenshire proprietor came in 1915, when Mr CEH Leith-Hay of Leith Hall
called and was persuaded to take a yearling heifer. During WW1, an Australian veterinary
lecturer, Captain Weston, even managed to find his way to Abergeldie to see the
Aberdeen Angus herd.
Buying
and selling Aberdeen Angus animals for large sums of money was fraught with
risk on both sides of the deal. In 1902,
the bull “Elandslaagte” was sold to American, WMA Judy but subsequently failed
his test for tuberculosis, which nullified the sale. The bull, “Irex” was sold to Sir Ernest
Cassel but was returned as he “failed to serve”. Other Abergeldie cattle suffered from
tuberculosis from time to time and spontaneous abortion was also a regular
problem. About 1912, Michie bought an
Aberdeen Angus bull, “Gerard” from Napier Langdale, the factor to the
Ballindalloch Estate of Sir John MacPherson Grant. Unfortunately, the bull then died at
Abergeldie of tuberculosis. Langdale commiserated
with Michie, “At least he did not cost much”!
Success in the
showring was important for the prestige of a herd and sometimes for the
prestige of the herd’s owner. At the
Royal Northern Show held in Aberdeen in July 1903, “…Cow. Gwendolin 4 in
Breeding Cows. Princess Alberta II of Abergeldie 2nd in Yearling Heifers.
Freelady 3 in Yearling Heifers. The
Abergeldie herd, while being well-regarded and attracting some prestige due to
its ownership, was not in the same class as the Ballindalloch herd. At the Edinburgh Show in December 1904, there
was a particularly good performance by animals from Abergeldie. “Started from Ballater by 3.30 train en
route for Edinburgh Show where we are exhibiting Princess Alberta II of
Abergeldie - a two-year-old heifer - and an old cow Princess Irene VI both as
fat animals”. “The heifer … was awarded
1st in her class and cup for best bred Aberdeen Angus beast in the Show. The cow got 3rd prize in her Class”. During the War, preparing cattle for the
showring was restrained in favour of fattening calves for food. After the War,
the role of the salering became important again with increasing demand for the
export of Aberdeen Angus cattle around the world.
Recognition for
John Michie’s involvement with the King’s Aberdeen Angus herd came in 1909 when
he was elected a vice-president of the Aberdeen Angus Society alongside Sir
John MacPherson Grant (4th Baronet and son of Sir George, 3rd
Baronet). The two Johns were re-elected
the following year. Michie once more
served as vice-president in 1915 - 1917.
During this period John Michie was “elected a member of a small com. to
draw up rules for Auctioneers for Breeders' sales”. John Michie had shown, through his
involvement with the Abergeldie Aberdeen Angus herd that he had native wit in
abundance and could turn his hand to making a success of a variety of rural
enterprises.
The
Aberdeen Fatstock Club and the Scottish National Fatstock Club
In 1897 the
Scottish National Fatstock Club was established to promote the production and
marketing of fatstock in Scotland. It
developed its own annual show as a counterweight to the London-based Smithfield
Club. The origins of a similar local
club for the North-East, the Aberdeen Fatstock Club, are unclear but it was
fully in existence by 1904, with John Michie as a supporter, selling Abergeldie
cattle at its show. By 1912, Michie had
become a member of the Council of the Aberdeen Club. That same year, Michie had also been elected
to an
equivalent position with the national
organisation and was president in 1912 and 1913, taking the chair at the Club’s
AGM. King George V became a private
member of both fatstock clubs but declined an invitation to support the
national club further with a separate donation.
James Campbell (1853 – 1930) Royal piper
James was the
son of a shepherd and was born in Kintail, Ross and Cromarty. He learned to play the bagpipes in the Army,
which he left in 1879. Campbell was
recruited to serve Queen Victoria as second piper in 1881, the first piper at
the time being Pipe Major William Ross.
Ross retired in 1883 and James Campbell was promoted to the top
job. Campbell was one of the pipers who
played at the funeral of the Queen in 1901, for which display he was decorated
with the MVO by King Edward VII. James
Campbell then continued in Royal service as piper to King Edward, retiring on
the King’s death in 1910, to be succeeded by Henry Forsyth. Campbell’s salary was £100pa plus allowances
for apartments and fuel, lodging while teaching at Balmoral and pipe
repairs. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/932 letter
dated 22 April 1905 from John Michie to Walter Gibson).
Although based
in London for most of the year, James Campbell usually travelled to Balmoral in
the spring to teach a piping class to young local lads. In February 1903, John Michie recorded,
“Visited Campbell's piping class which began yesterday. He has 6 pupils at present”. Bagpipes and replacement parts were obtained,
on behalf of James Campbell, by John Michie from McDougall’s of Aberfeldy. Two new sets of pipes arrived from McDougalls
at the end of April and Campbell departed for London on 1 May. James Campbell returned to Balmoral in August
of that year when Queen Alexandra was in residence. John Michie “Attended to business at the
Castle most of the day and in the morning had the new Pipers conducted by
Campbell playing before HM who complimented them and told me His Majesty would
be pleased”. While at Balmoral in the
autumn, James Campbell led the pipers heading the Balmoral Highlanders when
they marched at the Braemar Gathering.
At Balmoral he was also required to pipe while walking around the castle
each morning, be present to pipe with welcoming parties and turn out in his
Highland garb, often accompanying John Michie, at Crathie Church on a Sunday
morning. He was present with John Michie
on Sunday 13 October 1907 when Fridtjof Nansen, the polar explorer visited
Balmoral and accompanied King Edward to church.
John
Michie and the Gordons of Abergeldie
The Abergeldie
estate on Upper Deeside has been in the hands of the Gordon family for about
600 years and its castle was built about 1550, when the tower house, which
still stands, was constructed. In 1848,
after taking a lease to the contiguous Balmoral estate, Prince Albert, Queen
Victoria’s Consort offered to buy both the Birkhall estate and the Abergeldie
estate, each owned by the Gordons. While
the Prince was successful in his quest for Birkhall, the Gordons would not
dispose of the Abergeldie freehold.
However, they did grant a 40-year lease to the castle and its
estate. After being secured, the Birkhall
estate was immediately transferred to the ownership of the Prince of Wales,
Albert Edward. He married in 1863 and later
visited Abergeldie each year to enjoy the shooting.
The Gordons had
largely been absentee landlords during the 19th century, pursuing a
variety of interests in and around the City of London, particularly in banking
and insurance, so granting a 40-year lease of Abergeldie to Prince Albert did
not cause the family an accommodation problem, because they had homes in the
South. Hugh Mackay Gordon, the 17th
Baron Abergeldie, died in Kent in 1901 and his title then passed to his younger
brother, Lewis. Sadly, the 18th
Baron only enjoyed his elevated status for two years before his own demise, and
the consequential promotion of his eldest son, Reginald Hugh Lyall Gordon, to
the Barony in 1903. When Reginald Gordon
needed to visit Upper Deeside for business purposes, he used to stay at a small
boarding house run by Miss Mary Lamont at Clachanturn on the Abergeldie
estate. Later, he was sometimes
accompanied by his mother and his young daughter.
During the
period 1880 – 1902, John Michie had no known dealings with the Laird of
Abergeldie, since that estate had its own tree forester and was not part of
John Michie’s bailiwick. However, once
Michie took on the role of Balmoral factor in the early days of January 1902,
the relationship between him and the owner of the adjacent estate to the east
of Balmoral became important. It was
vital that a good working relationship be established between the Abergeldie
laird and the local representative of the lessee of that estate. It is not clear if John Michie had any
dealings with Lewis Gordon in the interval of 17 months between Michie’s
accession to the factorship and Gordon’s death, the only relevant entry in the
Michie dairies being a note that he had died in Kent on 27 May. But it did not take long for the new laird,
Reginald Gordon, and his brothers to feature regularly in John Michie’s record
of his own life. During the rest of
1903, meetings between Michie and the laird were typically chance affairs, such
as walking home together after attending Crathie church, but in June 1904 the
relationship extended to social visits.
“To the Office called for the Laird of Abergeldie on the way up &
asked him to come for supper with us tonight. Mr. Gordon the Laird of
Abergeldie came in this evening”. Later
the same year, Reginald Gordon and his daughter visited the Mains of Abergeldie
(where the Michies were living at the time) to take tea and to see over
Balmoral Castle. Subsequently, there
were many similar visits to the Michie home.
Golf had become
a consuming passion of John Michie about 1891 and he created his own small
course at the Dantzig Shiel ten years later.
A further small course on the Balmoral estate came into existence about
the same time, located near to Craiggowan House. By 1906, Reginald Gordon had become a regular
golf partner of John Michie on the Balmoral course, for example, “Went round
golf course after 5 with Mr Gordon and his friend Mr Gibb of Tulloch
Lodge”. Social and sporting
companionship helped to cement a good relationship between the two men, which
must have helped to negotiate situations where there was not a meeting of minds
between the two adjacent estates.
Repairs, modifications and additions to the Abergeldie infrastructure
might be paid for by either lessor or lessee, or the burden might be
shared. For example, in 1904 John Michie
recorded one such sharing arrangement.
“Went to Birkhall with Sir Dighton (Probyn, Extra Equerry to Edward
VII). Also to Den of Abergeldie. He agrees to let work of
repairing walks & ponds proceed at Mr. Gordon's expense. H.M. to keep
them up when put in proper order”. In
1905, “The Church was decorated on account of Easter Sunday. (John Michie) Walked back the
southside with Mr Gordon of Abergeldie, who has now agreed to pay the cost of an
addition to his Forester's cottage”, which suggests that he did not initially
undertake to shoulder this expense.
However, John Michie sweetened the arrangement by getting the Balmoral
clerk of works to produce the architectural drawings for the project and to
supervise construction. John Michie and Reginald Gordon got on well
together and this good relationship was mutually advantageous.
Another matter
of joint concern to the heads of the Abergeldie and Balmoral estates was the
need to act in concert on issues, typically of expenditure, relating to the
Crathie and Glenmuick churches, since each laird was a heritor of both
institutions. The other heritors at
Crathie were the Duke of Fife (who rarely visited the church) and Mr AH
Farquharson (who could almost be counted upon to disagree on any topic). In 1911 the representatives of the heritors
tried to agree a division of the costs of heating apparatus for the church, but
both Fife and Farquharson declined to pay.
The situation with the Glenmuick heritors was potentially even more
difficult, there being seven estates with a share of the burden, Morven,
Dinnet, Birkhall, Abergeldie, Glentaner, Glenmuick and Invercauld. A further matter of mutual concern was Loch
Muick, one of the largest and deepest lochs in Aberdeenshire. A survey in 1905 found that the deepest point
was 256ft but with a substantial area greater than 200ft in depth. It contained a healthy population of trout,
and the fishing rights were shared by the three bordering estates, Birkhall, Abergeldie
and Glenmuick. However, during his
reign, King Edward VII rented the angling rights of the other two estates.
Reginald Gordon
had married Rose Gibbs in London in 1886.
The couple had only one child, a daughter called Gertrude, who was born
two years after the marriage. Sadly, Mrs
Gordon died suddenly at the end of May 1906, apparently due to heart
disease. After this date, Reginald
Gordon’s visits to Upper Deeside were rare and John Michie’s interactions with
the Abergeldie laird were then usually conducted through his legal
representative, Mr Alexander Duffus. Reginald Gordon had no male heir and on
his demise in 1924, his next brother, Bertram, became the 20th Baron
Abergeldie.
Between 1882
and 1901, the Michies lived at the Dantzig Shiel, located five miles from the
Castle at the western end of the Balmoral Estate, which location was a mixture
of convenience and inconvenience from the point of view of John carrying out
his work functions. It was similarly an
amalgam of advantage and disadvantage for visitors wishing to call on the Wood
Forester and his family. As noted in the
first part of this biography of John Michie, the house received a remarkable
number of callers, both high and low, social and work-related, family, friends,
relatives and strangers. All were
welcomed and accommodated, receiving food, drink, meals, transport, or a room
for the night as the circumstances required.
Inevitably, the move to accommodation closer to the Castle in 1901,
associated with the ascent of John Michie to the top managerial job on the
estate, led to changes in the pattern of visits to the Michies’ homes, but not
to their willingness to cater for their visitors, the burden of which fell disproportionately
on the shoulders of Helen Michie. At the
Michies’ send-off from Balmoral in 1919, unstinting hospitality was one of
their hall marks held up for approval by the gathering.
Queen Victoria
had for many years in the latter part of her reign called, not infrequently, on
the Michies at the Dantzig, often accompanied by her younger daughters, her
ladies and her visitors. As has been
demonstrated above, Royal visits continued after the accession of her son, and
then her grandson, to the throne, though there were changes in the pattern of
Balmoral occupancy, mainly related to shorter stays and greater emphasis on
maintenance and development proposals for the estate in the times of Edward VII
and George V. The details of Royal
visits, principally to Baile-na-Coile, are described below for the years where
John Michie’s diaries have survived.
Perhaps the most significant change to the pattern of visits to the
Balmoral Factor’s abode was an apparent rise in the frequency of visits by high
status individuals, whether member of the Royal entourage, late summer guests,
owners or managers of nearby estates, members of the civic community, the
suppliers of goods and services to the Royal properties or random visitors to
the Highlands. Clergymen, teachers and
doctors continued to drop by as in former times.
An eclectic
selection of high-profile visitors follows which illuminates some of the
experiences that the Michies lived through in consequence of John’s position at
Balmoral. Perhaps significantly, most
appeared at the Michies’ door during the reign of Edward VII.
Henry
Broadhurst (1840 – 1911)
was a prominent trades unionist and MP who began life as a stonemason and
worked on the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament. He became involved in industrial disputes and
was associated with the Trades Union Congress before entering the House of
Commons as an MP. In May 1903, John
Michie, by the command of King Edward, travelled to Braemar to meet Broadhurst,
though how the monarch got to know this representative of the working classes,
or what Broadhurst was doing on Upper Deeside, has not been uncovered. The outcome of the meeting was an invitation
to visit the Balmoral Estate to take lunch with the Michies on the following
Tuesday. Michie was a bit perplexed by
his unusual visitor. “To the office in
the morning and then Mr Henry Broadhurst came by appointment to see the Castle
and grounds. He lunched with us and his
female nurse. He expressed himself as
having spent the happiest day of his life - rather odd!”. Broadhurst called at Baile-na-Coile again in
1907 and 1909, so it is likely that he had truly enjoyed his first visit.
Henry Broadhurst
Edward
Cunningham-Craig (1874 – 1946)
was a Scottish earth scientist who achieved prominence in later life as the
world’s leading petroleum geologist. In
1896 he had been appointed to a mapping position with His Majesty’s Geological
Survey and subsequently, in April 1901, he was promoted to the role of Head
Geologist. Presumably while on a mapping
assignment in Scotland in June 1903, Cunningham-Craig called to see John
Michie. The contact may have been
maintained because in 1915, the eminent geologist’s mother, who was staying at
Crathie Post Office at the time, also called on the Michies.
Sidney James
Agar, 4th Earl Normanton (1865 – 1933).
The Earls of Normanton were major landowners in Ireland and England and
in September 1903, “Lord and Lady Normanton & their family of 4 girls for
tea”. One of the Normantons’ main
properties was the Somerley Estate in south-west Hampshire and adjacent areas
of Wiltshire and Dorset, containing the glorious Somerley House, near Ringwood.
Sir Francis
Laking (1847 – 1914)
was a distinguished doctor who held the positions of Surgeon-Apothecary in
Ordinary to Queen Victoria and Physician-in-Ordinary to King Edward VII and his
son, George V. He diagnosed Edward VII’s
appendicitis in 1901. In June 1906, Sir
Francis and Lady Laking took tea at Baile-na-Coile and reciprocated by inviting
the Michies to lunch at Abergeldie Mains.
Sir Francis Laking
Sir Ernest
Towse (1864 – 1948) was
awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry during the Second Boer War, when, in
Michie’s words, “Poor Captain Towse got a bullet in the left temple which
crossed behind both eyes and blinded them for ever…”. Towse and his wife lunched with the Michies
in August 1906. The captain had taken up
the role of prominent campaigner for the blind.
In spite of his disability, he still managed to fish.
Sir Ernest Towse
Sir Alexander
Lyon (1850 - 1926) was
a prominent Aberdeen businessman and Lord Provost of the city between 1905 and
1908. He was responsible for the
arrangements when King Edward VII and the Queen opened the extension to
Marischal College in September 1906, and he lunched with the Michies while
present at Balmoral earlier that month to fix the details for this Royal event.
Sir Alexander Lyon
Major-General
Sir Alexander Reid (1846 – 1913)
was born at Auchindoir, Aberdeenshire, graduated from Aberdeen University and
pursued a successful military career in India and Afganistan. His brother, Robert Reid was Professor of
Anatomy at Aberdeen and founder of the University’s Anthropological
Museum. Alexander Reid collected many
cultural artefacts during his military service and passed them on to his
academic brother. Major-General Reid and
his wife called on the Michies in April 1909.
Sir Edward
Chaytor (1868 – 1939)
was a distinguished Army officer who led New Zealand troops in both the Second
Boer War and WW1. He and his wife called
on the Michies for lunch while on a motoring tour in 1909 and were shown over
the Castle, Altnagiubhsaich & Glasaltshiel.
Captain
(later Commander) Charles Cunninghame-Graham (1854 – 1917) became Groom-in-Waiting to King Edward
VII after a career in the Navy, during which he was awarded the Royal Humane
Society silver medal for saving the life of a waterman who had fallen into
Portsmouth Harbour on a cold dark night in 1880. Cunninghame-Graham entered the water, fully
dressed, to effect the rescue. He
visited the Michies in September 1909.
Dr Noel
Bardswell (1872 – 1938)
was the Superintendent of the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, which
specialised in the treatment of consumption (tuberculosis). The King, a major supporter of the hospital,
laid the foundation stone in 1903 and it was opened on 13 June 1906. Dr Bardswell and his wife were invited to
visit Balmoral immediately after the opening and they had supper with the
Michies on 30 June 1911. “Dr. & Mrs. Bardswell Midhurst called about six
o'clock & had supper with us”.
Sir William
Maurice Abbot-Anderson (1861 – 1938)
was a distinguished medical man and naturalist.
He filled the role of Physician to the Duchess of Fife and her household
and was created an MVO in 1906 (CVO 1925).
In 1911 the Duke and Duchess of Fife were shipwrecked off the coast of
Morocco. Sir William travelled out to Egypt to treat them, though the duke died
of pleurisy before his medical adviser arrived.
Sir William was also active in nature conservation. On 19 September 1915, " Sir Maurice
Abbot Anderson & Lady Anderson came from Fife Hotel for tea. He says he
killed 8 stags last week”. Three weeks
later, Lady Abbot-Anderson paid a return visit to Baile-na-Coile, but only
found Helen Michie at home.
Midhurst Sanatorium
The fantastical Oscar Radvaner
John
Michie received many unexpected callers at Balmoral during his time as factor
of the estate, but surely none could be odder than Mr Oscar Radvaner, whom
Michie happened upon in mid-December 1903.
Radvaner claimed to be a Romanian medical student who had left his hometown of Bucharest in mid-1900 at the age of 17 to pursue a challenge of walking round the world (or through all the countries of the world) in seven (or eight, or ten, or twelve) years with certain conditions. He was not to receive monetary assistance along the way, he was to follow a route mapped out for him by those setting the challenge, he was to cross all unbridged rivers less than 60 yards wide by swimming and he was to be provided with tickets for sea journeys and for hotels along his route. The Jockey Club of Bucharest was claimed to be the party putting up the “wager” of £10,000 (or £12,000 or £30,000 or £40,000), but “wager” implies a bet, though he never mentioned if he had to deposit some balancing sum. While many reported elements of his story remained constant on repetition, other aspects of his claimed history showed remarkable variations on retelling, some of which have been indicated above.
When
Radvaner fetched up in Manchester in mid-November 1903 he gave an interview to
the Manchester Guardian and asserted that his journey had begun in Bucharest on
16 July 1900. He had travelled, he said,
via Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, China, India, Afghanistan, Persia, Turkey,
Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Germany, Belgium and Holland before
departing from Rotterdam for Harwich.
From this Suffolk town he travelled to London, Lincoln, Sheffield,
Liverpool and Manchester. That he could
have walked the route, in that historical period, at such a tender age and in a
time of under 3 ½ years is, on its own, barely believable. Other claims and verifiable facts turn this
tale into a near-certain fantasy. Or a
cleverly constructed artefact to deceive the gullible listener or reader.
There
are some uncomfortable facts concerning the newspaper reports of Radvaner’s
progress through Great Britain. No
newspaper report of his exploits earlier than the Manchester Guardian article
of 18th November 1903 has been uncovered, despite him allegedly
already having travelled to London and Windsor where he claimed he had had an
audience with King Edward VII. This was
despite the Romanian depending for support upon receiving wide newspaper
coverage. Indeed, the Manchester
Guardian story was immediately picked up and repeated by many provincial
newspapers. Radvaner’s onward journeying
in the British Isles was subsequently recorded extensively by the press, up to
his departure from Liverpool for New York on Saturday 2 January 1904.
Radvaner’s
British itinerary can be pieced together with some certainty from independent
reports of his movements.
16th
November. Warrington, where he reported
himself to the chief constable.
17th
November. Left Warrington for
Manchester.
20th
November. Owens Medical College,
Manchester, where he lectured to medical students. Manchester University lady students gave him
a diamond ring.
23rd
November. Bolton, where he met the chief
constable.
?
November. Glasgow. Carried shoulder-high by several hundred
students. Presented with a fountain pen
by the Lord Provost of Glasgow. Spent a
few days under the guidance of Chief Constable Stevenson. Entertained by the Chief Constable and Mrs
Stevenson one evening.
1st
December. Left Glasgow for Edinburgh.
1st
December. Arrived in Airdrie. Put up overnight at the Royal Hotel by
instruction of Chief Constable Burt.
3rd
December. Edinburgh, where he stayed at
the North British Hotel.
4th
December. Visited Edinburgh University.
7th
December. Lectured at Edinburgh
University
8th
/ 9th December. Dundee,
where he reported himself to the Central Police Office. Spent the night in the Royal Hotel, where he
made many friends. Introduced to Lord
Provost Barrie.
10th
/11th December. At Aberdeen
where he put up at the Palace Hotel.
Lunched with the students at Marischal College. He was cordially received by several
professors. Chief Constable Anderson
refused to give him a certificate to say he had visited the city, because he
entertained doubts as to his identity.
Lord Provost Walker signed his book and assured him no slight had been
intended.
12th
/13th December.
Crathie, where he was a guest of Rev SJ Ramsay Sibbald and attended
Crathie church twice. He was cheered as
he left the church in the evening. Mrs
Sibbald and Miss Begg conversed with him in French on his visit to Balmoral
Castle. When he left Ballater station he
was cheered by about 300 people. Two
Gordon Highlanders saluted him there.
14th
- 16th December.
Aberdeen. Delivered a lecture on
Monday 14th. Told the
Aberdonians they had some of the worst teeth he had ever seen and attributed
this defect to eating too many biscuits!
Visited Kings College before leaving Aberdeen for Inverness on the 16th. He travelled most of the way by train.
17th
– 21st December.
Inverness, where he stayed at the Royal Hotel. Visited the Northern Infirmary. Played a game of curling. Met Provost Ross and offered to donate to
some of the poorest people in Inverness.
27th
December. Arrived in Preston and left on
Tuesday 29th. Gave £25 to
Preston Infirmary.
31st
December. Visited the office of the
Liverpool Echo, claiming to be on his way to London. Intends to give £50 to the Royal Infirmary on
1st January. He actually gave
a contribution card in his father’s name for £25, to be honoured at a
well-known bank.
2nd
January 1904. Departed from Liverpool
for New York. Flew the Romanian and
British flags from the deck of the Umbria.
Claimed never to have drunk alcohol.
It
seems possible that Radvaner’s journey in Great Britain both started and ended
at Liverpool’s docks.
One
of the most curious aspects of Radvaner’s travels was the claim that he had to
achieve his objectives without using money, yet he was not without money. On at least two occasions he accepted
collections made for his benefit by the students of Manchester and Aberdeen, he
also claimed to make donations of £25 to hospitals in Inverness, Preston,
Warrington and Liverpool. Radvaner
always lodged at high-end hotels in the towns and cities where he tarried
apparently not always through local hospitality. A good example was his use of the North
British in Princess Street, Edinburgh (now called the “Balmoral”), the Scottish
capital’s most famous hotel. The
Romanian must also have had access to funds to purchase his steamship tickets.
In
Britain, Radvaner told and retold the tale of his transcontinental walking
exploits. In all uncovered accounts, he
alleged that he had experienced a selection of the following incidents (or
variants) along the way.
·
He claimed
to have been selected from 120 applicants, together with one other student (Mr
Vasile Georgesen), “after severe tests both mental and physical”. Soon after starting the expedition, the two
participants separated, but agreed to meet up in Calcutta on a pre-arranged
date. The companion, however, was lost
before Radvaner’s Himalayan crossing (or was killed by a tiger in India, or
waited 39 days in the Bengali capital for him).
·
Having an
audience with Czar Nicholas at Livadia where he was given 1,000 roubles (about
£10) and a personally-signed passport to travel through Siberia, where,
apparently, everyone recognised the Russian emperor’s signature. The Russian monarch kept him at ten yards
distance “thinking he might possibly be an anarchist as he was travelling fully
armed”.
·
Swimming
across the river Lena (or several Siberian rivers), where he had to cut through
the ice on the other side with a knife before he could regain the bank (or
scraping ice from his body with this implement after the swim).
·
Visiting
prisons in Siberia, “where several students and others had been sentenced and
isolated from the rest of humanity for life.
On hearing that he was a student himself, they begged him to use his
influence for their release”.
·
Having an
audience with the Empress of China when he arrived in Peking.
·
Taking a
ship (or crossed over the Himalayas on foot, during which he lost his compass)
from China to India.
·
Being
captured by insurgents (or gendarmes) in Macedonia, who relieved him of all his
valuables and only released him after 16 days when they discovered what he was
attempting to achieve (or had his release ordered by a Macedonian general,
after Radvaner had used his medical knowledge to bandage the arm of the
officer).
·
Having an
audience with Emperor Francis Joseph in Hungary.
·
Having an
audience with Kaiser Wilhelm II in Germany
·
Having an
interview with King Edward VII at Windsor, where the monarch invested him with
a coloured sash, gave him coffee, cigarettes, a passport to travel through
Africa (or the Transvaal) and inviting him to return for another audience
before leaving the UK. Radvaner also
claimed that Princess Louise gave him a pen.
·
Carrying
80 lbs (or 90lbs, or 120lbs) of equipment on his shoulder, including a case of
revolvers (or two revolvers), a medicine chest, a camera, a tiger skin, a book
the size of a ledger for entries and signatures, a stick, an umbrella and two
bladders to inflate for swimming across rivers.
·
Claiming
that he would have walked 62,000 miles when he reached Italy, soon after
leaving Britain. (approximately 48
miles/day, on average)
·
Speaking
ten languages, including French and German, but with only poor spoken English.
·
Claiming
to be a member of one of the most distinguished aristocratic families in
Romania, his father, General Czar Radvaner being Minister of Finance.
Without
doubt, Radvaner was spinning an elaborate deception. But, like all lies, and this was a web of many
untruths, it was impossible for him to retain consistency during
repetition. Of course, none of his
separate audiences had access to all his varying accounts, so by and large his
deception remained obscured, but he did not completely fool everyone he
met.
Radvaner
was a plausible and dramatic speaker, as the following eyewitness report of the
tiger story, from a lecture in Manchester, demonstrates. “At this part of the narrative he grew
excited and again waxed eloquent. He
vividly described how, quite unexpectedly his friend was attacked by a tiger
which tore him to pieces before he could make use of his weapons, but not so
with Radvaner, he had time to put himself on guard and shot the tiger just in
time to save himself. He went on to
describe in mournful tones how he then had the dreadful task of burying his
friend (some of the students almost wept on hearing this). He removed the skin from the animal and went
on his long and adventurous journey alone”.
No doubt with the constant reminder of his unflinching execution of this
feline monster, due to its stinking pelt in his pack!
Radvaner’s gullible victims included the
chief constables of Glasgow and Airdrie, the Lords Provost of Dundee, Aberdeen
and Inverness, the Rev Sibbald and his wife, Crathie and literally thousands of
students at the universities of Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and
Aberdeen. Similarly with newspaper
reporters, such as the representative of the Highland News. “Mr Radvaner who is 21 years of age is a
medical student of Bucharest University.
Smart and athletic in appearance affable and gentlemanly in demeanour
with pleasing open countenance – of indisputable Teuton stamp – beaming with
intelligence”. Not everyone was taken in
though, in the case of an attendee at Radvaner’s lecture in Manchester, he
allowed the Romanian’s emotionally charged story-telling to trump his own
logic. “Often on reaching the opposite
bank he was obliged, so he said, to scrape the ice from his body with his knife
so intense was the cold. One would
think that the river would have been frozen; however, one must live and learn”. (Author’s emphasis). To their credit, some of the Aberdeen
students seem to have seen through Radvaner’s veil of fantasies. “The Roumanian seems to have been entertaining
those with whom he came in contact by romancing; and several of his stories
have given a good deal of amusement, though in one or two cases not a little
annoyance.” Aberdeen’s Chief Constable
also harboured doubts about his authenticity.
John
Michie, lacking a university education but not lacking a practical brain, was
not gulled by the eloquence and theatrics of this improbable visitor to Upper
Deeside. On Saturday 12th
December he came across the minister’s wife who had been taken in by the Romanian
itinerant’s story. Michie was not so
impressed. “Saw Mrs. Sibbald at
Ballater, on my way home who had come across a Roumanian student who is
supposed to be walking round the world & after which feat to get £40,000
from the jockey club of Roumania (rather doubtful) & she asked me if
she might show him Balmoral Castle”. The
following day, on meeting Radvaner, Michie’s scepticism again surfaced. “Met Mrs. Sibbald, Miss Lucy Begg & the
Roumanian at Balmoral & showed him round. He is rather a weak looking
subject to undertake such a march”.
(Author’s emphasis).
In travelling
from Liverpool to New York, Radvaner deviated from his publicised future
itinerary, which lay through France, Italy and Spain before traversing Africa
from North to South. In the USA, he
continued with his fantasy journeying, even gaining access to the American
president through an introduction by Baron von Sternberg, the German ambassador. Without doubt, Oscar Radvaner, if that was
his true identity, was an astute confidence trickster.
Charles
Gibson Smith (1855 – 1933)
Charles Gibson
Smith and his second wife, Agnes, were close friends of John and Helen Michie
throughout most of John’s tenure as Factor of the Balmoral Estate. The two men appeared to get to know each
other because they were both members of that informal but exclusive club for
the factors of big Scottish estates.
Charles Smith was Factor on the Haddo House Estate, near Tarves,
Aberdeenshire, home of the Gordons who became the Earls of Aberdeen, for over
500 years and which extended to about 7,500 acres. Charles had been born in 1855 at Blair
Atholl, where his father was the head gardener at Blair Castle. John Michie and Charles Smith were thus of
similar ages. Charles, too, became an
apprentice gardener at Blair before moving to Haddo House as Factor’s
Clerk. There followed a similar post,
probably at Tyninghame House, East Lothian, before being appointed to the top
job at Haddo prior to 1901.
The
Smiths and the Michies developed the habit of staying at each other’s homes,
the first such case mentioned in the Michie diaries being in July 1906, “Met
Lord Aberdeen's Factor, his wife, & daughter who came up on invitation to
spend the weekend”. Smith paid another
visit to Balmoral in November of the same year and a month later, John and
Helen Michie travelled to Tarves. “Spent
last night with Mr & Mrs Smith, Factor Haddo House. Visited Mr Marr at Upper Mill, where met Mr
Duthie (shipbuilder) who drove me to his two farms of Tillycairn &
Collynie, then back to Mains of Haddo where Mr Smith had invited Mr Duthie
& his sister Mrs Webster a widow to meet Mrs Michie & I to dine”. On further visits to the Balmoral and Haddo
estates, the men got down to the serious leisure activity of shooting. Haddo, being composed essentially of
cultivated land, specialised in pheasant shooting, in marked contrast to the
situation on Upper Deeside. John Michie commented
after that first shooting session at Haddo, “Killed 96 pheasants, 33 falling to
my share. Enjoyed the day much. Went with Smith to the House (Haddo House)
and the Estate Nursery yesterday afternoon.
Tonight Mr & Mrs Marr of Uppermill dined, afterwards we had two sets
of "bridge" Mr (the Revd) Wm Mackenzie newly appointed Minister of
Methlick was of the party”. There was a
further session of pheasant shooting before the Michies departure. “Shot up for 2 pm. Bag 58 pheasants a woodcock & a few
rabbits - 22 ph. 1 cock were my share of the bag. Came in, lunched & left to catch the
last train for Ballater. Before
leaving, saw Lord Haddo to whom Smith introduced me on the curling pond, where
he was taking part in a two-rink game”.
During a visit
by the Smiths to Baile-na-Coile in May 1911, John took Charles Smith fishing on
the Dee, but without success. “He and I
fished till late in the evening from McLaren's pool downwards but only had a
rise or two. River
very small and weather dry”. The
following day, John Michie hired a motor from Willox of Ballater for £2 in
order to take his guests in style to Glassalt Shiel near the western end of
Loch Muick, where the foursome lunched.
After the return of the party, the men went out fishing again. “Then drove to Danzig Shiel and fished
McLintock got a fish with prawn and Smith one with fly”.
On 18 December
1915, Charles Smith and his second wife, Agnes, celebrated their silver wedding
anniversary and the Michies, in recognition of the close relationship that had
developed between the two factorial families, bought the Smiths a special gift. “Saw Mr Shirras, Schoolhill about a small
salver for Mr & Mrs C G Smith on the occasion of their silver wedding…”.
Reciprocal
visits between the Michies and the Smiths continued throughout the time that
John Michie was in post at Balmoral and even after John’s retirement and move
to Maryculter, Charles Smith called for John at Kincairn in February 1920.
The
tragic case of Elsie Mundie
Elsie Mundie
was a servant girl, aged 21, who was working for John and Helen Michie in April
1904, while they were living at Mains of Abergeldie, before moving to
Baile-na-Coile. It is not known exactly
when the girl was engaged. On 14 April,
Elsie’s body was found, dead, in the nearby river Dee, between the gardens of
Abergeldie Castle and the farm of Ballochalloch (Balhalloch) about two miles
down-stream. The registered cause of
death was suicide by drowning.
The following
day, Helen Michie, unaware of the fate of her erstwhile servant, set out for
Tarland to engage a new cook. She was
aware that Elsie was pregnant, and it is assumed that Helen’s journey to engage
a new domestic help indicated that it had been agreed that Elsie would be
leaving. John Michie noted in his dairy,
“Mrs. M. missed her last night but thought she had probably gone away with a
man she was pregnant to”. John Michie
met his wife on the station at Ballater, where they were both apparently
informed of Elsie’s grim fate. John
recorded their reaction. “The matter has
given us all a shock & disappointment”.
The next day,
Saturday 16 April, Elsie Mundie’s mother and two brothers travelled to Ballater
where they were met by John Michie, who delegated the gruesome task of showing
them Elsie’s body to George Cobb, the Abergeldie grieve. He drove them to
Ballochalloch farm where the remains were being stored. Two days later, John Michie went to Ballater
station to see Elsie’s body depart with her friends for burial at St Fergus,
near Peterhead. Even at this distance in
time, it is shocking to realise that a young girl should feel obliged to take
her own life because of the social stigma of becoming pregnant outside
wedlock.
John
Michie and the Braemar Gathering, during his factorship
John Michie had
been a member of the Royal Braemar Highland Society since 1890, had been
appointed a judge in 1894 and a member of the Society’s Council a year
later. He continued in both official
roles throughout his period as Balmoral Factor.
However, John initially found the Society to be an archaic organisation
under its venerable president, Angus McIntosh, who reached the age of 90 in
1900 and died in 1902. Michie also
became a trustee of the Society in 1906. John Michie’s promotion to the
position of factor at Balmoral led to one immediate advancement in the
prominence of the part he played in the annual Braemar Gathering. Instead of carrying the standard at the head
of the Balmoral Highlanders, he was now in command of that body. The last occasion on which John Michie led
the Balmoral Highlanders was in 1913.
When the games were reintroduced in September 1919, John Michie had
retired and been replaced by Captain Douglas Ramsay, the new Balmoral
Commissioner. The keeper, Charles
Mackintosh, was promoted to standard bearer in consequence of John Michie’s
elevation in 1902 and still fulfilled that role in 1919. Also, John and Helen Michie were, from 1902,
usually to be found in one of the enclosures reserved for VIPs.
No Braemar
Gathering was held in 1901, the year of Queen Victoria’s death, as a mark of
respect for the departed monarch.
Calling the event off following the demise of a Royal or Deeside bigwig
was a practice the Queen had followed since she first came to Deeside in 1848
and this pattern was continued. Further
cancellations of this annual event would occur in 1910 (death of Edward VII),
1912 (death of Duke of Fife) and 1914 – 1918 inclusive, while the country was
at war. In 1902 the Gathering was staged at Clunie Park near Braemar on the
Invercauld Estate. It remained at this
venue in the following three years.
However, in 1906 the Braemar Royal Highland Society acquired a new arena
in Auchendryne, which took the name “the Princess Royal Park”. This 12-acre site was leased from the Duke of
Fife on easy terms and both Fife and the King made generous contributions to
the cost of adaptation of the location for its new purpose. The Park has remained the home of the
Gathering ever since. Not everything ran
smoothly in the preparation of the new site.
In January 1906, John Michie recorded in his diary, “Macdonald of Fife
Hotel Braemar came down chiefly to discuss a mess in the Committee of the
Braemar Royal Highland Society in connection with expense of preparing the
ground the Duke of Fife has been so kind as to give them for the
Gathering”.
It was
traditional for the Gathering to be held on the first Thursday in September,
but Edward VII did not find this arrangement convenient for his other summer
commitments, such as an annual trip to the spa town of Marienbad, ostensibly
for the benefit of his health. Another
favourite late summer haunt of the King was Tulchan Lodge on Speyside at the
invitation of his friend, the financier, Arthur Sassoon, principally for grouse
shooting. Since the grouse season only
started on August 12, he might have to squeeze his timetable to reach Deeside
for early the following month. In 1902 –
1904 inclusive, Edward persuaded the Gathering organisers to put back the date
of the meeting by one or two weeks, so that he could attend. From 1905 – 1909 inclusive, the King simply
absented himself and the Braemar Gathering reverted to its traditional
placement of the first Thursday in September.
In those years of monarchical absence, a varied combination of his
relatives in residence on Deeside substituted for him. There was no Gathering
in 1910 as a mark of respect for Edward’s passing and his son, George V, did
not have a problem with attending at the traditional time, which he did in
1911, 1913 and 1919. The Royal gentlemen
wore Highland attire when attending the Gathering, though the ladies did not
usually avail themselves of the opportunity to pay homage to Highland dress by
incorporating tartan into their outfits.
Throughout the
period of John Michie’s factorship, 1902 – 1919, only three “clans” of
Highlanders gathered, led by their own pipers, displaying traditional weapons
and sporting clan symbols in their bonnets.
These were the Duff Highlanders of Lord Fife, with a usual strength of
90 – 100, the Invercauld men of Mr Farquharson and the Balmoral Highlanders. AH Farquharson started to co-opt the local
men of the 5th VBGH (Volunteer Brigade, Gordon Highlanders),
possibly to swell the ranks of the men marching under his standard. Collectively they usually numbered about 70
but a modest 20 or so without the Volunteers.
One of the officers commanding the Volunteers was Lieutenant John Milne,
John Michie’s future son-in-law. It was
a similar story with the Balmoral Highlanders who numbered about 30 employees
and tenants from the Balmoral Estate but who were boosted to about double that
number by incorporating men from the Abergeldie Estate.
Aberdeen
and North of Scotland College of Agriculture
The need for
more training in the agricultural sciences in Aberdeenshire was recognised by
the large landholders and farmers by the turn of the 19th Century
and a number of donations allowed the College’s teaching activities to start in
1904. The following year, John Michie
received an approach from George Hendry, the College’s Secretary seeking
permission for a group of students to view both the King’s herd of cattle and the
Royal stud at Abergeldie Mains. The
visitors were accommodated, as they were at intervals over the following
years. Perhaps through this initial
linkage, John Michie became a member of the College of Agriculture Committee of
the County Council and by 1909 he had become a governor of the
institution. It was a two-way process of
reciprocal benefits. In 1908 Mr J
McPherson from the College gave a lecture on manures at Crathie. Later, in 1911, Miss Davidson from the
College gave a class on poultry management at Crathie and the following year,
Alexander Manson offered a lecture on beekeeping. Other farms in Aberdeenshire were also used
for demonstration purposes as John Michie recorded in March 1915. “Attended Demonstration Meeting of Students
of the college of Agriculture at Kinnerty Farm (Mr. & Mrs. Reich, Tenants)
where there is an excellent herd of cross bred dairy cows, also some good
Clydesdale horses”. In 1914, Abergeldie
Mains was used as a test site for a trial of oat varieties by the North of
Scotland College, where the varieties “Abundance” and “Golden Rain” performed
best.
The College was
in an early stage of its development in 1909 and John Michie recorded that the
governors did not feel that it was yet right to appoint a principal, though Henry
McCombie of Milton of Kemnay, a prominent Aberdeenshire farmer, spoke “very
strongly” in favour of such a move.
Another important issue was addressed by the governors the same year, as
Michie recorded. “To Aberdeen and out to
Craibstone as one of a small committee to examine house & farm with the
object of its being rented for experimental purposes by College of
Agriculture”. Craibstone is still the
main practical base of the College to this day.
In 1910, John
Michie delivered a lecture to the Agricultural Discussion Society at Marischal
College on the subject of “Practical Forestry”.
He made clear his presentation was concerned with silviculture (timber
production), rather than arboriculure (decorative planting). His opinion was that
the tree most suited to the high-lying Scottish glens and hillsides was the
Douglas Fir. Spruce was grown
successfully on the continent but had been planted haphazardly in Scotland and
had got a poor reputation. The native
pine of Scotland did fairly well in most situations in this country, in
particular it did well where larch or spruce succeeded. Michie’s lecture was illustrated with
limelight views, ie the use of heated calcium oxide rods to produce an intense
white light in a projector.
A heritor was a
feudal landholder in a Scottish parish and, in relation to the Established
Church, heritors were landowners responsible for such costs as the salary of
the minister, maintenance of church property and the remuneration of the local
dominie. The monarch, as feudal owner of
the Balmoral and Birkhall estates, was a heritor of two parishes on Deeside,
Crathie and Braemar, and Glenmuick, Tullich and Glengairn. The other estates which shared these
responsibilities as heritors were, for the former – the Lairds of Invercauld,
Abergeldie and Mar Lodge, and for the latter – the Lairds of Glenmuick,
Birkhall, Invercauld, Dinnet, Morven, Glentaner and Abergeldie.
Gordon Foggo
was factor of the Invercauld Estate between about 1870 and 1900, when he
retired. Neither Foggo, nor his latter
laird, AH Farquharson, was an easy person with whom to find mutual agreement
but for John Michie the situation changed with the arrival of Andrew Smith as
Foggo’s successor. Just as Smith and
Michie cooperated on the parish council, so too they worked easily together
when they met as representatives of their respective heritors.
Michie and
Smith got together in early February 1903 to arrange a meeting of heritors
concerned with Crathie church, as King Edward had commanded that the building
should be re-roofed with tiles, which was probably only an aesthetic whim of
the monarch, since the building was less than ten years old. The King also wanted to fit a canopy or
sounding board over the pulpit. It was
agreed that the meeting would be in Aberdeen at the offices of solicitors
C&PH Chalmers, but AH Farquharson intervened to protest against the meeting
being held in the Granite City. It
appeared that he was still a member of the “awkward squad”! Michie, Smith and Alex Duffus, representing
Glenmuick, only discovered this objection when they arrived for the
consultation, which had to be called off.
However, the three talked informally and arranged an alternative date of
14 March at Crathie church. Smith and
Michie also had further discussions before the formal meeting. In advance of the rearranged session, Michie
agreed “… to send in a note to the meeting stating what the King desires”. When the heritors’ meeting finally took
place, tender terms were agreed for implementing King Edward’s wishes. Marshall Mackenzie, the architect of Crathie
church was then approached by Michie who “… informed him that the church
alterations were now to proceed asking him to get the tiles ordered and
facilitate the preparing of the canopy and curtain for the pulpit”.
Another
contentious issue, from 1904, for the heritors of Crathie and Braemar was the
allocation of sittings in Crathie church.
The south transept was reserved for the Royal Family and the north
transept was to be divided between the other heritors. However, the Duke of Fife lived 15 miles from
the church at Mar Lodge and seldom or never worshipped at Crathie. He kindly withdrew his claim to a sitting,
and it was then agreed that the north transept seating would be divided between
the remaining heritors, Mr Farquharson of Invercauld and Mr Gordon of
Abergeldie, in proportion to the slump valuations of their respective heritages
in the Crathie end of the parish. John Michie
then put forward a plan for the allocation of identified seats “which was not
meantime objected to”, inducing only tentative relief on the part of Michie!
In practice,
many minor matters concerning the maintenance of Crathie church and its manse
were decided informally by Smith and Michie working together, without the
invocation of a formal meeting of the heritors’ representatives. In 1905, Rev Sibbald complained to Andrew
Smith about the state of the road leading to the manse. However, when Smith inspected this access
route, he found it quite in order and he communicated his opinion to John
Michie. It was agreed that Smith would
write to the Minister and tell him that no action would be taken concerning the
manse road. Another example of the level
of trust and cooperation existing between the respective factors of the
Balmoral and Invercauld estates occurred in June 1909, when John Michie
suspected that there was dry rot in the church.
“Smith, Factor, Invercauld came to lunch after which he & I inspected
woodwork of Church, also Schoolhouse with the view of giving School Master a
bath & WC”.
Mrs
Betty Ramsay Siddall, wife of the Crathie minister was probably aware of the
tensions between the various heritors when she wrote to John Michie in 1911
asking for minor redecoration of the Manse.
The work was likely to be inexpensive.
“Can it be approved without bringing to the attention of the heritors”? This was agreed with the work being performed
by Balmoral employees. In 1918, Rev
Sibbald moved on to a new charge at Pollockshield, Glasgow. He had been the minister at Crathie for 21
years and he was replaced by Rev John Stirton, formerly of Glamis
Another, rather
distasteful, issue which was brought to the attention of Andrew Smith by some
of the farmers from around Crathie concerned the disrespectful behaviour of the
gravediggers, Lamont and Niven, who were “… regularly the worse for drink when
funerals are taking place. Remarks made
when filling graves are offensive to relatives.
Suggests they (Smith and Michie) write to Lamond warning him of
dismissal if seen drunk again on such an occasion”.
The Glenmuick, Tullich and Glengairn heritors’ meetings did not seem to be as contentious as those associated with Crathie and Braemar. At a meeting held in March 1911, John Michie took the chair, and an assessment was made of the sums due from the various heritors for minor repairs and other costs. “The King's part of assessment is - Birkhall £19-5-9. Abergeldie £2-18/-. Small repairs to Manse & Church yard walls to be carried out. It was remitted to Mr. Smith & me to get a small jetty put into River at upper end of glebe to prevent further encroachment, if possible, also to try cutting a small channel in gravel if we thought it would do any good”. The manse at Glenmuick and its land was already at risk of erosion in 1911. Some years later, a flood erosion would cause the collapse of the back of the property.
Another task
which was delegated to Smith and Michie in 1911 was an inspection of the
crumbling walls around the various old churchyards (Foot of Gairn, Tullich and
Glenmuick) in the parish of Glenmuick, Tullich and Glengairn, dating from the
period before the amalgamation of the original parishes. They contracted out the repair work
required. A similar problem arose in
1913 at Braemar churchyard.
Major John
Milne, the proprietor of a successful Braemar carrier business, married Alix
Michie, John and Helen Michie’s youngest daughter, when he returned from the
War. The couple wanted a house in the
Upper Deeside area and made an approach to buy the manse at Glenmuick. On 14 January 1919, John Michie “Attended
meeting of Heritors in Church Hall Ballater to elect a small com. of the number
to present the question of sale of Glenmuick Manse to the (Church?)
Court, and represent Heritors in carrying out the sale. (John Michie) Presided and proposed
Messrs Keillor, Greig, Mackie and Smith which was agreed to. Mr. Milligan absent as well as Mr Michie (John
Michie, farmer, Mains of Monaltrie) who, however, wrote expressing
willingness to serve on Sub- Com. but no notice from Mr. Milligan”. It seems that the heritors of Glenmuick,
Tullich and Glengairn were relaxed about disposing of the redundant manse and
did not see anything amiss in the close relationship of John Michie and John
Milne, which might disqualify the Balmoral Factor from being involved in the
negotiations for disposal. This was
probably the last major task that John Michie carried out on behalf of the
heritors, prior to his own retirement in June 1919.
Crathie
and Braemar Parish Council
Local
government in Scotland was reformed with the creation of Parish Councils, the
first elections to which were held in 1895.
Two of John Michie’s close associates in the joint parish of Crathie and
Braemar, William Michie, the Registrar and Rev Campbell the Crathie minister,
suggested to him that he should stand for this new organ of local
democracy. Michie agreed to his name
going forward, one of 12 candidates and he was duly elected. John Michie remained as a Parish Councillor
for the rest of his time as Head Wood Forester and into his period as Estate
Factor. At the 1907 Parish Council
election, John Michie came top of the poll with 144 votes. This was not a surprising result given the
influential position that the Balmoral Factor held. Andrew Smith, the Factor on the Invercauld
Estate and a close friend of John Michie, was re-elected as chairman of the
Parish Council. If Smith was absent,
John Michie substituted for him.
Although the
two factors may have thought that they had this body firmly under their joint
influence, they soon found that was not so.
This was the time of hostility and antagonism concerning the appointment
of Dr Brown as the medical officer for the parish. The saga has been covered elsewhere. Two years later the two factors had another
difficulty to overcome. William Michie,
the farmer at Tullochcoy, Crathie had been a mainstay of the parish
administration, for the last 34 years then filling the role of clerk to the
parish council. Additionally, he was
registrar, collector of parochial rates, clerk to the school board and
inspector of the poor. Andrew Smith
worried that the parish council clerk role only carried remuneration of £40pa
which was unlikely to attract a candidate of sufficient calibre. In the event, each of these roles, when
eventually relinquished by William Michie, attracted a good field of
applicants. Mr Robson was appointed as
replacement clerk, inspector of the poor and collector of rates for which last
task he was paid a fixed fee of £10 in 1915
John Michie was
re-elected to the parish council in 1910 and 1913, with Andrew Smith remaining
in the chair. These two plus John
Michie, farmer of Monaltrie, were constituted as the finance committee. Without doubt, the good relationship between
Andrew Smith and John Michie, the two most powerful factors in the parish,
worked to the benefit of everyone in Upper Deeside and this harmony was in
marked contrast to the days when Gordon Foggo was the man in charge at
Invercauld.
Aberdeen
County Council
John Michie
first served on Aberdeen County Council in 1906, following the death of Sir Allan
Mackenzie, when he was appointed as the member for Glen Muick, Tullich &
Glengairn (Ballater) by popular acclamation.
He served on a number of committees, the most important probably being
the Deeside District Committee. The two
most frequent subjects of debate and concern in this body were the state of the
local roads and the discharge of waste into the river Dee. At the end of May 1907, there was a site
visit at Balmoral by Mr Ranald R Macdonald, Chairman of Deeside District
Committee, Dr Watt, Medical Officer of the County, and Mr Dyack, Burgh Surveyor
of Aberdeen. “I went with them as a
member of the County Council to the Distillery to hear what John Begg's
Trustees represented by Mr Hutchinson (Manager), and a representative of the
Oxychlorides Coy. (Mr I Thomson) proposed to do with the effluent”. Two years later, effluent from Lochnagar was
still causing concern to the County’s officers.
In October 1907, “Attended Road Board Meeting at Aberdeen to support a
motion I had given notice of that District Committees required more power to
regulate heavy traffic on highways in times of thaw after severe frost”. Poor road conditions would resurface many
times, especially with the increasing use of traction engines which were much
heavier than could be sustained by the standard road specifications.
The first
contestable County election that Michie fought was at the end of 1907 when he
was returned unopposed for Glen Muick, Tullich & Glengairn. There was no doubt that he was a popular
County Councillor. The following year, a
major issue arose concerning the provision of isolation hospital facilities for
Ballater. Dr Watt, the Medical Officer
of Health for the County proposed that Ballater should share facilities with
Aboyne where an isolation hospital had been opened in 1898 against the hostile
opposition of Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, the Laird of Glentaner (see “William
Cunliffe Brooks (1819 - 1900) and the Saga of the Aboyne Isolation Hospital”
on this blogsite). However, this plan
would require the addition of an extra pavilion containing two wards to cater
for two infectious diseases at the same time.
John Michie
served as a County Councillor until after his retiral in 1919.
The Crathie
and Braemar School Board
John Michie
first stood as a candidate for election to the local School Board in 1885, five
years after being appointed as Wood Forester on the Balmoral Estate. He was unsuccessful, falling just short of
the required number of votes. He was not
a candidate at the next triennial election in 1888 but at the following
iteration, both he and the Balmoral Commissioner, Alexander Profeit were
successful. However, Michie garnered
more votes than Profeit, which apparently did not please the Wood Forester’s
boss. In 1894, Dr Profeit tried to fix
the election in his own favour by issuing instructions to estate staff on how
to vote but the tactic was bungled and, although the Commissioner was elected,
John Michie again came top in the poll, though Profeit, in deference to his
position, was re-elected as Chairman.
Three years hence, Dr Profeit was declining in health rapidly and died
early in 1897. His successor as
Commissioner, James Forbes, after prompting by John Michie, was both elected to
the Crathie and Braemar School Board and elevated to its chairmanship.
In 1900, John
Michie did not stand for the School Board elections, perhaps not wishing to
hinder the prospects of James Forbes, who was returned and who retained the
chairmanship. But Forbes resigned his
Balmoral post in the summer of 1901 and John Michie was then elected to fill
his place. By the end of 1902, Michie
the new man in charge on the Balmoral Estate, was, on occasion occupying the
Board chair and in 1903 he was appointed chairman, a position he held for a
further 15 years until the demise of School Boards at the end of WW1. Michie gave an interesting account of the
School Board after the election in 1906.
“Attended first meeting of new School Board at noon. This Board are Canon Paul, Braemar; Andrew
Smith, Factor, Invercauld; myself; Revd W Moir, U.F.C. Braemar, and John
Michie, Farmer, Mains of Monaltrie. The
last two named are new members, taking the places of Shirran, Bank Agent,
Braemar, and John Macpherson, Braemar.
Smith proposed me for the Chair which I have now occupied for the last 7
years & over”.
The Crathie and Braemar School Board
usually held its meetings at the Inver Inn, diplomatically located half-way
between the two settlements though, sometimes in winter, this led to poor
attendance due to bad road conditions.
School boards had significant responsibilities, such as appointing and
remunerating teachers, setting budgets, raising donations and arranging loans
from the Scottish Education Department, maintaining and improving premises and
providing security for examination papers sent by the SED. In March 1901, John Michie “… attended meeting of School Board at
Braemar at which Deed of Loan from the Public Loan Board for £155 was completed
to defray part of addition to Classroom at Crathie School amounting in all to
£212”. One regular annual donation to
the School Board was from the monarch, typically of the order of £20.
The chairman was also expected to
play a figurehead role, presenting prizes and exhorting pupils to greater
efforts. On 10 June 1903, John Michie “Distributed prizes to children at
Crathie School who get their summer holidays as from this date”. He also had an obligation to visit the schools from time to
time and record his comments, which were open to external inspection. For example, in October 1903, “Visited
Crathie School called roll, signed Register and made a note in Log-Book”. The following April, “Attended School
Inspection at Crathie where Mr. Galloway examined the children”. In April 1911, John Michie attended Crathie
School at the close of a Cookery class, which had been taught by Miss Fasken,
in order to acknowledge her role, marked by Helen Michie presenting her with a
set of handkerchiefs. In the tradition
of the time, Miss Fasken did not find her own voice to thank the chairman for
the gift but depended on Mr Shirran, the Clerk, to speak on her behalf. Such an approach to female employees today would
look medieval. In 1916, during WW1,
Empire Day, 24 May (Queen Victoria’s birthday) was officially celebrated for
the first time. At Crathie Public
School, the Union Jack was run up the flagpole and saluted by the pupils,
followed by a stirring address from John Michie.
The Chairman of
the School Board also kept an eye on the performance of the academic staff,
which at most locations was a single teacher.
This was a necessary duty as illustrated by John Michie’s visits to
Girnoc School, where Mr Strath held sway for many years. In July 1915, “Called at Girnoc School at
3pm.to find that the scholars were away. Mr Strath the Teacher said that not
being quite well he had let the pupils away at 10 minutes to three. Made a note
in log-book to that effect. He says he takes up school at 9-40, Dinner half
hour 12-25 to 12-55, closes at 3-30.
Called once before at 9-50am. and found school had not been taken
up”. Michie suspected that Strath was,
on occasions, swinging the lead.
From
time to time there were outbreaks of infectious childhood diseases at the
parish schools and the decision to close them to contain infection usually fell
to the chairman of the Board, in consultation with the medical officer. In December 1905, Michie noted, “Public
School closed today for 3 weeks on account of Whooping Cough”.
The 1918
Education (Scotland) Act introduced the principle of universal
free secondary education and replaced the School Boards with
local education authorities.
In 1919, John Michie was a candidate for membership of the new Education
Authority and addressed a heckling meeting in Ballater. He was duly elected, gaining the second
highest number of votes after Dr Hendry, the popular local general
practitioner, and served at least until 1920, initially as interim chairman,
not being a candidate for the permanent role.
Thus, John Michie served the interests of public education on Upper
Deeside almost continuously between 1891 and 1920 and clearly did so with
application.
A
Justice of the Peace (or JP) is a judicial officer appointed to deal with minor
crimes and local administrative applications, such as licences to sell
alcohol. JPs did not normally have any
legal qualification and were chosen from members of the citizenry who had some
standing in their communities. In 1912,
John Michie made a recommendation to the Aberdeenshire Lieutenancy Office that
James Low, Bank Agent, North of Scotland Town and County Bank Ltd was a
suitable person to be appointed as a JP. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 box 2 letter dated
4 September 1912 from Aberdeenshire Lieutenancy Office to John Michie).
Quite
separately from his role as a JP, Michie was also regularly empanelled for jury
service in the Fiars Court, where average grain prices were established for
each county.
John Michie was
first appointed as a JP at the end of 1904.
“Drove to Ballater to catch the 9.50 train & proceeded to Aboyne
where I attended a meeting of the Justices of Peace at which I was appointed
along with Mr. A.G.Anderson Banker Aboyne & also a member of the Council of
Appeal”. Michie was quickly engaged in
the work of the court system. Just ten
days after his initial appointment, “Started for Aberdeen by the 9.45 a.m.
train for Aberdeen to attend meeting of Licensing Court…”. The following year, John Michie attended the
Licensing Appeal Court in Aberdeen, “… as one of the two Magistrates appointed
by the Deeside District. There are 18
members for the County 9 being a Quorum.
Lieut. Col. F. N. Innes the other Member for Deeside was also
present. The Role consisted of 3
Confirmations and appeal. In each the
Decision of the local Justices was upheld”.
The Licensing Court seemed to take up most of Michie’s time while acting
in a judicial capacity. In 1915, he was
elected Chairman of this Court for the year.
By 1909, John
Michie was being recognised by his fellow magistrates as someone capable of
presiding at meetings, as the following example shows. “Went to Aboyne as a Licencing Justice. There were 3 applications for transfer of
licences, via - Railway Company for refreshment rooms at Ballater, Inn of
Boltingstone and Lumphanan Inn & farm.
The first was left over from the Autumn Court. Objections were entered on behalf of
Invercauld Estate, against a licence being granted up to 10 pm. After appearances on both sides the Court
granted the licence in name of Adam who has charge on behalf of Railway Coy. Mr
Nicol of Ballogie resigned Chair for year in favour of Mr Coltman of
Blelack. I was called to Chair while
Boltingstone was considered that Inn being on Mr Coltman's estate”. The Balmoral Factor’s standing was also
recognised in 1912 when he was contacted by Elliott and Fry, Photographers to
sit for his portrait to be contributed to the “Magistrates Series”.
During 1915,
when John Michie was Chairman of the Licensing Court held at Aboyne, he gave an
interesting account of the business of this local judicial arbitration
body. “Attended at Aboyne a Licencing
Court as Chairman for current year of the Licencing Justices. The only case of
any importance was that of the Hotel at Torphins where the Proprietor had gone
into Liquidation and the business had been taken over by the Chief Creditor -
Shepherd of a Wine & Spirit Merchts. Aberdeen. There was only a Manageress
in charge, and the situation was discussed as being unsatisfactory. Licence
granted to Shepherd with the Rider that the Court recommended an owner, Tenant
or Resident Manager be put forward for the Licence by the next Court in April
1916”. This was a good example of the
pragmatic decision-making of the Court, maintaining a balance between the
desirability of keeping local businesses running and ensuring that a properly
responsible person was in control of the activity.
The Seven
Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen
This is an
ancient society of craftsmen whose home is in the Trinity Hall, Aberdeen. The Weavers constitute the oldest recognised
trade, dated from before 1222. The
Society still exists but is largely ceremonial and the conferring of the status
of Burgess of Guild is essentially an honour bestowed on individuals who have
made significant contributions to the civic life of Aberdeen.
On 4 January
1905, John Michie was made a Burgess of Guild “along with Mr. John Fyfe,
Granite Merchant, Mr Mortimer, Commission Agent, Mr Howard of Chivas Bros.
& Mr Mackay, Contractor”. With typical Michie brevity, he commented,
“Ceremony interesting”.
Royal
tradesmen
Royal warrants
were granted to local tradesmen who supplied goods to the Royal household at
Balmoral and the possession of such an accolade was greatly valued in the
business community, since it gave a mark of status and, inevitably, business
advantage. Suppliers of goods and
services to Balmoral were concentrated in Aberdeen, though local traders along
Deeside were also granted this special mark of recognition. The Aberdeenshire suppliers to the King and
to the Prince of Wales formed themselves into an association in 1871 and they
met annually, about the time of the monarch’s birthday (24 May for Queen
Victoria, 9 November for King Edward VII, 3 June King George V), to dine
together and to entertain a guest from Balmoral, usually the estate
commissioner/factor. It was also usual
for the monarch to donate a haunch of venison for this annual dinner. This Association was also prominent in
attending significant events associated with the Royal estates, such as the
funeral of a factor or his farewell on leaving for another position, and in
donating to the cost of monuments being raised by subscription. The send-off for James Forbes, who left for
Blair Atholl, in 1902, was attended by 14 Royal tradesmen. In 1904, John Michie was the guest of the
Royal tradesmen at their annual celebration, but he was not always able to
attend. Clearly, it was more important
for them to invite him than for him to be present, as they sought to keep his
goodwill.
Bearing in mind
the commercial significance of being a Royal Warrant holder, it is not
surprising that John Michie was often approached to give advice on the process
involved in gaining accreditation. A
typical example occurred in 1905 when Alex Thomson, of James Strachan, Fruit
Merchants and Confectioners, 169 Union Street, Aberdeen approached the Balmoral
factor. The Royal Warrant for fruit and
vegetables was then held by Mr Alex Clarke of Messrs Pegler and Co. Alex Thomson had bought this business and was
seeking to renew the Royal Warrant in his own name. Could Michie help? Other approaches were made by JW Baker, City
Glass and China Galleries Aberdeen, Robert Meiklejohn, Flesher, Glasgow, D
Wyllie and Son, and TD Harrison, Albion Iron Works, Leigh, Lancs. The latter did not make his approach directly
to John Michie but via Mr Sellar, the Huntly manufacturer of agricultural
implements, which made Sellar think of promoting his own interests. This he did in a most polite manner. “I have often been going to talk to you about
the same honours for ourselves as we have supplied you with ploughs and
implements now for a long time. However,
I never liked to presume in any way upon our friendship, but now that the matter
has been brought forward by Mr Harrison’s letter perhaps you will kindly
consider it”.
Entertainments
John Michie and
his family enjoyed a wide variety of entertainments outside the essentially
male realm of hunting, shooting, fishing, golf and curling. Some events were entirely local affairs,
cobbled together by Deeside residents and some were provided by touring troops
of performers, either speculatively seeking a paying audience, or summoned to
perform at the Castle by command of the monarch.
John Michie, as
the most travelled member of the family, also had opportunities to attend
theatres, concerts and circuses while visiting Aberdeen, London and other
cities in Britain. In January 1904,
Michie travelled to the Granite City to pay bills for the King and the Prince
of Wales. He had also intended to visit
Lord Provost Walker but found him to be absent so looked for an alternative
diversion. “Went to "Her Majesty's
Theatre" and saw Helen Terry as Beatrice in "Much ado about
nothing". Helen (Ellen,
professionally) was one of the most famous female actresses of her day and was
particularly famed for her Shakespearian performances.
Perhaps the
most noteworthy entertainer witnessed by John Michie at His Majesty’s Theatre,
Aberdeen, was an appearance by Harry Lauder, the popular Scottish singer and
comedian. This occurred eight months
into WW1, in March 1915. At a distance
of more than 70 years since the death of this character, it is easy to gain the
facile impression that he was just a music hall Scot, dressed in full Highland
kit and singing popular Scottish-themed songs.
Such a view would badly underestimate the man. Not only was he the first British artist to
sell more than a million records, but by 1911 he had become the highest paid
performer in the world. He was deeply patriotic
and particularly active in the charitable effort associated with WW1, raising
large sums of money. His own son was
killed in the fighting on the Western Front in 1916. Lauder established the Harry Lauder Million
Pound Fund to help rehabilitate Scottish service personnel in the aftermath of
the conflict. Winston Churchill
described him as "Scotland's greatest ever ambassador". Churchill also wrote that Lauder,
"... by his inspiring songs and valiant life, rendered measureless
service to the Scottish race and to the British Empire”. Harry Lauder was knighted by George V in
1919.
John Michie
also made his own, more modest contribution to the war effort in 1915 by
organising a concert on 21 October 1915 which was held in the Crathie church
hall, which raised £20. “Mr. Page came
to submit programme for a Concert, the proceeds of which are to go to the
Soldiers, for Thursday the 21st. Have promised to erect stage &c. on
Wednesday morning”. John Michie also
presided on the night of the concert.
Ghillies’ balls
were a regular entertainment feature of the Royal autumnal visit to Upper
Deeside and the enthusiastic Highland dancing of the locals, lubricated with
whisky, usually went on long into the night.
Members of the Royal Family and their guests were variable participants
in these strenuous exertions, but all enjoyed observing the performance of the natives. One feature of such dances was the presence
and participation of the Balmoral Highlanders, led by John Michie, who was
himself a competent Highland dancer.
Outwith the slightly restraining environment of the Balmoral ballroom,
the Highlanders held their own annual dance in the Crathie church hall, though
this venue could only hold about 70 couples.
The iteration in January 1905 was organised by a committee of senior
Balmoral servants and tenants, including the Factor who welcomed strangers to
the event before the start of the dancing.
Another
locally-produced performance was the play “Beauty and the Beast, mounted in the
Crathie church hall in April 1906, when acetylene gas (C2H2) was used as a
source of lighting. The gas was
generated by dripping water onto calcium carbide. Acetylene burns with an intense white
flame. Other plays were mounted at
Balmoral by command of the King, such as “The Headmaster” which was performed
by the Playhouse Company in September 1913.
The Company had travelled from Manchester in order to comply with the
monarch’s wishes. John, Helen and Alix
Michie were present along with a long list of distinguished attendees.
With the advent
of the moving picture in the mid-1890s travelling showmen took this new arts
and information medium out to audiences and thus made it available to all
social classes. Several such
entrepreneurs offered their shows from a base in Aberdeen, one of the most
prominent being Robert Calder, who started life as a ploughman and church
beadle in Aberdeenshire before trying his hand as a limelight lantern showman
presenting projected still pictures. He
then became an assistant cinematographist for Lizars of Aberdeen before forming
his own touring group in 1896. In March
1903 he was engaged to give his show at a delayed Christmas entertainment in
the then new Crathie church hall, which was attended by the Michies. Likely subjects at that time included the Second Boer
War (1899 – 1902) and the funeral of Queen Victoria (1901). In September 1905, John Michie was approached
by “Walker & Co Booksellers and Cinematographer, 19 Bridge Street,
Aberdeen”, offering a moving picture entertainment, including such items as the
Braemar Gathering. Another “Christmas
Tree” entertainment in December 1907 included both a cinematograph display and
a gramophone presentation. The
gramophone had been invented by Edison in 1877 and wax discs were in use as the
recording medium from about 1901.
Whereas the
production of tableaux vivants had been a popular evening pastime of
Queen Victoria, her family, guests and servants, this activity did not survive
the Queen’s passing, being essentially replaced by the cinematograph. In August 1909, Queen Alexandra arranged such
an entertainment to which both John and Helen Michie were invited. Subjects projected included “Bleriot’s
Flight” (25 July 1909), “the Messina Disaster” (28 December 1908), “Life in
Canada” and “several very artistic floral pictures”.
The “Kilties” was a band and choir
established in Toronto, Canada, in 1902 from a military formation. The group specialised in playing Highland
music and became very popular both in Canada and internationally. In 1904 they toured in Britain and were
commanded to attend at Balmoral Castle in September to entertain the monarch
and his guests, travelling from London specifically for the occasion. John Michie, busy as ever at this time of the
year, was involved in the organisation of the event (“Sent measurements of Ballroom to
Littlejohn for Mr. Philip Yorke in connection with Kilties Band coming”) and likely attended
the performance, though he did not specifically say so in his diary. In December 1906, while in the South for the
Smithfield Show, John Michie took in a diversion to Sandringham and while there
was invited to another command performance by King Edward, this time of the
play “Peter’s Mother”, the company for which had been called down from London.
Another international performance,
surprisingly not under Royal sponsorship, was the visit of the Jubilee Fisk
Singers to the Crathie church hall in 1909.
This was a black choir from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee,
which had been founded after the end of the American Civil War, to educate
African Americans. It was immensely
popular and toured both America and internationally to raise funds for the alma
mater. John and Helen Michie both
attended the performance.
John Michie was a keen follower of
science and often took the opportunity to attend lectures in Aberdeen. In January 1905 he was present at Marischal
College when Mr Alec Bremner gave a talk entitled “Glacial Lakes and Overflow Channels in
the Aberdeen District”. Deeside has many
examples of glaciated landscapes which were familiar to Michie, being features
he encountered on his daily round. On 25
September 1909, Lieutenant Ernest Shackleton visited Balmoral by Royal command
on his return from his second Antarctic expedition and gave a lecture. It is thought that John Michie attended
Shackleton’s presentation. Another lecture, “The Forests
of North America” by Prof Somerville, given under the auspices of the Aberdeen
branch of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Association was attended by John
Michie in April 1912. Although more than
a decade since had had filled the role of head wood forester, his interest in
trees had not diminished.
Other talks
were more local, less intellectual and more generally appealing, such as the
talk given by Dr Brown, the Braemar GP, in 1908. It was presented to the “Men’s Club” in
Crathie and was entitled “Shetland and the Shetlanders”. The talk was illustrated with slides mostly
taken by Brown himself. Dr Brown must
have been a keen photographer because he later helped John Michie prepare for a
talk the Factor gave in early 1910.
“Went to Birkhall with Dr. Brown to get some snapshots for forestry
lecture which I delivered in Marischal College …”.
It has to be
concluded that the citizens of Deeside, especially those with Royal
connections, managed to have a remarkable variety of cultural pursuits, even in
the depths of WW1 when Royal visits to the North-East were fewer and some
activities were curtailed as a mark of respect for those absent from home on
military duties.
Proposed
replacement for the Ballochbuie bridge
Following
the storm of 28 December 1879, which threw almost 400 mature Scots pines in the
Ballochbuie forest, a salvage operation for the valuable timber was
instituted. It was the first major task
undertaken by John Michie after his arrival at Balmoral in the summer of 1880. Two initiatives were instituted before John
Michie’s involvement in this project, the installation of a portable steam
sawmill and the construction of a bridge for heavy wheeled traffic over the Dee
at the foot of the Ballochbuie. The
bridge was in use during August 1880. It
was a heavy wooden structure with piers embedded in concrete foundations. It served its purpose well until it was
severely damaged by the record flood of 2 December 1914. It appears that the structure was damaged
beyond economic repair.
A
decision was taken to explore the replacement of the Ballochbuie bridge by a
footbridge and in late January 1915, John Michie “…met Mr. Robert Cook of Barry
Henry & Co, Engineers, Aberdeen at Danzig Bridge, taking measurements with
him with the view of his providing a sketch and estimate of a new Iron foot
bridge…”. At the end of February, Michie
visited the works of Barry Henry & Co to discuss plans for the proposed
bridge with one of the company’s engineers.
A month later Michie drove to Polhollick, about two miles west of
Ballater to examine the suspension bridge for foot traffic there, which was
designed and manufactured by James Abernethy & Co, Steel Founders,
Ferryhill in 1892. John Michie was
presumably looking to replace the Ballochbuie wooden bridge with an elegant
structure similar to that at Polhollick.
It
may have been at this point that Michie was starting to entertain doubts about
the project due to the cost of a suspension bridge. Michie did not record the actual money figure
in Barry Henry’s estimate, but it was a “big sum”. At the end of March 1915 Michie travelled to
Braemar to talk to one John Brown to explore the possibility of erecting a
wooden bridge with piers as an alternative to a suspension structure. The outcome was that Michie wrote “a long
report to Sir F E G Ponsonby on question of a new bridge for
Ballochbuie…”. By 8 April 1915 a
decision had been taken by the King “to leave rebuilding over till another
year”.
The
old Ballochbuie bridge was eventually taken down and replaced by an elegant
suspension footbridge, manufactured by James Abernethy & Co, Aberdeen, in
1924. It still exists and is in good
condition but is not open to members of the general public.
The Scottish
Home Industries Association
This marketing
organisation for the promotion of the manufacture and sale of peasant produce,
especially from the tweed producers of the Western Isles, was founded by the
Countess of Roseberry in 1889. An
exhibition of SHIA products was mounted at the 1903 Braemar Gathering. Ishbel, Lady Aberdeen, who lived at the House
of Cromar, Tarland, Aberdeenshire, not far from Balmoral was involved with the
Eastern Branch of the SHIA and sought, with good intention, to use her
influence to promote the aims of the Association. Lady Aberdeen wrote to John Michie in
December 1905 to ask if the Eastern Branch might receive part of the order for
stockings for the King’s servants.
Balmoral’s local supplier of stockings was the Misses Symon who rented a
shop in Crathie village. It would have caused
considerable hardship to the Symons had they lost the Balmoral stocking order,
but they agreed to give up part of their quota, to the extent of 16 pairs. Lady Ishbel gratefully accepted the order and
asked Michie to fix a price. Six months
later the order arrived. Katy Fraser of
the SHIA hoped the stockings would be satisfactory, but apparently that was not
the case. John Michie pencilled a note
on her letter, “Stockings sent back 17-7-06”.
(RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box1 letters dated 8 and 16 December 1905
from Lady Aberdeen to John Michie)
John
Michie and the tenants of the Royal estates
Land and
property on the three Royal estates on Deeside was divided into many units,
farms, crofts, cottages, mills, schools and the like, which were leased to
individuals, some of whom were servants, or retired servants of His Majesty,
who lived rent-free. John Michie, as
factor, was the agent responsible for letting and termination, the person to
whom they paid rent and the authority to whom they turned if there was a
problem with their property, such as a broken fence, a leaky roof, or a
troublesome neighbour. Issues raised by
the tenants could be trivial or serious and Michie’s capacity to deal with them
was limited by budgetary considerations, including the level of rent being paid
by the tenant. It was also the case that
some tenants were tolerant of minor defects while others could fairly be
characterised as serial moaners.
“Today drove to
Polhollick taking Mr Anderson (Clerk of Works) with me to see the
cottage of Mr Nicholson which we have decided to put some thatch on. It seems
the Sanitary Inspector had intimated to the Clerk of Parish Council that it was
not watertight”. This was a typical
defect to be remedied and it arose within Michie’s first month as factor. “Met Abercrombie at Keeper's House Balnacroft
and decided to paper two bedrooms for him.
Also a few plaster repairs and joiner work. Leave the kennels at present. Renew fences round the place”. This second example of repair and
maintenance, from April 1902, gives a further indication of the range of
problems encountered. Occasionally, the
complainant might be a member of the Royal Family, rather than a tenant. “In the morning went to Glen Gelder Shiel
(remote cottage built for Queen Victoria) on account of The Princess of Wales
having complained about the Rain pipes there being out of order. Have them put
right before next year”.
Sir Dighton
Probyn (Extra Equerry to King Edward VII) would often accompany John Michie on
tours of the estates when he was in residence.
Such forays would typically take in inspections of cottages and farms. In September 1903, “Afternoon walked by Moss
House on Craig gowan with Sir Dighton. Called at the cottages from Rebreck to
Garbh Corrie”.
John Michie was
not always sympathetic to the complains of tenants. “Annie Cooper is a rather capricious complaining
little body. She is possibly jealous of
the new water works at Altnaguibhsaich last summer”, was written by John Michie
in a letter to Sir Dighton in January 1904, following a complaint by this lady
that she had difficulty getting water for her cattle in winter. Michie felt there was plenty of water
available and that if the Estate engineered a new supply, she paying only £10pa
in rent, it would open the floodgates to more tenant demands. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/907 letter dated 3 January from John Michie to Sir Dighton
Probyn). However, John Michie did not
take a routinely negative stance with tenants requesting improvements, as two
examples from 1905 show. “Went
afterwards to Mr A. Sim's cottage and pegged out a wash house 9 feet square”
and “Met Sir Dighton at Birkhall at 11a.m. Went over the Gardens and Grounds
drove to the Mains where Sir D. lunched with me. We then settled repairs at the
Mains Farm, drove to the shop (Symons) where a Bath, Closet and Wash hand Basin
are being put in …”.
Sometimes the
costs of improvements would be split between the landlord and the tenant. “Sent Arthur Grant to Bovaglie to measure an
extension of sheep fence from the Big Stone to Girnoc Burn to be erected this
spring - 2260 yards - of which the Estate pays 2/3 (two thirds) and the Tenant,
Donald Gordon, 1/3 (one third) the cost. Everything counted this fence will
cost about 5½ (pence?) a yard.
Tenants and
aspiring tenants would often make enquiries about the future availability of
properties. “(Saw) Widow Stewart
Reid who desires to exchange her Cottage for one at the Knocks to be vacated by
James Duguid soon”. Sometimes the
usually accommodating Michie found the demands of tenants exasperating. “Cameron & his Niece want to leave on
Saturday the 27th. Have acceded and promised to send his wages by Cheque
beforehand. The McBeths remove from Glassalt to Altnah. on Monday 29th. Miss
Abercrombie goes to Birkhall on Tuesday 30th. Miss Michie will leave a day or
two later. Send Clerk & John Reid to
take Inventories at the 3 places. The Camerons have sprung a leak on me. The
elder Kennedy wants her late Aunt's wages and the younger, who was never
engaged at all wants the elders!! They
are a marvel of audacity”. This set of
examples was from May 1905.
Complaints
about the behaviour of neighbours were not uncommon. In May 1905, “Saw the Robertsons who complain
of the rough conduct of the men in the Bothy”.
Bothy accommodation for unmarried, mostly young, servants was common
throughout Aberdeenshire at this time and, being unsupervised, was often
characterised by noisy behaviour, fights and the singing of bawdy songs. The Robertsons’ unhappiness seemed
reasonable. Sometimes a complaint about
the behaviour of a neighbour was an appeal for Michie to take sides in a
niggling and ongoing dispute. In
September 1905, John Riddel, who rented Balhaloch, wrote to John Michie. Riddel complained that he was being
continually annoyed by neighbour John Coutts allowing his hens to trespass
amongst his corn. Coutts had taken no
notice of the order given to him by Mr Forbes (previous commissioner). “He continues in spite of remonstration. Can you put a stop to it”? (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 box 3 letter dated 27 September 1905 from John Riddel to John
Michie).
William Strath,
the schoolmaster at Girnock School was a serial moaner, both about the school
buildings and concerning his domestic accommodation. In July 1905 he wrote to Michie about the new
boiler just installed in his house. It
was not the model which was ordered, it did not hold enough water, the water
was discoloured, the boiler took too long to heat up and It did not produce
enough hot water to have a bath! (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 10
July 1905 from William Strath to John Michie).
This was a typical example but there were others, some quite
ingenious. Later, in 1907 he wrote to
John Michie after it had been agreed to lay on a water supply to the
schoolhouse. If a water supply was to be
put into the schoolhouse, could they have a bathroom at the same time? And a
fireplace in one bedroom? (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 8 April 1907 from William Strath to John
Michie). In 1911, John Michie promised William Strath a
can for a smoky vent and also to paper two of his bedrooms in the spring. Later
the same year his perennial dissatisfaction turned in a different
direction. He had been invited to an
entertainment at the Castle, but he had been unable to attend because the
public service brake had been full and left him behind. “The brakes never stop at the Schoolhouse for
me, and I often miss them.” He did not
get to the ball either, but he hoped that Michie would make it possible for him
to see the pictures. The following year
Strath’s letters shifted up a gear in pleading and moaning. He hoped that Michie would find time to think
about their bedrooms. “I wish you could
see them now and the state of the beds on which we sleep. Any written description would seem incredible
to you. We have been all ill and some of
us are not quite better. I attribute
this to the damp bedrooms. We are
running a risk in having to use these rooms.
(RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 28 January 1912 from William
Strath to John Michie). But I am sure it is not your wish that we
should be so uncomfortable”. By 1913,
John Michie’s patience with the Girnock teacher was wearing a bit thin. The previous year John Michie had agreed to
provide William Strath with one day’s labour to help in digging his garden but
would not commit to provide such help on an ongoing basis. When Strath repeated his plea the following
year, Michie declined, reminding Strath that his salary had just been increased
by £10pa. Perhaps at last Michie had
found that appeasement simply emboldens the complainer, and a point comes where
a stand has to be taken. However, the
death of Edward VII in 1910 and the accession of his son, George V had
completely changed the relationship between the tenants and the factor on the
Royal estates, including with prize grumbler, William Strath, as will be found
below.
John
Michie and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1901
Prince Albert
Edward of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince of Wales, the second child and eldest son
of Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert, ascended to the throne of
Great Britain and Ireland following the death of his mother on 22 January
1901. The King’s first visit to Balmoral
as monarch took place in September of the same year, the train carrying the
Royal party arriving at Ballater at 11.00am on Saturday 28. From Ballater, the King and Queen Alexandra
travelled to Balmoral by carriage and at about noon they were greeted at the
Balmoral bridge by a contingent, 45 strong, of the Balmoral Highlanders under
the command of James Forbes, HM’s Commissioner.
The king was kitted out in his Highland garb of Royal Stuart
tartan. This homecoming was a
semi-private affair and the crowd of spectators gathered at the entrance to the
Castle was largely composed of tenants from the Royal estates.
By this date it
was known that James Forbes was leaving about the end of the year for a new
post at Blair Atholl and that he would be replaced by John Michie, who that day
was still undertaking the role of standard-bearer with the Highlanders. However, one of the most prominent roles
during this greeting ceremony was reserved, not for the incoming factor but for
Donald Stewart, the just-retired head stalker and a long-time confidant of the
new King. The Aberdeen Journal described
Donald Stewart’s involvement. “While
acknowledging the salutations of the general body of the men, a special mark of
favour was bestowed on Donald Stewart the head gamekeeper at Balmoral an old
and trusted servant who has always been a great favourite with the King. At His Majesty’s command Mr Stewart advanced
to the Royal carriage and the King from his seat shook the Highlander warmly by
the hand and spoke some kindly words of enquiry. Mr James Forbes His Majesty’s Commissioner
stepped forward to the right side of the Royal carriage and addressed their
Royal Majesties, giving them a respectful and humble welcome. The King replied in kind. While making this touching little speech the
King doffed his bonnet and bowing smiled affably to those on both sides of the
carriage. Mr Forbes called upon all the
Highlanders to give three hearty cheers for their Majesties. Ringing cheers were given accordingly and
then Mr Forbes called for another for other members of the Royal family. This was done with equal enthusiasm and most
graciously acknowledged by His Majesty.
“By the right, quick march” was the next command by the leader of the
clansmen and away stepped out the double line of Highlanders in front of the
Royal carriage with the piper James Campbell at their head followed by the
standard-bearer Mr Michie and with Mr Forbes still in command. As the men moved past the King another
interesting incident took place which was noted with much pleasure. For the second time His Majesty commanded
Donald Stewart to approach the carriage and showed him a signal mark of favour
by asking him to “Walk with us”. Mr Stewart
accordingly had the honour of walking from the entrance gate the 400yds or
thereby to the front of Balmoral castle alongside the carriage on the left-hand
side opposite that on which the King sat and next to Queen Alexandria”.
The Royal visit
ended on 21 October 1901. During their
Scottish sojourn, the King and Queen attended Crathie Church each Sunday. John Michie and James Forbes also turned up
on the Sabbath dressed in Highland attire.
John Michie had three audiences with King Edward during his stay at
Balmoral, all of which were recorded in Michie’s diary. “Thursday 17 October. At Balmoral waiting the King's Commands but
His Majesty decided to see me at 5-30p.m. along with Sir D. Probyn and Mr.
Forbes. In the forenoon the King told Mr
Forbes that he had decided to give me the house of Abergeldie Mains as a
residence instead of Craig-gowan as at first arranged… “. “By the King's command Mr. Forbes read his
general report in the presence of H.M., Sir Dighton & I being present. We
discussed the report freely and having finished the King signed it”. “Friday 11 October. His Majesty the King called had a look
through the house (Dantzig Shiel).
Afterwards H.M., Mr Forbes, D. Stewart and me had some conversation in
front of the house”. Monday 21
October. By Command of the King went to
the Castle at 11a.m. and along with Sir D. Probyn, Major Fredericks, Mr.
Forbes, Mr. James Anderson & Mr John Reid went through certain portions of
the Castle with the King who decided on a number of alterations. H.M. afterwards went round the grounds with
me. The King presented me with the Victorian
Medal for services to the late Queen as Forester”. Interestingly, John Michie also received a
present of a brace of pheasants from the King, sent via Donald Stewart, who was
still formally head keeper, which role may have continued until the end of
December 1901, since his Royal pension was paid from 1 January of the following
year. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/841 letter
dated 17 November 1901 from John Michie to Sir Dighton Probyn).
In the period towards the end of 1901,
after James Forbes’ impending departure became known but before he had demitted
office, he completed an important task for King Edward, that was the
renegotiation of the lease for Abergeldie with the representatives of the
Gordons, which was due to expire in 1903. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/840 note dated 11 November 1901 by James
Forbes). The probable reason for this
early renewal was that on becoming King, Edward’s accommodation on Deeside had
moved to Balmoral Castle and he wanted to transfer his interest in Abergeldie
to the new Prince of Wales. The then current lease was at a rent of £3,500pa
but the new agreement specified an increase to £4500 for a term of 19
years. The lease could be determined at
five or ten years, or by two years’ notice in writing. The estate was not transferred intact from
father to son at Whisuntide 1902. The
King retained Abergeldie Mains farm, the keepers on the Abergeldie Estate, the
farm servants, Glasalltshiel and all sporting rights. Running costs devolving to the Prince of
Wales were £300 for the Factor, £250 for the doctor and £75 for the clerk. John Michie had a hand in calculating these
shared costs. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/847
memorandum dated 8 March 1902).
For John
Michie, one of the earliest issues that he had to settle was the format of the
headed paper to be used in Balmoral correspondence. Sir Dighton Probyn, who was Michie’s main conduit
to the monarch, knew that King Edward had never liked “Sandringham, Kings Lynn”
and speculated that the King would want to use “Balmoral, Aberdeenshire”,
omitting the use of “Ballater”, a small place, in the postal address. In fact, the address actually chosen by the
monarch was “Estates Office, Balmoral Castle, Ballater, NB” (North Britain). Sensibly, King Edward wanted the
incorporation of “Estates Office” in the postal address to ensure that all
correspondence arrived at one official point.
He also insisted on the Royal coat of arms being incorporated in the
letterhead design. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/841 memorandum dated 20 November
1901)
John Michie
and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1902
The hand-over of control at Balmoral
between James Forbes and John Michie occurred on Tuesday, 7 January 1902, the
day on which James and Barbara Forbes were given a send-off with a cake and
wine banquet. Sir Henry White was
responsible for drawing up John Michie’s contract of employment as Balmoral
Factor. It was signed by the monarch and
engaged Michie at a salary of £300pa, with an allowance of £50 for a groom, a
part-furnished house, a cow, coals and a horse and cart. It came into force on 8 January 1902. This seems to have been a probationary
salary, as it was increased to £400pa from 1 January 1904 and to £450 from
1906. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/838 letter dated 3 January 1902 from Sir
Henry White to Sir Dighton Probyn).
The coronation
of King Edward VII was arranged for 26 June 1902 but two days before the event,
the King was diagnosed with acute appendicitis.
His life was in danger from the infection in his appendix and the
decision was taken to perform an operation.
The eminent surgeon, Frederick Treves, assisted by Lord Lister, the
pioneer of antiseptic surgery, carried out the procedure, draining a pint of
pus from the site of the infection through an incision in the corpulent
Edward’s abdomen, which had to transect 4 ½ inches of skin muscle and fat! Edward quickly recovered and Treves was
rewarded with a baronetcy. Although Rev
Sibbald was invited to London to be present at the ceremony at Westminster
Abbey, John Michie was not similarly treated.
Instead, he took control of the organisation of the local celebrations on
Deeside. Bonfires were planned for the
tops of Craig-Gowan, Craignaban, Craignordie and the Coyles of Muick. There was to be a picnic and sports,
including a fancy-dress cycle parade, for the local school children and their
parents on a field near the Castle. Each
child was to receive a Coronation Medal, a commemorative mug and a flag, paid
for by the Michies and others. The old
and infirm were also catered for, with gifts of artistic tins of tea for the
women and packets of tobacco for the men.
Another proposed spectacle was to hold a firework display on the summit
of Craig Ghuie, where the stump of the flagpole had survived from the time that
Queen Victoria first came to Deeside in 1848.
This artefact could be used to launch rockets during the display. At the exact time of the Coronation service,
a replica ceremony was to have been held in Crathie Church, conducted by Prof
Cooper of Glasgow University.
On hearing the
unwelcome news of the King’s illness, John Michie had no choice but immediately
to halt all preparations for the celebratory Deeside events and instead send
telegrams to Sir Dighton Probyn and to the Prince and Princess of Wales on
behalf of himself and all servants and tenants on the three estates, expressing
both sorrow and sympathy for the monarch.
Grateful replies were quickly received from Queen Alexandra and the
Prince and Princess of Wales. The day
after the King fell ill, John Michie called a meeting of his Organising
Committee which resolved to put the arrangements into suspense and to retain
the ability of quickly reviving them.
The one exception was the perishable food for the picnic which had
already arrived on Upper Deeside. It was
distributed to Crathie residents, “keeping in view those with large families”.
One consequence
of the postponement of the coronation was that a contingent of 20 Fijian
troops, present in Britain to attend the ceremonials, was instead dispatched on
a tour of Aberdeen and Deeside and the story of the exotic visitors was covered
by the Aberdeen Journal. “They were
barefoot and had white officers. … On Deeside they visited Balmoral,
Abergeldie, Brackley House and Ballater.
Under the command of Major Joske CMG a British subject of Polish
extraction who had an intimate knowledge of the Fijian language. They were received with curiosity and
hospitality everywhere they went. On
arrival at the Balmoral policies the Fijian company received a hearty welcome
from Mr John Michie, HM Commissioner.
They were shown through the castle, but it was in some disarray because
it was in the middle of a period of cleaning to prepare for the return of the
King. Mr Michie led the Fijians on a
tour of the Balmoral grounds. Michie
then accompanied them on a journey to Abergeldie. There they saw the King’s herd of Aberdeen
Angus cattle in the park in front of Mr Michie’s house (Abergeldie Mains). The
ladies in the party were invited into the house by Mrs Michie for a cup of
tea”.
King Edward
VII’s coronation was rearranged for Saturday 9 August 1902 and on this second
occasion, in contrast to the first, John Michie travelled to London to be
present at Westminster Abbey, on the command of the monarch. The celebratory events on Deeside went ahead
as planned and, on this occasion, Helen Michie took part in the organisational
work. A telegram of congratulation was
dispatched under the name of Dr Corbett.
“The people of Balmoral and Crathie gathered to celebrate the Coronation
respectfully request the equerry to convey to Their Majesties their most loyal
and humble congratulations and earnest hope and pray that Their Majesties may
be long spared to rule over a prosperous and happy empire.” After the crown had been placed on King
Edward’s head, a telegram was sent to Balmoral, which, when read out, caused
great pleasure and the singing of the National Anthem.
The newly
crowned King and his Queen arrived at Balmoral on the usual autumn visit on 8
September 1902 after undertaking a cruise around the Western Isles and the
north coast of Scotland, landing at Invergordon. On arrival at Balmoral, the King and Queen
were greeted by the Balmoral Highlanders under the command of John Michie,
though they had bare heads in keeping with the informality requested by the
King. A triumphal arch had been prepared
but was discarded for the same reason.
John Michie must have been kept busy at this time, because he made no
entry in his diary over the next month, until the King and Queen departed from
Balmoral on 9 October, when he made a single, brief entry, then the pages
remained blank until the start of 1903.
Some indication of the demands made upon the Balmoral Factor can be
gauged by tallying the events in which he was involved during the King’s stay
on Deeside. The King gave a ball in the
Iron Ballroom to the tenants and the outdoor servants on the three estates, as
was traditional. Altogether about 300
attended, including John and Helen Michie.
John had been responsible for the organisation of the event. On 30 September, John Michie was dispatched
to Eshott Hall, Northumberland to represent the King at a sale of pedigree
Aberdeen Angus cattle. Michie almost
secured one animal but had to return home empty-handed. Shortly before the end of the monarch’s holiday,
Michie represented King Edward at the funeral in Crathie of a young man from
Edinburgh, William Donald who had just died after suffering from general
tuberculosis for the previous two years.
Although the circumstances of Donald’s illness are not known, apparently
the King took a close interest in his welfare.
Two days before the monarch’s departure King Edward, accompanied by Sir
Dighton Probyn and John Michie, toured the Birkhall Estate, though the purpose
of this perambulation has not been uncovered.
John Michie
and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1903
One change
regarding Balmoral holidays, compared with the time of Queen Victoria, soon
became clear. King Edward would spend
much less time on Deeside than his mother did, visiting once a year during the
late summer/autumn, rather than the two visits that Queen Victoria
undertook. Also, King Edward would spend
fewer days on Deeside, compared with his mother’s pattern but he would have
much bigger parties of people, such as family members, guests and members of
the Court. One trivial change was that
cricket became a prominent game at Balmoral for the first time. These innovations had an immediate impact on
the fortunes of Ballater, home to the terminal of the Deeside railway line, as
the Buchan Observer noted in August 1903.
“But it seems that the glory of Ballater is in some danger since Royalty
is not so constantly on Deeside as it used to be in the late Queen’s time. The King’s brief sojourn at Balmoral makes
the Ballater harvest ever so much shorter and house letting, I am told, is not
nearly so brisk as it was wont to be in the good old days”. Another characteristic of Royal visits to
Deeside proved to be that the King and Queen usually travelled independently.
In the autumn
of 1903, John Michie, at short notice (11 August) received a telegram to say
that the Queen was to arrive at Balmoral on Friday 14, rather earlier than had
been planned. This required Michie to
work hard to advance all the preparations, including cancelling his attendance
at the Tarland Show, where the King had a Clydesdale horse and two bullocks in
competition. In fact, Queen Alexandra’s
arrival slipped by half a day. Michie’s
comment was, “Very busy all day preparing for The Queen …”. On 15 August, Michie mustered the Balmoral
Highlanders to greet Her Majesty on her arrival with Princess Victoria,
accompanied by Sir Dighton Probyn and Lady Knollys, which arrival was also
witnessed by a crowd of tenants.
“Highlanders saluted HM and I called for three cheers for The Queen
which was heartily given. HM shook hands with me and so did The Princess”. On the following Sunday Michie attended
Crathie Church, where the Royal party occupied their reserved pews in the South
Transept. “Lady Knollys kindly shook
hands this being the first time I had seen her this season”. John Michie then met the Queen again the next
Tuesday, when there was a cricket match between Abergeldie and Balmoral, the
latter being victorious. “Her Majesty
who was present kindly shook hands with me and conversed for some time. HM
called at Mains (of Abergeldie – the Michie home). The following day, Wednesday 26 August, John
Michie arranged for the new batch of boys, who had been trained by Campbell,
the King’s Piper, to play before Her Majesty “who complimented them and told me
His Majesty would be pleased”. The
Queen, accompanied by Sir Dighton Probyn, left for London on 2 September,
before the arrival of the King for his autumn visit to Deeside. Michie was again present to say “Goodbye” to
Her Majesty. “I had the honour of
shaking hands with Her Majesty and HRH the Princess Victoria”.
King Edward VII
arrived at Balmoral on 14 September and John Michie organised a now traditional
welcome. “Got Highlanders together for
tea at 5 o'clock after which gave them some drill and was ready to receive HM
who arrived at 6-50pm. HM expressed himself pleased with the appearance of the
men, including 25 new members, mostly Abergeldie tenants”. In total there were about 50 Highlanders and
200 – 300 estates residents. “As the
Royal carriage arrived the pipers under Piper Campbell struck up. At the Castle entrance the King alighted and
spoke to his waiting children. He then
approached the Highlanders and shook hands with Mr John Michie and Mr Donald
Stewart, with whom he conversed for several minutes”, was the description of
the event in the Aberdeen Journal.
Two days after
the King’s arrival, John Michie recorded a review meeting with the
monarch. “To Balmoral. Met HM by Command
who expressed himself pleased with the Entrance Hall panelling as it is without
Sir R.R. Anderson's (Sir Robert Rowand Anderson (1834 – 1921) a famous
Scottish architect responsible for several projects at Balmoral) staining
which I had delayed till HM saw the wood finished as the Billiard Room is.
Walked by Garden Cottage, Gardens, Estates Office, and the Church where Mr.
Fuchs (Emil Fuchs (1866 – 1929) sculptor and painter) is finishing a
bust of Queen Victoria for the Church. Walked back by the waterside with HM
…”. Ten days later the Fuchs statue of
the late Queen was unveiled at a populous service in Crathie Church. As well as members of the Royal Family, John
Michie, James Forbes and Emil Fuchs were all present. Sunday 27 September 1903 saw a full turn-out
at Crathie Church, with John Michie in his Highland attire. Michie was one of the first to arrive in the
company of Sir Dighton Probyn. “Saw The
King on leaving Church. HM told me The Duke of Richmond (Charles Henry
Gordon-Lennox (1818 – 1903)) died today. Discussed Peter Robertson who was
20 years Loader to HM as Prince of Wales”.
Peter was a long-serving keeper and was about to retire and move to
Ballater. Sir Dighton Probyn described
Peter as follows. “Although Peter is now
a helpless old chap and the best part of his life he had been rather addicted
to whisky, still from his boyhood almost he had been in Royal service and must
therefore be looked after as long as his breath is in his body”. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/903 letter dated 13 October 1903 from Sir Dighton Probyn to
John Michie). This was the
characteristic Royal approach to long-standing servants.
Monday, the
start of the next working week (28 September 1903) saw Michie busy supervising
landscaping work in front of the Castle.
“His Majesty came out and discussed the whole matter. Decided to replant
purple Beech, and to remove two trees planted by the late Queen to a more
favourable (site) in front of Garden Cottage. Also, the Emperor
Frederick's tree. Marked a few trees in
near clump to be removed”. There were
further interactions with King Edward later the same week, including
arrangements for the Ghillies’ Ball.
“Thursday 1 October. At the
Castle early. … The King sent for me about Ball arrangements. Spent some time.
Littlejohn's band, 7 in number”. The
following day there was a more social interaction between the Michies and the
monarch, which was reminiscent of the reign of Queen Victoria. “Friday 2 October. Very busy Sir D.P. and I visited at Balmoral
Cottages. The King accompanied by Prince Alexander of Teck and Count Mensdorff
and attended by Captn Fortescue had tea with us at the Mains. I was at the
Castle but Mr. Graham Murray, The Lord Advocate, ran me down with his motor
when we both joined the party”.
“Ghillies' Ball
given by The King tonight (Friday 2 October). A new departure was the
marching into the Ballroom of the Balmoral Highlanders under my Command. By The
King's Command, Mrs., Beatrice & I were at the Royal supper. The Ball
finished at 2-30 precisely”. This was
Michie’s own summary of the occasion.
There had been a big turn-out, including a number of high-status
individuals, quite unlike Queen Victoria’s time when she usually avoided such
events. Those present on this occasion
included HM King Edward, TRH Prince and Princess of Wales, Sir Allan and Lady
Mackenzie and Sir Dighton Probyn. The
Aberdeen Journal summed up the event as follows. “It is one of the characteristics of His
Majesty that he likes to promote the social life of those connected with the
Royal estates and the assembly of last night was amongst the most enjoyable of
the functions held at the Castle”.
This 1903
autumn visit by the King and his entourage to Balmoral was almost over. Sunday 4 October was the last occasion on
which the monarch attended Crathie Church.
He was joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales and a full complement
of the Court. John Michie again arrived
in the company of Sir Dighton Probyn.
But there was still time to pack in more business in the few remaining
days. The Estate Factor was kept
particularly busy. On Monday, “Received
a message that the Princess of Wales wanted to see me at 12-15 noon. HRH wants
- the whole garden fence covered with Tropeolum (Tropaeolum – Nasturtium),
sweet Briar and sweet peas, Trellis work on wall of garden and Castle up to
Portico, 6 rooms papered, her own Bedroom painted cream and some faces
obliterated, water arrangements and iron stables referred to. Tuesday saw Mr Hansell (Henry Hansell,
tutor to the children of the Prince of Wales) requesting changes to the
cricket square, which was clearly not up to English standards. “Met Mr. Hansell at Cricket Pitch. He wants
30 yards x 20 yards levelled and returfed”.
(Hansell had formerly been a master at Eton). Michie then moved on to the Castle to meet
with the Princess of Wales and while he was there, Captain Ponsonby informed
him that, “… The King wants to see you at 7-30 tonight”. This meeting was not to hand out yet more
tasks but to praise Michie for his performance.
“Did see HM who conferred the Victorian Order on me after having
expressed himself pleased with all I had done. HM's kindness surprised me”.
Wednesday was
even more hectic for the Balmoral Factor.
“Very busy making arrangements for the future all forenoon. The Equerry
Captn Ponsonby got from me a list of the keepers including Frank Farquarson
gate keeper, John M Troup, Gardener who were presented by The King with the
Bronze Medal of the Victorian Order. Captn Ponsonby also wanted all my names
for the London Gazette. Gave him John Michie J.P., The King's Factor, Balmoral
Castle, Ballater. N.B. To Craig gowan
with Sir Dighton. Bade the Princess of Wales Goodbye at Abergeldie, she leaving
at 5pm. Saw The King in the evening by Command. He sanctioned several
things.
“Thursday 8
October. His Majesty The King left
Balmoral for Buckingham Palace at 8-30 this morning the Royal train leaving
Ballater at 9-20am”. John Michie
immediately started on his list of tasks left by the departing Royal Family,
such as the changes to be made in the Castle which were entrusted to Sir Robert
Rowand Atkinson. “… went over the
kitchen with him. Pointed out what The King wants about raising the late
Queen's bust in the Entrance Hall by 4". Showed Sir R.A. Tower with the
idea of placing Bathrooms near Gentlemen’s rooms &c. He shakes his head but
approves of one at Footman's Dormitory”.
The quietness felt in Crathie and on the estates following the departure
of the monarch was brought home to John Michie when he attended church the
following Sunday. “… a sad contrast from
recent Sundays when The King was present. Sanctuary almost empty”.
This section
dealing with John Michie’s interactions with the Royal Family and Court during the
autumn of 1903 may seem excessively detailed, even laboured to the reader. But it is important. There is no doubt that by this time, John
Michie had established himself as a competent, reliable and loyal servant of
the King. He was on excellent terms with
Queen Alexandra and the Princess of Wales.
The monarch and members of the Court had started to pay social visits to
the Michie home and Michie had been directly praised for his work and had his
efforts formally recognised by the award of the MVO by King Edward. Any reservations there might have been at
Court and in the Royal Family about Michie’s suitability for his new role had
certainly been banished.
Michie’s own
remarks on receipt of his MVO may be significant. Does “HM's kindness surprised me” indicate
that John had been feeling under pressure and had been uncertain of how his
conduct of the factorship was viewed by his employer”? Also, while the Princess of Wales was
friendly towards John Michie and he mentioned interacting with her several
times, the Factor made no comment implying a similar, or indeed any,
relationship with her husband.
Michie’s
interactions with the Royal Family continued at an enhanced rate. On 1 December1903, Queen Alexandra’s
birthday, Michie sent a telegram of congratulations to Her Majesty, then at
Sandringham, “on behalf of myself & all the people on the three royal
Estates”. HM graciously replied to him
the same day. It was also the time of
year to head for London and the Smithfield Show and John Michie also travelled
out to Sandringham while he was in the capital.
At the Norfolk estate, John Michie met all the members of the Royal
Family and arranged to meet with the King at Smithfield. He further met with the Prince of Wales at
York Cottage but did not report the purpose or outcome of the meeting. Another assignment was with Sir Dighton
Probyn. “Had tea with Sir Dighton who
paid me an important compliment as after the New Year also saw Lord
Knollys”. Probyn was joining in the
movement to ensure Michie knew he was appreciated.
The death of
Crawford Abel
The annual
Braemar Gathering was part of the mix of traditional Highland cultural
activities which became staples of the Royal family’s late summer/autumn break
at Balmoral, though Queen Victoria’s own attendance had been patchy, especially
after the death of Prince Albert in 1861. (See “Queen Victoria and the
Braemar Gathering” on this blogsite).
However, a death in the family was, now and again, a reason for deleting
the event. In 1899 the Gathering was held
for the last time on the Balmoral estate.
The following year the occasion was cancelled due to the death of Prince
Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh together with the toll of British soldiers in the
Second Boer War. Early in 1901, Queen
Victoria departed this life, and the Gathering was again stood down from the
Deeside social calendar for that year.
Nineteen hundred and two saw the event reinstated. It was held on the grass park in front of
Braemar Castle, its traditional home.
There was a grand Royal turn-out, King Edward VII being accompanied by
his wife, Queen Alexandra, the Prince of Wales, Princess Victoria, Princes
Albert and Edward of Wales and, from further up the Dee valley, the Duke and
Duchess of Fife. It must have felt like
the restoration of normality for the people of Deeside.
The following
year, 1903, the Gathering was again staged on the Invercauld estate but this
time at Cluny Park, Braemar, on Thursday 17th September. The event opened, as usual, with the
gathering of the clans, the first contingent to arrive being the Balmoral
Highlanders under the command of John Michie.
Forty-nine men from the Royal estates, kitted out in Royal Stuart tartan
with thistle and oakleaf emblems in their bonnets and led by five pipers headed
by William Campbell, the King’s piper, were first onto the field. They assembled near the gate bearing their
Lochaber axes and were joined by the Duff Highlanders and the men from
Invercauld to receive the King and Queen.
While the Braemar Gathering was ostensibly a celebration of Highland
history and culture, it was also and overwhelmingly a social occasion, a place
to be, to see and to be seen and this was reflected in the extensive list of those
present published in the Aberdeen Journal, a tally given more prominence than
the following record of competition winners.
Among the many attendees recorded as being present were Mr Crawford Abel
with his wife and daughter, Alice.
Crawford Abel
was a 49-year-old house painter from Ballater.
He and his wife, Helen, had a large family, ten children having been
born between 1878 and 1894. At least two
of his sons were also employed in the family business, which had been in
existence for about the previous 30 years and had been very successful. (The value of Crawford Abel’s estate after
his death was just over £1,148, equivalent to £141,204 in 2020 money). This Ballater tradesman was prominent in the
life of the town, being an elder of the Established church and a leading
freemason. He had served several terms
as a parish councillor and for a number of years was Dean of Guild. It was thus appropriate that he should have
been listed as a significant attendee at the Gathering. No doubt the Abels met with their many
acquaintances at Cluny Park and enjoyed conversation, perhaps accompanied by
consumption of that popular social lubricant, whisky. Partaking of the national
drink, sometimes to excess, occurred at all such events, though no direct
evidence has been uncovered concerning Crawford Abel’s state of sobriety on
this occasion.
The Ballater
house painter travelled the 16 miles to Braemar by bicycle, which by 1903 had
become a regular means of personal transport, several hundred cycles typically
being parked at the Gathering site during this period, though it is not known
how Hellen Abel and her daughter Alice made the journey up the Dee valley. The exit of visitors from the Braemar
Gathering began with the departure of the Royal attendees and the North Deeside
Road would often be crowded with cycles and a mix of horse-drawn dog carts,
traps and carriages, mostly heading down the Dee valley. About 2 ½ miles east of Cluny Park, the road
crossed to the north bank of the Dee, though the original route had held to the
south bank through the Balmoral estate.
However, Queen Victoria and her Consort had caused the diversion to be
introduced in 1859 by the building of the Invercauld bridge to preserve the tranquillity
around their Highland home. The site of
the new bridge was west of, but close to, the Old Bridge of Dee which had been
constructed in 1753 to facilitate the military suppression of the Highlands
following the last Jacobite rebellion.
At the north
side of the Old Bridge of Dee there is a lodge house on the Balmoral estate,
which was occupied by a gate keeper, usually a retired gamekeeper. In 1903 the incumbent was Frank Farquharson
who lived there with his wife, Helen.
Frank was the son of Peter Farquharson who had served Queen Victoria as
a gamekeeper from the earliest days of the Royal accession to their Highland
property. Frank Farquharson had been in
Royal service since 1865 and had just retired from his game preservation
role. This gate house was to be the
scene of an unfolding tragedy as the crowds streamed away from the Gathering.
The Aberdeen
Journal gave the following account of the incident. “On Thursday night when returning home from
the Braemar Highland Games Mr Crawford Abel, a painter, Ballater, met with a
cycling accident after which he has died.
It appears that when crossing the Bridge of Dee about a mile from
Invercauld House, Mr Abel and another cyclist collided with each other with the
result that Mr Abel was thrown with considerable force, head-first on the
corner or (presumably a typographical error for “of”) a lorry and was at
once rendered unconscious. The injured
man was quickly carried to a house adjoining the Bridge of Dee Lodge and
messengers were sent for medical aid. Dr
Noble, Braemar was quickly on the scene and was followed soon afterwards by Dr
Mitchell, Ballater who was in the neighbourhood at the time. (Drs Mitchell
and Hendry had both been at the Gathering in the Royal enclosure. A month later, Mitchell would himself suffer
a bicycle accident in which he broke his leg.). Abel had sustained concussion of the brain
and was otherwise severely cut and bruised about the head and body. It was at once seen that the injured man was
in a very precarious condition and a messenger was despatched to Ballater for
Mrs Abel. Abel never recovered
consciousness and died on Friday afternoon”.
The exact
timing of the accident is unclear. The
Aberdeen Journal said it was “on Thursday night”, which at least suggests that
it did not occur immediately after the termination of the Gathering. This newspaper further reported that “a
messenger was despatched to Ballater for Mrs Abel”, indicating that she and her
daughter had travelled home earlier and separately from her husband. The third clue on timing comes from the death
registration. Dr Noble gave the time and
cause of death as “10.45am” and “coma due to fracture of base of skull ½
day”. These data all suggest that the
accident occurred late on the evening of Thursday 17th September. The Aberdeen Journal recorded that Crawford
Abel had his accident while crossing the “Bridge of Dee”. This could not have been the Old Bridge of
Dee, which no longer carried a public road, and thus was almost certainly the
adjacent Invercauld bridge, which also crosses the Dee but carries the traffic
travelling east from Braemar. The likely
timing of the accident in late evening, when it would probably have been dark,
and the report that the accident started as a collision between two bicycles
suggests that Crawford Abel may well have stayed behind at the venue of the
Gathering to socialise with friends and that both drink and poor visibility may
have been contributary factors in the accident.
Crawford Abel
was rendered unconscious by the accident and never regained consciousness. In addition, he was “severely cut and bruised
about the head and body”. His motionless
form, probably bloodied and, perhaps, still bleeding, was carried to the
nearest house which was the Old Bridge of Dee lodge, the home of Frank and
Helen Farquharson. Frank was not at
home, probably because he too had been delayed in the aftermath of the
Gathering and it was left to Helen Farquharson to deal with the crisis on her
doorstep. The fatally injured painter
was not admitted to the house but placed in a shed or outhouse and cared for
there until he expired the following morning.
The first doctor on the scene had been W Crombie, MB ChB (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 letter dated 1 October 1903 from W Crombie to Sir
Dighton Probyn), who remained with Abel until Drs Noble and Mitchell arrived,
though “It was immediately apparent that he was fatally injured. Nothing could be done to prolong his life”.
John Michie recorded the events of 17th/18th
September with remarkable brevity. “The
Gathering passed off alright yesterday except that Abel, the painter of
Ballater came by an accident of which he died today at Bridge of Dee. Public up
in arms against Frank Farquarson's wife who refused to take the injured man in,
Frank was drunk but sobered and then did his best”. In fact, Frank Farquharson
had sat up all night with the dying man (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 letter dated 4th October 1904 (In
error? Should be 1903?) from Sir Dighton
Probyn to Dr W Crombie).
It is not surprising, as Michie relates, that such a shocking accident
should excite the public interest and be passed from mouth to ear, repeatedly,
around the district, generating the public ferment against the actions of Mrs
Farquharson.
The
story eventually reached the ears of Sir Allan Mackenzie, the quasi-laird of
the Glenmuick estate and a confidant of the King. Perhaps taking what he had heard at face
value, Sir Allan wrote to Edward VII (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 letter dated 20th
September 1903 from Sir Allan Mackenzie to Sir Dighton Probyn). “You may have heard of the fatal accident in
Ballater to the painter who was run into on his bicycle on his way home from
the Games at the Bridge of Dee at Invercauld.
(He did not die until the following morning). Mrs Farquharson refused to allow the body to
be carried through the house and the people had to go to the next house. Her excuse was that the King would not have
liked it. There are strong feelings
against Mrs Farquharson”. Sir Allan had
not been a witness of the events at the Old Bridge of Dee lodge, as indicated
by his references to Abel having been “run into” and carried to “the next
house”, which were at variance with what eyewitnesses had said. It is difficult to know if his other claims
were true, other than his report of the public mood. However, the monarch took what Sir Allan, a
man of integrity and status on Upper Deeside, had written as being accurate. The King too was incensed by the alleged
uncaring conduct of one of his servants’ wives and immediately (20th
September) despatched Sir Dighton Probyn and John Michie to remonstrate with
Mrs Farquharson. John Michie again chose
to treat this event with brevity in his dairy.
“HM sent Sir D. and I to reprimand Frank Farquharson's wife”. What subsequently transpired at the Old
Bridge of Dee lodge was recorded in a memorandum in the Royal Archives (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 memorandum dated 20th September 1903). “Letter had been received from Sir Allan
Mackenzie reporting on the conduct of Mrs Farquharson of Bridge of Dee
following the terrible accident to Abel the painter on the day of the Braemar
Gathering. On the order of His Majesty,
he drove with Michie to the Farquharsons and pitched into Mrs F severely for
what the King called her brutal conduct, telling her it was only for her
husband’s sake that she would be allowed to stay in the lodge”. Frank Farquharson’s conduct on arriving home
after the accident had been beyond reproach and, together with his long and
faithful service to the Crown, led to the family retaining its retirement
accommodation.
Crawford
Abel was buried in Tullich churchyard, a mile east of his hometown of Ballater,
on Tuesday 22 September. There was a
very large attendance, including Sir Allan Mackenzie, John Michie and Andrew
Smith, the factor on the Invercauld estate.
Sir Allan, acting as a messenger for the King, expressed His Majesty’s
sympathy for Mrs Abel and the family.
Unfortunately,
a few days after the Ballater house painter’s funeral, the popular version of
the events at the Old Bridge of Dee lodge started to look less certain, but by
then the monarch had taken up a position from which he could not be seen to row
back. Two letters were received by Sir
Dighton Probyn from eyewitnesses to Abel’s accident and its immediate
aftermath. The first from J Wilson of
Carlisle (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 letter dated 26th September
1903 from J Wilson to Sir Dighton Probyn)
defended the people who helped the injured man.
In Wilson’s opinion they did all they could to assist him. The second was from Dr W Crombie (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 letter dated 1st October 1903 from W Crombie
to Sir Dighton Probyn) questioned the common view of Mrs Farquharson as a
heartless individual. “Mrs Farquharson
called for him to be carried to an outbuilding and she brought mattresses and
bedding for him. The outbuilding was quite
suitable. Abel was as comfortable as if
he had been in a bedroom”. Crombie
remained with Abel until the local doctors arrived. While he was there Mrs Farquharson gave all
possible help. “There is a misconception
that Mrs Farquharson did not show sufficient care”. Sir Dighton then had the difficult task of
replying to Dr Crombie (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/871 letter dated 4th
October 1903 (but wrongly dated 1904) from Sir Dighton Probyn to Dr W Crombie). He thanked Dr Crombie for his letter but then
implicitly called his judgement, or memory, into question by saying it was kind
of him to make excuses for this “half-witted” lady and suggested that Crombie’s
knowledge of the incident was partial, even though he had been present until Dr
Noble arrived. Further, he flatly
contradicted Crombie’s version of how Abel was admitted to the outhouse,
implying that rather than Mrs Farquharson directing him there, she had only
given in when the helpers insisted. The
fundamental obstacle to Sir Dighton accepting any alternative view of Mrs
Farquharson’s behaviour then emerged.
“The King said he would have gladly given up his own bed”. Helen Farquharson certainly did not do
that.
Crombie
can hardly have been happy with Sir Dighton’s response to his attempt to set
the record straight, but there the matter of apportioning blame for the
treatment of Crawford Able seemed to rest.
Apparently, that was the end of the matter. In 1911, Frank Farquharson was granted the
Coronation medal commemorating the accession of George V, the award being
delivered by John Michie. “Time”, it is
said, “is a great healer”. Frank and his
wife lived on in the Lodge, the gatekeeper dying in 1926 at the age of 87 and
his wife, Helen, following him four years later.
The
Torry family tragedy
James
Torry was born in Marnoch, Banffshire about 1875 and in 1901 he was working as
a stillman at the Lochnagar distillery, Crathie. At that time, he and his wife, Mary, had
three young boys. By 1903 James had
become a labourer on the Balmoral Estate and was living at Crathienaird Cottage,
Crathie. At about 9.15am on 14 January
1903, there was a fire at the Torrys’ dwelling and three of their young
children, James Michie, David and Charles Rattray Robertson, were all killed,
their deaths being due to “sufforcation or burning” according to the death
registrations. The boys were aged two,
three and five. The exact circumstances
of the fire have not been discovered but neither parent was affected. John Michie recorded the event in his
diary. “Burning Accident. Intended to go to Aberdeen this afternoon but
was prevented on account of a very sad burning calamity at Bridgend of Bush in
which 3 children of James Torry a labourer on the Balmoral Estate were burned
to death & the cottage to the ground.
All the man's belongings being burned - nothing being left to him his
wife & remaining child but the clothes they stood in”.
On
hearing the news, Michie took action.
“Went up to see the ruins & the man whom I asked to meet me at my
office tomorrow morning. Sent a telegram
to Sir Dighton Probyn informing him of the sad circumstances”. Sir Dighton replied the following morning, 15
January. “Received a telegram from Sir
Dighton Probyn this morning in answer to mine of last night, expressing the
King's sympathy with Torry & his wife.
Met Torry at the office by appointment & gave him some money for
necessities as from the King”.
Three
“handsomely-mounted coffins” were quickly run up in the Estate workshops and
the three boys were buried on the afternoon of 15 January, less than two days
after their tragic deaths. The funeral
was “largely attended”, including by the Balmoral Factor. On Saturday 16 January, Sir Dighton sent a
further telegram informing Michie that King Edward would “recompense Torry for
any preliminary loss he may have suffered”.
Part of the King’s second telegram was forwarded by John Michie to Rev
Sibbald (Church of Scotland) and to Rev Fell (Free Church). Sibbald made reference to the tragedy in his
sermon the following Sunday. The King also instructed his Factor to ensure that
Crathienaird Cottage was rebuilt, even though it was on the Invercauld Estate
and not part of his own property.
At
the 1911 Census, James and Mary Torry were living at Gerach, Glengairn, where
they appeared to have moved after the 1903 fire. Their family had been rebuilt, then
consisting of three girls and a boy, aged two to eight years. But the bare statistics contained in the
Census revealed the evidence of their former tragedy. Married 13 years, eight live births, but only
four of whom were still alive.
John
Michie and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1904
In early
February 1904, veteran servant, Peter Robertson died, and King Edward
instructed John Michie to ensure he received a “decent” funeral, the cost of
which (£5 12s) would be borne by the monarch.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/917 note dated 8 February 1904). King Edward VII certainly had a soft spot for
long serving ghillies. Sir Dighton
Probyn telegraphed Michie with a message of sympathy from the King and Queen
and Michie travelled to Ballater to convey the message to Peter’s widow. Peter Robertson was buried on Friday 12
February 1904. “Came to Ballater at 2
p.m. and walked to Glenmuick Graveyard with Sir Allan Mackenzie behind old
Peter Robertson's Remains”.
Prince Arthur
of Connaught (1883 – 1938) was a son of the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn,
Queen Victoria’s seventh child. He would
later become the third Governor-General of South Africa. As a regular visitor to Balmoral, Prince
Arthur and John Michie must have known each other for many years. In May 1904, the paths of the two men
inadvertently crossed in the Palace Hotel, Aberdeen. Michie was on his way to the funeral of an
aunt at Blairgowrie, while Prince Arthur was travelling in the opposite
direction for the Abergeldie Estate to enjoy the salmon fishing on the
Dee. When John Michie returned home on
Saturday 21 May, he found Prince Arthur “at the Mains & evidently enjoying
the fishing”. At that time the Michies
were still living at Abergeldie Mains, but it is unclear if Prince Arthur had
separate apartments in the house from the Michies, or if they were providing
for his domestic comforts. Either way,
the prince gave presents to the Michies, an inkstand for John and a signed
photograph for Helen. In total Prince
Arthur stayed for nine days at Abergeldie and managed to catch seven salmon and
one trout. “Saturday 28 May. … Prince
Arthur left today expressing himself as having been very comfortable during his
stay here …”. Prince Arthur, too,
appreciated the efforts made by the Michies to serve the Royal Family to the
best of their abilities.
Another member
of the Royal Family who looked to John Michie to cater for her needs, when
staying on Deeside, was Princess Victoria (1868 – 1935), fourth child of King
Edward VII. On 1 June 1904, John Michie
received a private letter from the Princess telling him she would arrive for a
stay at Alltnaguibhsaich in five days’ time, with her servants landing on
Deeside the previous day. John travelled
to the remote “Hut” in Glenmuick to make the necessary arrangements and then on
the morning of Saturday 4 June he met Princess Victoria, with Mr and Mrs Derek
Keppel and their baby, at Ballater station and then followed her carriage to
Alltnaguibhsaich to ensure she and her party got settled in comfortably. Derek Keppel was Equerry to the Prince of
Wales at the time. Almost three weeks
into her sojourn in Glenmuick, Princess Victoria spoke to John Michie by
telephone, saying she would like to move to Birkhall the following Monday. “Made arrangements about the removal”, was
Michie’s succinct diary note. The move
was completed with Michie’s usual efficiency.
Was the reason for requesting this change of location due to the
ill-health that the Alltnaguibhsaich housekeeper, Miss Cameron, had suffered
since she had a “paralytic shock” in March 1903? In November of that year, Michie had
reported, “Miss Cameron better in health but drivelling”. Princess Victoria was sympathetic to the
health issues that Miss Cameron was suffering, and it was the Princess who had
subsequently suggested, with helpful intent, that Miss Cameron might be given
an electric shock to alleviate her symptoms.
However, the Alltnaguibhsaich housekeeper died on 7 July 1904.
About the time
of the departure of Princess Victoria for the South, John Michie helped with
the Cameron family arrangements. “Drove
over the hill to Altnaguibhsaich to see Cameron & his niece & to make
some arrangements about his sister's funeral.
In the afternoon went to Ballater to see H.R.H. Princess Victoria off
for the South looking better for her stay at Altnaguibhsaich &
Birkhall”. Helen Michie also had a task
to perform. “Mrs. M. drove over to Altnaguibhsaich
in the afternoon taking a wreath from H.R.H. Princess Victoria”.
The late summer
visit of King Edward VII to Deeside in 1904 proved to be every bit as hectic as
that of the previous year and this became another testing time for the
indefatigable John Michie. The first
arrivals were by the Prince of Wales and his family, preceded by his horses on
26 July. “In afternoon went down to see
that the Prince of Wales' horses had arrived safely. Saw Bint the coachman & found they had,
the horses being in the new stables & the men in the old for a few days
when the new will be ready”. It was
clearly important to get accommodation priorities right! Next to arrive on Deeside, two days later,
were some members of the family. “H.R.H.
The Prince of Wales' three youngest children arrived at Abergeldie Castle
today”. A further two days elapsed
before, “H.R.H. The Prince of Wales two oldest boys arrived this morning Mrs.
M. & Myself went down to see them come …”.
Sunday 7 August saw Royal attendance at Crathie Church resumed. “Annie, Alix, Beatrice, Jack & myself
went to Church. Princes Edward &
Albert & Princess Mary of Wales accompanied by M. Hud, Mr. Hansell &
the governess were present”. John Michie
had other preparations to pursue on Friday 12 August, “the Glorious 12th”,
opening of the grouse shooting season.
“Started at 5 a.m. to join the game keepers & have a day at the
Grouse in the Ballochbuie when we got about 30 brace in all. Some were sent to H.M. the King who is
presently in Marienbad incognito as the Duke of Lancaster, & some to
the Queen at Sandringham”.
The next Royal
arrival at Balmoral was HM the Queen.
“Saturday 20 August. Went up to
Castle this morning to see Burnam before he started to meet the Queen at
Ballater Station - came home got on my Highland uniform & returned to the
Castle to gather the Balmoral Highlanders to receive Her Majesty on arrival at
11.45 a.m. She arrived at a few minutes
past the appointed time accompanied by Princess Victoria & attended by the
Hon. Miss Knollys, General Sir Dighton Probyn & Col. Frederick”.
It was 1
September before the Prince of Wales reached Upper Deeside. “… went down to Abergeldie Castle to meet
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, who arrived by motor car from Ballater & walked
over the Bridge at 5.30 p.m. He has been
shooting at Tulcan Lodge. He went over
the stables (recently built) with me & expressed himself as very
pleased with everything. Two days later
the Princess of Wales arrived. “To the
Office & Abergeldie Castle to meet H.R.H. the Princess of Wales who arrived
by motor car from Ballater about 12.30 & walked over the foot bridge. (At that time, there was a functioning
suspension foot bridge over the Dee adjacent to Abergeldie Castle. Today, only wreckage remains.) The prince & children received her at the
bridge”. The Princess of Wales visited
Baile-na-Coile, by then the Michies’ family home, on 21 September to take
tea. Before their departure at the end
of the season, both the Prince and Princess of Wales called at Baile-na-Coile
to say “Goodbye”, “… the prince telling me about some things to be done at
Abergeldie Castle. The princess gave
Mrs. M. a tea set. The contrast between
the behaviour of the two Royal visitors being maintained: he, presenting yet
another list of tasks, she, making an appropriate gift. John Michie went to see the prince off to
Gordon Castle to fish on Monday 3 October. The Princess of Wales, still in
residence at Abergeldie Castle, asked Michie to meet her at Abergeldie at 11am
on the day of her departure, with her children, for London. She then presented Michie with her own list
of requests for things to be done in the next year. John departed only to return later to see the
princess and children leave.
The final Royal
arrival was by King Edward VII on Monday 12 September 1904. “His Majesty the King arrived at Balmoral
from Rufford Abbey (Nottinghamshire) at 7 p.m. The Balmoral Highlanders were in front of the
Castle to meet His Majesty under me (John Michie). Captain Fortescue,
Col Davidson as Equerries were in attendance. Mr. Graham Murray Secretary for
Scotland arrived. Mr. Stoner came
also. Lord Farquhar was present to
receive H.M”. The Balmoral Highlanders
were now a more impressive body of 50-60 men, since Abergeldie tenants had been
invited to join their ranks. King Edward
attended divine service at Crathie the following Sunday, when John Michie was
part of the Royal suite.
The Duke of
Connaught and his family arrived to take up residence at Birkhall on 22
September. John Michie travelled to the
house in Glenmuick to receive them. The duke
had sent advance notice to John Michie to procure a supply of mutton and lamb
for his household from farmer Donald Gordon.
Prince Arthur of Connaught arrived four days later. “Met H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught on his
arrival at Station 9.45. Drove by
Birkhall - Saw the Duchess of Connaught - the Duke having gone to stalk”. Golf was becoming an increasingly popular
game with members of the Royal family and on Wednesday 5 October, “H.R.H. The
Duchess of Connaught asked me to play in a foursome this afternoon which I did
the Duchess being my partner & beating the Hon. Miss Pelly & Captain
Ponsonby by 7 up”. The Duchess clearly
liked to have John Michie as a partner, so she asked him to join her again two
days later. Unfortunately, Michie, up to
his eyes in work, had to decline. After
her golf match, the Duchess and the “Princess” (Michie did not specify which
one), went to Baile-na-Coile for tea and they were joined by the Duke of
Connaught, who had been shooting. More
Royal socialising with the Michies! A
few days later the duke left Deeside and travelled to Edinburgh where he was
involved in a motorcar accident, “getting his head cut & bruised”. John Michie immediately sent a telegram
regretting the accident. A day later,
the duke’s equerry, Major Murray replied.
“Thanks for enquiries Duke progressing satisfactorily. Murray”.
Finally, Sir
Dighton Probyn, that venerable and indispensable member of the Court, arrived
at Balmoral from Buchromb House, Dufftown, home of the Lumsden family.
George, Prince
of Wales, in residence at Abergeldie Castle, soon joined the list of Royal
Family members who had tasks for Michie to perform. “Thursday 22 September. … H.R.H. The Prince
of Wales sent for me went to Abergeldie on my way up when H.R.H. gave orders
for some things for the new stables &c”.
Another list of requirements followed at a meeting of the two on 26
September. “The Prince of Wales sent for
me to Abergeldie. H.R.H. gave me some
instructions about new stables - Concrete for the whole of yard, linoleum for
rooms &c. &c”.
King Edward
was, as usual, planning a ball for visitors, employees and tenants on Friday 30
September and, inevitably, it was John Michie who was tasked with the
organisation of this event. “Drove to
Ballater - saw Proctor about "Kilties" Band coming to Balmoral
tomorrow (Tuesday 27 September 1904). On
the day of the ball, “… went up to the Castle afterwards to see that everything
was ready. Came home & dressed in
full highland dress & returned to the Castle at 9 o'clock to muster &
drill the Highlanders & have them ready lining the passage before the King
came down at 10 o'clock. Marched twice
round the ballroom & then dispersed for a highlanders' reel. Everything went on satisfactorily - the ball
finishing between 2 & 2.30”. There
was a full turnout of Royal Family and Court members at the ball. Some of the guests, including surgeon Sir
Frederick Treves, with Lady Treves, Col and Mrs Delme Radcliffe, Mr and Mrs
Neumann and their party from Invercauld, Rev and Mrs Ramsay Sibbald and officers
of the King’s Guard of Honour of the Cameron Highlanders at Ballater, were also
present.
With the
arrival of Sir Dighton, he, the King and John Michie turned their collective
attention to landscaping matters.
“Thursday 29 September. … discussed general business with Sir Dighton at
noon went round the Gardens & Grounds with The King & Sir Dighton. His Majesty personally directed removal of
some trees in gardens &c &c.
also planting of some clumps of Rhodos west of gardens. Discussed questions generally”.
The King also
had plans for the improvement of Baile-na-Coile and Sir Robert Rowand Anderson
was summoned to Deeside. He arrived on
Friday 7 October. “Sir R.R. Anderson
arrived at Bhaille-na-choile at 9 a.m. & began at once to look over &
round the house & got begun to make out plans. H.M. sent for me a few minutes before eleven
to walk over policies & point out alterations requd. H.M. then walked down
to Bhaille-na-choile also Sir D.P. & two other gentlemen. Saw a rough sketch by Sir R.R. Anderson about
what is proposed to be done & agreed to everything. Walked back to Castle. Sir R.R. Anderson goes there to lunch. Sir R.R.A. came down after lunch & had
another talk over alterations & additions”.
As usual in
early December 1904, John Michie travelled down to London to attend the
Smithfield Show, curious to see how the Abergeldie animals performed but also
to join with the Royal party touring the exhibits and to meet up with Sir
Dighton Probyn to discuss matters of mutual interest. Michie’s diary entry described the events of
the day succinctly. “Monday 5 December.
… Our heifer was placed 3rd in her Class - Princess Alberta 11 (2) of
Abergeldie. Left the show by Handsome in
time to meet Sir Dighton Probyn at Buckingham Palace at noon. Discussed matters with him till 1.30 when met
Mr. Massey with whom lunched at Royal Societies Club and then off to the Show
to receive The King at 3 p.m. His
Majesty was in fine form and exceeding gracious as usual. So was the Prince of Wales. His Royal Highness having accompanied The
King. As usual I walked round the Show
with the Royal party. This having taken
about an hour. Left shortly after and
attended to correspondence which with dinner took to 9.30 after which went to
see some performing animals in a Circus place in Argyll Street. Met Sir C. Cust & Mr Stoner on the
way. Weather fine. Heifer made £42”. This conduct was surely confirmation both of
Michie’s acceptance and his growing status in both Royal and Court circles.
George
Profeit and Queen Victoria’s compromising letters
Alexander
Profeit was the second Commissioner to take charge of the Balmoral estates on
behalf of the monarch and was in post between 1875 and 1897, when he died in
office. In addition to acting as estate
factor, Alexander Profeit also provided medical cover for the employees of the
Royal estates on Upper Deeside. Dr
Profeit and his wife Isabella had a family of nine, seven boys and two girls,
though one of the daughters died in infancy.
The Profeit children grew up to be a remarkably talented group, with
musical, sporting and academic success in abundance. The boys especially, were close to John
Michie and turned to him as a family friend during the distressing decline and
eventual death of their father.
George Walker
Profeit was the fifth child and fourth son in the Profeit family. He had been born in1875 and about 1892
commenced the study of medicine at Aberdeen University. However, his studies were interrupted by
ill-health and when he resumed academic work, he transferred to Edinburgh
University where he graduated with a B Sc in Agriculture about 1897. During his recuperation from illness at the
family home, Craiggowan House, Balmoral, George’s father’s capacity to fulfil
his role was compromised and declining and George had to substitute for his
father on occasion, especially in the period around his father’s death at the
end of January,1897. On 11 February,
John Michie wrote in his diary, “Gave George Profeit my monthly acts (accounts).
In passing Crathie, as he says he has been asked to carry on his father's
(late) work in the meantime”. However,
no indication was given as to who had made this request, though it may well
have been Sir Fleetwood Edwards.
The death of
their father meant that the Profeit children remaining at home would have to
leave estate accommodation and seek their own place to live. Robert Profeit was a member of the Diplomatic
Service, serving in Sulina, Romania and Charles Profeit had been commissioned
as a doctor in the Army. Alexander
Profeit junior, the third son, had been the sub-tenant of Dorsincilly farm on
the Balmoral estates but left for South Africa about August 1897, which pitched
George, the oldest son still on Deeside as the person expected to look after
the welfare of the younger members of the Profeit family. The solution lighted upon by George was to
buy a house, Drochet Cottage, Invercauld Road, Ballater, about April 1897,
which could act as a family base and appears to have been retained as such for
a number of years. John Michie advised
George Profeit on the management of the land at his new house.
George Profeit,
after taking a degree in agriculture, had clearly decided to seek a career as
an estate factor, like his father. In
September 1898 he is known to have been working as a pupil of Mr C Paterson,
agent for Lord Wimborne's estates in Dorset.
This position was soon replaced by the role of sub-agent at Wadhurst
Hall, Wadhurst, Kent, whose owner was Julius Drew, the joint founder of Home
and Colonial Stores. George Profeit
remained at Wadhurst Hall until December 1901.
During his stay in Kent, he had been a keen participant in the social
and sporting activities associated with the Wadhurst Estate, including the
Cricket Club, the Stock Show and the Amateur Orchestral Society. When George departed from Wadhurst, heading
for pastures new, he received a leaving presentation from the Wadhurst Hall
Cricket Club, consisting of a silver and cut-glass ink stand, a silver blotter,
ivory paper knife and silver penholder with a gold knib. It was inscribed "Presented to GW
Profeit Esq by the Wadhurst Hall CC and other friends on his leaving Julius
Drew’s employment in December 1901”.
George Profeit moved to be land agent
for Lady Ernle Erle Drax’s estates in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. His office was located at Charborough Park,
Wareham, Dorset. George, then aged 27,
had achieved very rapid promotion to a highly prestigious land agency with a
wealthy, aristocratic family. He must
have performed well in the eyes of his employer because in November 1904, he
received a further promotion to chief adviser to Lady Ernle Erle Drax in the
management of all her estates, extending to 40,000 acres, in the counties of
Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Lady Ernle Erle Drax died in 1907 and her
estates were inherited by her daughter, Lady Dunsany. The tenantry of the estates prepared an
address to present to the new owner.
“Preparations for the arrival of Lady Dunsany were under the direction
of the able and courteous agent Mr George W Profeit”.
Sometime,
probably in the early 1900s, George Profeit apparently discovered a black trunk
amongst his late father’s possessions.
Since 1897, George had been involved in several house moves, first to
Dorsincilly Farm (1897), then to Drochet Cottage (1897), Dorset (1898),
Wadhurst (in or before 1901) and Wareham (1901), the trunk probably emerged
during one of George Profeit’s flits. This
repository is alleged to have contained more than 300 letters written by Queen
Victoria to Alexander Profeit senior concerning John Brown, the Queen’s
Highland servant. About September 1904,
it is alleged by various authors that George Profeit, realising the
significance that the letters would have for King Edward VII, who had hated the
jumped-up Highlander with a passion and wanted to expunge all memorials to
Brown from the Royal estates, approached the King with an offer to sell the
letters.
Francis
Knollys, the King’s private secretary, called in Dr James Reid, as King Edward
wanted to discuss a private matter with him.
Reid, a native of Ellon, Aberdeenshire, had been Physician-in-Ordinary
to Queen Victoria and was then currently acting in the same capacity to King
Edward VII. This Scotsman was familiar
with Balmoral, probably knew George Profeit personally and was trusted both as
a doctor and a discrete functionary at Court.
Dr Reid recorded in his papers that he had been told that George Profeit
was trying to “blackmail” the monarch with the Queen Victoria letters to his
late father. The King wanted Reid to
negotiate with George Profeit for the return of the letters, many of which,
Reid wrote, were “most compromising”.
This was a task which James Reid did not relish. Before approaching George Profeit, Dr Reid
arranged to take tea with Princess Beatrice at Kensington Palace to talk over
the problem. Starting in November 1904
and continuing for about six months, there were several meetings between Reid
and Profeit, the result of which was that the letters were returned for an
unknown consideration. “At 3pm (on 8
May 1905) George Profeit came and delivered over to me (Dr James Reid)
a tin box full of the late Queen’s letters to his father about John Brown, for
which he was blackmailing the King. He left at 4.15.” Likely, the letters were immediately
destroyed. Various authors have
speculated on the contents of the letters.
Perhaps they concerned Brown’s excessive drinking habits, or Victoria’s
dabbling in spiritualism, or even more intimate aspects of the Brown – Victoria
relationship? But these are mere
speculations.
The question
arises as to the nature of George Profeit’s approach to the monarch. Was it really blackmail, or was it,
alternatively, a proposition on the right side of the dividing line between
legality and illegality? Blackmail is
defined as, “the
action, treated as a criminal offence, of demanding payment or another benefit
from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information
about them”. Without doubt, George
Profeit, or perhaps George together with other siblings, was the legal owner of
the letters. The missives had not been
obtained by theft or deception. They had
been sent by Queen Victoria to Alexander Profeit senior, he had died and
someone in the family, perhaps George, had inherited them. No evidence has been deduced that George
Profeit threatened to release the contents of the letters if payment was not
made, which would be a prerequisite for proving the charge of blackmail. Perhaps, alternatively, George Profeit
understood precisely why the letters were so sensitive and also who would have
both the desire and the means to pay handsomely for their possession? Was the sale really just a commercial
transaction and the claim of “blackmail” perhaps an angry outburst from the
King on finding himself in a weak negotiating position? In other trying circumstances King Edward was
known to become enraged but quickly calmed down afterwards.
There is circumstantial evidence
that militates against the blackmail hypothesis. At precisely the time that George Profeit was
offering the letters to King Edward, he was also securing a very high position
with an aristocratic family, a position which was to see his career secured for
the foreseeable future. Would he really
have risked the wrath of King Edward, who surely would have had the connections
and influence to blackball George Profeit from employment on any large, landed
property, perhaps including his then current locus?
From the time that George Profeit
moved to Charborough Park in 1901, he behaved as a respectable and responsible
member of local society. He became
chairman of the Parish Council of Morden, joined the Conservative Party, became
a JP, accepted membership of farmers’ clubs, helped with charitable
fund-raising, became a Freemason and represented Mrs Ernle-Erle-Drax and her
succeeding daughter at local events.
Curiously, George was also admitted, in early 1905, to the Honourable
Society of Lincoln’s Inn with the intention of becoming a barrister, which
aspiration was never realised. At social
events, George Profeit often contributed a song or two, continuing a tradition
he had established on Deeside. In 1913,
George Profeit was elected to Dorset County Council. During WW1 the Charborough Park factor played
an active role in the Lord Derby recruitment scheme and in the tribunals which
granted (or more often turned down) applications from men wishing to defer, or
avoid, conscription. None of this
pattern of activities suggests a scheming criminal, especially not a
blackmailer of the monarch.
George Profeit maintained
correspondence with John Michie. A
letter from GWP to JM from December 1905 has survived (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated
15 December 1905 from George Profeit to John Michie).
He thanked Michie for his letter and was sorry not to have seen him at
the Smithfield show. It was over three
years “since he was north”. “He
would have enjoyed talking over old days”.
George still had the Irish Setter that Michie had given to his brother
Charles, but he was now a very old dog.
John Michie noted on 22 September 1906 during the Royal holiday on Upper
Deeside, “To Abergeldie - saw the Prince of Wales and Lord Farquhar also Sir
James& Lady Reid. … G W Profeit, Aleck &
Victoria Profeit called in the evening. They are staying in
Ballater for a short time”. George was
not behaving as though he was persona non grata at Balmoral.
Various of his brothers and sister
appear to have been staying with, or near George in the South from time to
time, Victoria and Alexander (who must have returned from South Africa) were
living in Dorset in 1898, Victoria was attending school in Bournemouth in 1901
and both were Dorset residents in 1904.
At the Census of 1911, George’s sister, Victoria (by then married) was
staying with him in Dorset. George
Profeit did not marry until 1913, when he was 38. The marriage produced no children. George Profeit died in 1926 aged 51 after an
outstanding career in estate management in Dorset. His passing was marked by the recognition in
the press of his successful career and his many contributions to the civic life
of Dorset.
Baile-na-Coile
(Gaelic for “House of the Woods”) is a substantial dwelling on the Balmoral
Estate, located at the foot of the eastern side of Craiggowan, a 1,390 ft
wooded hill, situated about a mile south of Balmoral Castle. Queen Victoria caused the house to be built
as a retirement home for her Highland servant, John Brown. It was leased to him in a document dated 15
December 1877 (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/868 letter dated 8 August 1903 from Sir
Dighton Probyn to Walter Gibson). Remarkably, very little is confidently known
about the construction of the house. For
example, there is no direct mention of it in the Princess Beatrice-edited
version of the Queen’s journals.
Construction is thought to have started about 1876 - 1877 and it was
built with white Balmoral granite, probably from the estate quarry at
Invergelder.
The architect
of the house also is not certainly known.
Some sources have suggested that William Smith, the Aberdeen City
Architect, who was responsible for the new Balmoral Castle of 1852, was its
author. Others have proposed that it was
the work of the Dundee practice of Mills and Shepherd, but they were not
working at an early enough date to have been responsible. A much more likely identity for the architect
of John Brown’s house was John Beaton, in 1877 the clerk of works on the
Balmoral estates. He had been foreman
mason for the construction of the new Balmoral Castle. Beaton also had some architectural training
and had designed a number of similar houses on the Royal properties, including
the Dantzig Shiel, Craiglourigan
Cottage, Bridge Lodge, the new Glas-allt-Shiel, the two Gelder Shiels and the
obelisk memorial to Prince Albert. Baile-na-Coile
must have been completed before 15 December 1877.
Hugh Brown (1838 – 1896), John
Brown’s second youngest brother, emigrated to New Zealand, where he bought a
farm, between 1863 and 1866. In May
1876, Hugh, his wife and family returned to Scotland at the invitation of Queen
Victoria, conveyed through his brother, John.
It is not known where at Balmoral the Hugh Browns initially went to
live, though they moved at some stage to Baile-na-Coile. The first date when it can be proved they
were living in that house was in June 1879.
Queen Victoria wrote in her journal at the end of her spring visit to
Balmoral that year that she called “at Brown’s house, to take leave of the Hugh
Browns”. The monarch routinely referred
to John Brown by the name “Brown”, even though she and her Highland attendant
had a close personal relationship. At
the 1881 Census, the Hugh Browns were still occupying Baile-na-Coille.
The same situation probably held in June 1883, on the award of probate
following John Brown’s death, when Hugh’s address was given as “Balmoral”.
Entries in John Michie’s diary show that on 4 November 1884 Hugh Brown was
still at Balmoral but on 11 of November Mrs Hugh and Miss Brown left for
Windsor and this appears to have been the time of change for the main address
of the Hugh Brown family.
John Brown died on 27 March 1883
at Windsor Castle, where he had apartments.
His body was returned to Deeside, arriving at Ballater station on
Wednesday 4 April. The coffin was taken
to Baile-na-Coile and was placed on trestles in the middle of the dining room,
where it remained overnight. Although
the house had nominally been in his occupation since December 1887, 4 April was
the only night that John Brown ever spent in his home at Balmoral. He was buried in Crathie churchyard the
following day. After his death, his
assets would have passed to his siblings, since he had remained unmarried and
had no children.
After the departure of Hugh Brown
and his family to Windsor, another Brown brother, William, and his family moved
into Baile-na-Coile. William was the one
brother of John Brown who did not enter Royal service. He had farmed at the Brown family farm, The
Bush, which was part of the Invercauld Estate, until 1884 when he retired from
farming at the early age of 49, which suggests that he had some other source of
income by that year (see below). A
displenish sale was held at The Bush to dispose of stock and implements. William and Elizabeth Brown had a family of
four, ranging in age from 15 down to eight at the time of the move. Lizzie Brown was particularly close to Queen
Victoria. Lizzie died at Baile-na-Coile
in 1900 but William Brown lived on for some time at the “House of the
Woods”. He was living there in 1902,
though he had moved to Tomidhu (where he built a house), on the Invercauld
Estate by the time of his own death on 22 October 1906.
If Baile-na-Coile had originally been
leased to John Brown, it is presumed that the property reverted automatically
to the Queen. However, through a Declaration
of Trust, dated 15 December 1883 (more than six months after John Brown’s
death) in favour of the Brown family the whole interest in Baile-na-Coile was
transferred by Queen Victoria to the Browns.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/868 letter dated
27 July 1903 from Sir Henry White to Walter Gibson). On 25 July 1903, John Michie wrote to Walter
Gibson in the Privy Purse office, Buckingham Palace, “Re purchase of Bhaile na
Choile from the Brown family for £5,500”. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/868 letter dated 25 July 1903 from John Michie to Walter
Gibson). This confirmed
that the property was in the ownership of the Browns. King Edward VII had hated John Brown with a
passion and sought to expunge his memory from Balmoral. It is likely that the possession of Baile-na-Coile
by the Browns, probably the only part of the estate not in absolute Royal
ownership, would have been an emotional sore that the monarch wished to
extirpate. Negotiations were opened with
the Brown family for the purchase of the assets transferred in the Declaration
of Trust dated 15 December 1883. Sir
Dighton confirmed the purchase of Baile-na-Coile in a telegram dated 6 August
1903 to Walter Gibson. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/868 telegram
dated 6 August 1903 from Sir Dighton Probyn to Walter Gibson). “The King was anxious to get the purchase
completed as privately and as quickly as possible. … Old Brown has been very
unwell lately and if perchance he should take a little more whisky on the sly
than is good for him the purchase might again be upset and some time might
elapse before it could again be arranged”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/868 letter dated 6
August 1903 from Sir Dighton Probyn (written at Birkhall) to Walter Gibson). These fretful communications from Sir Dighton
in the immediate aftermath of the completion of the sale surely confirm the
significance for the King of the recovery of Baile-na-Coile. John Michie gave his opinion to Walter Gibson
in August 1903 that “When this business is over”, all papers should be
deposited with Sir Henry White. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/868 letter dated 14
Augustfrom John Michie to Walter Gibson).
Just before Sir
Dighton Probyn departed for the South in early October 1904, John Michie and he
drove to see William Brown “when Sir Dighton handed to him 3 rings & 1 gold
watch which belonged to the late John Brown”.
Michie gave no further information on these personal items, which must
have been lurking somewhere at Windsor Castle for almost 22 years past, but
perhaps for 19 of those years as part of the possessions of the late
Queen. This delivery of items to William
Brown is reminiscent of King Edward’s actions in January 1901 when he commanded
the Keeper of the Royal Pictures at Windsor Castle to dispose of a portrait of
John Brown, which had been commissioned by his mother in 1883, by deleting it
from the inventory and despatching it to William Brown at Balmoral.
Baile-na-Coile was not the only asset of
Royal origin transferred to the ownership of the Brown family. The Declaration of Trust dated 15 December
1883 in favour of the Brown family, also transferred some debentured stock of
the London and North Western Railway, from which interest was paid regularly to
William Brown. The capital value of the
stock was £2,133 with a coupon of 3%. It
appeared that the Queen had been intent on providing both a home and a regular
income to the Browns. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/868 letter dated 25 July 1903 from John Michie to Walter
Gibson).
John Michie’s reference to the purchase
price of Baile-na-Coile being “£5,500” was casual, since that sum covered both
the house and the debenture stock. The
breakdown was £3,500 for the house and £2,000 for the railway stock. Together with legal costs (£128-13-3) the
total came to £5,628-13-3. The Deed of
Renunciation in favour of His Majesty in respect of Baile-na-Coile was
prepared, and John Michie took it down to Edinburgh for the oversight of the
King’s lawyers. In his own diary, John
Michie, coyly, did not disclose the nature of the document – “with certain
papers” was his description! Everything
was in order and the agreement was executed by William Brown and his eldest
surviving son, John, in early August 1903.
In a letter from Sir Dighton Probyn to Walter Gibson, dated 8 August
1903, Probyn’s anxiety over this transaction was laid bare. “I was prepared to agree anything to improve
the chance of getting the property back … It is a great nuisance having to
spend £5500 in buying property which should never have been given away, but I
am glad it has been done”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/868 letter dated 8
August 1903 from Sir Dighton Probyn to Walter Gibson). It was decided that the late Queen’s trustees
could now gift the returned debenture stock in the LNWR to the Aberdeen Royal
Infirmary. However, the original source
of the gift (Queen Victoria) was to be obscured by saying it was “from HM the
King”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/869 letter dated 5 November 1903 from John
Michie to Sir Dighton Probyn).
Sir Dighton’s confession that he
was “prepared to pay anything” was a reference to the Brown’s legal costs
associated with the transaction which the King’s Extra Equerry found to be
exorbitant. It appears that James
Forbes, the former Balmoral Commissioner, then fulfilling a similar role at
Blair Atholl, had been advising the Brown family. Forbes had insisted that his brother-in-law,
John L Mounsey, draw up the Deed of Renunciation but James Forbes himself had
also charged a substantial fee, amounting to £54-12-0, for his meetings with Mr
Mounsey at Old Blair and one meeting with William Brown. James Forbes visited Balmoral in September
1903, staying at the Dantzig Shiel as a guest of the Stewarts. An arrangement had been made for James Forbes
to meet with John Michie at 5.00pm on Saturday 19 September but Forbes did not
turn up, which was quite unlike him.
Perhaps he felt some discomfort at the fee he had charged and did not
wish to have a discussion on the topic?
It is certainly possible that James Forbes had been exploiting the
situation for family gain.
Although the transfer of Baile-na-Coile
to the King had been completed in August 1903, it was some time before William
Brown and his family were in a position to vacate the Balmoral property. He was still in residence the following May
when Michie called to assess the status of some of the house’s fixtures and
fittings. “Brass Rods & Rollers with
Blinds. The latter are done & out of
date”. By this time, it was clear that the next
occupants of Baile-na-Coile would be John and Helen Michie. It would be a much more convenient location
from the point of view of Michie fulfilling his factorial role. William Brown held a sale of household goods
at Baile-na-Coile on Saturday 25 June.
John Brown, William’s son, handed the keys of the house back to Michie
on 29th June, almost a year after the agreement for reversion of the
property to the King.
Much later, at the end of April 1905 an
advertisement in “Exchange and Mart” caused a flurry of concern in Royal
circles. It read, “Unique opportunity
for securing genuine relics of her late Majesty Queen Victoria. 4 handsome chairs and lady’s writing desk,
part of the furnishings of Balmoral Castle for disposal. Anderson Auctioneers, 77 George Street,
Aberdeen”. It further added that the furniture
had formerly belonged to John and William Brown. John Michie was sent to investigate this
claim. The castle upholsterer identified
the items as having been deployed in a small waiting room at the Castle, but
they had been given to the late John Brown about 1880. When he died in 1883, the items passed to his
brother, William and were offered for sale at the Browns’ house clearance in
June 1903. Michie decided to visit the
auction rooms displaying the ex-Royal furniture and found the items to be “old
and rickety”. The owner of the auction
rooms then wrote to John Michie, alarmed that he might have annoyed the Royal
Family. The chairs had been advertised
in the sale room as “John Brown’s chairs, presented by her late Majesty, Queen
Victoria, to him. The chairs were sold
to a gentleman who then placed the advertisement in “Exchange and Mart” but,
with Anderson’s agreement, still using the Central Auction Room Saloon
address. John Anderson felt the new
owner was taking “Too great a liberty” and he had raised the matter with
him. Anderson expressed his apologies to
Michie.
Over first three weeks of July,
John Michie was busy ordering carpets and making other arrangements for moving
to Baile-na-Coile, such as acquiring items of furniture from Balmoral and
Windsor Castles, and St James’ Palace, some of which was for the Mains of
Abergeldie, after the Michies’ departure.
John Michie was also making plans for the surrounds of his new house,
which ideas he pegged out towards the end of September 1904. The Balmoral Factor slept at Baile-na-Coile
for the first time on 22 July, though it is unclear when the whole family made
the move from the Mains of Abergeldie.
The first recorded visitors, Mrs and Miss Hill, relatives of Sir Dighton
Probyn, calling for tea on 1 August 1904.
The initial Royal visitor was the Princess of Wales (Princess Mary of
Teck) on 21 September. The King came to
look around on 7 October. There were
many callers over the next few months, no doubt each was curious to see the
inside of John Brown’s former house.
Sir Dighton Probyn and John
Michie met frequently at Baile-na-Coile during the late summer and autumn of
1904 to plan possible improvements to Michie’s new abode. Early in October, Sir Robert Rowand Anderson,
one of the leading Scottish architects of his day, was invited up to Balmoral
to look over the place. He had been
knighted in 1902 for other work on the Royal estates in Aberdeenshire. In his later years, after the turn of the
century, Rowand Anderson developed a reputation for being an arrogant and
difficult person. He quickly produced a
sketch of his proposals, with which John Michie “agreed to everything”.
Sir RR Anderson did not take long to produce an estimate for Sir Dighton
of the costs of implementing his ideas.
The figure was £1,600 which the King’s Extra Equerry said, “frightens
him”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/923 letter
dated 12 November 1904 from Sir Dighton Probyn to Sir Rowand Anderson.) He would be writing to John Michie to see how
that number could be reduced. True to
reputation, the reply from Sir Robert was that he could not see a way to reduce
the cost materially. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/923 letter dated 14 November 1904 from Sir Rowand Anderson
to Sir Dighton Probyn). Michie also
intervened with letters to the architectural practice, saying the figure was
excessive and asking to see a breakdown of the estimate. Perhaps tellingly, this breakdown never
materialised. John Michie’s words were
less guarded with Sir Dighton. Michie
found the estimate to be “of the paralytic order … I do not understand how it
should amount to such a fearful sum”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/923 letter dated 16 November
1904 from John Michie to Rowand Anderson & Paul, letter dated 17 November
from John Michie to Sir Dighton Probyn, letter dated 18 November From Rowand
Anderson & Paul to John Michie, letter dated 19 November from John Michie
to Rowans Anderson & Paul). In John
Michie’s opinion, and he had a deal of experience of costing landscaping
projects, “Garden and grounds costs will not exceed £100”. There was a further exchange of
correspondence including suggestions that the granite and the timber might be
sourced on the estate, before Sir Robert produced a new estimate amounting to
£1008 in total. This price was agreed at
a meeting in London on 6 December (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/923 estimates for
Bhaile-na-Choile alterations and additions), after which John Michie and the
august architect spent some time together visiting the Smithfield Show. Sir Dighton Probyn signed off on the revised
figure for the Baile-na-Coile modifications.
By mid-January
1905, work was underway. “Masons have
some stones - perhaps 20 loads and a stone dressing shed up”. John Michie produced his own plan for the
layout of the grounds, and this was submitted to Sir Dighton. At the end of the month John Michie, “Wrote
Sir D. this morning stating that the time we shall have to move out of
Bhaile-na-choile on account of the alterations going on I think will be about
the end of March and that our return would be about the end of June”. Unfortunately, bad winter weather caused a
complete break in mason work for about two weeks at the end of February and
progress was still going slowly at the end of March. The Michies removed from Baile-na-Coile back
to the Mains of Abergeldie on 22 March 1905.
At this time John Michie was hard at work sourcing supplies and
suppliers for his improved house. “Went
to Aberdeen by 3-35 Train called on Acetylene Gas Coy, King Street, about
Bhaile na Choile and Croft, Bon Accord works about Trellis work and Iron
Fencing. Ben Reid & Co. about seeds and plants”. Alexander Bartlett, the Balmoral Clerk of Works
oversaw the conversion on behalf of the monarch. Towards the end of April, Michie noted, “One
of the oriel windows at Bhaile na Choile built and the other started. Mason,
Plumber. Carpenter, Slater & Plasterer as well as Acetylene Gas people all
at work”. The house was sufficiently
complete for the Michies to move back at the beginning of July 1905, though
snagging went on for months.
The first Royal
visit to the improved Baile-na-Coile was at the beginning of October 1906. “The King, Queen & Princess Victoria came
to Bhaile-na-choile a little before lunch.
Their Majesties were much pleased with the house & gardens at
Bhaile-na-choile and was all very nice”.
Thereafter this was the Michies’ family home, without break, until John
retired in summer 1919.
John
Michie and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1905
Nineteen
hundred and five also promised to be a busy year for John Michie in his
dealings with the Royal family. In early
April he went to Abergeldie Castle to meet with the laird, Mr Gordon. Both the King and the Prince of Wales wanted
to have old water pipes in the tower removed and Gordon cordially agreed that
they could go. Later the same month,
John Michie received an unusual letter from an inspector in the Lord
Chamberlain’s Department at Windsor Castle.
It appeared that the staff had been clearing out some of Queen
Victoria’s bric-a-brac accumulated over her years of travel and seven items,
including a “Model curling stone made from granite from the field of Culloden, a
piece of electric cable mounted on a stand 1864 and a square slab of green
granite – Coburg 26 August 1865, by the King’s command had been despatched to
Michie, with a request to submit them to him the next time he visited Deeside”.
Prince Arthur
of Connaught was the first Royal visitor to the Royal Deeside estates in 1905
and in his case, inevitably, it was to go fishing. “Tuesday 2 May. Drove to Ballater in the morning and met
Prince Arthur of Connaught who comes to fish accompanied by his Equerry Capt.
Wyndham. They stay with us at the mains (Abergeldie Mains. Though the Michies had by this time been
assigned Baile-na-Coile, they had temporarily moved out while building works
were in progress.) for about 12 days. Got a carriage for the Prince from
Coutts but sent a spring cart for his luggage from Balmoral”. During the nine-day fishing holiday of Prince
Arthur and his Equerry, John Michie kept an eye on their progress. “Thursday 4 May. Prince Arthur of Connaught and Captn. Wyndham
went to Cambus o'May to fish H.R.H. landed one salmon, Capt. Wyndham,
nothing”. “Friday 5 May. … Walked out in
the evening to see Prince Arthur & Capt. Wyndham fish. The Prince had a "rise" while the
Capt. had a fish on but lost him. I rose
one but he did not touch”. “Thursday 11
May. … Attended to correspondence after and then saw Prince Arthur of Connaught
and his Equerry Captn. Wyndham off for London.
During their stay with us the Prince got 6 fish and the Captn. 2
fish. They came on the 2nd and expressed
the wish they could have stayed a week longer”.
Prince Arthur clearly enjoyed fishing the Dee, partly because he could rely
on John Michie’s support to make the arrangements for him.
But 1905 was a
year of personal tragedy for John and Helen Michie. Their second daughter, 21-year-old Beatrice,
died on 14 June following an operation to remove a thyroid tumour (see below). John Michie had just received a command to
travel south for the wedding of Princess Margaret of Connaught, the elder
daughter of Prince Arthur of Connaught.
She married Gustav Adolf, then Crown Prince of Sweden at Windsor on 15
June. John Michie was, as has been
demonstrated, close to the family.
Michie’s diary entries immediately ended after Monday 12 June and did
not restart until 1 January 1906. It is
unclear if he made the journey to the capital, but it is likely that he was
excused attendance in the circumstances.
In consequence of no diary entries being made, John Michie’s
interactions with the Royal Family are not so well understood for the latter
half of 1905, in comparison to 1903 and 1904.
Further, the references to Michie from non-diary sources become more
difficult to place in context.
In the late
summer and autumn of 1905 there was again a complex set of movements by Royal
Family members to and from the Deeside estates.
The Queen and Princess Victoria travelled to Scotland in mid-August and
visited the Fifes at Mar Lodge before settling at Balmoral. Meanwhile, King Edward made his usual trip to
Marienbad, followed by attendance at Doncaster races, then proceeding to
another stay at Rufford Abbey with Lord and Lady Saville and a brief stay with
Lord Rosebery at Dalmeny Park, before finally travelling to Balmoral. Similarly, the Prince and Princess of Wales
left for Abergeldie in the middle of August, where they remained until 10
October.
The Wales
children also travelled north. Again, Prince
John was in the care of Mrs Lalla Bill.
Frank Beck, the Sandringham Factor, wrote to John Michie advising him on
the dairy requirements of the one-year-old infant. “Presently he is getting milk from a red
polled cow which calved 6 weeks ago”. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 1 letter dated 22 July 1905 from Frank Beck to John Michie). The Prince of Wales had commanded Beck to
ensure that Michie had available a similar Aberdeenshire cow during the
family’s residence on Deeside. Lalla
Bill also wrote to John Michie informing him that the newly christened Prince
John Charles Francis would arrive at Abergeldie on 18 August in company with
his mother, the Prince of Wales arriving on Deeside later.
Queen Alexandra
arrived at Balmoral on 16 August and was greeted on Ballater station by the
usual bunch of big wigs, Sir Dighton Probyn, Sir Allan Mackenzie, the Earl of
Errol, Mr Reginald Gordon of Abergeldie, Dr Hendry and the stationmaster, Mr
Cowie. When her coach reached the
entrance to the Balmoral Estate, the Balmoral Highlanders were on hand,
commanded by John Michie, to provide the now traditional Highland welcome. There was also the usual gaggle of tenants
and servants present to swell the crowd.
The Duke and Duchess of Connaught, accompanied by Princess Patricia,
reached Balmoral on 1 September and the Prince of Wales arrived at Abergeldie a
day later. King Edward VII did not reach
his Highland home until the evening of 25 September, where the Balmoral
Highlanders, under the command of John Michie and bearing lighted split-pine
torches turned out in welcome. Donald
Stewart was also given a prominent position at the head of the Highlanders, and
on alighting the King shook hands with both John Michie and Donald Stewart. On 6 October, the King gave the traditional
Ghillies’ Ball for his family, guests, tenants and servants on the
estates. Newspaper reports of the event
recorded that the Balmoral Highlanders lined the corridor to the ballroom down
which the King, with the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Princess Victoria
Patricia and Prince Arthur of Connaught passed at 9.30. The Highlanders would have been under the
command of John Michie.
On 20 September
1905, John Michie received a letter from Emily Loch at Cluny Castle,
Aberdeenshire, written on behalf of HRH Princess Christian of Denmark (formerly
Princess Helena, Queen Victoria’s 5th child) asking to visit Mrs
Michie in the company of Princess Victoria and Lady Cathcart, “and would be so
grateful to her if she will give them some tea and also whether it would be
possible to see one or two of the old friends at your house. Could Old Donald Stewart perhaps come down
and Mackintosh if he is not stalking and will you ask Lizzie Stewart to come to
see the Princesses. They will go to see
one or two others and will hope to arrive at your house a little before 3
o’clock. Will you kindly let me have a
line by return”? Sadly, Emily Loch and
perhaps Princess Christian were unaware that Lizzie had died the previous year.
(RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 20 September 1905 from Emily Loch to
John Michie). It was unclear if Princess
Christian and her friends made the journey to Balmoral in 1905 but they
certainly did in the following year.
Princess Helena Victoria od Schleswig Holstein
Beatrice Michie, who was born in 1883 at
the Dantzig Shiel, was the second daughter and fourth child of John and Helen
Michie. She had initially been named
“Margaret Shiach” (after her maternal grandfather) and this appellation was
registered as such, but it was subsequently changed at the command of Queen
Victoria to “Beatrice”, the name of the Queen’s youngest daughter. By 1903, Beatrice Michie started to be
invited to events at the Castle, such as the Ghillies’ Ball held in October of
that year. She was living at home and,
apart from taking music lessons with Ralph Dadge, the Crathie church organist,
it was unclear what career, if any, Beatrice hoped to follow.
About
the beginning of 1905, when Beatrice Michie was 21, she developed a goitre, an
enlargement of the thyroid gland. Her
father first mentioned this growth in his diary in June 1905. He had returned from a visit to James Forbes,
the factor at Blair Atholl, on Friday 2 June “to find Beatrice no better of her
swollen neck, I regret to say. Dr Noble
(medical friend of John Michie) whom I met by the way had been there (the
Michies’ then current home, Mains of Abergeldie). Arranged with him to get Dr Gordon to
consult”. By this time Beatrice’s
condition was clearly causing sufficient concern that John and Helen had
decided to seek a second opinion. The
following day, James Noble returned with Dr Gordon, who “… met at the Mains to
see Beatrice who is by no means any better …”
Dr Gordon took “… a very gloomy view of her case …”. It was clearly time to seek the help of the
most outstanding surgeon in the North-East of Scotland, Alexander Ogston, an
occasional shooting and fishing partner of John Michie. Professor Ogston was also consulted on
medical matters by the Royal family when in residence at Balmoral. The following Monday, 5 June, only three days
after Beatrice was first seen by Dr Noble, John Michie took action. “Off to Aberdeen and hunted up Professor
Ogston to see Beatrice, who seems to get worse instead of better as we had
sincerely hoped. The Professor promised
to come tomorrow but could not sooner”.
Ogston arrived at Crathie the following evening as agreed. “He examined Beatrice with rather gloomy
forebodings”.
The condition
of Beatrice seemed to be deteriorating rapidly.
“Decided to take Beat to the Northern Nursing Home (5 Albyn Place,
Aberdeen) as soon as a vacant bed could be had”. Accommodation became available the following
day, 7 June, less than a week after the Michies’ daughter had begun to concern
her parents. John and Helen Michie went
to great trouble to make Beatrice’s journey to Aberdeen bearable. “Started with Mrs & Beat. Coutts Landau to catch 12.5 train at
Ballater. At Aberdeen we brought
carriage on to platform and dragged out to roadway then on to 5 Albyn
Place. Beatrice stood the journey as
well as we expected”. Most goitres are
caused by a deficiency of iodine in the diet, but a small proportion is due to a
tumour. It was imperative that Alexander
Ogston operate as soon as possible. He
planned the procedure for Wednesday 14 June.
Two days prior to the procedure, John Michie got an unwelcome summons to
attend the wedding of Princess Margaret, daughter of Prince Arthur, the Duke of
Connaught, at Windsor on Thursday of the same week. He travelled to Aberdeen on Monday, but it
has not been discovered if his journey continued to London. However, the last entry in Michie’s diary for
1905 was on 12 June, which may indicate that he did his duty to his Royal
employers. While in the Granite City,
the Balmoral Factor sought out Dr Ogston, “… who I am thankful to say is now
sanguine of success in operating on Beat's neck …”.
Immediately
after completing the operation on the afternoon of Wednesday 14th,
during which he had been unable to remove the tumour in its entirety, Alex
Ogston wrote to John Michie. The
operation had proved to be difficult, due to the size, complexity and
invasiveness of the tumour and the situation had been made worse by an attack
of asphyxia caused by the tumour pressing on the trachea. However, Ogston was still hopeful, as his
letter showed. “I have just left her –
she lost very little blood and her breathing is already much better, but she is
suffering from the shock of the asphyxia followed by the severe operation. Eucain anaesthesia aided by a little
chloroform was employed. I shall be very
anxious about her for a day or two and can promise nothing, but I hope all will
be well”. The tumour was sent to
Professor Hamilton at Marischal College for his opinion of its nature. He concluded that, “… the tumour is a
round-celled sarcoma and that it had originated in the lymphatic glands of the
neck probably growing over, intersecting and causing atrophy of the
thyroid”.
Sadly, the hopeful
sentiments expressed by the surgeon were not realised. Beatrice died at 10.10 the same evening,
despite Ogston performing a tracheotomy about 9.00pm to help her
breathing. The shock of the complex
operation had proved too much for her to withstand. Beatrice was buried at Crathie on Friday 16th
June, the funeral starting from Aberdeen station by the 8.05am train and
progressing to Abergeldie Mains. John
Michie was devastated by the loss of Beatrice.
He ceased writing his diary until 1 January 1906 and, even a year later,
he and Helen still felt her death deeply.
“Spent this melancholy day at home.
This day twelve months ago our dearly beloved Beatrice passed away”.
Lochnagar, with
a height of 3,789 ft, is the highest Munro in the southern Grampians. It is located on the Balmoral estate about
six miles south of the castle. Even in
Victorian and Edwardian times, it was a popular climb for tourists visiting
Deeside. The mountain has a rather
featureless summit plateau and the climb, either from the Ballochbuie or from
Glen Muick is straightforward. Even
Queen Victoria used to accompany parties to the summit, though she travelled up
by pony. The most dangerous aspect of
Lochnagar was, and is, the series of steep, linked corries on the north-east
side of the mountain. Many visitors have
come to grief while wandering about the summit plateau in poor visibility or
losing their footing while peering over the north-east cliff edge, perhaps
taken unawares by a gust of wind, an almost constant risk on the tops of the
High Cairngorms.
At the turn of
the 19th century, it was fashionable for wealthy English people to
take holidays in the Scottish Highlands, in order to attend Highland games and
gatherings, or to partake of the hunting, shooting and fishing
opportunities. The wealthiest would buy,
or lease, Scottish properties to use as a base for their activities. One such person was Charles William Dyson
Perrins. He was the youngest of five
children and the only boy. Dyson Perrins
had been born in Claines, near Worcester, the son of James Dyson Perrins, the
owner of the Lea & Perrins Worcester Sauce Factory. James Dyson Perrins died in 1887. Dyson Perrins junior was a keen huntsman and
he owned Ardross Castle and estate, Alness, Ross-shire. Ardross is located between Ben Wyvis and the
Cromarty Firth. Charles William Dyson
Perrins and his sisters were also known to take holidays on Deeside, staying,
on occasion, at either Braemar or Ballater.
In the autumn
of 1905, two of Charles William Dyson Perrins’ sisters were on holiday at
Braemar and on Wednesday 20 September they decided to climb Lochnagar. The weather forecast for that day was good,
the barometer was rising, no rain was expected, and the winds were generally
light. The two English ladies were later
described in the press as the “Misses Perrins”, but that cannot have been
accurate. There were four sisters in the
family, Frances Isabel Perrins (1857 – 1951), Sarah Gertrude Perrins (1858 –
1937), Ellen Mary Perrins (1861 – 1927) and a fourth sister who died as an
infant. The three living sisters were
all married at this time. It has not
currently been uncovered which two living sisters were present on Lochnagar
that day. Perhaps they were holidaying incognito?
The Aberdeen Journal also wrongly
claimed that the ladies were cousins of Charles William Dyson Perrins.
There was at
least one other tourist on Lochnagar on that Wednesday afternoon. He was a Mr Fowler who was lodging at the
Fife Arms hotel in Braemar and who had met the two ladies on the hill. He noticed them “disappear”, although the
newspaper reports were vague on the circumstances. “He was unable himself to render assistance
…”, which indicated that he must have realised that the ladies had fallen over
the edge of the north-east corries and peered over the edge himself. Fowler ran down the hill and arrived,
breathless, at The Croft, the home of the head keeper, Arthur Grant, the
55-year-old son of John Grant, the head keeper appointed by Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert in 1848. The Croft lies at
the foot of Glen Gelder, near the confluence of the Gelder with the Dee.
Fowler
delivered the news of the accident to Arthur Grant between 7.00 pm and 8.00 pm,
by which time it would have been dark, sunset being at 6.14pm that day. The alarming news about the two female hill
walkers was that one had “fallen to the bottom of the rocks while the other had
got into a position from which she was wholly unable to extricate
herself”. The ages of the two ladies
would have been between 44 and 48 at the time.
Arthur Grant informed Mrs Mussen, the Castle housekeeper, who passed on
the message to John Michie, the estate factor.
By 1905, both The Croft and Baile-na-coile, John Michie’s then new home,
were connected to the Castle by telephone.
Victoria Mussen also telephoned to Dr Hendry, the Ballater general
practitioner who provided medical services on the Balmoral estate. By chance, Arthur Grant’s brother, Andrew
Robertson Grant, a qualified doctor, was holidaying at The Croft at the
time. The two Grant brothers and “some
men” set out at once for Glen Gelder Shiel, a remote cottage built by Queen
Victoria high up the glen and the nearest dwelling to the scene of the accident.
John Michie
swung into action, arranging for the Balmoral Sanatorium to be readied for the
reception of the injured ladies, had a telephone conversation with Dr Hendry,
mobilised further men and set off up Glen Gelder to the scene of the
accident. Meanwhile, Arthur Grant’s
party had begun searching for the accident victims, but it took three hours to
locate them. “It was about 1am when Mr
Grant and his party after a weary and exhaustive search arrived at the scene of
the accident and with great trouble, he managed to get the lady who had fallen
to the bottom of the rocks removed on a stretcher”. One newspaper reported that she was
unconscious when discovered. She was
sent down the hill to the Sanatorium, where she was examined by Dr Hendry. He found that “beyond several rather serious
cuts and bruises the lady was not so badly injured as was at first anticipated,
no bones having been broken”. The
“precipitous” position of the other Perrins sister had also been identified
but, with only faint moonlight to help and given the risk to the rescuers, it
was decided to delay an evacuation attempt until daylight, which would have
been sometime before sunrise at 6.14 am.
The two Perrins family members had been very fortunate even to survive
their fall. In 1883, William Morris, a
carpenter who was lodging with the Balmoral shepherd, James Brown at the time,
had pitched over the edge in almost the same spot. He was killed after tumbling a vertical
distance of about 1,000 ft. By contrast
the two ladies had only descended by about 100 ft and 200 ft respectively,
before coming to a halt.
When sufficient
light was available on the morning of Thursday 21st September, John
Michie, directing the operation at the top of the mountain, took the lead in
the second rescue. John, then aged 52,
was lowered on a rope down the face of the cliff to where the other injured
party lay “and assisted the unfortunate lady to safer ground”. This suggests that a lateral escape route had
been available with the aid of the rope, rather than a necessity to haul the
two to the top of the rocks. The
Aberdeen Journal reported that the second lady had been stranded on “a giddy
ledge” for 14 hours and when reached by Michie was in “a frightful state of
cold and exhaustion”. Assuming that her
rescue was made at about 5.00 am, that would have put the time of the accident
at about 3.00 pm the previous day.
Remarkably, the second Perrins lady soon recovered sufficiently to walk
down to the Gelder Shiel. From the
Gelder Shiel, she was conveyed by carriage to Baile-na-coile, John Michie’s
home, which was located only a short distance from the Balmoral Sanatorium,
making it possible for her easily to visit her sister, who was expected to be
discharged in a few days.
The incident
received wide coverage in the press, most newspapers using the Aberdeen Journal
as their source and often using a headline such as “Rescued by the King’s
Factor”. John Michie recorded two
letters of congratulation in his diary, one from his brother, Tom, which ended,
“PS Congratulations on rescuing 2 ladies”.
The second letter was from Lucy McKenzie, the granddaughter of John
McKenzie the retired keeper and gatekeeper at the Old Bridge of Dee. She recalled visiting the Michies’ house,
Dantzig Shiel, when she was a girl.
Another, rather presumptuous, letter was received from the Cairngorm
Club, demanding to know the precise spot where the ladies had been found and
accusing Fowler, who had witnessed the accident, of cowardice. “Who is Fowler and why did he do nothing but
run when he saw the accident and that the two ladies fell, suggests to several
of us that they fled - from perhaps all (indecipherable) danger”. The writer, whose signature was also
indecipherable, has not been identified.
(RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 26 September 1905 from Cairngorm
Club)
Three days
after the accident, John Michie also received a letter from William D Perrins,
giving the address of “Glen Aden, Ballater” (probably the Glenaden Hotel). “My sisters desire me to endeavour to express
their deep gratitude for the generous help and assistance they received upon
the occasion of their recent accident and with the sympathetic care and
attention which is being bestowed on the one who is lying injured in the Royal
Sanatorium at Balmoral.” Perrins also
asked John Michie to thank all those involved in the rescue, since he did not
know all the names. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1
Box 3 letter dated 24 September 1905 from
William Perrins to John Michie). There
must subsequently have been an interchange of several letters between William
Perrins and John Michie since, in a missive dated 5th October (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 5 October 1905 from William Perrins to John
Michie) sent from Ardross Castle, Alness, Perrins “Acknowledged Michie’s
letters of 1st and 2nd and thanked him for sending the
list of names”. He also gave news on the
condition of his more seriously injured sister.
She had received a visit from King Edward, who was staying at Balmoral
at the time of the accident, and she was making progress but was not yet quite
recovered, “no doubt helped by the attentions of Drs Hendry and Grant”. William D Perrins also generously noted that
one good thing to come out of the incident was that he had now met Mr and Mrs
Michie.
A few days
after receiving the tabulation of rescuers, William D Perrins sent £12 (about
£1,476 in 2020 money) to John Michie to be distributed amongst those who
contributed to the relief of his sisters’ predicament. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 7
October 1905 from William Perrins to John Michie). Michie’s list of participants, used to
allocate the monetary gift gives a good indication of the extensive logistics
involved in the operation. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 undated list)
“On top of
hill”
Mr A Grant,
Head Stalker, Crofts
Mr Moncur,
Schoolmaster on holiday
Mr Harvey,
Visitor on holiday
Dr Grant on
holiday
Mr John Laird,
West Lodge, Assistant Stalker
*Wm Durran,
Stables, Balmoral, Stableman
*Frank Gruer,
Stables, Stableman
*Francis
Stewart, Castle, Assistant Upholsterer
*Jno Edmonston,
Castle, Larder Man
*Mr Hicks,
Castle, Footman
“Bottom of
hill”
*David Bruce,
Stables, Stableman
*Chas Taylor,
Stables, Stableman
*George Reid,
Cottages, Police Constable
*W Wilson,
Rebrek, Forester
*Thomas Durham,
Coachman at Gelder Shiel
*Bowman,
Coachman, Stableman
*Mr Stewart,
Stables, Stableman.
Those
individuals marked by an asterisk in the above listing each received £1 (£123
in 2020 money) as a reward for their efforts.
The more senior servants and all visitors were excluded (or excluded
themselves) from participation. John
Michie excluded himself from receiving an award but also, with great modesty,
even excluded his own name from the list of participants in the rescue.
Almost a year
after the Lochnagar accident, John Michie noted that “The Misses Perrins”
visited him and Helen, and the following year, 1907, the Michies took tea with
“the Misses Perrins” in Ballater. There
was a lingering feeling of gratitude from the Perrins ladies for the Balmoral Factor. But, curiously, throughout the whole affair
and its aftermath, John Michie never mentioned the connection of William Dyson
Perrins to the Lea & Perrins sauce company.
Perhaps WDP was also being modest in not mentioning the link?
John
Michie and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1906
Nineteen
hundred and six saw the return of John Michie to frequent diary entries. The start of the year was also marked by a
Royal death, King Christian IX, the father of Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward
VII. On 30 January, John Michie noted,
“His Majesty the King of Denmark died last afternoon between 3 and 4
o'clock. Such was the newspaper report
today. I telegraphed condolences
immediately on seeing the sad news and received a most gracious reply through
Sir Dighton Probyn”. Because of his
children’s marriages into several other royal families, Christian IX had earned
the sobriquet the “father-in-law of Europe”.
When the Michies attended Crathie Church on 18 February, John was
surprised to find that Rev Sibbald did not refer to the recent death of the
Danish king, despite his close links to the British Royal Family.
Although Queen
Victoria never travelled outside Europe, she started sending members of her
family to different parts of her empire, including to India. The first such Indian visit was by Prince
Albert Edward, Victoria’s eldest son in 1875 – 1876. At the time he was Prince of Wales. Such tours continued after 1901 when the
Queen died. Edward VII sent his son and
daughter-in-law, the then Prince and Princess of Wales, on a grand tour of the
sub-continent, starting from Bombay on 10 November 1905. They did not return to Britain until 8 May
1906, when Sir Dighton Probyn reported to John Michie that the Prince and
Princess of Wales were “in good form”.
Queen
Victoria’s youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, married Prince Henry of
Battenberg in 1885. Their second child,
born in 1887 at Balmoral, was baptised Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena but was
usually known as Princess Ena. She spent
frequent holidays at Balmoral and must have become well-known to the
Michies. On 31 May 1906, she married
King Alfonso XIII of Spain. The
following day the newspapers conveyed shocking news to the residents of Upper
Deeside. “Went to Aberdeen Mrs Michie
being along and to our horror read in the newspapers that there had been a bomb
thrown at the Royal Carriage while the newly married couple were returning from
the wedding but thank God neither were hurt but sad to say some dozen people
were killed or wounded”. On Sunday 3
June, John Michie attended divine worship at Crathie Church and on this
occasion Rev Sibbald did not put a foot wrong.
“Mr Sibbald preached & in his prayer offered thanks for the escape
of the newly married King & Queen of Spain - poor Princess Ena must have
got a horrible fright”.
The
late summer immigration to the Deeside estates got underway with the arrival of
the Prince of Wales at Abergeldie on 27 August.
He had been shooting at Tulchan Lodge.
Three days later, John Michie called to see him “respecting an accident
to the Laundrymaid by plaster falling from the roof of the Laundry on her head,
the ceiling is now to be matchboarded.
Drains under way. HRH private WC
to be altered”. This was clearly a
briefing meeting to allow the prince to catch up with events at Abergeldie
Castle and to impart new instructions to the Balmoral Factor. The King and Queen were due to arrive at
Balmoral on 11 September but prior to their arrival, John Michie had some
substantial preparations to make. On 13
August (a day after the “Glorious 12th”), “Went out to shoot a box
of grouse for the King who goes on Board for Marienbad tomorrow. Also, a box for the Queen who remains in
London. My brother David went with me. Birds numerous but a good many cheepers (young
birds). We got all we wanted by 11
am the King's box despatched by 10 am and the Queen's an hour later”. Other preparations concerned the mobilisation
of motorcars, horses, carriages and servants to man the various modes of
transport. A list has been discovered (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box1 list dated 3 September 1906 compiled by John Michie), which was prepared by Michie, setting
out these requirements. “List of horses
and servants from Windsor, coachman Burnham in charge. From Campbells Ltd 8 Bay horses and 4 Strappers
for household. From London King’s
Mercedes car 70hp, The Queen’s motor, Princess Victoria’s motor, The engineer
Mr Stamper, Chauffeurs Payne, Beale and Diggens. Washers Day and Collins. HM’s shooting ponies with groom Snapes in
charge. Ponies from field to come
in”. By this year, the Royal motorcars
were probably of more importance than the horses and carriages.
John
Michie’s relationship with the Prince of Wales was apparently on a friendly
footing at this time. On 11 September
Michie had been visiting Abergeldie when the prince departed in his motor for
Ballater to greet his aunt on her arrival.
“The Prince of Wales took me to Ballater in his motor. Met the Princess Beatrice who arrives as the
Guest of the Prince & Princess of Wales at Abergeldie for a week”. John Michie and Princess Beatrice had known
each other well since 1880 when Michie first arrived at Balmoral. Michie continued his journey from Ballater to
Aberdeen but on his return, he diverted to Birkhall where Lady Laking was in
residence, probably to ask after the health of Sir Francis who was in the
Northern Nursing Home, Aberdeen at the time.
“Saw Lady Laking who gives a good account of Sir Francis …”. Sir James and Lady Reid were further Royal
guests this year, spending 21 September to 8 October at Abergeldie Mains. The Prince and Princess of Wales left
Abergeldie on 1 October, she for London, he to go fishing on the Spey from
Gordon Castle.
In
this year (1906), Princess Helena, with Lady Emily Gordon Cathcart certainly
visited the Michies at Baile-na-Coile.
They “… motored from Cluny Castle and had tea with us, nine in all. The Lady wishes me to go to Cluny to see her
shorthorn cattle and I promised to let her Factor know”. Lady Gordon Cathcart was a controversial
figure. Her first husband, Colonel John
Gordon had bought a number of the southern islands in the Hebrides, cleared
many of his tenants from the land and pushed them into emigration. On Colonel Gordon’s death, Lady Emily
inherited her late husband’s property and continued his controversial policies
from a distance, only once visiting the islands.
With
the Court in residence and many Royal visitors, John Michie felt unable to
accept an invitation to attend the University of Aberdeen’s Quatercentenary
celebrations, 400 years since the principal buildings at King’s College were constructed,
in late September 1906. The formal
programme of events lasted for four days from the 26th to the 29th
of the month. Tempting though the
celebrations must have been, John Michie felt obliged to turn down the
opportunity to attend. “Mrs M and I had
invitations to all the functions stretching over 4 days beginning with Tuesday,
but I thought it best to attend strictly to duty remaining at home at my post
in these busy times and glad I am that it was so”. The King had arrived at Balmoral on 24 September
and been greeted as usual by the Balmoral Highlanders “… ranked up opposite the
portico …”. Although John Michie did not
mention the details of the greeting by the Highlanders, the King also “shook
hands with Mr Donald Stewart the late head keeper and with Mr Arthur Grant the
present head keeper”. Queen Alexandra
arrived at the Castle on 25 September from Denmark and the Balmoral Highlanders
turned out to welcome her too. The
Balmoral keepers were still held in high regard by the monarch. King Edward and Queen Alexandra visited
Aberdeen on 27 September to perform the official opening of the Marischal
College extension, which was part of the Quatercentenary celebrations.
John
Michie’s status with the King was clearly being maintained. “The King, Queen & Princess Victoria came
to Bhaile-na-choile a little before lunch.
His Majesty advanced my salary today having expressed himself satisfied
with all I was doing. This was the
second salary advance that John had received since he was appointed in
1902. Two days later, Michie was
summoned to the Royal presence. “The
King sent for me to meet him at the Castle at 11 am. Obeyed His Majesty's command. The King, the Duke of Connaught, the Russian
Ambassador, Captn Welch (80 years) met at the new deer larder. His Majesty expressed himself as well
pleased with the building but wanted creepers and sculls with antlers put up
both outside and inside”. The antlers
are still there to this day. The King
left Balmoral on 8 October in the company of the Russian Ambassador, Count
Beckendorff. Michie noted, “Saw the King
off from the Castle at 9.30 am Balmoral time which is now half an hour in front
of Greenwich”. This time shift (“fast
time”) was another of King Edward’s innovations.
Although both
the King and the Prince of Wales had left Deeside for the season, that was not
the end of the planning of changes for the year ahead, since Sir Dighton
Probyn, the monarch’s Extra Equerry was still in residence. “Engaged Robert Chalmers to be Gardener at
Abergeldie Castle as from 28th November 1906.
Arranged with Sir Dighton Probyn heighten the East Gate Lodge & add
a wing at the back to be the Gardener's house Abergeldie. I have stated that to do so will take £250 -
Sir Dighton agrees that the Prince of Wales pays £150 & the King the
balance”.
King Edward
commanded a supper and dance in the Castle ballroom for the tenantry and
servants of the three estates on Friday 5 October. The event was described in the Peterhead
Sentinel. “The ball opened about 10.00
o’clock with a march and reel by the Balmoral Highlanders and led by Mr John
Michie MVO, The King’s factor on the Balmoral Estates. Previous to the march the King and Queen and
attendant ladies and gentlemen took their seats and witnessed the march and
reel with great interest. The reel was
gone through with true Highland vigour and with the usual accompaniments of
“hooching”. Queen Alexandra remained at
Balmoral for a few days after the departure of the King and she commanded a
servants’ dance for the evening of 12 October, though no description of this
event has been uncovered. The Queen left
Balmoral for Sandringham on 17 October but called at Baile-na-Coile two days
previously to say “Goodbye”. On the way
to Ballater station, “HM's motor punctured near Abergeldie. Both the Queen and Princess Victoria were
driven to Ballater by a 4-wheel dogcart that happened to be on its way back
from Ballater”, not a normal mode of transport for them.
The birthdays
of both the King and Queen fell in the latter part of the year, he on 9
November and she on 1 December. John
Michie wired congratulations, via Sir Dighton Probyn, to each at the
appropriate time. “Sent congratulatory
telegram to Sir Dighton Probyn for the Queen's birthday on behalf of myself and
all on the King's Deeside Estates.
Received gracious reply as from His Majesty”.
Early December
was the start of the Christmas cattle shows.
On 5 December 1906, John Michie attended the “Factors' Meeting and
dinner at the Carlton Hotel (Edinburgh)” and the following day left for
London, principally to be present at the Smithfield Show. However, on arriving at the Tavistock Hotel
he received a command from the King to divert to Sandringham the next day, 7
December. He also received a letter from
Mary, the wife of Frank Beck, the Sandringham Factor, inviting him to stay at
the Beck home and to attend an entertainment, adding “Miss Michie is one of my best
friends”. Annie Michie, the Michies’
eldest daughter, was by this time housekeeper at Sandringham. On arriving at Sandringham, “Spent afternoon
mostly with Sir Dighton Probyn on business & had tea with him. HM wished me to be present at a play
"Peter's Mother" which their Majesties had from London in the
ballroom”. Before returning to London,
John Michie cast his professional eye over the Sandringham gardens. “Went through the Gardens and had a good look
at the new pergola of large logs for roses & other plants. It is indeed a gigantic thing and a strong
feature. I think it a fine thing. Some people say it is too heavy”. More Michie caution!
In London, John
Michie made various calls, including at Buckingham Palace before attending at
Smithfield on 10 December. “Went over
cattle. Found that the 2 yr old steer
"Magistrate" which HM sold to Captn. Townshend last year who changed
his name to "Merry Monarch" was 3rd in his class. He was 1st at Birmingham last week. Met the King by command in the Show at five
minutes to three o'clock. Walked round
the Show with HM. Had tea with Sir
Dighton Probyn after the King left for Buckingham Palace. HM took the Championship for Cattle with a
shorthorn steer from "Windsor" also Championship for Sheep from
Sandringham - a record”. Then
Michie made the journey out to Windsor, touring various gardens and Shaw Farm
before taking the train back to Aberdeen on the evening of 11 December. Back in the Granite City, John Michie proceeded
to Duncan’s Cattle Sale. “… sales
satisfactory – two year old wethers (castrated male sheep) of the King's
made 74/- average per head. Cattle
about 50/- per cent live weight.
Aberdeen Fat Stock Show. The two
yearling steers which were 1st & 4th at Edinburgh were "Gamon"
1st and "Godolphus" Butchers' Prize for beast best fitted for
butchers' purposes”. It had been a
successful but exhausting journey. Back
in the office on Friday 14 December, Michie remarked, “Working up arrears which
are numerous”.
John
Michie and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1907
Around the turn
of the year, John Michie found himself dealing with a flurry of letters seeking
the King’s support (continuing or new) for various charitable purposes. A donation towards the salary of the teacher
at Crathie Public School, further support for the salary of the organist at
Crathie church, a donation to the church in Braemar, which was short of funds,
and a repeat donation to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Michie was clearly empowered to take decisions
concerning these relatively small sums.
The first five
months of the year were characterised by a dearth of entries in his diaries and
those which were present tended to be brief, which suggests that something was
distracting John Michie in this interval.
If so, it is unclear what was its identity.
A year after
Princess Ena married King Alfonso XIII of Spain, she had a son and heir, a
pleasant occurrence after the trauma of the couple’s wedding day. “Sent a cablegram congratulating their
Majesties to the Princess Henry of Battenberg”, who quickly replied to John
Michie’s message of support. The child,
who was baptised Alfonso, sadly proved to be a haemophiliac, the condition
having been inherited by the new prince through Princess Ena and Princess
Beatrice from his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.
August 1907 saw
the usual frantic preparations for an influx of visitors. The first to arrive were the Queen and
Princess Victoria, who reached Balmoral on 14 August. “Highlanders turned out a Guard - six pipers
including James Campbell”, was John Michie’s terse account of the event. The Queen and Princess Victoria visited
Baile-na-Coile three days later. On 17
August she also paid a visit to Donald Stewart at the Dantzig Shiel and the
following day it was off to Crathie church.
“Shortly before 11.30 Mr Michie factor followed by several of the
principal servants in full Highland dress arrived and a little later came Gen
Sir Dighton Probyn and Col Fredrick”.
Sir Dighton
Probyn had already arrived on Deeside on 7 August, John Michie meeting him at
Ballater station. Sir Dighton was
ensconced at Birkhall, which had been lent to him by the King until the arrival
of the Duke of Connaught, when the Extra Equerry would remove to Balmoral
Castle. Princess May (Mary) of Teck, the
wife of the Prince of Wales, had arrived by 15 August, when she visited Baile-na-Coile
accompanied by “nurses”. After grouse
shooting at Moy Hall, Inverness-shire (home of the chiefs of the Clan
Mackintosh), where mass slaughter was the order of the day, the Prince of Wales
arrived at Abergeldie on 7 September. He
was greeted at Ballater station by his wife, the Princess of Wales, his eldest
son Prince Edward and by Sir Dighton Probyn.
On 9 October, two days before the departure of the Prince and Princess
of Wales for London at the end of their holiday, the Princess “called at Bhaile-na-choile
& brought presents - coffee service for Mrs M & small bookcase for
me”. John Michie attended to see them
off. “Returned to Abergeldie and saw the
Prince & Princess of Wales who left for London at 6.40 pm fast time, fast
time being half an hour ahead of Greenwich”.
Before she left
the Castle for Norway and Denmark on 23 August, the Queen gave a Ghillies’
Dance. John Michie recorded a good
description of the event. “In all there
were 240 invitations issued including the Royal Highlanders in full uniform
& their wives except the older ones & their wives who do not
dance. In default of wives, sisters or
daughters of Highlanders but not tenants as such. Keepers their wives & ghillies, Castle servants
and caretakers from outlying houses, Sir D Probyn's servants, Prince of Wales not
being at Abergeldie, only Housekeeper & sister from there. The Queen & Princess Victoria came in
after dancing was started and remained, fully one hour, but no anthem, nor any
demonstration of any kind. Neither
danced but remained seated under stair, not on dais. Dancing carried on till 2 am & 20
minutes longer”.
King Edward VII
did not arrive at Balmoral until 23 September, having motored from Tulchan
Lodge, arriving at 5.00pm “fast time”, ie 30 minutes ahead of GMT (BST was not
introduced until 1916). Once again, the
respective residential periods of the monarch and his wife at Balmoral did not
coincide. As usual, John Michie
commanded the Balmoral Highlanders. “The
Balmoral Royal Highlanders were mounted under me as usual 54 in all and His Majesty
expressed his pleasure with the turn - there were 7 pipers, Campbell, W Lamond,
Charles Taylor, John Duguid, William Laird, - Grant and Robert McGregor. Gave all the men a meat tea at 4 o'clock and
after receiving His Majesty, they drank to the health of King &
Queen”. Although John Michie did not
mention it, both Donald Stewart and Arthur Grant were included in the welcoming
party for the King. There was a full
assemblage of the monarch’s resident relatives and senior members of Court to
greet him. TRH the Prince and Princess
of Wales, Princess Mary of Wales, Princes Albert, Henry, George and John of
Wales, who had come up from Abergeldie Castle where they had been staying for
several weeks. Sir James Reid cycled up
from Abergeldie Mains where he and Lady Reid were staying coincidentally with
the King’s stay at Balmoral. The King
greeted the Highlanders and shook hands with Captain Michie, Donald Stewart
“for many years the faithful and experienced head keeper on the Balmoral
estates and now retired from active service, and with Mr Arthur Grant the
present head keeper. The King engaged in
conversation for some time with Mr Stewart and also had a chat with Mr Michie
and Mr Grant”. Finally, the Highlanders
conducted a march past before dispersing.
It did not take
long for the monarch to engage with John Michie on matters concerned with the
entertainment of his guests at Balmoral and with the maintenance of the Castle
environs. “26 September. … His Majesty
gave command to remove an unsightly clump of Scots pine stunted trees on the
golf course in front Bhaile-na-choile at once.
This will be carried out tomorrow morning. His Majesty spoke of having some sort of
figure to take the place of the casting of an eagle on pedestal at the west
front of the Castle, His Majesty also wishes the west front covered by creeping
& climbing plants”. “27
September. By the King's command had a
scraggy clump of Scots pine cleared off the golf course this morning. His Majesty sent Major Holford to me at 10
this morning to organize some grouse drives on Micras Moor and 10 minutes after
to be at Bhaile-na-choile as His Majesty was coming down there at once to see
me on other matters. The King has the
wonderful faculty of doing several things at one time himself &, in
consequence expects it from others, and fortunately I succeeded in these
two”. Michie had a further session with
the King, in the company of Lord Redesdale, on 5 October “… planning
alterations in the grounds during forenoon …”.
John Michie had yet another meeting with the King on 11 October. “With the King most of forenoon”, though he
did not reveal what business was transacted.
As usual, the
King had a large party of VIP guests at Balmoral, many of whom accompanied him
to church at Crathie on 29 September.
Michie, of course, turned out in his best set of Highland attire. “Attended church. The King, the Prince & Princess of Wales
with their children were at church.
Along with them were Mr Campbell Bannerman (Prime Minister and leader
of the Liberal Party), General Sir John French (senior British Army officer), Lord
Redesdale (British diplomat, collector and writer), Sir Dighton Probyn (Extra
Equerry to the King), Sir Charles Frederick (British Army officer and courtier), Sir Dond.
Mackenzie Wallace (Scottish public servant,
writer, editor and foreign correspondent of The Times (London)) and several others. Dr Metford (Mitford) Mitchell (former
minister of St Nicholas, Aberdeen, Chaplain in Ordinary to the King and
Convener of the Church of Scotland’s Colonial Committee) preached”.
On 30
September, John Michie took a drive with Sir Dighton and Lord Redesdale which
ended in Glen Beg, where the party measured the circumferences of the three
famous aged Balmoral Scots Pines. “…
stopped at the Danzig for a piece of string and proceeded by the Garrawalt to
the King tree in Glenbeg then to the "Maiden", back round the high
drive by the stump tree to Stron-na-brack, down by the old bridge & back by
the Garrawalt Bridge, where we met the Prince of Wales with old Donald Stewart,
McIntosh & Captn Faussett (Equerry to the Prince of Wales) said
goodbye as he goes tomorrow”. This was
an interesting encounter because it showed that the Prince of Wales was keeping
informal company with Donald Stewart.
Perhaps Donald would have used such occasions to bend the ear of the prince
with his opinions on estate matters? The
previous day, Sunday, both John Michie and Donald Stewart had been present at
Crathie church, both in full Highland dress but the latter with his “breast
covered with medals”. Donald was clearly
revelling in his continuing status as the venerable and revered retired Head
Stalker. Both were present in church the
following Sunday too.
Prince Arthur
of Connaught, who was close to John Michie, invited the Balmoral Factor to join
his shooting party, which included Sir Felix Semon (Physician Extraordinary to
King Edward VII)
and Sir Charles Frederick, on 5 October.
It was not a successful occasion, “…- a poor day - they blamed
Keepers”. John Michie was invited to
shoot grouse on Micras moor the following day by the King, in the company of
Sir Ernest Cassel (merchant banker and capitalist), Admiral Sir Berkeley
Milne (Naval Aide de Camp to the King) and Sir Charles Frederick. This shoot, too, delivered only poor
sport. “… we had only 18 birds day being
wild and so were the birds”. John Michie
also got to play golf on the Balmoral course with some of the King’s guests on
12 October. “Had a round of golf with
Sir Frederick Treves (surgeon who had operated on Edward VII for
appendicitis), Major Ponsonby (Equerry to Edward VII) & Sir Chas
Frederick (British Army officer and courtier). Separately,
on the same day, Michie had “Some conversation with Sir Schomberg Macdonell (British Army officer,
politician, and civil servant) about trees and forestry generally”, a
subject still close to the heart of the Balmoral Factor. By this time, Michie must have been getting
used to rubbing shoulders with the King’s august visitors.
Sir Ernest Cassel
Sir Frederick Treves
On Sunday 13,
October, the day before his departure from Balmoral, the King attended Crathie
Church for the last time in 1907. Both
John Michie and James Campbell, the King’s piper, were present in the full
uniform of the Balmoral Highlanders. The
King was accompanied by Fritjof Nansen, the Norwegian polar explorer who had
been conducting a lecture tour of Britain.
John Michie met with the King later.
“Saw HM in the evening who expressed satisfaction with everything &
presented me with an ancient dirk”.
Edward VII, who had a great facility for inter-personal relations, was
clearly keen to leave John Michie with the impression that his work at Balmoral
was both approved and appreciated. The
following morning at 9.00am, Michie had a final, brief, business audience with
the King before the monarch left at 9.20am “fast time” to catch the 9.20am GMT
train from Ballater.
After seeing
the King on 11 October, John Michie met with Sir Dighton Probyn at Birkhall
“& went over a list of small alterations”.
Once the King had departed Balmoral on the morning of 14 October, John
Michie drove to Birkhall “and transacted some business with Sir Dighton
Probyn”. In the late afternoon, it was
Michie’s job to say goodbye to a departing group of courtiers, including Sir
Dighton with his relatives, Mrs and Miss Hill, Miss Lavinia Knollys and others.
The rush of the
last two months had been demanding but John Michie now had some latitude to
consider the tasks with which he had been left.
“16 October. Cycled to
Altnagiubhsaich & Glassalt Shiel.
At the former had a look at trees, seven in number, intercepting the
view of the east end of Loch Muick from the lawn. The King wishes them removed as well as
several Irish Yews more or less in line of window”. The following day Michie had a pleasant duty
to accomplish when he attended a presentation to James Cowie, who had been
stationmaster at Ballater for many years and had just retired. Cowie was well-known to the many Royal and
other VIP passengers who trod his platforms
, and they too
were generous in their donations. Michie
could not help doing the arithmetical calculation of the value of the
gifts. “Cowie was handed a purse of £182
(sovereigns) by Mrs Anderson of Oakhall.
Besides that, it was intimated the King had sent him a cheque for fifty
guineas, the Prince of Wales £25 and Mrs Dyer £25 = £182. 52.10.0 + 25.00.0 + 25.00.0 = £284.10.0”.
Early December
1907, as usual, saw John Michie traversing the country by rail to attend the
significant pre-Christmas cattle shows (Scottish National Fat Stock Show,
Edinburgh, Smithfield Show and Aberdeen Fat Stock Club Show). He also visited Windsor, Buckingham Palace
and Marlborough House. However, his
diary entries for this period were an exercise in brevity and his interactions
with the Royal Family, if any, remained obscure. The King visited Smithfield on 9 December and
usually commanded John Michie to accompany him, though it has not been
discovered if this was so in 1907.
Rev Dr
Archibald Alexander Campbell had been the incumbent at Crathie before Rev
Sibbald. Campbell became mentally ill
and was confined to an institution in the aftermath of the fund-raising
campaign for the new Crathie church building in 1894. He died on 27 December 1907 and John Michie,
who was an admirer of Dr Campbell, was commanded by the King to be his representative
at the dead minister’s funeral, which was held at Crathie on 31 December. “Left at 9.40 for Ballater to meet Dr
Campbell's funeral as the King's representative at 11.48 & followed it to
Crathie church, where a short service was held. A large congregation being present. His son, a brother a brother-in-law and
nephew of Mrs Campbell's being present”.
John
Michie and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1908
John Michie’s
diary for this year has not survived, so his detailed interactions with members
of the Royal Family are not generally known.
However, the information which has been gleaned from other sources
suggests that the pattern of events for the Royal Family while staying on
Deeside, resembled the previous year.
The same was true for events that John Michie attended both separately
from, and while serving, the interests of his employer.
During the year
John Michie continued his membership of and involvement with the Territorial Force
Association of the County of Aberdeen.
He also pursued his hunting and fishing activities, catching two
“beautiful clean-run salmon” at the start of the fishing season in
February. John remained president of the
Balmoral Curling Club and took the chair at their “At Home” held in the same
month. The Crathie ploughing match was
held in March and John Michie contributed to the prize fund. The Balmoral Factor also continued as
President of the Aberdeen Fat Stock Club and of the Crathie and Braemar School
Board. Michie was once more empanelled
as a juror at the Fiars Court, was a representative at the County Councils Road
Conference, continued as a County Councillor and as a member of its Deeside
District Committee. In November John
Michie also attended the annual dinner of the Aberdeen Royal Tradesmen’s
Association.
Estate functions fulfilled by Michie
encompassed attending the Perth Bull Sales, where he acquired an Aberdeen Angus
heifer of impeccable pedigree for 46gns to add to the Abergeldie herd, letting
property that had become vacant on the three estates and making charitable
donations on behalf of the King. As
custodian of the King’s Aberdeen Angus herd, it was inevitable that John Michie
would spend time at agricultural shows.
Those attended included the Royal English Show at Newcastle, the
Highland and Agricultural Show in Aberdeen and the Aberdeen Fat Stock Club
Show. As usual, John Michie also
travelled south to visit the Smithfield Show in early December, but on this
occasion King Edward VII was not present due to the state of his health. It is not known if John Michie travelled to
Windsor, Buckingham Palace or Sandringham while in the South of England.
One of the most enjoyable missions
that Michie engaged in during the year was probably his visit to the Island of
Mull in November. At the Calgary Stud,
he bought a Highland pony
stallion and a mare, with foal at foot, for the King’s stud at Balmoral. The stallion was Skerrymhore (Skerryvore),
a beautiful dark grey, who later achieved much fame at agricultural shows and
was greatly sought after as a sire.
Skerrymhore
As usual, the
late summer influx of Royal and VIP visitors to Balmoral must have made for a
hectic time for John Michie. The first
Royal visitors of the season were the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden who
were staying at the Fife Arms hotel Braemar.
They called on John and Helen Michie on 30 July. Subsequently, the Crown Prince had a session
of salmon fishing on the Dee in the company of Arthur Grant, the Head
Keeper. The next arrival was by Sir
Dighton Probyn, who had already paid a brief visit to Balmoral in early
May. The press reported that he had
arrived “to supervise the arrangements for the arrival of the Queen on 11
August”.
Ahead of the
arrival of the King and Queen at Balmoral, their horses and carriages were sent
from Windsor to Aberdeen on 7 August and the Queen’s motor was despatched north
the following day. Some horse motive power was obtained locally from Campbells
of Aberdeen. The company forwarded three handsome bay horses to Craig Gowan for
the use of Lord and Lady Knollys during the season. Four pairs of bays were retained in their
Aberdeen stables for the use of the King and Queen, if required. They were finally sent on, with four coachmen
on 16 September for the convenience of the King. The Queen accompanied by
Princess Victoria and with Hon Charlotte Knollys, Col Hon HC Legge and Lt Col
Sir Charles Frederick in attendance, arrived at Balmoral on 11 August from
Sandringham. Her Majesty was greeted at
Ballater station by The Earl of Aberdeen, Sir Dighton Probyn, Dr Hendry and Mr
Grant the new stationmaster. Outside the
station the guard of honour was provided by 2nd Bttn of the Highland
Light Infantry. When the Royal party
reached Balmoral, they were greeted by the Royal Highlanders, under the command
of John Michie, drawn up at the entrance to the Castle. On command, the Highlanders gave Her Majesty
a rousing cheer. The Queen descended her
carriage and shook hands with Michie and with Arthur Grant, holding a brief
conversation with each man. She also
recognised “one or two other old estate tenants and employees”. Donald Stewart appeared not to have been
present.
On 14 August
the Princess Alexander of Teck arrived at Balmoral and the following day she
and TRH the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden lunched with the Queen. These arrivals were the probable reason for
John Michie not attending an EGM of the Polled Cattle Society in Aberdeen on
the day of Princess Alexander’s arrival.
It was not long before the Queen gave a dance to the servants, tenants
and ghillies on the Balmoral, Abergeldie and Birkhall estates. This took place on Friday 21 August. It was usual for dances to be held on that
weekday, so that the attendees had the weekend to recover from the energetic
dancing late into the night, accompanied by the consumption of alcoholic
beverages, typically whisky toddy.
The next
arrivals on Upper Deeside were TRH Princess Mary, Prince Edward, Prince Albert
and Prince Henry of Wales, the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales,
who reached Abergeldie Castle on 22 August, followed by their mother, the
Princess of Wales on Monday 24 August.
The Prince of Wales did not arrive at Abergeldie until 28 August. Meanwhile his mother, the Queen, had completed
her holiday at Balmoral and left for Dundee on 24th to join the
Royal Yacht en route for Norway and Sweden.
The first
Thursday in September was the date of the Braemar Gathering and a time of
significant activity for John Michie. He
was involved in the organisation of the Gathering, he was a judge of events on
the day, and he commanded the Balmoral Highlanders, who took part in the assembly
of the clans and the march past. Fifty
employees and tenants from the Balmoral and Abergeldie estates mustered. The Royal party, led by the Prince and
Princess of Wales, attended for two hours before departing for Abergeldie. The crowd then drifted away, making clear
that they were not primarily there to see the competitions.
The King arrived at Balmoral on 21
September, motoring across the Cabrach, a twisting, upland road between
Speyside and Donside, from Tulchan Lodge. A large number of the King’s guests had
arrived on Deeside shortly before the monarch and assembled in front of the
Castle to welcome him. The list was
impressive - TRH Prince and
Princess of Wales, Prince Albert of Wales, Prince Henry of Wales, Princess Mary
of Wales, Princess Alexander of Teck, HSH Prince Alexander of Teck, Lord
Herschell, Lord in Waiting, Lord Knollys Private Secretary, General Sir Dighton
Probyn, Keeper of the Privy Purse, Dr James Reid, Physician in Ordinary, Hon
Henry Stoner, Groom in Waiting and the Master of the Household. The Balmoral Highlanders, commanded by John
Michie, were also on parade, with Charles Mackintosh bearing the standard and
James Campbell playing his pipes. When
the King’s motor arrived, Campbell struck up with “Highland Laddie”. His Majesty shook Michie’s hand inspected the
Highlanders and spoke to several of his old retainers, probably including
Arthur Grant. Donald Stewart was not
present, having recently been ill. After
the Highlanders had marched past, the King retired inside the Castle.
The pattern of
the King’s Balmoral visit continued as usual with guests coming and going,
stalking and shooting parties on most days and a ball for the tenants and
retainers (160 couples) on Friday 25 September.
As usual, the Highlanders were on parade and lined both sides of the
corridor leading to the dancing venue down which the King and his entourage
walked to the ballroom. As the VIPs
passed, the Highlanders closed ranks, marched behind and took up their
positions for the first dance, a reel, which only they performed. A second ball was held at Abergeldie the
following Tuesday for the ghillies of that estate. Yet another ball was held at Balmoral on
Friday 2 October, with a different mix of guests including “ladies and
gentlemen from most of the neighbouring mansion houses”. Otherwise, the pattern was the same as on the
first iteration, with the Balmoral Highlanders opening the evening with their
demonstration of the Highland reel. Not
even this event was the end of the dancing.
A further supper-dance was mounted in the Servants’ Hall at Balmoral,
principally for the household servants, on Wednesday 7 October.
There was a
report in the Aberdeen Journal of the King and Lord Redesdale (who had served
in the Diplomatic Service in Japan) inspecting a number of proposed changes to
the Balmoral policies “marked off on the previous day by Lord Redesdale”,
principally changes to the access roads to accommodate heavier traffic. There was no mention of John Michie’s involvement
in this meeting, but it is probable that he too was present as he would have
been charged with implementing the proposed modifications. The monarch left Ballater for London on 10
October and his guests departed about the same date. The King’s Balmoral visits seemed to be
getting more intense and the guests more numerous with each passing year, which
must have devolved significant extra work onto the Balmoral Factor.
John
Michie and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1909
John Michie’s diary for 1909 is
available for consultation and, at least in the first half of the year the
Balmoral Factor tended to make full daily entries.
In early January, John Michie heard
via Sir Dighton Probyn, that Sir Henry Ewart (a distinguished soldier and, at
that time, Crown Equerry to Edward VII) wanted a loan of the Balmoral hacking
stallion, “Silver Standard”. John
arranged for the horse to be sent by rail to Hampton Court on 13 January. About the same time Michie had the task of
making an equitable distribution of beef to Royal servants and poor people on
the Deeside estates, an annual gift from the King. “Last
night late went to Abergeldie Mains & ticketed beef which the King
distributes …”. In April, John Michie
and his head forester, William Wilson, were engaged in “planting Heather,
Juniper &c by the main approach to the Castle in order to give a wild &
natural aspect to the woodland bordering on the road. This effect was desired (in consultation with
Lord Redesdale) by the King last Autumn”.
Michie also had direct communication with Lord Redesdale concerning the
implementation of the King’s wishes.
“Sent Lord Redesdale a plan of Betula Nana promised him last
Autumn”. Interestingly, one of
Redesdale’s suggestions to Edward VII was to plant Japanese Knotweed at
Sandringham, presumably as a result of Redesdale’s service in the “Land of the
Rising Sun”. As many British gardeners
have since confirmed, the custodians of the Norfolk estate found that this
plant was invasive and almost impossible to eradicate!
There was
inevitably a list of changes and modifications to the Castle to be achieved
before the next annual visit by the monarch.
In early January, “At the Castle examining the billiard room there with
the view of seeing whether it could be enlarged”. This project was awarded to Sir Rowand
Anderson, who paid a visit to Balmoral on 19 January. “Spent the day till 2.30 with him - he had a
game for half an hour on the curling pond after which we went back to the
Castle”. A few days later Sir Rowand
sent one of his draughtsmen north to continue the work. “Sir Rowand Anderson's Draughtsman left today
(25 January) having been at work since Saturday at noon taking sections
of the Castle billiard room in connection with proposed addition to it. Spent the fore part of day with him …”. A month later Sir Rowand returned for a
second visit. “By Sir Dighton Probyn's
instructions I also consulted Sir Rowand on the question of redecorating to the
ballroom. We are also extending the
space by clearing out the front of the orchestra of which Sir R approves”. Once the plans for the Billiards room and Ballroom
had been finalised, John Michie took on the task of sourcing some structural
components. “Went to Aberdeen - arranged
with Mr Dawson to provide a proper carpenter for the alterations on the
billiard room. Explained to Mr Cook of
Barry Henry & Co about beams & pillars for billiard & ball
rooms”. There were other changes to
implement at both the Castle and elsewhere on the estates. “At the Castle (9 February) settling
questions of closets for (indecipherable) bathroom also the little
bathroom over it and double washbasins for both. Two new closets for connecting wing 1st floor. One for chandler's room 2nd floor, 2 for
servants' (men) quarters. Seven in all,
the pattern being Dent & Hellyers Optimius F improved to my suggestion. Also 2 for Altnaguibhsaich”. Bremner, the Balmoral Clerk of Works, kept a
professional eye on the progress of the project, along with John Michie. However, when the specially commissioned
toilets arrived, they were not acceptable and a complaint was made to the
manufacturer, G Jennings Ltd, Lambeth Palace Road. This brought forth an anguished and
grovelling apology. “Words fail us to
express our sincere regret that Sir Dighton Probyn or anyone else should have
cause to complain of our work, especially as it is our desire and best
intentions to supply lavatories that would be a matter of admiration rather
that excite adverse comment.” The toilet
bowls had been specially decorated with gold ornamentation, but the first set
was damaged in the kiln and the second set shrank during firing. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box1 letter dated 24 May 1909 from G Jennings Ltd to John
Michie).
King Edward VII
being an avid grouse shooter, it was not surprising that his restless desire to
improve the estate should also extend to the butts on Micras, his principal
grouse moor, which was rented from the Invercauld Estate. “Thursday 1 July. To Micras noon with new Keeper Mitchell. Arthur Grant with me to show where the Prince
of Wales wanted some new butts. Arranged
to build 17 new butts & repair others”.
A touring party
of Canadian curlers visited Aberdeenshire in February. John Michie skipped a rink against Canadian
opposition at Cults but lost. Later the
Canadians visited Balmoral to look over the grounds and, with the King’s
permission, part of the Castle interior.
They also played a further match on the Balmoral Pond, Michie this time
prevailing over his Canadian opponent.
John Michie presented a locally made curling broom to the Canadians’
leader as a memento of their visit. The
endearingly patriotic Canadians sent a message to the monarch via Sir Dighton
Probyn. “Please inform the King that
Canadian curlers greatly appreciate the honour of visiting His Majesty’s Royal
Castle in Scotland. Have played his
curlers on Balmoral rink. Canadian
curlers ready to play or fight for our gracious sovereign”.
With John Michie
now taking responsibility for the King’s Aberdeen Angus herd at Abergeldie, it
was inevitable that several of Michie’s extra-Deeside journeys would be in
connection with enhancing the breeding stock and selling the offspring of this
treasured bovine assemblage. “Tuesday 16
February. Spent last night in Palace
Hotel, Aberdeen with Canadians. Left by
6.45 a.m. train from Aberdeen for Perth.
Attended judging of bulls and afterwards sale of cows &
heifers”. It appears that Michie did not
buy any animal on offer at Perth, but he did so at the show and sale of
pedigree Aberdeen Angus cattle held in Aberdeen on his return. “Bought a Georgina bull "Guinard",
the property of Mr Findlay of Aberlour, for 36 guineas. He was not in the prize
list but fits the King's herd from his breeding”. At the end of February, John Michie was also
given an instruction to dispatch the Aberdeen Angus bull “Irex”, which had been
sold to Sir Ernest Cassell, a Jewish friend of the King. Cassell was given the rather cynical name of
“Windsor Cassell”. Unfortunately, “Irex”
proved to be a dud. He “failed to serve”
(was sterile) and was returned to Abergeldie to be replaced by another young
bull. In May, John Michie made a further
significant sale from the King’s herd.
“On way back met Mrs Duncan & Holmes at Abergeldie. Sold them "Eleanor" for £100 - also
two young ones "Elmar" & "Pran" £73 & £25”.
July saw the start of the agricultural
show season and the King was represented at the Royal Northern Show in Aberdeen
by two two-year-old Aberdeen Angus heifers, "Gwiddie" and
"Prideswing" which were placed 3rd and 5th in a
strong field of 12. “Prideswing” later
took 6th place at Stirling Show in a very strong class of 22. Both John Michie and the Abergeldie farm
grieve, John Robb, were present at Aberdeen.
Another attendee was Mr Thomas Hudson Bainbridge of Eshott Hall,
Northumberland. He was the second son of
Emerson Bainbridge, the founder of Bainbridge’s department store in Newcastle,
possibly the first such store of its type in the world. Michie may already have made Bainbridge’s
acquaintance, as he too was an Aberdeen Angus fancier. Perhaps anticipating the opportunity of a
sale as Bainbridge was very wealthy, “He (Bainbridge) desired to see
Castle at Mains tomorrow afternoon.
Arranged with Robb to run out from Show with him for that purpose”. Thomas Bainbridge subsequently wrote to John
Michie regarding possible purchases. He
had previously bought seven Abergeldie herd blacks and wanted more, “but not at
high prices”. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box1 letter dated 16 July 1909 from TH Bainbridge to John Michie). Amusingly, he was haggling despite one of his
father’s business principles being to eliminate such base tactics, by adopting
fixed prices for the goods Bainbridge offered for sale! Later in the year, as planning for the
Christmas shows got underway, John Michie received a letter from James Craig,
Auctioneer of Ayr, Glasgow and Stranraer, urging him to send cattle to the
Christmas show in the West of Scotland and even assuring him of “prizes and
high prices”. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box1 letter dated 20 September 1909 from James Craig to John
Michie). Craig was trying
to butt into an already crowded calendar.
On an estate
like Balmoral, with substantial deer stalking and shooting activities, there
was a need for much horse transport to get the huntsmen, especially the less
fit amongst them, up the hill and to bring down the spoils of the chase. In King Edward’s time, Balmoral built up a
substantial stud for the breeding of hill ponies and in March 1909, John Michie
carried out a review of this equine complement.
“Went to the Castle and went over the ponies. Got a couple of photos of the young brown bay
gelding, rising four which we think should be a good hill cob for His Majesty's
personal use. Sent these photos to Sir
Dighton Probyn. Four youngsters are
being trained this Spring. The one
referred to is to be "Herd Laddie" out of "Norfolk Lassie";
No. 2 - grey colt also by "Herd Laddie", dam "Kate", a
Caithness mare (in Stud Book); No 3 - a bay colt out of Sutherland mare by
"Silver Standard"; No 4 - a tall black mare out of "Jean"
(a mare of my own by "Denmark Junior") by "Silver
Standard"”. In May, Sir David
Stewart, owner of an estate near Banchory and chairman of the Great North of
Scotland Railway, sent two of his mares for service by “Skerrymhore”, the hill
pony bought by Michie the previous year.
John Michie engaged one John Brown (not a relative of Queen Victoria’s late
Highland attendant) to break the young ponies.
He proved to be an effective trainer.
Skerrymhore was entered in the Stirling Show in July, despite having
just cast his fetlocks. Even so, he “was
placed 1st in his class and awarded the President's medal as the best Highland
pony in the show”.
The first visit
to Balmoral in 1909 by Sir Dighton Probyn was due to take place in early May
but was postponed by Sir Dighton, literally at the last minute. He finally arrived on the 19th of
the month. “Sir Dighton Probyn arrived
this morning from London for a few days stay with us. I met him at Ballater from where we drove
straight up to Bhaile-na-choile in a landau hired by Sir D. I had previously arranged for his Victoria
and a pair of smart horses from Proctor to be stabled at Balmoral to drive Sir
D about for the next few days. Hardy, a
man of Proctor's to attend horses & drive, he finding his food along with
the other stablemen, while provided for the horses. Drove to Castle before lunch and to Birkhall
after”. As usual, Sir Dighton required
to inspect all aspects of the Royal estate projects then in train. He also got involved in one sad personel case
and showed his generous side in the process.
“Discussed, as we did with Mrs Mussen, the question of Annie Hunter with
Mary Rothney, and then Sir D. & I saw Annie H who sobbed severely about
having to leave but she would hardly confess to drinking. In the end, however, Sir D. gave in to keeping
her another year provided she signed a document to be drawn up by me that she
would drink no more strong liquors”. Sir
Dighton, then aged 76, slipped and damaged his achilles tendon while at
Balmoral, which somewhat limited his mobility.
He returned south on 24 May. “I
saw the noble old gentleman off for London”.
It was with some relief that Michie saw the back of Sir Dighton as the
factor had been diverted from pressing estate tasks. “Working up arrears of work in office brought
about by Sir Dighton Probyn's visit”.
Sir Dighton returned to stay at Birkhall on 29 July “for the
season”. Inevitably, the following day
John Michie had to accompany Sir Dighton on a tour of the billiard and ball
room alterations in Balmoral Castle. As
usual, Sir Dighton was accompanied by a number of his relatives and on 3
September the venerable soldier and courtier visited the Michies to take tea in
the company of Mrs Hill and Major Hill.
July saw the
start of preparations, both in the south and on Deeside, for the late summer
influx of visitors to the Royal estates on Deeside. Remarkably, the Royal Mews at Buckingham
Palace even sent a servant north to oil up the wheels of the carriages to be
used during the King’s visit. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box1 letter dated 2 July
1909 from Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace to John Michie). John Michie was caused some anxiety by the
slow pace of work on redecorating the ballroom and the failure of Allens of
Aberdeen to deliver a new carpet ordered some months previously. Obviously, all this work had to be completed
before the arrival of the first visitors.
The Queen accompanied by Princess Victoria arrived at Balmoral on 13
August and was expected to remain there for about two weeks before departing
for Scandinavia. The monarch’s wife,
with the Duchess of York, visited the Michies on 15 August. On 23 August the Queen gave a “cinematograph
entertainment”, which both John and Helen Michie attended in the company of
many VIP guests, in an audience of 50.
Events presented in the new medium of moving pictures included
“Bleriot’s Flight”, “the Messina Disaster”, “Life in Canada” and several
artistic floral pictures. Two days
before she left Balmoral, the Queen gave a ghillies dance. “Servants and tenants invited at 9.30 (from
all three estates). Dancing was
commenced at once. Her Majesty with
royal and other guests came into the room immediately after 10 o'clock. Passages were not lined by Highlanders
(difference from Aberdeen Journal report). When approach of the Queen was announced by
previous arrangement dancing stopped. Everyone standing, band playing National
Anthem; then a set of quadrilles at once on the floor her Majesty taking
part. Rose, Dancing Master, who acted MC
was asked to make out a probable programme, which, however, was not
followed. Her Majesty left just after 12
o'clock. The ball was kept up till 2
a.m. Mr A. Smith (Andrew Smith the
Invercauld Factor), wife and daughter were invited & had supper in
Clerks room with Mrs Michie, Alix & myself”. The Queen left the Castle on 26 August for
Dundee accompanied by a box bearing the corpses of 13 grouse and a lone snipe,
freshly shot by John Michie the same morning.
Life was
becoming hectic for John Michie. On
Sunday 1 August, the Prince of Wales sent a message to Michie informing him
that Prince Albert, his second son, would arrive on Deeside three days hence to
stay at Altnagiubhsaich (popularly known since the time of Queen Victoria as
“The Hut”). John Michie immediately
drove to the Hut to warn the housekeeper.
The following day, Monday, Michie was also required to meet Sir Dighton
at the same location. John yet again
went to Altnagiubhsaich on Tuesday “to facilitate preparations for Prince
Albert of Wales' arrival tomorrow”. On
Wednesday 4 August, “Received Prince Albert of Wales at Altnagiubhsaich at 11
o'clock a.m. and along with him Mr Watt his Tutor”. Thursday saw Michie dashing to Braemar to
attend a meeting of the Braemar Royal Highland Society regarding arrangements
for the Gathering, then back to Abergeldie Mains to prepare for Captain
Cunningham-Graham’s impending arrival on 9 August with his family. One immediate task, which was shared between
John Michie and Charles Cunningham-Graham after the latter’s appearance was to
go out after grouse to populate a box for the King, who was then in Marienbad,
travelling incognito as the Duke of Lancaster. The two guns got 30 ½ brace between them, six
brace of which made the posthumous journey to the Continent. In early September, Michie and
Cunningham-Graham would share a game of golf on the Balmoral course.
Princes Edward
and Henry of Wales arrived at Abergeldie Castle on 26 August, to join their
brother who was still ensconced in the “Hut”.
A few days after their arrival, Edward and Henry called at
Baile-na-Coile to see the Michies. The
Princess of Wales arrived at Abergeldie on 2 September, followed by her husband
two days later. The same day both the Waleses
called at Baile-na-Coile. On 7 September
the Prince of Wales, accompanied by a party of seven (not identified by John
Michie, who by this time was writing much shorter diary entries) took tea with
the Michies. On 11 September, “Captain
& Mrs Cunninghame Graham and family came for tea”. It seems that John Michie and the Captain
found congenial company with each other.
John Michie attended at Abergeldie Castle on 6 October to bid farewell
to the Princess of Wales, who was leaving for London. The Prince of Wales left for Gordon Castle on
8 October.
The Braemar
Gathering was held on 2 September 1909.
As usual, the Balmoral Highlanders, 60 strong, under John Michie paraded
along with the Highlanders representing the other sponsoring proprietors. Charles Mackintosh was still the standard
bearer, but the pipers were that day under the command William Grant. John Michie also served as a games
judge. However, the VIP representation
was led by the Princess Royal, Princess Louise, the Duchess of Fife, the King
and Queen not being available on the Gathering date.
King Edward VII
did not reach Balmoral until 23 September, John Michie recording that he was
“Very busy preparing for King's arrival which takes place at 6.20
tonight”. Frank Beck, the Sandringham
Factor also arrived that day to stay at Baile-na-Coile as a guest of the
Michies. In conformity with what had, by
that time, become tradition, the Balmoral Highlanders had been mustered under
the command of John Michie in front of the main entrance, along with the Prince
and Princess of Wales and their family, shortly before King Edward’s motor
arrived at the Castle from Ballater station.
James Campbell and his pipers played “Heilan Laddie” as the King’s car
passed up the drive, where the monarch got out, shook hands with his factor and
then passed along the ranks of the Highlanders.
They saluted him by presenting arms with their Lochaber axes, and the
King then retired to the Castle interior.
After the King’s departure, the Highlanders received their usual reward,
a glass of John Begg’s best, which they raised to the monarch’s health.
Lochaber Axe
The King, as
usual, entertained many guests while he was at Balmoral, one of the most
prominent that year being Lieutenant Ernest Shackleton who, in 1907, had led
his own expedition in an attempt to reach the geographical South Pole. He had failed in that aim but reached to
within 97 miles of his objective. It was
mid-1909 before he was back in England to lecture on his valiant journey,
including at the Albert Hall in London, which occasion was graced by the Prince
of Wales. Other guests of King Edward
included Wilfred G Thesiger (father of Wilfred Thesiger the explorer), who had
been appointed as HM’s Consul General, with the local rank of Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, in Abyssinia, and Sir Robert
Baden-Powell, then still in service in the Army but just after the first
experimental Boy Scout camp had been held on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour.
Ernest Shackleton
Between times
when required by his Royal employer, John Michie entertained his own visitor,
the Sandringham Factor. On 24 September,
Michie was tied up with the King and Prince of Wales at the Castle in the
morning, probably inspecting the new extensions, but he was free in the
afternoon to take Frank Beck on a visit to Braemar. King Edward also invited Beck on two drives
for roe deer. On 30 September, “At
Castle in forenoon with Mr Beck then he and I motored to Mar Lodge by command
of the King”. The same day, “Mr Beck left for Sandringham”.
Mar Lodge
In conformity with
the usual pattern, the King threw a ball for the ghillies and tenantry on the
Royal estates, which took place on Friday 1 October. There were 300 attendees with the Highlanders
playing their usual role of lining the corridor and then marching in after the
monarch and his party, thereafter to perform the first dance, a Highland reel,
as a demonstration. The King and his
guests stayed until after midnight.
Attendance at
Crathie church each Sunday morning during the season, when Royalty and their
guests would be present, was de rigueur for John Michie and it was not
just his showing up that was required but his turnout in best Highland
kit. He did not miss a single Sabbath
during this critical interval. However,
once the King and his guests departed the Crathie congregation shrank
considerably. Clearly, many locals and
tourists only joined the worshipful attendees to gawp at their betters. Michie’s own adherence also relaxed, once his
absence would not be noticed by those who mattered. In February 1915, John Michie, on attending
Crathie church, noted, “The usual small congregation present. Attendance very meagre now compared with 15
years ago”.
The King’s
sojourn at Balmoral in 1909 occurred in the middle of a constitutional crisis
as the Houses of Commons and Lords jostled for supremacy concerning the
so-called People’s Budget introduced by the Liberals, which sought to tax the
lands and incomes of Britain’s most wealthy citizens to pay for major social
welfare reforms. The budget passed the
Commons but was blocked by the Lords.
The absence of the monarch in Scotland generated a substantial amount of
travelling by the opposing forces in Parliament to consult with the monarch. Prime Minister Asquith, for example, showing
up on 6 October. The constitutional
crisis did not prevent King Edward from enjoying his usual pleasures of field
and fork.
Friday 8
October was the day of another ghillies’ ball, commanded by the monarch. It was of the standard format, Highlanders
lining the corridor, then dancing a Highland reel, with James Campbell playing
the bagpipes. The King with his VIP
guests attending for about two hours but many of the attendees danced on for
much longer.
Towards the end
of King Edward’s stay at Balmoral, he met with John Michie on 6 October. “Walked with King in the grounds”. The following day, Michie undertook a similar
perambulation with the King’s advisor on estate matters, Lord Redesdale. There was a further meeting between the
Balmoral Factor and the King following the Redesdale consultation, which lasted
“all forenoon”, after which the King visited Baile-na-Coile. It is presumed
Michie was getting directions for modifications to be made during the coming
year. Michie had a further audience with
King Edward on Sunday 10 October, “King commanded to see me between 5 &
6”. But Michie’s brevity and crypticism,
yet again, frustrate his readers, as no other information was given about the exchanges
at the meeting. The following day, the
monarch departed at 9.20 “fast time” (8.50am GMT), driving between the ranks of
the Balmoral Highlanders who cheered as he passed. Sir Dighton Probyn stayed on for a day at
Birkhall, he too seeing John Michie for a final time, before being seen off at
5.50pm by the Balmoral Factor.
For the
remaining days and weeks of 1909, John Michie returned to the routine of
running the Royal estates, pursuing his community responsibilities and enjoying
sporting pleasures. His diary entries
continued in a brief format and whatever tasks he had been given by King Edward
remained largely unrecorded. Even his
visit to London and Sandringham in early December warranted hardly a mention,
though on two occasions he did say he was very busy.
John
Michie and the Royal Family during the reign of Edward VII. 1910
This was the
last year of King Edward VII’s reign. He
died on 6 May at Buckingham Palace, aged 68, the victim of his own excesses,
perhaps enhanced by having to spend so long in the idle role of Prince of
Wales. Frustratingly, John Michie’s
diary for this year has not survived, so the complex jigsaw of John Michie’s
movements and activities in this pivotal period, with the death of one monarch
and the accession and crowning of his eldest son, is represented by very few
pieces, and these largely culled from local newspapers. The transition to a new monarch might have
been anticipated to be a routine affair for John Michie. After all, he and the Prince of Wales had
known each other for many years.
Superficially, there seemed no reason to anticipate choppy waters. But the transition proved to be anything but
smooth.
King Edward was
a habitual heavy smoker and was corpulent.
He survived acute appendicitis in 1902 and was cured of a rodent ulcer,
a skin cancer, on his face with radium therapy in 1907, but other conditions
progressively appeared. Chronic bronchitis dogged him for years and in March
1910 the condition kept him in Biarritz during the constitutional crisis. He returned to London on 27 April, but on 6
May 1910 the King suffered several heart attacks and died at 11.45pm that
evening. His funeral took place on 20
May, and he was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Meanwhile, life
on the Royal Deeside estates seemed to proceed along regular lines. John Michie addressed the Agricultural
Discussion Society, which was connected with the North of Scotland College of
Agriculture, at Marischal College in late January. His subject was “Practical Forestry” and he
made clear that he was concerned with silviculture – the growth of trees and
the production of timber rather than arboriculture, the growth of trees for
landscape effect. In early February,
Michie was elected a Vice-President of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society, along
with Sir George McPherson Grant, probably the best-known breeder of such cattle
at the time. At the start of the salmon
fishing season on the Dee, the Aberdeen Journal noted that the Balmoral Factor
had landed “two fine fish”.
In early April,
a group of major landowners with interests in afforestation was touring around
Aberdeenshire and arrived at Balmoral.
They were conducted through the Ballochbuie forest by Michie before
moving on to Marischal College in Aberdeen, where they visited an exhibition of
forest products, still in the company of the Balmoral Factor, plus Mr Thom,
Secretary to the Senatus Academicus of the University.
At the end of
the first quarter of the year John Michie wrote to Walter Gibson in the Office
of the Privy Purse with the estate accounts for the period, a requisition for
the next quarter and estimates for the whole year. He also included data on the actual annual
spend on the Deeside estates since 1904.
Interestingly, these data revealed that the total budget (before
inflation) had been declining steadily over the period, being almost 10 % lower
in 1909 than it was in 1904. On James
Forbes leaving the role of Commissioner at Balmoral in 1902, one newspaper
reported that “the Deeside estates will in future be managed on a much more
economical system”, which suggests that the reducing budget had been planned
from the start of John Michie’s factorship.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/959 letter dated 14 April 1910 from John Michie
to Walter Gibson).
In mid-April,
Sir John Clark of Tillypronie, Aberdeenshire, the diplomat son of Sir James
Clark, died. Clark senior had been
Physician-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria between 1837 and 1860. Famously, it was Sir John who had provided information
on the climate of Balmoral which persuaded Queen Victoria and her Consort to
look for a country residence in Aberdeenshire, rather than on the western side
of Scotland. John Michie represented the
King at Sir John’s funeral.
On 11 May,
shortly after King Edward’s death, there was a public gathering at the Market
Cross in Aberdeen to hear the proclamation of George V as King. John Michie received an invitation to join
the civic dignitaries at the ceremony but declined, though he did attend a similar
gathering in Ballater. Later the same month, John Michie was present at a
ceremony with the great and the good of Aberdeenshire, held in the County Hall,
Aberdeen, which pledged allegiance to the new King, George V.
The funeral of
King Edward was probably the largest gathering of royalty ever to take place,
since Edward had family links to almost every Royal house in Europe. It has not, so far, been discovered if John
Michie was invited to London to witness the farewell to a monarch that Michie
had known intimately for many years. At
Queen Victoria’s funeral, Michie had been a member of the original bearer party
nominated to carry the deceased lady’s coffin out of Osborne House to the
waiting gun carriage, so his presence would have been anticipated at King
Edward’s departure, too. But it is
possible that he did not receive an invitation to travel south.
John
Michie’s relationship with King George V.
1910 - 1911
With a change
of monarch came an inevitable change of Royal style and priorities. For example, John Michie could not assume
that the charitable preferences of King Edward would automatically transfer to
his eldest surviving son. However, King
George, like his father, quickly supported the local Boys’ Brigade summer camp
with a £5 donation. John Michie, seeing
there was a general issue to settle, then sought the advice of Sir William
Carrington, the new Keeper of the Privy Purse, regarding the continuation of
annual donations regularly made by King Edward.
Michie listed the beneficiaries for Carrington - £45pa to a female
teacher at the Lochnagar School, since about 1895; £5pa to the Boys Brigade for
camp expenses since 1904; 3gns pa to Ballater Royal Horticultural Society;
£7-10s per half year towards the organist’s salary at Crathie church; 10gns
given by King Edward VII to the Tract and Colportage Society of Scotland; and
an annual cup (worth about £5) to the Crathie and Braemar Ploughing
Association. (RA). There were other
financial issues to be settled, too, since the Prince of Wales had moved from
Abergeldie Castle to Balmoral Castle during the Royal financial year and the
two properties had separate budgets. One
big item of expenditure was the rental of the Invercauld fishings on the north
bank of the Dee, then costing £400pa.
Sir Dighton Probyn advised that this expenditure should be split with
1/3 being paid by King Edward’s trustees and 2/3 by King George. The new King did continue the practice of
making a donation to the Deeside District Committee of Aberdeen County Council,
for the upkeep of the South Deeside Road where it crossed the Abergeldie and
Birkhall estates.
King George V
and Queen Mary arrived on Deeside, for the first time as King and Queen on
Tuesday 9 August 1910. At Ballater
station King George was greeted by the Marquis of Huntly, Sir Francis Laking,
Sir Victor Mackenzie of Glenmuick, Colonel Farquharson of Invercauld, Mr Gordon
of Abergeldie, Dr Hendry, Rev Middleton, Provost Duguid and a bevy of
councillors. In the Station Square there
was a Guard of Honour to give the Royal salute and 300 local children sang the
National Anthem. The party then set out
for the new King’s Highland home by road.
At Balmoral,
the resident Highlanders, some 50 strong, had assembled along each side of the
road from the Balmoral bridge to the entrance of the estate under the
leadership of John Michie, with Charles Mackintosh bearing the standard. Their kilts were of Balmoral tartan. They were carrying Lochaber axes and had the
badge of oak leaves and thistle in their bonnets. A crowd of several hundred had assembled to
watch the arrival. About 10 minutes
before 11.00, two mounted outriders heralded the approach of the Royal
party. The first carriage bearing the
King and Queen, with the Prince of Wales and Princess Mary of Wales, came over
the bridge and stopped near the entrance, the Highlanders then saluting. There were four carriages in all bearing the
King’s entourage, which included Prince Albert, Prince George, Prince Henry,
Prince John, various tutors and other support staff.
John Michie
approached the King’s carriage, saluted and delivered his address to the new
monarch and his wife. “May it please
your Majesties on behalf of the tenants, servants and all on the Royal estates
here I beg humbly and respectfully to express our heartfelt sympathy with your
Majesties in the sore bereavement so recently sustained by your Royal House and
so keenly felt by us. But today we
desire to approach Your Majesties with a most cordial welcome on this your
first visit as King and Queen to Balmoral.
We earnestly pray to the Great Giver of all Good that your Majesties may
be long spared to spend many happy days on Deeside while we truly proffer our
sincere loyalty faithful service and affectionate regard”.
The King
replied as follows, clearly wishing to set down a marker for his proposed style
of governance. “I am much touched by the
kind sympathy you have expressed for I know you shared our great sorrow at the
death of my beloved father who was so devoted to you all at Balmoral. The Queen and I tender you our warmest thanks
for the hearty welcome which you have given us here today on our first visit to
our Highland home since my accession.
Most of you have known me since I was a child and I assure you that I
will take the greatest possible interest in your happiness and welfare, and I
want you to look upon me as your best friend”.
John Michie, listening to this last sentence, probably found it generous
and encouraging, but he was subsequently to find that there was a cryptic warning
for him personally in those warm words.
John Michie
then called up three cheers from the assembled Highlanders for Their Majesties
and for the other members of the Royal Family present. The pipers, led by Forsyth then marched along
the avenue to the Castle playing the tune “Highland Laddie”, as had become
traditional. The carriages bearing the
Royal suite following at walking pace, accompanied by the Guard of Honour
consisting of two files of Highlanders, one on each side. At the main entrance to the Castle, the
Highlanders were each served with a glass of whisky with which to toast the
health of Their Majesties. The Royal
party retired inside the building and afterwards the Balmoral Highlanders were
entertained to dinner at the Castle.
Attendance at
Sunday morning worship at Crathie Kirk, was another ritual that had to be
followed during Royal residence. On 10
October the Aberdeen Journal reported that “King, Queen and Royal party
attended harvest thanksgiving at Crathie church. They have attended each Sunday for the past 9
weeks of their stay on Deeside”. John
Michie is thought to have attended on each of those Sundays too, accompanied on
some occasions by Arthur Grant the Head Stalker, both decked out in Highland
attire. Arthur seemed to have replaced
Donald Stewart as an object of Royal admiration.
It was usual
after the passing of a monarch for the staff and tenants of the Royal estates
to propose a memorial to the departed King or Queen. Following the death of King Edward VII, a
meeting was called for 17 October at Abergeldie Castle for the tenants and servants
to consider how King Edward should be memorialised. John Michie convened the committee charged
with implementing the plans, after the King had given his assent to the
project. Designs for a fountain were
solicited and one selected from the eight submitted. Michie asked the monarch, through Sir William
Carrington, “if he would like to choose an inscription for the fountain, or
should the committee submit an inscription for approval”? The cost of the fountain would be £100 and
£103 had been raised. Carrington replied
to say that the King approved the design of the fountain and asked the
committee to submit an inscription for his approval. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/966,968 letter dated 12 December 1910 from John Michie to
Sir William Carrington and reply dated 15 December from Carrington).
Edward VII memorial fountain, Balmoral
There was an
amusing failure of communications during this first visit by King George to
Balmoral. By 1910 the telephone was in
widespread use in Royal and Court circles and was an essential means of
communication between Balmoral and the outside world. However, JM Hiley had need to write to Sir
William Carrington concerning the telephone operators engaged at Balmoral. “I have been informed that great difficulty
has been experienced in understanding the Scotch Doric on the ‘phone. Under the circumstances I venture to suggest
that in future two operators from England be employed at a cost of about 25/-
week each”. Balmoral had tried using
local lads as an economy measure! Prior
to that experiment, Scotch operators from Aberdeen had been used, but they were
more expensive. It was very much a case
of one country divided by a common language.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/962 letter dated 28
October 1910 from JM Hiley to Sir William Carrington).
John Michie had
been appointed Factor on the Balmoral Estate from early 1902 but, in December
1910, Sir William Carrington wrote to Sir Henry White, the King’s solicitor,
with an interesting request. “Please set
out for Mr Michie his proper legal appointment as Factor at Balmoral”. A few days later White replied confirming
that the instruction had been carried out and that “His Majesty should sign
each page”. Although the document has
not been seen, it appeared to be a new contract of employment. At present its purpose and the circumstances
of its being requested are not understood.
(RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/968 letter dated 22 December 1910 from Sir Henry White to
Sir William Carrington).
On 2 January
1911, Sir William Carrington wrote the following letter to John Michie.
“Privy Purse
Office, Buckingham Palace, January 2 1911.
My Dear Sir,-Please inform the residents, tenants and persons working on
the Royal estates of Balmoral, Abergeldie and Birkhall from me that if any of
them wish to make any requests as to their positions or residences they should
in future communicate with you, and that you after carefully considering their
applications and after adding any remarks you may think necessary will forward
their applications and your remarks to me for my careful consideration. I do not write from any personal reason. I am guided by the knowledge of the King’s
wishes, twice expressed – once at the death of the late King and again on the
occasion of his Majesty’s first visit to Balmoral in August last – that all on
the estates should live happily and contentedly and look upon His Majesty as
their best friend. I feel certain that
both you and they will assist me to the utmost of your power by always
responding loyally to my appeal for it is the best way of fulfilling the King’s
gracious wishes for the comfort and happiness of you all. Please see that copies of this latter are
sent to all concerned and ask them kindly to sign the enclosed letter and
return it to you so that you may send it on to me. Yours faithfully, William Carington, Keeper
of His Majesty’s Privy Purse. J Michie
Esq MVO, Royal Estates Office, Ballater NB”.
This letter can
only be interpreted as an admonition from George V concerning the way that
Michie was managing tenant and employee relationships on the three Royal
estates, certainly during the latter half of 1910 but possibly also during the
reign of Edward VII. The implications of
the letter were that John Michie was not always dealing fairly with requests
from “residents, tenants and persons working on the Royal estates” and that at
least some such people were not living “happily and contentedly” as the monarch
wished. To rectify this perceived
deficiency, decisions relating to requests for pay increases, or repairs to
property, etc, were effectively being taken out of John Michie’s hands and
delegated upwards to the Privy Purse Office, though Michie retained some input
into the evaluation of such requests.
Further, Michie was not being trusted to carry out this instruction
unsupervised, since he had to prove, by despatching upwards signed copies of
the acknowledgement letter, that all relevant persons had been duly informed of
the King’s wishes. Carrington even
dictated the form of response that tenants and servants were to use.
“Dear Sir I
have received the copy of Sir William Carington’s letter which you have sent to
me. Signature …., Address ….. J Michie Esq MVO”.
Another
interesting conclusion to be drawn from Carrington’s letter to John Michie
concerns the King’s expressed wishes.
The first occasion on which he made his view clear was in public when he
first arrived at Balmoral, following his accession, on 9 August 1910. His speech was unlikely to have been “off the
cuff”, so it seems a reasonable conclusion that his views had been formed some
time prior to his Scottish holiday. Carrington’s
letter also indicated that this was also the thinking of George V at the time
of his father’s death on 6 May 1910, so it is likely that his perception had
formed at an even earlier date.
The letter and
the circumstances surrounding its circulation received prominent press
publicity in several North-East newspapers, but firstly in the
Liberal-supporting Aberdeen Free Press on 16 January 1911, from where it may
have been copied by the others, the Aberdeen Journal (17th), the
Banff Journal and General Advertiser (17th), the Banffshire Reporter
(18th) and the Banffshire Advertiser (19th). A letter in the Royal Archives confirms that
indirect contact had been made with the Aberdeen Free Press via Lord Murray of
Elibank, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Government Whip)
under Prime Minister Asquith. Henry
Alexander Junior, son of the editor of the Aberdeen Free Press, wrote to the
Master of Elibank acknowledging receipt of the Carrington letter, “The
newspaper will give it every prominence …”. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/977 letter dated 11 January 1911 from Henry Alexander jun.
to Lord Murray of Elibank).
Carrington was clearly keen to see that the King’s initiative was widely
known. The contact between Elibank and
the Aberdeen Free Press looked to be related to contacts within the Liberal
Party. In June 1911, Michie “Had a talk
with Mr. Alexander jun Editor of Free Press” but did not record the content of
this conversation.
It has not been
possible to consult the relevant issue of the Aberdeen Free Press but the
following commentary, which appeared in the Aberdeen Journal, was very
interesting because it was obviously well-informed. It is not presently known if it was cribbed
from its Aberdeen rival or if this organ too had an approach, direct or
indirect, from the Privy Purse Office.
“Balmoral
Estates. The King and his Highland
tenants. The expected visit of the King
to Balmoral in the spring and the issue of the circular given below to the
tenants and others on the Royal estates has excited considerable interest on
Deeside. That the successive Royal
owners of Balmoral, Birkhall and Abergeldie have ever taken a warm interest in
the general welfare of their tenants, employees and residents on their estates
is so well known that repetition of the fact is almost needless. Throughout the long reign of Queen Victoria
and the reign of King Edward probably nowhere in the Royal domaine were the
people better looked after than on Deeside and now with the commencement of the
reign of King George the customary regime is not only to hold good but is to be
improved upon if that were possible. During
their long stay at Balmoral last year their Majesties took a warm personal
interest in all their people and the letter from Sir W Carrington given below
indicates the Royal wish to continue that personal supervision not only during
their residence at Balmoral but during their absence. It is well known that last autumn sometimes
alone and sometimes accompanied by the Queen, his Majesty almost daily visited
residents on the various parts on the Royal estates and by the end of the
season there was scarcely a house or cottage which his Majesty had not visited
and minutely examined both outside and inside.
The Queen is very practical and thorough in all her Majesty undertakes
and on entering a cottage the Queen seldom left it without having explored
every room it contained with a view to having improvements effected such as
raising roofs of smaller cottages replacing thatch with slates, lining rooms
with pine from Ballochbuie and enlarging doors and windows many of the latter
being still very primitive. The
exteriors will also be attended to and gardens in some instances are to be
enlarged refenced and replanted and roads and paths generally improved. The poorer people and also the work-people on
the Royal estates are well looked after and when the roes are being thinned at
the end of the year on these occasions venison is plentifully distributed. Each year at Christmas also by Royal command,
a bullock is killed by Mr Troup, purveyor to his Majesty, Ballater and
distributed”. (Author’s emphasis).
It is difficult
to avoid the conclusion that these were the actions of a naive monarch newly
into the job and still learning the ropes the hard way. No attempt appears to have been made to
obtain John Michie’s side of the story.
Such micro-management of the affairs of the Royal Deeside estates from
within, let alone at a distance of 500 miles and two days’ travel, was near
impossible for either the monarch, or Sir William, or even the underlings in
the Privy Purse Office. Further, Carrington’s
method of implementing the monarch’s wishes was both clumsy and insensitive,
unnecessarily exposing the management and the manager of the Royal estates to
the public gaze. Calling John Michie
down to London for a private face-to-face meeting could have been far more
productive and would have caused Carrington himself far less bother. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this
whole affair was that John Michie, though he must have been hurt by the
contents and implications of Carrington’s letter, never recorded a negative
comment about the Keeper of the Privy Purse, or King George. Indeed, Michie’s diary during 1911 simply
shows a man trying his best to do his job in the interests of his employer.
John Michie
must also have wondered why his management was now being called into question when
King Edward had apparently been content with the way the estates were being
supervised, and on an annually reducing budget?
Perhaps there was now little sympathy for Michie’s approach to requests
for improvements, which he related to the economics of the situation, dictated
by rents being paid? King George’s new
approach seemed likely to lead to greatly increased demand, associated with
unquantifiable, but much increased, cost.
Also, in Michie’s defence, it should be stated that after the death of
King Edward, a memorandum from Michie to the King was found in which the Factor
called the monarch’s attention to “the fact that some of the cottages were in
urgent need of rebuilding and suggesting that the existing cottages should be
pulled down”. Edward actually agreed to
burn them down!
Over time it
became clearer from where the King may have been receiving negative reports on
John Michie, over and above those he undoubtedly had received before 1909 from
Donald Stewart and his acolytes. On 3
February 1911, Dr Robert Farquharson, the Laird of Finzean wrote to Sir William
Carrington saying that the “Balmoral letter from HM has had a good effect”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/977 letter dated 3 February 1911
from Dr Robert Farquharson to Sir William Carrington). Another letter from Rev Ramsay Sibbald was
even more explicit. Sibbald’s parochial
visits had led to the contents of the letter being raised with him on a number
of occasions. He was often asked to read
the letter to parishioners. They also
asked his opinion of whether things they were thinking of asking for were
sustainable. He advised them to take the
letter at face value. If they did not
ask, they would not get. They also asked
if things which had been asked for in the past, but not granted, could be asked
for again. “These and similar questions
seem to me to indicate that the people mean to take advantage of the
opportunity given in the letter to make their wants known and that they feel
that they are now getting a fair chance of doing this”. … “I am bound to say
further that the general impression is that Mr Michie himself, since the issue
of the letter, is much more approachable and conciliatory”. … “I have of course
heard a good deal about the letter outside the district, in Ballater, Braemar
and Aberdeen. There, the feeling
certainly is that it defines clearly Mr Michie’s personal position and that it
will tend to remove the irritation consequent upon the somewhat autocratic
position he sometimes appeared to assume”.
Sibbald was a major beneficiary of George V’s “best friend”
strategy. The Crathie minister’s salary,
which was paid from the Privy Purse, was doubled from £75pa to £150pa in
September 1910, though it has not been discovered if this rise was granted
following a request from Sibbald. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/981 letter dated 15 February 1911 from Rev Sibbald to Sir
William Carrington).
Another
possible source of information on tenants’ and servants’ dissatisfaction was Dr
Hendry, the Ballater doctor commissioned to provide medical services to the
staff on the Royal estates. This role
meant that he visited the houses of estate residents regularly and would have
become aware of deficiencies in their living accommodation. In mid-December 1910 he wrote to John Michie
to give a report on the health status of various people (no problem
safeguarding medical confidentiality in those days) and at the same time
mentioned housing problems. “Abercrombie
will be home in about 1 week and he is anxious hoping new range will be
in. Mackay’s WC is cracked and leaking
“promised to mention it to you”. Mrs
Farquharson, Bridge of Dee has a long story about a blocked drain”. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 11 December 1910 from Dr Alexander Hendry
to John Michie). Hendry at least had the
good judgement to bring these particular issues to Michie’s attention
privately.
Carrington’s
letter may have had the effect of undermining Michie’s position with suppliers
to the Royal estates. On 25 February
1911, Douglas Dawson (status unknown) wrote to Sir William Carrington enclosing
a letter from McHardys, a firm of ironmongers in Aberdeen, complaining that
they were not getting so many orders as they used to. Dawson asked Carrington if he might feel
prompted to enquire regarding distribution of orders to tradesmen by “those in
authority” at Balmoral. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/977 letter dated 25 February
1911 from Douglas Dawson to Sir William Carrington). Carrington, to his great credit, replied
that he was inclined to think it was no business of McHardy’s who the King
employed as ironmongers. Even so, Walter
Gibson in the Privy Purse Office and a friend of John Michie’s, was tasked with
making an enquiry of Michie concerning McHardys. In reply, John Michie conceded that McHardy’s
bills were not so big as in former years but that they still continued to be
employed in both work and materials “when it is considered in the King’s
interest to do so”. In 1910, McHardys’
total bill was £36 – 17 – 8. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/977 letter dated 1 March 1911 from John Michie to Walter
Gibson).
Remarkably,
John Michie’s only mentions of the Carrington letter in his diary occurred on
13, 14 and 21 January 1911. It is clear
that John Michie immediately gave the Carrington letter his attention and
carried out the instruction as a loyal and unquestioning servant. “Friday 13 January. Had a telegram from Sir W. Carrington to send
out circular letters at once. Did so”.
“Saturday 14 January. Last night
and this morning posted circulars, being letter from Sir Wm. Carrington to
Tenants, Residents & Servants”.
“Saturday 21 January. … Despatched replies received to Sir W.
Carrington's letter to him”. These entries
are brief and factual, without any hint of Michie’s inner thoughts. Michie soon modified his behaviour towards
the employees and tenants on the Royal Deeside estates, as confirmed by Dr
Farquharson (“Balmoral letter from HM has had a good effect”) and Rev Sibbald
(“much more approachable and conciliatory”).
However, there
can be little doubt that John Michie had been viewed on Upper Deeside and more
widely as an autocrat, and that that view was held within Court circles, too,
as confirmed much later, in 1919, by Sir Dighton Probyn in a letter to Sir
Fritz Ponsonby, “Old Michie through his lack of tact made himself so very
unpopular and there being several of the old clique still on the estate to
abuse him in true Highland fashion behind his back …”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97
letter dated 18 April 1919 from Sir Dighton Probyn to Sir Fritz Ponsonby). This statement suggests that Michie’s rather
unbending approach may have been related to the persistent campaign of Donald
Stewart and other members of the “old clique” in trying to undermine the
factor’s position and may give some justification to Michie’s approach, since
his authority could otherwise have collapsed.
In a further
letter from Sir Dighton to Fritz Ponsonby in 1919, the old soldier also
confirmed that King George V had been influenced against Michie by Donald
Stewart but that the King was won over by Michie’s loyalty and
effectiveness. “I am afraid too King
George whose mind had been biased against poor Michie by Donald Stewart and Co,
did not at first like him. But His
Majesty’s love of justice allowed him to see that Michie had carried on his
work honestly and well during the few years he had held the post before His
Majesty came to the throne and on Michie becoming His servant His Majesty soon
learned his merits”. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 27 May 1919 from Sir Dighton Probyn to Sir
Fritz Ponsonby). This suggests that the
upbraiding of Michie through the issuing of the Carrington letter in January
1911 and the removal of authority from him, was but a passing phase and that a
more trusting and consultative relationship between monarch and senior servant
soon replaced the dictatorial scheme introduced by Carrington.
Reference to
the statistics of John Michie’s 1911 diary is interesting. Overall. there were
entries on most days, all but 2.5% of the insertions being normal or full in
length, which may indicate that, taken as a whole, the year was not one of
prolonged stress for the Balmoral factor.
These data suggest that any re-set in the relationship with King George
happened early in the year.
What effect did
the Carrington letter have on the tenants and servants, in terms of them asking
for more generous treatment? There is no
way to make a quantitative evaluation of this question from the entries in
Michie’s surviving diaries but qualitatively, there are many entries in 1911,
which could be interpreted as suggestive of both an increased frequency of such
requests and a more generous treatment of supplicants by John Michie. Three examples will illustrate this
point. “Monday 17 April. … Drove to
Girnoc School where Mr. Strath wants a fireplace in one of his upstairs
bedrooms. Proposed to wait and raise all
three rooms which are not more than seven feet at apex. Called at Dalraddie - about water, kitchen
range and repairs to back porch. Corbie
Hall - new shed required and fence at Garden.
Mrs. Campbell at Khantore - water, kitchen plastered and washing
boiler”. “Saturday 3 June. … After noon
took Bremner (Clerk of Works) to see the two houses at Bualtchach. The Farm House to have a cement floor - now
stones - they cannot be called flags.
Kitchen range repaired. Milk
house lined with wood, new shelving and ventilators put in. Roans or eaves spouting put on and slates
seen to. Other home or cottage in name of Miss Barbara Stewart - The woodwork
is badly affected by dry rot. This to be
made good, the soil removed round at back, eaves spouting, and a new
porch. Drainage away from both”. “Monday 22 May. … John Begg of Little Mill
wants his staircase papered. This I
cannot do but have promised to give him a new window in kitchen where there is
at present only a peep hole”.
There is no
indication in any of the above diary extracts, from April, May and June 1911,
that the repairs and upgrades to estate houses were being sanctioned from the
Privy Purse office. However, an application
for a rise by the estate labourers, also in April, was referred upwards. “Wednesday 19 April. … Wrote a long letter to
Sir Wm. Carrington on the question of an Application by the workmen for an
advance of pay. By the workmen is meant
ordinary labourers receiving the minimum wage of 5-18/- for long day for 8
months and 5/- for short day for 4 months a year”. But this was clearly a matter which would
have been transferred to the Keeper of the Privy Purse anyway. The result of this consultation was announced
by Michie to his Heads of Department on 22 May.
“… The King had been graciously
pleased to advance ordinary Labourers wages on the three Estates from 18/- to
19/- a week for 8 months working 10 hours a day and from 15/- to 16/- for 4
months working 8 hours a day”.
The coronation
of George V and Queen Mary took place on 22 June 1911 in Westminster Abbey in
front of a congregation of 6,000.
Inevitably, the Balmoral Factor took charge of the arrangements for the
local celebrations at Crathie. He
decided to make his own financial contribution to the local activities in his
capacity of Chairman of the School Board.
“I am giving the children (actually school children) of the
United Parish of Crathie and Braemar Coronation Medals. Ordered from Shirras Laing & Co. 3 gross
of an aluminium medal for that purpose”.
A picnic was organised for local people to take place on part of the
Balmoral Golf Course. Gifts were made to
local children and the poor of the Parish.
In addition to the Coronation medal, each child also received a
commemorative mug. Michie sensibly broke
up his committee into implementation groups.
“Monday 29 May. … At 7 p.m. presided at a Committee Meeting for the
Coronation Celebrations. The Com. was
divided up into small Committees for carrying out the arrangements on
Coronation Day”. John Michie was
assisted by his wife, Helen, William Brown, Crathie schoolmaster and John
Michie, farmer at Mains of Monaltrie.
John Michie
received an invitation to attend the Coronation of George V in London and left
for the capital on 20 June. While he was
away, his wife, Helen, filled in his diary for him. The other Balmoral folk to be invited to
London were Rev Sibbald, Dr and Mrs Hendry, Arthur Grant, head gamekeeper,
Charles McIntosh, under keeper, Mrs Mussen, housekeeper at Balmoral and Miss
Rothnie, housekeeper at Abergeldie.
It would have been unthinkable to
celebrate the crowning of the new monarch without toasting his health in best
Lochnagar and a cask was ordered from William Reid, then in charge at the
distillery. He acknowledged Michie’s
order for a ten-gallon cask of Lochnagar, 6/8-year-old. However, the cask being sent was 12 years old
and “about proof”. This older and
therefore usually more expensive stock was offered at the same price. Reid felt obliged to give a warning that the
whisky should either be diluted with water by 20% or, “bear in mind the
strength when drinking”. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box2 letter dated 8 June 1911 from WR Reid Lochnagar Distillery
to John Michie).
Similarly,
a major Royal celebration on Upper Deeside would have been unimaginable without
at least one hilltop bonfire. In this
case it was actually three conflagrations, on Craig-gowan, Craig-na-ban, and
the Coyles of Muick. However, being
June, the organisers had to wait until it was 10.30pm before lighting the
inflammable piles. Other items in the
celebration included a short service at Crathie church on Thursday morning, the
day of the Coronation. Helen Michie
attended the service, commenting that there was only a small congregation of
about 40. The school children assembled
at Balmoral Castle, where Helen Michie presented them with their Coronation
medals, which were described in the Aberdeen Journal. “On one side of the medals are busts of the
King and Queen with the words “King George V, Queen Mary” round the edge and on
the obverse side the Royal arms with the words “To commemorate their Majesties’
Coronation. June 22 1911”. The medals had red, white and blue ribbon
attached”. After the medal presentation,
the kids undertook a quick march to the picnic on the Balmoral golf course,
where there was another presentation, this time of a Coronation mug. The children were then fed with milk and cake
and thus fortified, there followed sports and games for both adults and
youngsters. The estate owned an old
marquee which was lent to the committee by John Michie for this occasion. Some of the estate employees erected the big
tent on the Sunday afternoon prior to Coronation Day. It was used for a dance to a string band on
Thursday evening.
During
the afternoon celebrations at Crathie, a telegram was received from the Balmoral
Factor in London. “Buckingham Palace
2.35pm. Brown (William Brown, the
Crathie schoolmaster), Secretary celebrations Crathie – Their Majesties’
coronation completed. Enormous
crowds. Great enthusiasm. Hope all are enjoying themselves at Balmoral
- Michie”. The weather had been fine and
sunny at Crathie, and Helen Michie described the event as “… a lovely afternoon
and a most successful pic-nic”. John
Michie did not return to Deeside until the Friday following the London
celebrations, having diverted to Sandringham, from where he had been attending
the Northwick Show.
The Coronation
of George V also brought forth a number of journalistic initiatives. J Maxwell, Editor of the Aberdeen Daily
Journal, the Aberdeen Weekly Journal and the Evening Express wrote to John
Michie proposing that he write an article on the new King’s farming
interests. Would the Factor give an
interview to their agriculture reporter and allow photographs to be taken of
some of the King’s stock? John Michie
also received another approach about the same time from James R Barclay of The
Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society letting him know that the Livestock Journal of
London was producing a special Coronation issue dealing with the Royal farms
and herds. Barclay had been asked to
write about the Abergeldie herd and was keen to see the Scottish estates
treated as prominently as those located in England. Would Michie cooperate by providing
photographs and information? A newspaper
photographer representing the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society visited Abergeldie
on 25 May. “To Abergeldie Mains
Farm. Met photographer there at 10 a.m.
for purpose of taking some cattle.
Photographs a group of five - Bull "Gruinard", Cow Gwych,
Heifer 2 yr. Gwyffe - Heifer 1 yr "Gwendolin" "2nd" and
Ecce of Ballindalloch. Then singly -
Gruinard, Gwych, Gwyffe, and Ecce of Ballindalloch”. The Aberdeen Journal reporter appeared
later. “Tuesday 6 June. … Met Mr.
McCulloch, Reporter, Aberdeen Journal who is writing an article on The King's
Cattle for that paper. Photographer with
him”.
King George V
ordered a supper and ball to be organised at Balmoral for the tenants and
servants on the three Royal estates plus others, such as local ministers and
Royal tradesmen. It was held on Friday
21 July as part of the celebrations of HM’s coronation. John Michie possibly saw the occasion as his
opportunity to shine in the eyes of his employer, the estate tenants and
servants and no doubt, too, in the eyes of his detractors, bearing in mind the
upset at the start of the year. Michie
put his all into creating a memorable occasion and it was noticeable that it
differed in form from the many similar events which had preceded it at
Balmoral. Further, John Michie would
also be presiding on the night.
On 7 July,
Michie travelled to Aberdeen in connection with the Coronation supper and
ball. He visited Mr Mitchell at the
Royal Athenaeum Hotel to engage him to purvey the food and he also visited
Shirras Laing on School Hill concerning a giant canvas cover over the pend
court at the Castle, where he planned to hold the meal. A week later Mr Shirras and Mr Mitchell
travelled to Balmoral to view the arrangements.
As usual with dances held on the Royal estates, ghillie David Rose, an
expert Highland dancer, was engaged as master of ceremonies. In 1903 he had come close to being dismissed
from King Edward’s service but was retained, on pain of his continuing good
behaviour. His utility as a dance master
perhaps encouraged his employer not to dispense with his services. Rose visited John Michie on 18 July to
arrange a programme of dances for the ball.
The Aberdeen
Journal gave the ball extensive coverage in its edition of 22 July, the day
after the event. Almost 400 attended the
occasion, each invited with a delightfully presented card bearing photogravures
of the King and Queen respectively and the Royal coat of arms depicted in
gold. At 9.00pm, John Michie addressed
the gathered throng. “Ladies and
Gentlemen, Were the King and Queen able to be present here at their Majesties’
beloved Highland home tonight, you would have received a most cordial welcome
from the fountain-head. Let me therefore
say that their Majesties hope you may enjoy to the full this evening’s
entertainment provided for us all by the King in commemoration of their
Majesties’ Coronation.” Dancing then commenced in the order of the printed
programme, with 12 dances followed by an interval and then a further dozen
calls to the dance floor. A dance band
had been assembled by Mr Page, the Crathie church organist. About 11.00pm the activities paused on the
dance floor and the guests exited to the pend court, carpeted and covered with
a canvas awning, for supper. The printed
menu was also an elegantly designed work and again bore portraits of the King
and Queen, with thistle, rose and shamrock decorations.
On completion
of supper, John Michie proposed the toast of the evening. “The King”.
His Majesty was at all times he said occupied with matters of the
greatest importance for the welfare of his people at home and abroad but for
many weeks past the King’s engagements had been enormously great in number and
importance. Yet His Majesty had not
forgotten the people connected with his estates on Deeside as a result of which
they were met that evening to celebrate the Coronation. (Applause).
He (Mr Michie) was sure that no words of his could enhance the sincere
loyalty of that gathering to the Crown and humble affection for the King
himself. (Applause). It was well known to them all that His
Majesty as a landlord on Deeside took a great interest in the people of those
parts. He might quote the King’s own
gracious words uttered about this time last year – “I have known so many of them
ever since I can remember that I look upon them as my personal friends.” (Applause).
And again on their Majesties’ arrival at Balmoral last August referring
to all on the Royal estates the King said “I want you to look upon me as your
best friend.” (Applause). Was it necessary to say more? Michie was not a great orator, but he had
carefully used the words that had been employed by the monarch at the start of
the year to call Michie to heel, to his own advantage as he praised his
monarch’s generosity.
There were two
further toasts, “The Queen, Queen Alexandra, the Prince of Wales and other
members of the Royal Family”. (Loud
applause), also proposed by the president for the evening, followed by “The
health of the Chairman”, which was proposed by Councillor Taggart, the granite
merchant and friend of John Michie. The
guests then trooped out into the night to watch a firework display under the
supervision of Mr Shirras before returning to the ballroom for another 12 stamina-sapping
dances. The time that the proceedings
concluded was not noted by the newspaper but must have been well after
2.00am. The Aberdeen Journal was full of
praise for Michie’s organisation. “The
arrangements excellently supervised by Mr John Michie, MVO, his majesty’s
factor on the Balmoral estates, were most complete, and nothing was left undone
to promote the enjoyment of all according to the expressed wishes of Their
Majesties”. Remarkably, the day after
the entertainments, John Michie recorded, “Busy in office all forenoon. Heard this morning that James Gordon's body
had been found in the Dee near Drymills - went to see his parents in the
afternoon”. James Gordon had been a
journeyman carpenter. Probably many of
the other attendees enjoyed the luxury of a late start to the day, but that
opportunity was not afforded to the estate factor, who had many tasks to deal
with, including one of deep sadness but not great rarity. Drownings in the Dee were not uncommon.
In early August
1911, John Michie got early warning from Buckingham Palace of the likely dates
of arrival of Royal visitors to Balmoral.
This was the start of a very busy period of the year for the Balmoral
Factor. Prince Albert and Prince Henry,
accompanied by their tutor, Mr Hansell, were to be expected on Saturday 12
August. Michie was given dietary guidance. “… it will not be necessary to kill any
sheep. Please arrange Dairy and
Vegetable supplies as usual. Baker is
coming to act Storekeeper. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 7 August 1911 from George Gooding to John
Michie). Before the arrival of the two
older sons of King George, there were other visitors to accommodate. “Tuesday 8 August. … The Hon. Margaret Bigge & Mr. John Bigge
arrived at Abergeldie Mains (son and daughter of Lord Stamfordham). They called in the afternoon & had tea”. As in previous years, John Michie had to
source a piano for the use of Lady Stamfordham.
She and Lord Stamfordham were due to arrive on 21 August but were a day
late, having been held up by a national rail strike. On Saturday 12 August, John Michie went down
to the castle to receive the Royal princes.
Sir Leslie Probyn, brother of Sir Dighton and a prominent colonial
administrator was staying in Ballater, and Helen Michie called on him. Later, Sir Leslie and his cousin visited the
Michies at Baile-na-Coile for tea.
Sir Dighton
Probyn, who was recovering from a serious illness, fetched up at Birkhall on 30
August accompanied by his niece, Miss Hill.
There were very few interactions between the old soldier and John Michie
during his sojourn at Birkhall, Michie’s involvement being largely confined to
enquiring after Sir Dighton’s health. He
left for the South on 3 October, John Michie bidding him farewell in the
morning and Helen, with daughter Alix, travelling to Ballater to say
goodbye. But Sir Dighton was not out of
the woods. On 10 November, John Michie
wrote, “The news of Sir Dighton, says the Journal, causes anxiety”.
Lord and Lady
Knollys arrived on 30 August to stay at Craiggowan House. Queen Mary also arrived at Balmoral at
10.00pm on Saturday 2 September. She had
asked that the Balmoral Highlanders be not turned out at that late hour. Instead, John Michie, dressed in his “evening
kilt”, met her at the main door of the Castle.
HRH, with Princess Mary and the three Princes were at church the next
day and later a Royal crowd consisting of the Queen, Princess Mary, Princes
Albert and Henry, and accompanied by Sir Charles Frederick, visited the Michies
at Baile-na-Coile. Two days later Michie
was required to motor with the Queen and Sir William Carrington around part of
the estate. Michie did not reveal the
purpose of the tour, but it could well have been to inspect repairs and
modifications to estate houses. The next
day, Wednesday 6 September, “Busy with Sir W. Carrington most of the day”,
suggests that an estate inspection might have been continuing. Perhaps Carrington was arming himself with
facts to report to the King after his arrival?
Further tours with Sir William took place later, to the Ballochbuie and
to Birkhall.
In addition to
preparing for Royal visitors and VIP guests, John Michie was also involved in
the preparations for a church bazaar to be held over three days on 24 – 26
August in marquees located in the Statue Park at Balmoral. At the opening, performed by Mrs Beaty from
Invercauld, the Rev Sibbald made a speech in which he thanked John Michie for
his support. “… their debt to him was
great for the facilities he had provided and the amount of personal work he had
given for the sake of the bazaar. Mr
Michie had been there most of the time when arrangements for the bazaar were
being made and he had quite an army of men engaged on the work”. Right in the middle of the arrivals period,
on Saturday 2 September, the day of the Queen’s arrival, John Michie, in his
Balmoral tartan kilt, was also needed to conduct a group of 130 members of the
Institute of Journalists around the Castle grounds and the ballroom, where they
took tea by command of the King.
King George V
arrived at Balmoral from Tulchan Lodge on 5 September to a traditional welcome
from the Balmoral Highlanders dressed in Royal Stuart kilts, with Highland
Laddie being played on the pipes and the toasting of the monarch’s health in
best Lochnagar by the Highlanders, who, of course, were under the command of
John Michie. Unlike his father, who
usually missed the Braemar Gathering through his annual health visit to
Marienbad, King George V attended at Braemar on the first Thursday in
September, along with the Queen and the Royal children. John Michie, who commanded the Balmoral
Highlanders, also acted as a judge of the Gathering’s athletic events.
The obligatory
ghillies’ dance, with the King, Queen and many high-profile guests in
attendance and with David Rose as master of ceremonies, was held on Friday 8
September, with John Michie charged with making the arrangements, at least as
far as the tenants and ghillies were concerned.
Although the Balmoral Highlanders were present in uniform, there was no
indication that they lined the corridor down which the platform party entered
the ballroom and the dancing opened with a quadrille, not a demonstration of
the Highland Fling by the bekilted servants.
There was a further ghillies’ dance on 27 September, with John Michie
again handling the invitations to tenants, servants and ghillies.
Sunday 10
September saw the dedication of two new items in Crathie church to the memory
of King Edward VII, a communion table in Iona marble and a carved oak
screen. There was a large Royal and VIP
guest attendance at the service. John
and Helen Michie were also in the congregation, along with A Marshall Mackenzie
and his son, the designers of the memorial, and Mr Ogilvie whose firm had
carved the screen.
Visitors were
still arriving at Balmoral in late September.
On 19th of the month, “The Princess Mary of Battenberg
arrived at the Castle on a visit to the King & Queen”. The following day, she visited the Michies
at Baile-na-Coile. The next visitors
mentioned by John Michie arrived on 23 September. “The Duke, Duchess, and Princess Patricia of
Connaught arrived at the Castle this evening.
So also did Mr. Winston Churchill & others”.
Interactions
between John Michie and King George V during the autumn of 1911 were a bit hit
and miss. On 14 September “The King said
he wished to see me at 2.30 so I went to the Castle & had to wait some time
for His Majesty”. The reason for the
audience could well have been concerned with personnel matters. A week after seeing the King, Michie
recorded, “Informed Mrs. James Smith, Khantore that the King was graciously
pleased to make her an allowance of £10 a year on account of her late husband's
service as a joiner in addition to her old age pension. Also, George Smith, Khantore that he gets £6-
added to his pension of £12- till he becomes eligible for the old age pension,
when the £6 will be discontinued”. The
monarch called at Baile-na-Coile on 25 September, looking for John Michie, but
only found Helen at home. John Michie
was again called to the Castle by the King on 4 October. “Went to Castle in evening & waited to
see the King for 2½ hours but didn't after all”. George V was not a good time-keeper. The following day Michie did manage a brief
audience with the monarch. “Saw the King
this morning for about half an hour”.
The King and Queen left for the South on 9 October, John Michie
travelling to the Castle to join the crowd of servants and members of Court
assembled to wave them off. If the King
left Michie with a list of tasks for the following year, it is unclear what
they were, though in the month after the monarch’s departure, Michie several
times noted that he was “very busy” and on 19 October, “I wrote Sir W.
Carrington a long letter in the evening”.
The subject matter of the letter is mere surmise but was possibly
related to property repairs on the estate since on 31 October, “In afternoon
went to Braehead Cottage & widow Lamont's house & took Bremner (Clerk
of Works) with me to arrange about repairs at both cottages. The following day was similarly
occupied. “In afternoon went to the
plumbers, Bualtsach & Bovaglie (two estate farms) taking Bremner
with me”.
John
Michie’s relationship with King George V.
1912
John Michie’s
diaries for 1912 – 1914 inclusive are missing and it is difficult, therefore,
to glean much alternative information concerning the relationship between
monarch and Balmoral factor. However,
the King’s “best friend” strategy continued.
The harvest had been very poor on Deeside in 1911, so he gave each
farmer “a large quantity of good straw” through the agency of John Michie. The monarch also continued the traditional
Christmas donation of butcher meat to the “small cottars and employees”, which
was also organised by the Balmoral Factor.
The Earl of
Fife had married Princess Louise, sister of King George V, in 1889. Queen Victoria then immediately bestowed upon
him the titles of Duke of Fife and Marquis of MacDuff. The Fifes lived at Mar Lodge which lies about
five miles west of Braemar. In December
1911, the Fifes were on board the ss Dehli, heading for Egypt when the vessel
was wrecked off Morocco. They were
eventually rescued from the water but the duke subsequently developed pleurisy
and died at Aswan on 29 January 1912.
His body was returned to Britain and temporarily stored in the vault
below St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle after a funeral service on 28
February. On that day, a memorial
service was also held at Crathie church, and the Balmoral Highlanders attended
in full Highland dress, under the command of the Balmoral Factor, who marched
his contingent from the Castle and over the Balmoral bridge. Helen and Alix Michie were in the
congregation.
Eventually the
Duke’s body was returned to Deeside on 7 July 1912 and found a permanent
resting place in St Ninian’s chapel in the grounds of Mar Lodge. The coffin travelled by rail to the Ballater
terminus of the Deeside line, where it was transferred to a motor hearse by
eight Duff Highlanders. The hearse
travelled slowly up Deeside before crossing the Victoria bridge over the Dee at
the entrance to New Mar Lodge. There it
was met by a further contingent of Duff Highlanders, supplemented by a
detachment of the Balmoral Highlanders under the command of John Michie. A procession then formed with the Duff men at
the front and the Balmoral men bringing up the rear to St Ninian’s chapel. After the service, the coffin was placed in a
vault, constructed of polished red granite, under the chapel. As a consequence of the duke’s death, there
was no Braemar Gathering in 1912.
In mid-August
of that year, the Aberdeen Journal commented on how busy Balmoral was in late
summer, compared with Queen Victoria’s time.
“This year Balmoral will be particularly crowded with distinguished
visitors and constant turn-over. This is
in marked contrast to Queen Victoria’s time when in 1849 the Balmoral dining
room would hold only eight and the drawing room was also the library but had
few books”.
The first Royal
arrival on Deeside was of Queen Alexandra, widow of Edward VII. She arrived on 13 August, accompanied by Sir
Dighton Probyn, Miss Knollys and Colonel Stratfield and was met at Ballater
station by John Michie, Dr Alexander Hendry “and others”. Her destination was Mar Lodge to visit the
Duchess of Fife and she left Ballater for London on 23 August. The King’s sons, Prince Edward of Wales, with
Princes Albert, Henry, George and John, accompanied by their tutor Mr Vernon,
arrived at Balmoral on 17 August. Prince
John, as usual, was shunted away from the public gaze to Altnaguibhsaich in
Glenmuick. King George V arrived at
Balmoral on 24 August, where he was greeted by his sons and the Balmoral
Highlanders under John Michie. The King
and the Court all attended divine worship at Crathie the following day and John
Michie, Arthur Grant and a few other Balmoral Highlanders were present in the
congregation dressed in full Highland costume.
The King was followed two days later, on Monday 26 August by the Queen. Sir Dighton Probyn, as usual, was staying at
Birkhall and was visited by the King and Queen.
Prime Minister Asquith was Minister-in-attendance from 30 August to 5
September. He was, in turn, replaced by
Winston Churchill.
B.C. Hucks, the
aviator backed by the Daily Mail, planned to fly from Aberdeen to Balmoral,
landing near the Castle, in early September.
Most newspapers wrongly reported this proposed pioneering journey as
having been commanded by the King. This
brought forth a curt telegram from John Michie to the editor of the Aberdeen
Journal, no doubt acting on instruction from Sir William Carrington. “The flight to Balmoral was by permission not
command. Michie”. However, Hucks’ proposed Deeside adventure
never took place due to bad weather.
The ghillies’
ball for servants and tenants on the three Royal estates took place on Thursday
12 September and conformed to the normal pattern with David Rose as master of
ceremonies and the Balmoral Highlanders, under John Michie’s command adding
colour to the proceedings and with an interval in the dancing activities when
supper was served. The King and Queen,
other members of the Royal Family and distinguished guests were present. There was a further ghillies’ dance on 4
October, essentially a repetition of the earlier event with John Michie again
commanding the Balmoral Highlanders.
The King left
Balmoral on 16 September to attend Army manoeuvres in Cambridge, returning to
Deeside four days later. He was followed
south by Princes Albert, Henry and George, on 20 September, though the Prince
of Wales remained at Balmoral. The Court
and the monarch finally left Balmoral for the season on 9 October, without much
ceremony. The Aberdeen Journal noted,
“there was an official party at Ballater station and at Aberdeen but there no
longer seems to be the Highland farewell at the gates of Balmoral, as in the
days of Queen Victoria”.
After his return to the South, Sir
William Carrington contacted AM Mackenzie of 1 Victoria Street, London and
instructed him to have the woodwork in the Library, small Drawing Room and Billiard
Room at Balmoral treated in the same way as the Hall last year. “so there should be no danger of the soda
water soaking through”. Mackenzie then
had to write to Michie to make arrangements for this project to be carried
out. Was Carrington still taking a
rather high-handed approach in his relationship with John Michie?
The
Balmoral Factor continued as a County Councillor and a member of the Deeside
District Committee. As usual, the King,
via Michie, gave his annual £40 towards the upkeep of the South Deeside Road
where it crossed the Royal estates, but Michie was concerned at the then present
state of that road. At a meeting of the
Deeside District Committee held just before Christmas 1912, he made a polite
but firm protest by letter to the District Road Surveyor.
“I
am much obliged for your letter of yesterday’s date on behalf of the Deeside
District Committee conveying to the King the Committee’s thanks for His
Majesty’s donation to assist in the better upkeep on the South public road from
Ballater to Crathie where it passes through the estates of Balmoral, Abergeldie
and Birkhall. I cannot however avoid
this opportunity of stating for the Committee’s information and kind
consideration that the road referred to is at present, and has been for weeks
back, in a worse condition than the North Road ever was in our time. Indeed, it is in a very dangerous state
generally but more particularly to horse traffic having burst up in long
parallel ridges for a great part of its length and there are frequent bad holes
besides”.
“After
some repairs made last summer, the South Road was then in better condition than
I had ever seen it but since this road has had to bear the whole traffic
through and local (devoid as it is of any real foundation) the result has been
disastrous”.
“Unless
something is done at once to level the surface and heavy traffic is diverted to
the North Road it is difficult to conceive how the South Road can be even
passable for the coming winter while one shrinks from the thought of what it
may be next summer and autumn”.
In a rather
defensive reply, the Road Surveyor pointed out to John Michie that the North
Road was now open after major reconstruction and that he was planning significant
repairs to the South Road, and it would be as good as it was by the spring.
As far as it is
possible to say from the more limited information available for the passing
year, in 1912 John Michie’s life seems to have continued much as it did in
1911.
John Michie’s
relationship with King George V. 1913
Nineteen thirteen, too, is an
information desert without the unique insight into John Michie’s life provided
by his diaries. Occasional glimpses can
be gained from the Aberdeen Journal, such as John Michie’s letter of apology
for absence from the annual meeting of the Aberdeen Fat Stock Club on 4 July, this
possibly due to the visit to Balmoral on the same day by the Association of
Professional Fire Brigade Officers. This
call was probably arranged by Mr Inkster, the Aberdeen Firemaster, who was
well-known to Michie through Inkster’s survey of fire risks at Balmoral and the
training his brigade had provided to Balmoral staff on fire fighting.
Early in the
year John Michie was approached by William Proctor of the Invercauld Arms
Hotel, Ballater. Proctor was heading an
initiative to present Adam Seivewright, the Tarland vet, with a motorcar, presumably
to make it more convenient for the animal doctor to travel the 16 or so miles
from his home to Deeside. £145 had been
raised but £185 was needed. Would HM the
King make a donation? This was clearly a
matter for the monarch himself, so John Michie wrote to Sir William Carrington
pointing out that, while Seivewright was not employed by the King, he had
recently done most of the Royal estates’ veterinary work. It has not been discovered if the monarch
made a contribution to this fund.
The Aberdeen
Journal noted on 2 August that “Several improvements have recently been carried
out on the Balmoral grounds especially in connection with the walks; and
generally in keeping in proper order the buildings including motor garage and
stables. Where minor general
improvements could be conveniently carried out, those have received attention
although the alterations at the Castle have not been on the extensive scale of
a year or two ago”. Birkhall lay in the
parish of Glenmuick, Tullich and Glengairn and the public school on the estate
belonged to the King. The Parish School
Board requested a running water supply through John Michie, but that request
was refused, though it is not known if that decision was taken locally or in
London.
John Michie continued
to receive complaints from tenants and other estate residents about defects in
their accommodation. A typical example
at the end of January was from Charles Forbes, who had been the tenant of the
Mill of Sterin on the Birkhall Estate since 1906. Water was coming into the mill wetting the
driving belt and making it slip. Also,
the milk house had only one entrance from the kitchen and this limitation would
prevent them from selling milk, if the inspector saw it. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 BOX 3 letter dated 30
January 1913 from Charles Forbes to John Michie). The outcome has not been discovered.
Alexander
Hendry, the Ballater doctor contracted to provide medical services on the
Balmoral estates, continued to send John Michie regular reports on the health
and progress of individual residents. He
also pointed out defects in the estate infrastructure which, in his opinion,
were causing sickness. The most frequent
such complaint concerned drainage and leaking sewage.
John Michie
appeared to have responsibility for the purchase of new animals and of the
breeding strategy for the King’s herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle at Abergeldie
Mains, while John Robb, the farm grieve, had day to day responsibility for
their care. In March 1913, Michie was
nominated as the representative of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society at a
conference held in Edinburgh on the improvement of cattle breeding in
Scotland. It was clear from the
discussion that at that time the subject most concerning John Michie was the
prevention of spontaneous abortion in cattle.
At the end of the same month, Michie was present at another meeting of
cattle breeders in Aberdeen to consider the question of securing for Scotland a
tuberculin testing station in connection with the export trade. Sir John McPherson Grant and John Michie were
added to the committee “to represent the Aberdeen Angus interest”.
John
Michie frequently received requests from a variety of organisations to be
allowed to visit the estate and/or the castle.
If the body seeking access were significant in size and status, that
permission would occasionally be granted providing it was at a time away from
the hectic late summer – autumn period.
However, access to the castle was only rarely allowed. In June 1913, 350 members of the Presbyterian
Alliance were received by Michie and conducted through the grounds. Early the following month, the Association of
Professional Fire Brigade Officers were similarly treated, but time was drawing
close to prepare for the autumn rush. Of
course, the status of the applicant was also important. In early September, John Michie received a
letter from Garden Duff of Ballater. He
was intending to motor to Mar Lodge the following day, taking his daughter and
her school friend, Miss Paul with him as far as Crathie. Miss Paul was a niece of Sir William Lever,
of Port Sunlight fame. “Miss Paul has
never seen the King and Queen and would like to see them”. It is unlikely that Miss Paul could be thus
obliged by Michie, but he noted that “the young ladies came and lunched with
us”. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 6 September 1913 from Garden Duff
to John Michie).
The advent of
the Royal residence season brought in its wake an influx of day trippers,
mostly from Aberdeen. On 23 July, the
heaviest train on record steamed along the Dee valley, consisting of “twenty
large composite carriages drawn by two powerful engines. The platform at Ballater was scarcely long
enough to accommodate the train”.
Princes Henry
and John arrived on Saturday 2 August to stay at the “cottage opposite the
Castle” (New Garden Cottage?), though Prince John, in the company of Mrs Bill,
travelled separately from his older brother, who was accompanied by Mr
Hansell. Prince John and his carer, as
usual, stayed at remote Altnaguibhsaich.
Prince George arrived five days later.
Lord and Lady
Stamfordham arrived at Balmoral on 5 August.
Craiggowan House had been made available to them by the King for a
period of two months. By this year Lord
Knollys, who usually occupied Craiggowan, had retired and been succeeded by
Lord Stamfordham.
An unusual
feature of the autumn influx of Royal Family members in 1913 was the residence
of Princess Henry of Battenberg, who was ensconced at Abergeldie Castle. In Queen Victoria’s time, Princess Henry
(Beatrice) was constantly at her mother’s side but had not been in residence at
Balmoral since autumn 1900.
The Queen,
Princess Mary and Prince Albert arrived at Balmoral on 14 August. Although there was a formal greeting party on
the station at Ballater, no ceremonial seems to have been organised at
Balmoral. She was followed by her
husband, King George two days later, when there was a traditional welcome with
the Balmoral Highlanders on parade, under the command of John Michie. After the King’s inspection and his retreat
into the Castle, the Highlanders retired to the gunroom “and pledged His
Majesty’s good health with Highland honours”.
(This is a practice where the celebrants stand with one leg on their
chair and the other leg on the tabletop, while taking the drink). The same evening, the King motored to
Ballater to greet his mother Queen Alexandra, when she arrived at the rail
terminus, accompanied by her sister Empress Marie of Russia. The new arrivals were to stay for a
week. On reaching Balmoral, the
Highlanders again turned out, this time bearing split-pine torches, which,
after the greeting of the Queen Mother, were piled up to make a bonfire. There was a big turnout of Royal Family and
Court members at Crathie church on Sunday 17 August, which was also attended by
John and Helen Michie. The Michies were
regularly at church during the Royal sojourn at Balmoral.
The
King, his relatives and guests were frequently involved in the slaughter of
wildlife, particularly red deer, roe deer and grouse. Even in those days, there seems to have been
some concern at the public perception of such behaviour, as revealed in a
letter from Mr Maxwell, the editor at the time of the Aberdeen Daily
Journal. In a communication to John
Michie in late August he reminded the Balmoral Factor that during the previous
year’s Royal stay at Balmoral, his organ had “refrained from publishing some
information on Royal movements” and that in the upcoming Friday edition of the
newspaper, “he will not mention the total bag of a shooting party. Is this the King’s wish in the matter”? Michie’s reply is not known. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 22 August
1913 from Mr Maxwell to John Michie). August
also saw a personal tragedy for Arthur Grant, the Head Stalker at Balmoral and
a favourite of the King. His eldest son,
also Arthur and a keeper on the estate, died of tuberculosis at the early age
of 31. The King suspended shooting on
the estates temporarily as a mark of respect for Arthur Grant junior, which
illustrated well the status of the Grant family in the eyes of the Royal
employer. The dead keeper was buried in
Crathie graveyard and many of the ghillies and keepers attended in Highland
dress. Of course, John Michie was one of
those present.
As usual, The
Braemar Gathering took place on the first Thursday in September with a big
Royal presence of the King, the Queen, Princes Albert, Henry and George, and
Princess Mary with other lesser members of the Family and a variety of Balmoral
guests. The Balmoral Highlanders were
out with a force of about 50, led as usual by the Balmoral Factor. Friday 5 September, the following day, was
the day of the first ghillies’ ball at the Castle, when the Highlanders were
again on duty, playing their traditional role.
John Michie had engaged Mr Riach of Aberdeen to provide a dance band for
the occasion.
One act of
generosity by King George was the commanding of Mr Cyril Maude’s Playhouse
Company to attend at Balmoral to perform their domestic comedy, “The
Headmaster” on Saturday 13 September.
The ballroom was adapted for the occasion and a wide and numerous
audience was assembled, from the King and Queen down to the servants and
ghillies on the three estates. The
scenery and costumes were prepared in London and the wigs were provided by
Willy Clarkson, a theatrical lynchpin, known to John Michie. John, Helen and Alix Michie were, of course,
invitees to the performance, which delighted His Majesty.
Friday 20
September was the day of the second ghillies’ ball at Balmoral. The form of the evening was traditional with
the Highlanders on parade, commanded by John Michie and ghillie David Rose
calling the dances. Several members of
the Royal Family were present, as well as Balmoral guests, including Mr Winston
Churchill, at that time First Lord of the Admiralty, who had been on duty as
Minister-in-Attendance. Helen and Alix Michie
were also among the guests.
The King and
Queen left Balmoral for Althorp on 22 September to attend Army manoeuvres,
returning five days later. The Royal
couple finally left Balmoral for the season on 10 October. There appeared to be no special farewell at
the Castle, though there was a platform party at Ballater manned by local
bigwigs.
One of the seasonal modifications which
had been commanded by the monarch during his Balmoral holiday in 1913 was the
refreshing of the pine panelling on the walls of the ground floor, passages and
Royal visiting room in the Castle. Mr
Grehlseppel, based at Buckingham Palace, wrote to John Michie in October to
thank him for providing estimates for this work. It was unclear if William Carrington had any
involvement, as he had had for similar work the previous year. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 4 October 1913 from D Grehlseppel to John
Michie).
It was
noticeable that about this time, John Michie absented himself from meetings of
local organisations which he would normally have attended. These included the annual meeting of the
County of Aberdeen branch of the British Red Cross Society on 6 October, the
Deeside District Committee on 11 October, when Michie sent the King’s £40
donation with a covering letter, the quarterly meeting of the Aberdeen branch
of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society on 17 October and the West
Aberdeenshire Advisory Committee of the College of Agriculture held on 24
October. It seems likely that these
absences were caused by the local demands of John Michie’s job at Balmoral at
the end, and in the aftermath of, the King’s rather long (eight weeks) stay on
Deeside.
By the end of
November 1913, John Michie appeared to have been free of the pressures exerted
on him by the recent sojourn of the King and his entourage at Balmoral and he
was able to accommodate a visit by students from the College of Agriculture to
view the cattle and horses on the Royal estates, an activity which John Michie
clearly enjoyed. This viewing of farm
animals was organised as a series of stock-judging competitions and afterwards
the students and accompanying staff from the College were “hospitably
entertained”, with Michie presiding. The
usual speeches and toasting followed the meal, drinking first to the health of
the monarch. Michie then proposed the health of
the demonstrators and, in turn, Mr Brown proposed the health of John
Michie. “He considered that His Majesty
was extremely fortunate in having such an able and practical man at the head of
affairs on the Royal estates as Mr Michie.
Mr Michie had spared no trouble to make the outing a success and
providing every facility to the students for inspecting the stock.” Mrs Michie was also thanked for her catering
efforts and finally, cheers were given for the King and Queen and for their
representative, Mr Michie.
In December 1913, John Michie
travelled down to London to be present at the Smithfield Show, but nothing has
been discovered about his activities while there.
John
Michie’s relationship with King George V.
1914
John Michie’s diary for 1914 is
missing, so the impact of this most important year for the British Nation on
the management of the Balmoral estates by John Michie can only be
followed in a haphazard fashion. It
started like any other recent year with the expectation that George V, his
Court and a gaggle of visitors would descend on Deeside in the late summer and
autumn and so the first half of the year was filled with routine for the
Balmoral Factor.
John Michie, as has frequently been
noted, was a keen and competent adherent of the game of curling. Up to this year, he had pursued his interest
as an outdoor sport, though its conduct was frequently hampered by the vagaries
of meteorological conditions. However,
in early 1914 Michie frequented a new, indoor venue for the roaring game, the
Aberdeen Glaciarium. It was originally
opened in 1909 as a roller-skating rink but that craze proved to be ephemeral
and the building was re-purposed, firstly as a venue for trade exhibitions but
then, in 1912, as an ice-skating rink.
The 1914 North vs South Aberdeenshire Bonspiel was held there in March
and Michie was again a skip on the South team.
But the Glaciarium became an early casualty of war. In March 1915, it was converted to an
aircraft factory. John Michie remained
as the president of the Balmoral Curling Club, which held its annual “At Home”
in March 1914.
April 1914 was a sad month for the
Balmoral Estate. On the 8th
of the month, Mrs Victoria Alexandrina Mussen, the long-standing Balmoral
housekeeper, died at the Castle four days after suffering a stroke. She was 56, had been appointed by Queen
Victoria and had thus served three monarchs.
Her father was John Grant, the Queen’s head keeper between 1848 and
1875. Mrs Mussen, who was named after
the Queen at her request, was buried in Crathie churchyard and King George and
Queen Mary sent wreathes. John Michie
was one of the many Deeside personalities present at the funeral. Victoria Mussen was succeeded by Miss
Rothnie, the Abergeldie housekeeper and, in turn, the Abergeldie position was
offered to Mrs Mussen’s only daughter.
Sir William Carrington continued to
issue directives to John Michie from time to time. On 11 June, he wrote to the Balmoral Factor
concerning the room which had been occupied at Craiggowan by Mary Leys, the former
housekeeper there, who had retired following recent treatment at Aberdeen Royal
Infirmary. Michie was instructed to
disinfect her room, destroy the blankets, repaper the walls and paint the
woodwork, as soon as possible. He was
also to appoint Mary Smith as the new housekeeper, and she was to remain in the
house during its occupation by Lord and Lady Stamfordham in the autumn. Possibly the Stamfordhams had complained
about the sanitary standards of Mary Leys! (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 BOX 3 letter dated 11 June from Sir
William Carrington to John Michie). The peremptory tone
of the missive was in line with Carrington’s previous dealings with John
Michie.
In the last month before the
declaration of war on 28 July 1914, activities on the Balmoral Estate
continued, more or less normally. The
Crathie annual picnic was held on the Balmoral games park, with John Michie’s
permission, the King donated £5 through Michie to the Boys’ Brigade summer camp
and members of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society toured the Ballochbuie
forest, led by the Balmoral Factor. But
John Michie, aware of the worsening international situation, several times
expressed his anxiety at the low rate of recruitment to the Aberdeen
Territorials. Even on the day war was
declared, Michie was still being advised of an arrival date for the Queen but
two days later it was announced that the dispatch of the King’s horses and
carriages to Balmoral had been cancelled.
Nineteen fourteen would not be a normal year at Balmoral and the monarch
would not return to Deeside until autumn 1919, by which time the long-serving
Balmoral Factor had retired.
The creation of
a volunteer army to supplement the regular forces, both in Britain and
throughout the Empire, occurred in 1859 in the aftermath of the Crimean
War. It was called the Volunteer Force
and was originally composed of autonomous units, though it progressively became
more integrated with regular army formations.
Volunteer units existed in Aberdeen and throughout Aberdeenshire. The big landowners and their agents were
strong supporters of the Volunteers. There
was a company of Crathie and Ballater Volunteers and it was early pressed into
service to parade as part of the gathering of the clans at Braemar each autumn. Employees on the Royal estates were
frequently to be found amongst the ranks of the Volunteers and were later
referred to as the Deeside Volunteers.
Both Alexander Profeit and John Michie were keen supporters of the
Deeside unit. John Michie’s sons all
became Volunteers and favours for the movement, such as cash donations towards
annual camps, were usually granted by the monarch, through the Balmoral Factor.
In 1908 the
Volunteers were merged into a new organisation, the Territorial Force, a
part-time volunteer section of the British Army, originally intended to
supplement the regulars in foreign campaigns, without the need to introduce
conscription. Initially the Territorial
Force was restricted to home defence due to political disagreement about its
role. The members could not be compelled
to serve abroad. However, at the start
of WW1, many Territorials did volunteer for overseas service.
From the start,
John Michie gave substantial time and effort to support the Territorials in the
drive to attract members. In January
1909, he mentioned his involvement for the first time. “Informal meeting on Territorial Force
matters with Lord Semphill, Col. Mellis & Captain Kelly…”. John Forbes-Semphill of Craigievar, the 18th
Lord Semphill was a soldier who had served in the Sudan and in the Second Boer
War. Soon after that first meeting with
Lord Semphill, John Michie demonstrated his commitment to the cause in a most
direct way. “Drove to Braemar in the
afternoon and attended Territorial Force "At Home". In the evening addressed the men on the
subject of joining”. John Michie was
soon appointed to the local Territorial Force committee. At this time substantial progress had been
made with recruitment, 45 young men having been signed up but, Michie noted,
the establishment was 117. The beginning
of April 1909 saw a further recruitment meeting for the Territorials, which was
organised by Michie at Ballater. It was
addressed by the Laird of Invercauld, Alexander Haldane Farquharson but only
one further recruit enlisted. A room at
the Ballater Barracks was secured for training purposes. In 1910, John Michie was appointed as the
Deeside representative of the Territorial Force Association.
John presided
at a meeting at Crathie in March 1911 as a further encouragement to young men
to sign on for the Gordon Highlanders Territorial Force. Michie was authorised by the King to state
that all servants on the Balmoral estates would be granted 15 days’ leave
annually, with pay, in order to attend camps and that, if necessary, additional
staff would be recruited to carry on their estate work. John and Helen Michie were distinguished
visitors to the camp held in June 1912.
The involvement
of the Balmoral Factor with the Territorials continued but recruitment remained
a problem and anxiety was expressed at this state of affairs in early 1914 by
John Michie and others as the international situation deteriorated. By June 1915, recruitment to the Territorials
was still a problem, in spite of the Aberdeen Territorial Force Committee
having done well, and there was support in the Committee for a measure of
compulsion. Lord Derby’s Scheme, which
involved “persuasion” to make a “mere promise” to enlist, rather than
compulsion, was introduced that autumn.
The Committee was involved in its implementation. At the end of November 1915, John Michie had
an interview with Major Kelly, the Secretary of the Territorial Association to
press the case for “John Grant, son of James Grant, Master Slater, Ballater;
also Alex Cowe, Sergeant Major, for a commission”.
After the end
of the War, John Michie was involved in the organisation of a memorial to the
members of the 7th Gordon Highlanders who were “killed, died of
wounds, or died of sickness while on active service” in the conflict, an
officer and a civilian being delegated to collect funds in each company
area. John Michie and Major John Milne,
Michie’s son in law, were appointed to these roles for Ballater and above on
Deeside. John Michie suffered a bout of
serious illness following his retirement in June 1919 and that effectively
ended his involvement with the Territorials.
Recruitment
to the Scottish Horse
This regiment
in the British Army had its origins in the Second Boer War (1899 – 1902) and
was raised by the 8th Duke of Atholl (1871 – 1942), also known as
the Marquis of Tullibardine, from amongst Scottish soldiers serving in South
Africa. Lord Tullibardine with the men
of the Scottish Horse returned to Britain in June 1902. He was received by King Edward VII at
Balmoral and invested with Membership (4th class) of the Royal
Victorian Order. In December 1903, while
attending a fatstock show, John Michie “Saw Lord Tullibardine about Scottish
horse”. It appeared that Michie was
asked to help with the recruitment of suitable volunteers for this
regiment. Early the following year he had
a further conversation about Scottish Horse, this time with Sir John Clark of
Tillypronie, “to whom spoke about doing something for the Scottish Horse”. It had been Sir John, the diplomat son of Sir
James Clark, who had alerted his father to the suitability of Balmoral as a
location for Queen Victoria’s Scottish retreat.
When attending
the Perth Bull Sales in February 1904, John Michie travelled on to Blair Atholl
where James Forbes, the former Balmoral Commissioner, met him at the station
and took him to meet the Marquis of Tullibardine at Blair Castle. “Discussed prospects of recruiting for
"Scottish Horse" on Deeside and arranged meetings for Braemar &
Ballater 25th & 26th inst. Spent
night at Old Blair with Mr. & Mrs. Forbes”.
The first meeting took place at Auchendryne, Braemar on 25 February and
was addressed by the Marquis. There was
a good turnout and “9 young men gave their names as intending to join”. The result was even better from the Ballater
meeting the following night when 34 young men signed up. By 5 April the new Deeside recruits to the
Scottish Horse were receiving weekly drill at Abergeldie. Two weeks later they underwent their first
mounted drill. By the end of April, Lord
Tullibardine was drilling 22 recruits.
In mid-June the Deeside contingent of the Scottish Horse left Aberdeen
for a camp at Blair Atholl, the Royal servants amongst them being mounted on
hill ponies from the Balmoral Estate.
At
the end of September 1904, Lord Tullibardine wrote to John Michie to say that
King Edward had invited him to stay for a few days at Balmoral and had asked
him to bring some of the Scottish Horse Pipe Band too. Tullibardine proposed an accomplished
selection, Angus Macrae, John McColl, Allan and Macdonald, “probably the four
best pipers in Scotland”. Also included
in the party were Peter Stewart and Sandy Stewart from Blair. Could Michie find sleeping accommodation for
them? Michie replied quickly by
telegraph, “Your six pipers to sleep and feed in the castle tomorrow night by
the King’s command”. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 1 letter dated 25 September 1906 from Lord Tullibardine to
John Michie). In fact, the pipers were
accommodated in the Castle ballroom.
John
Michie’s son, Victor, joined the Scottish Horse on 20 December 1914, on his
return from Canada, with the rank of second lieutenant, and in the early part
of the War received his training with this unit at Chester le Street. Henry Maurice Michie also joined the same
regiment.
The
Balmoral Estate during WW1
World War 1
lasted from the declaration of war on 28 July 1914 to the signing of the
armistice on 11 November 1918. For the
whole of that period and beyond, King George V did not visit his Scottish home,
though other members of the Royal family did travel to Upper Deeside, the
danger of any military action engulfing them there in the wilds of Aberdeenshire
being minimal. It also meant that the
monarch and his advisers were focussed on national issues and largely confined
to the South of England. The consequence
was that John Michie was left essentially to his own devices at Balmoral for
the duration of the conflict. Michie’s
activities during WW1 consisted of most of his regular peacetime tasks,
together with a whole range of new roles generated specifically by the
circumstances of wartime. For example,
one regular undertaking which continued was the holding of fatstock shows, with
prizes for the best animals. In November
1915, “Arranged with Robb, Grieve at Abergeldie Mains, to enter for Aberdeen
Fat Stock show 2 heifers, a cow, and bull from Dairy”. This might, at first glance, seem to have been
a dispensable activity but was in fact an essential component in the mechanism
for getting cattle to market and thus boosting the domestic food supply.
In August 1914,
barely a month after the outbreak of hostilities, it was reported by the
Aberdeen Journal that the King had put Balmoral Castle at the disposal of the
authorities, should it be required to provide hospital facilities. A few days later there was a correction of
sorts by the newspaper when it said it had not been offered as a Naval hospital
but “might be offered as a convalescent home later”. What was not made clear was that a
restriction had been placed on the availability of the Castle, limiting its use
to eight months each year. In fact, the
Castle was closed up and totally out of use for the duration of the War, only
being returned to service in 1919 when the King and Queen again came
north. Further Royal accommodation
offers appeared in the press in 1914, Birkhall as a convalescent home and Abergeldie
Castle, once the tenant, Lady Blytheswood, had quit the building. However, both properties remained in domestic
use for the Royal Family and their guests for the duration of hostilities. Aboyne Castle Hospital, Fasnadarroch House,
Ballater (opened 1916) and the Victoria Auxiliary Hospital, Ballater were large
buildings pressed into use as wartime hospitals or convalescent homes on
mid-Deeside. Mr George Shirras of
Shirras Laing, Aberdeen wrote to John Michie in 1914 seeking a share of the
anticipated business of fitting out the Royal Deeside residences as
hospitals. Perhaps he was trying to be
helpful, but self-interest seemed to be the motive on display. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 19
October 1914 from George Shirras to John Michie).
Regular notices
concerning the conduct of the war were posted in the window of the Crathie Post
Office. “More shells dropped on Dunkirk”
was the news gleaned by John Michie from this source when he passed the Post
Office on his way to church in May 1915.
Michie was a morally upright and totally honest person. A good example of this status came out in
late 1915, when farmer Donald Gordon called to leave a £5 note in payment of
winter pasture for his sheep that he had obtained off the Balmoral Golf Course
the previous year, which had been out of use during the War. John Michie “Put it in an envelope and with a
note sent the money back to him by post”.
Some staff from Balmoral called on Michie from time to time to inform
him that they were enlisting or asking for testimonials. Not all his employees did him this courtesy
before they departed. In September 1915,
“Charles Henderson, and Peter George Gauld, Gardeners, Balmoral Gardens called
expressing their intention to enlist in 3/7 Gordons on Saturday first”. The following month, Emma Lane a former
Balmoral cook called to ask for a testimonial as she was intending to train as
a military nurse.
Appeals were
regularly advertised for gifts of food to be made to the war hospitals, both
locally and in Aberdeen, and the people of Deeside, including those on the
Royal estates, were frequent donors.
King George V gave haunches of Deeside venison and sprays of white
heather (allegedly a symbol of good luck) for the benefit of wounded soldiers
in the Fourth London General Hospital at Denmark Hill. The King also donated venison, rabbits, wood,
potatoes and turnips to the Victoria Auxiliary Hospital, Ballater. In 1916, Helen Michie donated gooseberries
and vegetables to the same institution.
There were also regular fund-raising activities to support the war effort. The British Women’s Temperance Association held a flower day in Aberdeen in September 1914 to generate money and John Michie sent a letter promising flowers from Balmoral. Michie also contributed 2gns to Lady Sempill’s fund for buying motor ambulances for the front. In October 1915, John Michie presided at an entertainment and concert held in Crathie Church Hall “for behoof of Soldiers, Sailors, & prisoners of war”. This effort raised £20. A further concert was held just before Christmas the same year. The Cromar, Upper Dee and Donside Agricultural Association met in Tarland in February 1916 to organise a patriotic free gift sale and John Michie was appointed as the representative for Ballater. Miss Mabel Stewart of Banchory House, Banchory Devenick dutifully organised a garden fete to support the YMCA’s war work and wrote to John Michie with a touchingly naive request for help. “Can any of the Royal Family come to open it”? (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 12 July 1916 from Miss Mabel Stewart to John Michie). In 1917, the local Red Cross set itself the task of equipping the Orthopaedic Department at the Oldmill General Hospital in Aberdeen (which is still in use as Woodend General Hospital) and advertised an appeal for funds. John Michie donated 2gns and Balmoral Curling Club, via Mrs Michie, gave 8/-. John Michie also donated a further 1gn to Red Cross funds in the summer of 1917. The British Red Cross appealed, through John Michie, for farmers to help with the transport of “sick and wounded soldiers and sailors” and for the donation of potatoes. A further “free gift sale” was held in Ballater in March 1917 at the garage of Mr Willox, the local motor car mechanic and vehicle hirer. Some interesting donations were made of items with Royal connections, including, “Queen Victoria’s needlework, a shawl and a fur coat originally gifted by Queen Victoria and the Shah of Persia respectively” and a rifle that had belonged to John Brown, Queen Victoria’s Highland servant. On another occasion John Michie gifted a walking stick, which had been used by King Edward VII while the monarch was at Balmoral, to Mrs Baird at Durris House. This residence was also in use as an auxiliary hospital. Another concert at Crathie in summer 1917 raised £2 14s 8d which Helen Michie donated to the Aberdeen War Dressings Department.
Woodend Hospital, Aberdeen
Helen Michie was put in charge of the Crathie reception depot for Sphagnum moss, which was collected by volunteers, for example, from around Loch Muick, for the manufacture of wound dressings. The depot was located in the Bamoral Curling Club house, conveniently situated near to Baile-na-Coile. Curling had been suspended for the duration of the conflict, as it would not be seemly for such leisure activities to continue when absent employees and neighbours were risking life and limb on active service. From Balmoral and many other rural centres, the Sphagnum was forwarded to the Sphagnum Moss Store, which had been established at Robert Gordon’s Technical College in Aberdeen. A former pupil of John Michie wrote to him in 1917 with some interesting historical information on the use of Sphagnum. “Please tell Mrs Michie that Dr Cathcart has been most kind in giving full particulars of all he knows about Sphagnum. I am glad to know that although the recent general use of it originated from Germany, yet previously, from time immemorial, it had been employed by the old Celtic race in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland as a dressing for wounds”.
In March 1915,
John Michie, a JP, “Swore in as Special Constables under the Oath of 1914” the
following eight men. Arthur M Grant,
Head Stalker, The Croft, Balmoral, John Brown Macdiarmid, Estate Clerk,
Balmoral, James Smith, Roads Foreman, Balnacroft, William Mitchell, Gamekeeper,
Micras, William Brown, Schoolmaster, Public School, Crathie, John Reid,
Forester, Girnoc, John Begg, Farmer, Littlemill, Girnoc, and John Mackay,
Farmer, Lynvaig, Girnoc. Special
Constables were part time volunteer policemen with limited powers who were
given specific tasks, such as safeguarding water supplies from German
infiltrators. The oath was probably
similar to that pledged by volunteer soldiers.
Clearly, this group was not a random sample of the remaining local adult
male populace but consisted of mature men of some standing in the
community.
As the
hospitals on Deeside filled up with an ever-changing population of wounded and
convalescing servicemen, so the need to entertain them became important. In May 1916, John Michie received a letter of
gratitude from Lady Reid, Aboyne “to thank him for a memorable day spent at
Balmoral by the soldiers from Aboyne Castle Hospital”. Could he pass thanks to their Majesties? Thirty soldiers, with the matron and six
members of staff, had travelled, half by charabanc and half by rail and motor
bus up the Dee valley to the Royal estate.
John Michie had permitted the soldiers to take tea out of doors in front
of the Castle. A further expedition by
patients and staff at Aboyne Castle Hospital to Balmoral was organised by Major
St John Bletsoe, Mr Alexander Sandison, landlord of the Huntly Arms Hotel,
Aboyne and John Michie, in August 1917.
John Michie was
active in contacting local companies and craftsmen to become involved in
manufacturing for the war effort. He had
put the Vickers Maxim company, manufacturer of the supremely reliable Maxim
machine gun, in touch with Aberdeen wheelwrights and blacksmiths, David Gray
and Son. The Grays had been contracted
to manufacture 50 ordnance wheels per week but had struck supply problems when
they could not find a suitable local source of seasoned wood. Later, when contracted to manufacture shell
cases, they had difficulty obtaining suitable wood and turned to John Michie
several times to supply Scots Fir (Scots Pine).
Many men
volunteered for service at the start of hostilities, but especially those with
military connections. At Balmoral, a
workman in the Clerk of Works Department, William Lamont already had five sons
(later six) involved in the conflict, just one month after the start of the
War. For John and Helen Michie, too,
their four sons were soon immersed in the conflict (see above). John was quickly involved in the recruitment
campaign on Deeside. In early November
1914, he was a speaker at an open meeting held in the Public Hall, Aboyne,
chaired by John Davidson, the Aboyne Provost and local baker. The Aberdeen Journal gave an account of the
Balmoral factor’s contribution. “Mr John
Michie, Balmoral, gave a stirring and rousing address. He paid a high compliment to the London
Scottish and said many in their ranks were sons of Aberdeenshire.
(Applause.) This was the Gordon County,
and the young men of the district should enrol in the regiment which had
covered itself with glory.
(Applause.) If every employer did
as was done on the estates he had charge of, more men would come forward. (Applause.)
The dependants of every single and married man received the difference
between the wages they had been receiving and their army pay. (Applause.)
In the case of married women, they were better off with their husbands
away. Deeside had done well but could do
better. (Applause.) One man had six sons serving. He (Michie) had three and one was
making ready”. The meeting resulted in
14 recruits signing up. The man to whom
Michie was referring was William Lamont who had three sons in the Gordon
Highlanders, one son in the Navy, one son engaged in mine sweeping, and a sixth
son serving with the Canadian forces.
However, once conscription was introduced in January 1916, the generous
terms of salary supplementation were revised downwards at Balmoral.
John Michie
attended another recruitment meeting in the Castleton Hall, Braemar in July
1915 but, despite a good attendance, only one volunteer came forward. The same month, John Michie chaired a meeting
of Special Constables in Crathie School to arrange for coordination of roles
with regular Ballater and Braemar policemen in the carrying out of the National
Register, to be taken on Sunday 15th August. This was the recording of details of all men
and women aged 15 – 65, to establish how many soldiers might potentially be
available, in view of the casualties which had been suffered up to that
time. This survey was the information
source from which the so-called Lord Derby Scheme was prosecuted that autumn.
Edward Stanley,
the 17th Earl of Derby, was Director General of Recruiting in the
department of Herbert Kitchener (1st Earl Kitchener), the Secretary
of State for War. Progress in the war
against the Axis Powers was slow, casualties were mounting and there was concern
in the Government that the rate of recruitment to the armed forces was too low
to sustain the military campaign. Lord
Derby’s scheme to enhance recruitment, while falling short of compulsion,
nonetheless, on occasion, used strongarm tactics to “persuade” young men to
sign on. Some jobs had protected status,
but all other men aged 18 – 41 in unprotected positions were visited by
canvassers and interviewed alone and unrepresented. At the end of the interview, they had to say
if they attested to sign up for military service. They were thus persuaded, cajoled or coerced
to sign up for military service. Almost
320,000 recruits were secured in this way, but many eligible men still resisted
being called up. In consequence, the
Government introduced conscription the following January. One of John Michie’s correspondents in May
1916 gave a negative and possibly unbalanced, opinion of the farming community
with regard to military service. ““Are
you managing to cope with all the slackers? … The farmers sons don’t seem, as a
class, to be very keen on doing much. … Farmers, however, are a notoriously
selfish class”.
John Michie
attended the local meeting of canvassers under Lord Derby’s scheme and was
called to the chair. This meeting was
held in the Crathie Parish Hall in early November 1915. “Those present, being over militiary age,
they were formed into a committee to call with the blue cards on all eligible
recruits in the Crathie Division of the Parish. There are 42 cards - many of
those to whom they refer being obviously unfitted for military service
physically and otherwise. Mr W. Brown, Schoolmaster was appointed
Secretary”. In Crathie, the Minister,
Rev Sibbald, who was spending the winter in Edinburgh, returned to preach in
his parish. He used the opportunity to
add to the pressure on waverers. John
Michie recorded the gist of Sibbald’s sermon.
“The Revd Mr Sibbald, Parish Minister, who had come home for Sunday,
preached a good sermon on "citizenship" with its obligations. "The true citizen is at present fighting
for his King & Country". The
Reverend Sibbald continued in this vein, giving a monthly address on the
War. After Sibbald’s homily on Sunday 14
November 1916, John Michie gave his impression of Sibbald’s approach. “It was chiefly a recruiting speech of 10 to
15 minutes and good, except that there were only about 25 of a congregation to
listen to it”. One wonders how many of
even the reduced congregation were eligible to receive a call from the canvassers?
As part of the Lord Derby scheme,
Military Tribunals were set up on a local basis to evaluate appeals from individuals
for exemption or deferral from military service. They were continued under conscription which
was introduced in January 1916. John
Michie, as a quasi-employer of a significant number of men, occasionally had
need to appeal to the Deeside District Military Tribunal. In March 1916 he entered an appeal for
exemption on behalf of James Mollison, a ploughman and wood carter at
Invergelder on the Balmoral Estate. “Mr
Murray said that Mr Michie had given 32 men already to the Army and the
Advisory Committee had no difficulty in granting that man exemption”. On one occasion in September 1916, John
Michie, probably unhappy with a local Tribunal decision, unwisely, tried to
canvass the King to get a decision concerning a keeper reversed. He was firmly rebuffed by the Privy Purse
Office in London who told Michie that it would be most inadvisable for the King
to get a servant exempted, as he would be heartily criticised. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 19 September from Privy Purse Office,
Buckingham Palace to John Michie).
Perhaps this was an early indication that John Michie was losing his
previously sound judgement? John Michie
must, at some stage, have been co-opted to sit on the Deeside Tribunal, as he
was in turn lobbied by Alexander Sandison of the Huntly Arms, Aboyne. “Smith, my boots, has been with me for 14
years. He has 3 brothers who are
fighting. Smith is married and getting
on in years. Although passed to serve, Dr
Brown can testify his health is not good.
He has piles and bad legs”.
Sandison was seeking a further exemption. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 19 November 1916 from Charles (Alexander?)
Sandison to John Michie).
Another example of lobbying came in January 1917, this time from Alex
Raffan, Chairman of the West Aberdeenshire Committee in charge of Substitute
Labour. His hand, Forsyth, was held over
for substitution so that he could then be drafted but, ironically, Alex Raffan
feared that almost any substitute labourer could not cope with the farm work,
as his only other help was a 14-year-old boy. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 17 January 1917 from Alex
Raffan to John Michie).
The War
resulted in several local committees being set up on Deeside, and more widely,
to carry out specific tasks. John Michie
was frequently called upon to participate.
In December 1914 an Invasion Precautions Emergency Committee was
established with John as its vice-Chairman.
Andrew Smith, the Invercauld Factor was also co-opted, as was Alex
Sandison of the Huntly Arms, Aboyne.
Another body was the Deeside Emergency Committee, chaired by Dr
Farquharson, the Finzean laird and local Liberal MP. John Michie was his deputy, but soon assumed
the chair due to Farquharson’s ill health and this change became permanent when
the local MP died in July 1918. The
Aberdeen Committee of the Red Cross also recruited John Michie as a
member. Since before the War, John
Michie had been involved with the North of Scotland College of
Agriculture. He now started to help the
College by giving advice on increasing crop production, which was formalised
through the East and West Aberdeenshire Production Committees. In December 1915, John Michie was elected to
a five-man advisory committee in Aberdeen in connection with the Lord Derby
scheme, which led in turn to yet another representational role for Michie. “To Aberdeen - attended meeting of Advisory
Com. under Lord Derby's Recruiting Scheme at which was appointed Chairman of
Deeside Sub. Advisory Com. with David Reid, Crofts, Glen Muick as Clerk. The meetings to be held at Aboyne”. John Michie, as a County Councillor and a
member of the Education Committee, was seconded as their representative to sit
on a newly established Naval and Military War Pensions Committee for the County
of Aberdeen.
So many young men were called up that by
1916 it became difficult to maintain normal levels of agricultural production,
because of the resultant labour shortages.
There was a drive to recruit women to work the land, but it had mixed
success. A meeting of the West
Aberdeenshire Production Committee, held in April 1916, at which John Michie
spoke, was reported in the Aberdeen Journal.
“They were up against a formidable task in getting much good out of
female labour. In his own district he
had been using gentle persuasion (shades of the Lord Derby scheme). It was evident from the scarcity of men that
women would have to go and work on the land.
He was generally met with a look away in the direction of the
heavens. The women did not seem to like
the idea at all. He thought that if a
few influential people were appointed to have a quiet talk and to make the
information known throughout the various localities it might have some
effect. The sooner they set about the
matter the better if they were to get any good out of it. John Michie several times felt the impact of
labour shortages. In the summer of 1916,
he had put in a pony trap for repair with William Duguid, Carriage Finisher,
Coach and Motor Painter, Ballater but Duguid had difficulty carrying out
Michie’s instructions due to both labour and materials shortages. John Michie was able to help in the case of
Private Frank Gordon who hailed from the farm of Rebreck near Crathie. He was being held in reserve because of
doubtful medical fitness and felt he would be doing more good by being at home
contributing to the work of the farm.
John Michie wrote to Frank’s commanding officer who arranged for Frank
to be put into the Territorial Reserve for farm work. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letters, dated 24 August 1916, 30 August 1916, 8
September 1916, concerning Frank Gordon).
Later in the War, in March 1917, the threat to food production became so
great that a letter from the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George was widely
circulated exhorting those at home to redouble their efforts in food
production. “We have now reached a crisis
in the war when to ensure victory the heroism of our armies at the Front must
be backed by the self-sacrifice and tireless labour of everyone at home”. People were urged to ensure that every acre
was planted, in spite of the deficiencies of labour substitution. The same year Michie himself applied for a
ploughman and he was offered the opportunity to secure a man released by the
Corporation of Glasgow who had had ploughing experience. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 17 March 1917 from National Service
Department (Scotland) to John Michie).
It was not long after the start of
hostilities before reports of the deaths, injury or capture of local men
started to filter back from the front.
Harry Duncan, formerly a Balmoral employee, was shot through the head
and killed on 24 January 1915 and at the end of June that year, the Michies had
the difficult task of commiserating with brother factor, Andrew Smith, whose
son had been missing in action since 31 October of the previous year and who
could not be located either in hospital or as a prisoner of war in
Germany. Private Smith had been a member
of the London Scottish Regiment, the first Territorial unit to engage the
German Army, which it did near Messines in Belgium. There was a charge by the London Scottish that
resulted in many casualties. Right at
the end of the War, in November 1918, James Forbes the former Balmoral
Commissioner and his wife Barbara suffered the loss of their eldest son, Bruce,
who died of war wounds. There was better
news in February 1915, when John Michie received a letter from Private James
Wilson Ferguson, previously Under Keeper on Micras Moor, who had joined up
without telling Michie first that he was leaving. Because of his background he had been
recruited to the Sniping Section of the 1st Battalion, Gordon
Highlanders. He told Michie he was
currently located near Ypres in Belgium.
In January 1917, John Michie received an interesting letter from Major
Ewen Grant, c/o Lovat Scout Sharpshooters.
Men from the unit had been trained as observers for artillery, etc. and
he needed more recruits from the likes of stalkers, farmers, crofters and
shepherds “able to use a telescope on the hill”. Would Michie please send the addresses of men
he thought suitable? (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 2 letter dated 10 January 1917, from Major Ewen Grant to
John Michie). One of John Michie’s foresters, Corporal Hunter,
who had enlisted with the Gordons was wounded in August 1916 and his brother, a
former postie at Crathie, was in hospital suffering from shell shock. In September 1916, another senior Balmoral
servant suffered a family casualty, when Private William Troup, the youngest
son of John Troup, the Balmoral Head Gardener, was killed. More Balmoral men died before the end of
1916, specifically Edward Robertson from Craiglourican and David Donald of
Connachat Cottage. The following year
Private James Robertson from Invergeldie was posted missing in action, Private
Charles Cargill and Private George Beddie, both formerly Balmoral gardeners,
were wounded, Private Charles Smith Campbell of the Scots Guards, formerly a
plumber at Balmoral Castle and Private Charles Rose, another gardener, both
made the ultimate sacrifice. The
following year, the last of the War, saw further casualties, including Private
Joseph McGregor another staff member in the Balmoral gardens and J Boyd of the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Even
after the armistice, John Michie’s work with the injured and bereaved was not
at an end. He had to act on several
occasions on behalf of the parents of soldiers in dealing with pensions, form
filling and other matters. On a happier
note, men started returning to employment on the Royal estates, such as James
Ferguson, an underkeeper, who resumed work at the end of February 1919 and John
Nicholson who returned to the wood squad in late March, having been away in the
Army since 5 August 1914.
Prince John
(John Charles Francis, 1905 – 1919), the youngest son of George V, was a tragic
child. He developed epilepsy at the age
of four and his upbringing, under the care of his nurse Mrs Lalla Bill, was
kept separate from his brothers and sister.
Also, his medical condition was not made known publicly until after his
early death. Prince John first visited
Deeside in 1905 when just over a month old.
He also came with his brothers in August 1912 but while they lodged at
“Balmoral staying at the cottage”, he was shipped off with Mrs Bill to remote
Altnaguibhsaich in Glenmuick, out of public view. John Michie received a special request ahead
of Prince John’s arrival, “Please order supplies of milk and cream for
Altnaguisach from Findlay, Inchnabobart”.
(RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 31 August 1912 from George
Gooding to John Michie). The young
Prince and his parents returned to London in early October. There was a similar visit the following year
when Princes Henry and George stayed “at the Cottage opposite the Castle” while
Prince John was again sent to the wilds of Glenmuick. A further iteration was mooted for 1914, but
WW1 intervened to disrupt many Royal plans.
John Michie received a letter from Captain George Gooding of the Lord
Steward’s Office in late July 1914, which summed up the chaos caused by the
advent of war. “We are very unsettled
here. The King has cancelled his
Goodwood visit and now it is doubtful about their Majesties going to
Cowes. “What with the mad woman, the
Irish upset and the European crisis we are in a bad way.” (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 28
July 1914 from George Gooding to John Michie).
Gooding also confirmed the plan, later cancelled, to send Prince John to
Altnaguibhsaich again.
The first Royal
visitor to Balmoral after the start of the War was the Prince of Wales, then
known as Prince David of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, son of George V but later to reign
briefly as King Edward VIII. John Michie
was warned of the imminent arrival of Royal children in early August 1915 when
Sir Frederick and Lady Ponsonby arrived to stay at Abergeldie Mains. Michie reported the circumstances of the
Royal visitor’s arrival on 25 August.
“The Prince of Wales it was arranged was to arrive at Ballater by the
ordinary train at nine forty-five am, but I got a hint from Grant
Stationmaster, at 8 pm last night that a special train was to arrive this
morning at four fifteen. After negotiations
found that H.R.H. had chartered it.
After consulting with Sir F. Ponsonby, he arranged to have that train
met. The prince remained in his saloon
carriage till 6 am then motored to Abergeldie.
With extraordinary energy he at once cycled round by Balmoral, had
breakfast &c &c and started for a grouse drive on Gairnside at 10
o'clock. I got notice from Sir F.
Ponsonby to be at Abergeldie Castle to see The Prince at nine forty-five am,
went there where H.R.H. was most kind.
Saw him & his party off to the hill, then back to the Office and
attended to business for the day…”. “The
Prince called at Bhaile-na-Choile and had a talk with Mrs M. while I was at the
Mains with Sir Frederick Ponsonby discussing business matters…”. “The Prince of
Wales and party had 210 brace of grouse on the 25th without the pick-up”.
In
mid-September, Princess Mary (1897 – 1965) also arrived on Deeside and was met
at Ballater station by her three brothers, Princes Albert, George and
(remarkably) John. John Michie travelled
to Abergeldie to greet the newly arrived Royal offspring. Princess Mary, accompanied by her governess
Mlle Dusseau visited the Michies to take tea on 28 September. Mrs Bill had earlier taken Prince John to
visit the Michies at Baile-na-Coile on 18 September and again, taking tea, on
29th of that month, shortly before their departure for the South on
1 October. John Michie cycled to
Abergeldie to say “goodbye” to the Royal party before they travelled.
In the autumn
of 1916, there was a further visit by Royal children to Upper Deeside, though
the details have not been uncovered due to the absence of a Michie diary for
that year. The Aberdeen Journal reported
that the war artist William Smith had given a lecture in the Crathie Church
Hall on his experiences in Serbia and that Princes Henry (1900 – 1974) and
George (later George VI, 1895 – 1952) had been present with their tutor Mr
Hansell.
After Prince
John’s death in 1919, King George V asked John Michie to obtain red granite
from the Balmoral Estate to make a cross for his youngest son’s grave at
Sandringham. Unfortunately, the local
granite was of a pale grey colour. It
appears that the problem was resolved by obtaining granite of the desired hue
from another quarry in Aberdeenshire.
During WW1,
there was a large increase in the demand for timber to support the war effort
and much of the standing stock of trees suitable for harvesting was eventually
felled. Gangs of Canadian lumberjacks
were recruited to help with the felling operations. Large landowners were put in an invidious
position. They wanted to supply the
immediate needs of the nation but did not want to ruin the commercial prospects
of their holdings, once war had terminated and normal commerce resumed. In October 1917, John Michie received a
letter from the Board of Trade stating that there was a large stock of trees
suitable for the Department’s needs in the Garmaddie and Ballochbuie
woods. Was His Majesty willing to
negotiate? The King wanted to help, and
be seen to be helping, but the Garmaddie and the Ballochbuie were the most
important woods in his possession on Deeside and had great landscape and
amenity value, in addition to the commercial production of timber from
them. Understandably, the monarch wanted
to avoid sacrificing these sources of timber, if possible.
The King was
consulted by John Michie via Frederick Ponsonby, the Keeper of the Privy
Purse. What the King suggested was to
explore the release of more timber on the Birkhall Estate and asked Michie’s
opinion on this point. However, he would
not sanction the exploitation of Garmaddie and the Ballochbuie. He had already curtailed the exploitation of
Windsor Forest. Privately, Ponsonby had
been using his Civil Service contacts to find the true situation regarding the
supply of wood. He was told that the
Government actually had more wood than it needed and the real purpose of the
drive to secure more sources was simply to keep the Canadian woodmen busy! A few days later, Ponsonby wrote again to
John Michie suggesting they offer part of the Abergeldie Estate to the Board of
Trade, in order to divert their attention from the great Balmoral forests. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letters dated 5
October 1917, 12 October 1917 and 18 October 1917 concerning timber
availability).
After the War
was over, the big landowners of Aberdeenshire who were involved in tree
production held an exploratory session at the annual meeting of the Aberdeen
Branch of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, at the beginning of
December 1918. The President, Mr Irvine
of Drum initiated a discussion on reforestation. He asserted that forestry had previously been
neglected by the state. Though he did
not believe in state management, if proprietors were not willing to lay out
part of their land for afforestation now, the State should be empowered to step
in. John Michie strongly supported the
President’s view that replanting should be taken up by the strongest authority
in the country. This statement by Michie
was met with applause. On the motion of
the Balmoral Factor, Mr Irvine was thanked for introducing the subject. By that year, the war needs for timber had
departed and the matter exercising Government was the creation of a strategic
reserve of timber in case of a future national crisis. This led to the formation of the Forestry
Commission in August 1919. This body had
the remit to acquire land and increase the capacity for home timber
production.
In May 1919,
John Michie wrote a letter to Frederick Ponsonby telling him that the Interim
Forest Authority had deferred an inspection of HM’s woods until October. Almost a year after the end of the War, the
Timber Controller’s Advisory Committee visited the Ballochbuie, where John
Michie explained the reasons for planting the various types of timber. Thus, the mighty Ballochbuie had escaped the
Canadian woodmen’s axes during the war and was now safe from over-exploitation.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97
letter dated 24 May from John Michie to Sir Fritz Ponsonby).
The First World
War was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, with total deaths from
all causes amongst Allied service personnel estimated at about six million
persons of which British losses (including the colonies) was approaching
900,000. This figure represented about
2% of the population. Virtually every
village in the land was impacted. In the
immediate post-war period, there were movements to raise funds for memorials to
the local war dead, including in the communities along the Dee Valley. Nationally, this caused a problem for King
George V, since he could not associate himself with every monumental effort and
had to choose only the most important and most significant projects for his
support, including monuments to his own staff who had perished in the conflict.
On Deeside, a
local movement to raise funds for a memorial in Ballater approached John Michie
to ask for a donation from the monarch.
The figure raised had been £220, but £400 - £500 was needed. Sir Frederick Ponsonby replied to Michie’s
approach outlining the King’s dilemma.
He had decided to support a monument to the 65 tenants and workmen
(which included the heroic factor, Frank Beck) from the Sandringham Estate, who
had been killed and the likelihood was that this memorial to the dead would be
placed in the park where everyone could see it.
Ponsonby thought that the King would wish to see a similar memorial
raised at Balmoral. Could John Michie
provide a list of the fallen from the Royal estates in Scotland? (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 5
January 1919 from Sir Fritz Ponsonby to John Michie). The King took the route which Ponsonby had
suggested. Like at Sandringham, the
Balmoral monument was placed in the open air near to Crathie Church at the side
of the North Deeside Road, though it appears subsequently to have been moved to
a position close to the East Lodge entrance to the Balmoral estate. It contains the names of 22 men, in
alphabetical order, except for the first, which is Lieutenant John Michie, 15th
Battalion, HLI, son of John and Helen Michie.
It was unveiled by King George V on 3 September 1922 and the ceremony
was reported in the then recently merged and renamed Aberdeen Press and
Journal. “The King laid a simple wreath
of white heather on the Stone of Remembrance.
On descending to the roadway HM, the Queen and the Princess Royal spent
a few minutes with John Michie, the former Balmoral Commissioner, and Mrs
Michie, the name of whose son is the first on the roll of honour”.
In January
1919, there was an interesting visitor to Aberdeen harbour, the German U-boat,
U92. It had been commissioned in March
1918, had completed two patrols and had sunk eight ships. The vessel surrendered on 21 November 1918. Although the curious in the general Aberdeen
population could not go over the vessel, they could view it from the quayside
(on payment of 6d). John Michie, with
his civic connections in Aberdeen, managed to tour the vessel in the company of
Rev W Adam on the last day of the submarine’s stay, after attending a meeting
in the city.
The ending of
the War must have come as a relief to the now ageing Michie, who was 65 in
1918. He had helped the war effort in
many ways and had, at the same time, cared for the King’s precious Balmoral
Estate. Retirement beckoned.
John Michie
first made an informal request to retire in autumn 1917. This offer was not taken up and he was
advised to wait until the War was over. In
consequence, in mid-December 1918, well after the Armistice had come into effect
on 11th day of the 11th month, John Michie wrote formally
to Sir Fritz Ponsonby, Keeper of the Privy Purse, to tell him that he has been
getting less fit over the last 1-2 years to fulfil his duties, especially
during the winter and requesting the King to allow him to retire during the
next year. Michie felt that he had done
all he could during the “Great Struggle” (ie WW1) but now that the War was over
he felt it was time to give way to a younger man. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 dated
16 December 1918 from John Michie to Sir Fritz Ponsonby). Michie had been appointed in 1880, had served
at Balmoral for 38 years and had now reached the age of 65. Later, Ponsonby reported that Michie “… told
me that he has had enough of it and that he was anxious to retire now while he
had health enough to enjoy his leisure”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter from
Sir Fritz Ponsonby to Sir Dighton Probyn dated 26 May 1919). Given his age and the other circumstances, it
looked like the correct decision had been made by John Michie.
Two
of the Michie boys, David Kinloch and Henry Maurice had both pursued successful
careers as estate factors before the War but while David Kinloch had returned
to his position on the Elderslie estate when he was demobbed, Henry Maurice had
resigned his position in Galloway in early 1918, ostensibly because he felt it
was unfair on the owner, Mr McDouall, to deprive the estate of full-time
management, perhaps for another year.
Thus, at the time John Michie asked formally to resign, Henry Maurice
did not have a job in civilian life to which he would return. Henry Maurice was not finally demobilised
until June 1919.
Not
unreasonably, John Michie suggested in his letter to Fritz Ponsonby that Henry
Maurice Michie should be considered as his replacement as Balmoral Factor. To support the case for Henry Maurice, John
Michie included several testimonials, a potted version of his Army record and noted
his then current rank of captain. At the
time of his father’s letter, Captain Michie was still serving at Varna,
Bulgaria. This was not an outlandish
suggestion by John Michie, after all, Frank Beck had succeeded his father,
Edmund, as Factor at Sandringham.
Ponsonby replied to John Michie a few days later, acknowledging that a
heavy responsibility had fallen upon his shoulders during the previous four
years and expressing gratitude for his service to King George, to Queen Victoria
and to King Edward. Ponsonby also
undertook to present Henry Maurice’s testimonials to King George in January,
when he would be at Sandringham. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 20 December 1918 from Sir Fritz Ponsonby to
John Michie). Michie heard nothing of
his request until April when Fritz Ponsonby wrote to him, letting him know that
Henry Maurice was not being considered for the position of Factor at
Balmoral. Ponsonby’s reason for this
rejection was frank. “… there was a
danger of the appointment being regarded as an hereditary appointment which is
so distasteful to modern ideas, especially in the labour world. There was moreover the questionable policy of
keeping alive the spirit of hostility and friction that has so unfortunately
existed at Balmoral.” It was King
George’s intention to make a complete change with no connection within the
Deeside estates. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 9 April 1919 from Sir
Fritz Ponsonby to John Michie). The
choices for the next two commissioners at Balmoral appeared to indicate that
George V had in mind not just a disconnection from the old regime but also a
change in the social origins of his recruits to manage the Deeside properties.
Sir Dighton
Probyn was also in the group of courtiers being consulted about John Michie’s
successor and in a letter to Ponsonby in mid-April 1919 he made clear the
nature of the objection to a Michie son taking over the Balmoral post. ““Old Michie through his lack of tact made
himself so very unpopular and there being several of the old clique still on
the estate to abuse him in true Highland fashion behind his back I dare say a
change of blood would be the best for the Estate and indirectly perhaps for the
Michie family too.” With typical Sir
Dighton judgement, he expressed sympathy for Henry Maurice Michie’s situation,
“…he is a good factor in the making and was a gallant officer”. (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter from Sir Dighton Probyn to Sir Fritz Ponsonby,
dated 18 April 1919).
John Michie
replied to this unwelcome news, telling Ponsonby of the disappointment of Helen
and himself but, in true Michie loyalist style, accepting the King’s point of
view. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 13 April, from John Michie to Sir
Fritz Ponsonby). However, he then went
on with a curious request, asking for some time before he demitted office to
allow Henry Maurice to get a job. He was
concerned that it might appear that something was wrong with his son if he did
not succeed to the factorship, having already resigned as Factor to McDouall of
Lagan. However, it is difficult to see
how this conclusion would follow in the minds of the public unless it had been
put about that HM Michie was a candidate to succeed his father. Perhaps, Henry Maurice was simply hanging on
before looking for jobs elsewhere, to see if he would be appointed at
Balmoral? John Michie even asked if
Ponsonby could help to find a position for Henry Maurice as a factor, or with
an estate agency, or in a Government Department dealing with property. The retiring Balmoral Factor clearly
entertained anxieties about the state of the jobs market for factors, since he
also lamented that many large estates were being broken up. It appears that Fritz Ponsonby made enquiries
with the Duke of Atholl concerning a possible posting for Henry Maurice
Michie. However, the Duke rather damned
this Michie son with his assessment of his capabilities. The Duke was doing what he could for Michie’s
son but he “is not altogether an easy fellow to help”, though he might possibly
find him a position in the Forestry Department.
“It would be difficult to recommend his son to the factorship of a large
estate, although the service would be faithful, I doubt if he has sufficient
intelligence to do the big thing.” (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter, dated 12
July 1919 from the Duke of Atholl to Sir Fritz Ponsonby). This was indeed a very strong opinion, since
it is doubtful that the Duke knew Henry Maurice Michie personally.
Sir Dighton
Probyn, who had spent a lot of time with John Michie, especially planning
estate developments, paid the departing factor a telling complement. In addition to praising Michie for always
keeping good accounts, Probyn said, “… during the six or seven years Michie
senior served as factor under me I defy anybody to have done his work more
honestly, zealously and better than he (Michie) did.” (RA PPTO/PP/QV/MAIN/NS/97
letter dated 18 April 1919 from Sir Dighton Probyn to Sir Fritz Ponsonby). Later, Fritz Ponsonby, in a letter to Sir
Dighton, also complimented Michie for his performance on the estate during the
War. “I found everything working quite
smoothly and think that it is greatly to Michie’s credit that there have been
no rows during the last six years when he has been practically left to himself
…”
By the middle
of April 1919, a decision had been taken on John Michie’s successor. He was to be James Douglas Ramsay of Bamff,
Alyth, then aged 41. In terms of origins
and previous career history, Ramsay was in marked contrast to the retiring
Balmoral Factor. The Ramsays, a family
containing many high achievers, was both old and distinguished. It had acquired the lands at Bamff in 1232,
when a Ramsay who possessed surgical skills had saved the life of King
Alexander II of Scotland (1214 – 1249) by operating on the monarch. JD Ramsay was educated at Harrow School,
followed by Trinity College, Cambridge.
He qualified as a chartered surveyor and worked for some time in both
Canada and South Africa, where he was a mine manager. During WW1, Douglas Ramsay was a captain in
the Scottish Horse, attached to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He had a good war, being awarded the Military
Cross.
Sir James Ramsay, 10th Baronet of Bamff, JD Ramsay’s father, died in February 1925. Due to the family’s status, the King and Queen, through Sir Fritz Ponsonby, sent a telegram of condolence to the newly elevated Sir James Douglas Ramsay, who had become the 11th Baronet and thus acquired the lands of Bamff. Within a year he had resigned as Balmoral Commissioner and left Deeside to return to his ancestral seat. A replacement was now needed. The next man appointed was Major Douglas William Alexander Dalziel Mackenzie. He was a son of Major WRD Mackenzie of Farr, Inverness. Douglas Mackenzie had been educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford. He entered the Army in 1911 and served with the Seaforth Highlanders in the UK and India. Mackenzie too had a good War, being awarded the Distinguished Service Order and other, Belgian honours. On his return to civilian life, he was appointed as the County Motor Taxation Officer at Rossshire County Council. Unlike his predecessor he did not appear to have any property-associated qualifications but, with his family and military background, he was probably viewed as being made of the right stuff.
Towards the end
of May 1919, Captain JD Ramsay was taken to Balmoral by Sir Fritz Ponsonby to
be introduced to the retiring factor.
Ponsonby was not looking forward to the occasion, realising that there
was potential for Michie’s behaviour to be frosty. Ponsonby and Ramsay remained at Balmoral from
Tuesday 20 May to Thursday 22 May. John
Michie’s diary entries describe proceedings in a matter-of-fact way.
“Tuesday 20
May. Met Sir F. Ponsonby and Captain
Ramsay (the prospective new Factor for Balmoral) on their arrival at Ballater
this morning. They came up after lunch
when motored with them to Bridge of Dee where called on Frank Farquharson Gate
Keeper, 80 years old, and his wife.
Their daughter Frances was there”.
“Wednesday 21
May. Motored with Sir F. Ponsonby &
Captain Ramsay to Glassalt Shiel & Hut.
Also, Bovaglie and the Farmer folks at Khantore & Balnacroft. Weather fine”.
“Thursday 22
May. Sir Frederick Ponsonby &
Captain Ramsay came at 11a.m. Motored to the Castle saw Miss Rothnie
(Housekeeper) Phillips & Biddie at Switch Bd. alterations. inner cellar roofed by lead &c. then straight to Toldhu, Alltealleach, Mill
of Sterin, Birkhall & back to Lunch at Bhaile-na-Coile. Then to Clachanturn, Abergeldie Castle,
Mains, Camlet, Loinvaig, Mill of Cosh, Littlemill, Balhallack, Strathgirnoc,
Dallyfour and the Manse of Glenmuick where saw Alix (Mrs John Milne) and
the incursions of the Dee on the Glebe.
Missed Dorsincilly where there is a turnip shed in want of reroofing”.
This looked
like an extended familiarisation tour of the estates to give Douglas Ramsay an
idea both of their geographical extent and their main features. From Monday 2 June 1919, Douglas Ramsay was
present at Balmoral and appeared to shadow John Michie for part of the
time. Ramsay was living at Craiggowan. John wrote in his dairy for that day, “The
usual Monday callers - Introduced Captain Ramsay to Heads of Departments when
they called on the business of the week”.
Michie did not
reveal his thoughts about the new man in charge, which was in marked contrast
to the introduction of James Forbes in 1897, when Michie expressed himself in
fulsome terms in his diary about the new commissioner. However, Fritz Ponsonby wrote to Sir Dighton
Probyn, describing the Balmoral meeting, “Michie himself behaved extremely well
and was most friendly … Mrs Michie was, however, more difficult since she
dislikes leaving Balmoral where she has spent the greater part of her life…”. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 26 May
1919 from Sir Fritz Ponsonby to Sir Dighton Probyn).
A slight suspicion remains, however, that John
Michie and Douglas Ramsay did not instantly warm to each other. In early November 1919, “Honour (was)
done to Mr John Michie and Mrs Michie at Ballater on Saturday evening, when
they were met by a large company of ladies and gentlemen in the Invercauld Arms
Hotel and presented with handsome gifts to mark the occasion of the retirement
of Mr Michie from the post of factor and commissioner for His Majesty the King
on the Balmoral estates. The gifts which
were subscribed by friends at Balmoral, Abergeldie and Birkhall consisted of a
fumed oak bureau and a fumed oak bookcase for Mr Michie and a canteen of silver
for Mrs Michie”. Douglas Ramsay had been
due to make the presentations to the Michies but “duty called him from home”. Instead of a deputy being nominated from
amongst his senior colleagues by Captain Ramsay, it was left to Provost Grant
of Ballater to preside at the meeting and to Rev Middleton of Glenmuick church
to thank the Michies for their unfailing hospitality, their services to the
community and to crave their acceptance of the gifts. Middleton was not, of
course, able to pass remarks on John Michie’s custodianship of the Royal
estates and especially of the Royal forests.
No one else was present who was competent to do so. Surely that omission from the occasion was to
be regretted after Michie’s 39 years of dedicated service and substantial
achievement?
In his
acceptance speech which, it should be conceded, again showed up Michie’s
limitations as an orator, he indicated that he had taken particular pleasure
from the advancement of William Wilson, a man with a difficult personal life,
whom he had taken on as a young woodsman in the autumn of 1880 and who had,
through hard work and application, succeeded to the position of head forester
in 1902, when John Michie rose to become factor. Did Michie see shades of himself in the
advancement of William Wilson? However,
the remarks he made about Douglas Ramsay were, at best, cautious. The Aberdeen Weekly Journal summarised
Michie’s views as follows. “From what he
(Michie) had seen his successor, Captain Ramsay, would merit the
confidence of them all". Was Michie
damning his successor with faint praise?
As part of the
disengagement process from his position at Balmoral, John Michie made a number
of requests. He asked to keep some items
of furniture which had been loaned to him when he moved into Baile-na-Coile and
also to retain his uniform kilt in Royal Stuart tartan. The former request was quickly granted,
though unusual, on the grounds that Michie had left some items of his furniture
at the Dantzig Shiel, for the use of the Stewarts, on vacating that property. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 28
May 1919 from Sir Fritz Ponsonby to John Michie). Consideration of the latter application was
deferred to await the advice of the Duke of Atholl. Sir Fritz Ponsonby had written to him, asking
if it was normal for a retired servant to keep the Royal Stuart tartan kilt,
bearing in mind it was only given to the King’s retainers? At the beginning of June 1919 (RA
PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 30 May 1919 from Sir Fritz Ponsonby to the
Duke of Atholl), the Duke of Atholl then wrote to Ponsonby with his analysis of
the situation. The Duke considered that the
request was unusual, and he was of the opinion that it was not appropriate for
Michie to retain the Royal Stuart kilt.
To mitigate Michie’s disappointment he suggested that Michie could wear
the Atholl (Murray) tartan, which was a district as well as a family
tartan. Alternatively, Michie could be
given permission to wear the Balmoral tartan. The Duke proposed that the King
should reply that the Royal Stewart tartan is to be worn only by family and
descendants of the Stuarts and the King’s retainers, and this line was taken with
John Michie. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 1 June 1919 from the Duke of
Atholl to Sir Fritz Ponsonby). But was
the Duke feeding Ponsonby the reply he desired, given the way the issue had
been posed to the Atholl Laird? Was this
a way of deflecting the decision from the King and the Court to an outside
authority? In mid-June 1919, John Michie
received a letter from Fritz Ponsonby explaining why he was being refused
permission to keep his Royal Stewart kilt uniform. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 11
June from Sir Fritz Ponsonby to John Michie).
Michie replied pointing out that when James Forbes had retired, he had
been allowed to keep his Royal Stuart kilt, but he accepted the King’s decision
and undertook to deliver the complete uniform to Captain Ramsay. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 13
June 1919 from John Michie to Sir Fritz Ponsonby). With hindsight, it would have been smarter for
Michie to tell Ponsonby about the precedent set in the time of James Forbes
when making his request to keep the kilt, in order to warn his superiors not to
step into an elephant trap and, at the same time, better promote his own
interests. Telling them after the
refusal gave him no benefit and might have antagonised Ponsonby. However, John Michie, in line with standard
Royal practice in treating loyal servants with generosity, received a pension
of £400pa. (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 memorandum
dated 12 July 1919 from Sir Fritz Ponsonby to Sir John Chapple). Also, immediately after his retiral, John
Michie was promoted to be a Member of the Victorian Order 4th class,
up from 5th class.
Having decided
to retire, John Michie and his wife needed to find new living
accommodation. In the middle of January
1919, John called at Cults in the lower Dee valley to have a “quiet look” at a
property called Thornhill, located on Countesswells Road. It consisted of 25 acres, a six-bedroom house
and a cottage and was advertised at offers over £2,200. It sold quickly for £2,955, well above the
upset price, but not to John Michie. Two weeks later he went to view another
property in the same general area but on the south side of the river. He left the train at Bieldside and walked “up the hill” to Ladybank, Maryculter. This property was of five acres in extent
with a mansion house and two servants’ cottages and was advertised with an
upset of £2,300. Michie went to view
Ladybank on 8 February. He must have
agreed to buy this property, because the owner’s agent then drew up a
Disposition in favour of John Michie.
However, as of 21 February the agent “could go no further”. The agreement still had not been completed at
the beginning of March when Michie took his son, David, to see his proposed retirement
home, with which DK Michie was “well pleased”.
John Michie’s departure from Balmoral became common knowledge from 19
April 1919. “Let it be known generally that I am
retiring from Factorship at Balmoral.
Saw the Revd Mr Stirton (replacement for Rev Sibbald as Minister of
Crathie church) & informed him”.
Michie then started making removal arrangements in earnest. “Thursday 24 April. Started for Ladybank, afternoon train, the
Major (Milne) having motored me to Ballater. Got to Milltimber at 5 and walked over. Was fortunate in finding Miss Watson in. Talked matters over with her over tea which
she kindly had made for me. Had a look
at the garage which paced as containing inside measurements 27' x 17' for
furniture storage available from 1st July next.
As Miss W. does not intend doing anything with bit of clean land
arranged with Mr John Murdoch, Farmer, to cultivate and sow it out. Walked back to Milltimber & got train for
Aberdeen at nine five p.m.”. The content
of this diary entry suggests that by this date, the sale of Ladybank to John
Michie had been formally agreed.
Helen Michie
visited Ladybank, possibly for the first time, on 31 May 1919. “Mrs. M. & I went to Ladybank &
lunched with Miss Watson, having a good look at the place. She was very nice about everything promising
to let us have the garage as she already did to store our things, also the
Chauffeur's cottage, if need be, till we get possession of all the subjects on
30th August. I promised her to take over
what things she wishes to leave. I also
arranged to take over - Morrison the Gardener as from the 28th
August when Miss Watson finishes with him”.
In early June, John Michie made arrangements for the removal of his
furniture. “Arranged with Messrs Blake
& Jolly about removal of furniture to Ladybank tentatively - Two furniture
vans to be sent out on Saturday 28th. inst. to be brought up here on Monday
30th. and despatched that night for Ladybank”.
The Michies’ removal and storage costs for furniture amounted to
£32-18s-11d.
Michie’s last
formal day of work was 30 June 1919. It
is thought that John and Helen Michie moved out of Baile-na-Coile about this
date. However, they could not enter
Ladybank until the end of August. They transferred,
temporarily, to the Manse at Glenmuick, the home of John and Alix Milne. In the middle of July, John Michie was still
writing letters from “c/o Major Milne MC, Manse of Glenmuick, Ballater”.
A serious
woodland fire broke out at the 37-year-old Dallyfour Haugh plantation on 13
July 1919. This woodland lay about three
miles west of Glenmuick Manse, where John and Helen Michie were lodging at the
time, along the South Deeside Road. The
summer of 1919 was hot and dry, and there had already been a number of peat
moss and forest fires in the area, for example at Portlethen, and near
Glentaner House, as a result. John
Michie became aware of the fire at Dallyfour Haugh and spent the following
night out with the firemen fighting the blaze, probably still feeling a
responsibility for woodland that had been in his care for many years. He subsequently became ill (he called it “a
chill”) which kept him “more or less incapable till now” (1 January 1920). John’s illness brought an end to him making
diary entries between 19 July and 31 December 1919. Some confusion then arose over the identity
of the Michies’ retirement house due to the use of three different names for
the property. Its previous owner called
it “Ladybank” but by 9 August 1919, the Aberdeen Journal reported that John
Michie was living at “Marybank”, Maryculter and by 15 November, the Michies
were stated to be living at Kincairn, Maryculter. Map locations for the three properties are
the same and the Canmore website reported that “Marybank” and “Kincairn” were
alternative names for the property.
There were two separate dwellings both called “Kincairn”, Kincairn House
and Kincairn Cottage at the location, but the Michies occupied “House”. Although the property was only advertised
under the name Ladybank”, after moving to Maryculter, the Michies always
referred to their house as “Kincairn”.
It was located on the Irvine Fortescue Estate at Kincausie (Kingcausie),
Blairs, Maryculter. The Name “Ladybank”
was used up to the sale to the Michies but was dropped in favour of “Kincairn”
after Miss Watson moved out.
John and Helen
Michie were married in 1878 and between that year and 1892, they had a family
of seven children, three girls and four boys.
The youngest child was called Alexandrina (Alix) at the request of Queen
Victoria. Helen devoted herself to the
traditional roles of wife and mother throughout the period when her husband was
Head Wood Forester and the family lived at the rather remote Dantzig Shiel,
five miles west of Balmoral Castle. In
those Victorian days, women were expected to be primarily home makers and to
support their husbands, where necessary, in the performance of their role as
bread-winners. Helen was occasionally called
upon to make presentations, for example of a dozen handkerchiefs to Miss
Fasken, the teacher of a cookery class at Crathie in 1911.
As John
Michie’s prominence on the estate and generally on Deeside, grew, Helen was
called upon increasingly to look after visitors to the Dantzig, including many
visits by the Queen, her relatives and her entourage. It must have become routine for Helen to
entertain royalty and other high-profile callers to her home, and this appears
to have been some consolation for her efforts which were otherwise largely
unsung. However, when the break with
Balmoral came with John’s retirement in 1919, Helen found the wrench of leaving
hard to bear. In a letter to Sir Fritz
Ponsonby (RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 26 May 1919 from Sir Dighton
Probyn to Sir Fritz Ponsonby), Sir Dighton Probyn remarked upon Helen Michie’s
demeanour at that time. She was
“difficult” since “She dislikes leaving Balmoral where she has spent the
greater part of her life…”.
From at least
1886, Helen Michie suffered from some intermittent but undiagnosed medical
condition, which appeared at times to be quite debilitating, to the point where
John’s correspondence was littered with references to Helen’s condition,
accompanied by good wishes for a speedy recovery. Some of the words used by correspondents
suggested that Helen’s malaise may have been depressive in nature. A typical example is found in correspondence
between John Michie and Walter Gibson of the Privy Purse Office in November
1905. Gibson asked, “How are you all
getting on is Mrs Michie pretty well and in better spirits, I hope,” (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box1 letter dated 1 November 1905 from Walter Gibson to John
Michie), to which Michie replied, “Mrs Michie does not get up her spirits much,
I am sorry to say, but hope a change to the South where she is going next may
cheer her up a bit. She goes as far as
Kent to see some relatives and afterwards will spend a little time in London”.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/OS/932 letter dated 3 November 1905 from John Michie to
Walter Gibson). Two months later, James
Forbes wrote from Blair Atholl on the same topic. “I am very sorry indeed and so is Mrs Forbes
to hear about Mrs Michie’s poor condition of health and spirits but am glad the
change South has done her good.” (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box1 letter dated 3 January 1906 from James
Forbes to John Michie). In 1911, Lady
Knollys mentioned Helen’s health to John Michie. “I hope Mrs Michie is getting over the
terrible shock she has had”. (RA
BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 Box 3 letter dated 25 July 1911 from AM Knollys to John
Michie). Another instance is quoted here
from 1914. John Mackay wrote to John
Michie, “We are glad to hear Mrs Michie was improving and hope she will soon be
herself again”. (RA BAL/FACTOR/ADD/1 BOX 3 letter dated 13 April from John
Mackay to John Michie). John’s wife
appeared to have this chronic condition for many years. Helen Michie also seemed to suffer from bad
teeth and repeatedly travelled to Aberdeen to get them fixed, for example, needing
dental help twice in 1915.
Helen Michie
did not appear to drive the family dogcart, so when she went out unaccompanied
by one of her senior sons, or her husband, she was driven by the groom. This did not save her from suffering an
unpleasant accident in April 1906. John
Michie gave an account of the incident.
“Mrs M left by our four-wheel dogcart for Ballater and unfortunately had
an accident by being thrown out on meeting a traction engine at the top of the
Darroch (brae, or incline, just west of Ballater). The horse has always passed those machines
quite quietly when the engine was stopped but, in this case, it was not stopped
with the result that he turned round in spite of the Coachman and upset the
trap. Bruises of a general kind was the
result and a broken trap”. She was not
seriously injured. Helen Michie often
took on the role of comforter of the sick.
In 1911, Sir Leslie Probyn, the brother of Sir Dighton, was staying on
Deeside when he was taken ill. Helen
Michie drove to Ballater to enquire about his condition.
Increasingly,
as their children grew up and were less dependent on their parents, John and
Helen Michie attended social functions sometimes together but sometimes separately. Both attended a dinner invitation from Sir
Alexander Lyon, Provost of Aberdeen, in 1909, and similarly at a garden party
at Dinnet House, the home of Mr Barclay Hardy, the owner of the Dinnett Estate
in 1911. However, Helen Michie went alone to a garden party at the
Farquharsons’ Finzean House in 1912.The Michies made various visits to Mr and
Mrs Smith, the Factor at Haddo and also enjoyed short stays with Mr and Mrs
Forbes at the Buccleugh Nurseries, Hawick.
Helen
Michie took the opportunity to travel, without John, to visit relatives,
including Linton House, Sauchen, where John’s brother David lived, Tonbridge,
Kent where Helen’s brother Alexander Kitchin was a farmer, Deanside, Renfrew,
where son David Michie was Factor and Sandringham House, where daughter Annie
was Housekeeper. This was especially so
after John Michie’s retirement, when Helen spent long periods of time away from
their retirement home at Maryculter.
Helen and John also started to visit
Crathie church separately on Sundays, an example noted in John’s diary being on
17 January 1909. “Mrs Michie went to
church - I stayed at home”. The opposite
pattern – Helen staying home and John attending – also took place, for example
in December 1911. “Georgie, Logan, Alix.
& self went to Church. Mr. Sibbald
preached. All except Helen went to the
croft to tea in afternoon”. Was Helen
deliberately avoiding John’s company? Family rumour relates that as he grew
older, John Michie became rather grumpy and unkind to Helen, which may account
for her staying away from the family home, especially at Sandringham, when she
had opportunity.
When John
Michie retired in the summer of 1919, King George V and Queen Mary gave Helen a
present of a brooch. She wrote a letter
of thanks to them via Fritz Ponsonby.
The letter also expressed delight that the King and Queen would be
visiting Balmoral that year. It was what
she had wished for during the past five years.
(RA PPTO/PP/BAL/MAIN/NS/97 letter dated 10 July 1919 from Helen Michie
to Sir Fritz Ponsonby).
John Michie’s post-retirement life
Life for the
former Balmoral Factor after retirement was probably rather boring, lacking the
routines of organised work and the relative deficiency of contact with the wide
range of people with whom he formerly interacted on a daily basis. It is not clear if John had a definite plan
to occupy his days, other than that he had expressed a wish to enjoy his
leisure while he was still capable of so doing.
Whatever plans he might have had would have been disrupted by the bout
of ill-health that he suffered between July 1919 and January 1920. In the January following his departure from
Balmoral, he restarted the discipline of making daily diary entries, but that
resolution only survived until 7 March, the day of his last personal record.
In 1920, although
clearly regaining some capacity to deal with issues outside the home, John was
still not fully recovered. On 15
January, “At Aberdeen being examined by Professor Ashley Mackintosh (Professor,
later Sir, Ashley Mackintosh was Regius Professor of Medicine and Honorary
Physician to King George V’s household) in consultation with Dr Wm Brown (former
Braemar GP) who has been on my case for some weeks back”. Two days later John Michie noted, “Being
still on the sick list I felt tired”. A
further four days forward, “Spent today quietly at home being tired &
rheumaticky”. Grumbles about the state
of his health continued for the remainder of the (truncated) 1920 diary.
There was some
hang-over of activities from Balmoral after John Michie had moved to Kincairn
House, such as attendance at the War Pensions Sub-Committee of the County
Council, but other meetings that he was due to attend were skipped on account
of his lack of energy. For example, on
27 February 1920, “Meeting of H&A Society at Imperial Hotel at two thirty
for purpose of electing members of Council paying highest sub but did not
wait. Came home at one fifty”.
Some contact
was made with neighbours in the Maryculter area and John Michie paid a courtesy
call on the Right Revd. Monsignor MacGregor at Blairs College (Catholic
seminary near Maryculter). Relatives,
such as nephew Ian Douglas Kitchin, still came to stay from time to time and
John Michie, now supporting a gardener, must have been occupied to some extent
with horticulture, since Kincairn House had about five acres of associated land. At the end of January 1920, “Paid £7.7.0 to
Aberdeen Corporation for 10 tons 7 cwt moss litter manure delivered to
Kincairn”. Also, “Remained indoors
except paid the Gardener his monthly wages and went over Seeds Catalogue with
him”.
Thereafter,
John Michie’s life seemed to drift into oblivion. He and Helen had grown apart and she stayed
away from Kincairn for long periods with relatives. He seemed to lack both energy and inspiration
to take on new projects. The relative
isolation of Maryculter did not help.
John died on 24 April 1934 at Kincairn House, the cause of death being
given as “influenza, mitral stenosis and senile degeneration”. His obituary in the Aberdeen Press and
Journal noted that he “had been in failing health for some time”. It was a sad end to a life of achievement,
despite the disadvantages of a lack of a university education, no formal
professional status, for example in medicine or the law, or a career in the
Army. He even overcame the persistent
and underhand machinations of colleagues who sought to undermine his authority
and position on the Royal estates.
Helen Michie
did not long survive the passing of her husband. She died on 10 June 1935 at 21 Albyn Place,
Aberdeen, though her usual address was Kincairn House. The cause of death was given as “Gallstones,
cholaemia and myocarditis. Both John and
Helen Michie were buried in Maryculter kirkyard and the granite edifice over
their graves also memorialises all of their children, each of whom was buried
elsewhere.
John Michie,
a life in context
John Michie was
born in 1853, the eldest legitimate child of a reformed, formerly outlawed,
poacher of some prominence. The young
John’s world was essentially that of the servant class working for landed
proprietors in late 19th – early 20th century Scotland. Interestingly, John never mentioned the life
that his father led before becoming an upright citizen, acting within the law
as a farmer and property developer, but there is little doubt that the family
harboured some occult pride in David Kinloch Michie’s former notoriety, as
evidenced by the repeated use of the given names “David Kinloch” within the
original bearer’s tree of descendants. John
Michie picked up the essentials of land management and the rural economy by
living within this environment from birth and he likely learned to use a gun
and a fishing rod at an early age.
Although John
Michie attended Perth Grammar School, he did not progress to Higher Education
or enter the learned professions or the military. Instead, he became a wood forester, and his
training was essentially practical, learning by observing and doing. But as his later career was to show, he could
turn his hand to many other activities of an experiential nature. Gamekeeping, saw milling, small building and furniture
design and construction, cattle breeding, landscape design and maintenance,
design and construction of bridges and bulwarks, accountancy and
book-keeping. What he lacked in formal
academic qualifications he made up for with practical skill and know-how and an
ability and willingness to tackle almost any task which came his way.
John Michie’s
training in the horticultural and arboricultural fields was both sound and
thorough under the tutelage of Dixons in Edinburgh and Charles Young Michie on
the Seafield Estate. His appointment as
wood forester on the Balmoral Estate in the summer of 1880, at the age of 27,
was entirely consistent with his experience and capabilities. But was serendipity involved in his
appointment, in that he was looking for a job in the aftermath of the great
storm of 1879 which felled so many potentially profitable trees in the
Ballochbuie? The estate needed to rescue
and sell that valuable timber from the forest floor. This recovery operation was to be John
Michie’s immediate task after his arrival on Upper Deeside.
What was
perhaps surprising was that he should have progressed to the top management job
at Balmoral in 1901 (operative from 1902) after spending more than 20 years in
essentially the same tree-related role.
It would have been less surprising if he had remained a wood forester
all his working life, perhaps even moving to a bigger estate with more
extensive forests elsewhere in Britain, as would have befitted his accumulated experience. It is therefore germane to ask what factors
may have been at play which allowed him to make this ascent after he had
apparently been passed over for the top job at Balmoral in 1897.
During Queen
Victoria’s widowhood, post-1861, she withdrew from public life to a large extent
and spent two periods of each year in the relative isolation of Balmoral. There she seemed to find consolation in the
quietness of her surroundings and her opportunity to interact with her Balmoral
servants and tenants in a familiar way which would have been impossible in
England and probably unthinkable too.
Three servant families in particular became very important to her, those
of John Grant, Head Stalker from 1848 to 1875, Donald Stewart, who succeeded Grant
in 1875 and served until 1901 and John Michie who was Head Wood Forester
between 1880 and 1901 (see “Queen Victoria and her favourite Scottish
Servants” on this blogsite). Queen
Victoria was particularly attracted to the children, the wives and the wives’
cooking of these three servant families.
Frequent visits to their homes with members of her own kin and entourage
meant that Grant, Stewart and Michie all became personally well-known, not only
to the Queen but also to her offspring and her courtiers.
Between 1881
and 1901 John Michie’s job title evolved from “Wood Forester” through “Head
Forester” to “Chief Forester” but that evolution did not fully express the
expanding role that he progressively fulfilled.
His responsibilities extended to include hard and soft landscaping, road
maintenance, estate bridge and bulwark repairs and replacement too. John
Michie’s wide practical capabilities were thus recognised by his superiors
through the loading of his job with additional responsibilities. It must also have been clear to those in
authority that he was hard working, physically strong and showed a
single-minded pursuit of his employer’s interest. Servant loyalty was a property universally
admired both by monarchs and courtiers.
In 1897, the
replacement of Alexander Profeit by James Forbes could have been a trying time
for John Michie. He had been passed over
for the top job at Balmoral and the new commissioner was a man much younger
than himself who had already served as factor on a large estate. However, any disappointment that Michie felt
did not show, either in the pages of his diary or in his behaviour towards his
new boss. Indeed, his cooperation with
James Forbes greatly facilitated the latter’s transition to his new position
and won for Michie an important ally and supporter when Forbes decided to move
on in mid-1901.
Had Queen
Victoria not died in early 1901 but lingered on until after James Forbes left
his post at Balmoral, it is likely that John Michie would not have been
nominated as the new man in charge on the Royal Deeside estates. Michie was not the candidate of Sir Dighton
Probyn, probably the most influential courtier at the time and, with Queen
Victoria’s mental decline, it is unlikely that she would have made the decision
on Forbes’ replacement. But that is
hypothesis. The reality was that King
Edward VII did see Michie as the man to succeed, in spite of Probyn’s
opposition. Perhaps the new monarch saw John
Michie as the continuity candidate?
After all, Michie had served at Balmoral for 21 years, had proved his
practical capabilities and clearly had familiarity with the physical layout of
the three Royal estates, their personnel (servant and tenant), the working
practices and the interactions of the estates with the wider economy and
governance structures of Aberdeenshire.
Perhaps King Edward, an astute man, saw the sense of not starting his
own reign with a new commissioner or factor who was an unknown quantity, at a
time when he too was learning a new role?
The rancorous
personal relationship between John Michie and Donald Stewart was of long
standing, extending from at least 1892 until the death of Stewart in 1909 but
while Michie managed to get over their various spats and let bygones be
bygones, the same could not be said for his antagonist. Donald Stewart had been a keeper on the
Balmoral Estate since 1848 and ascended to the top game protection role in 1875
on the retirement of the first head keeper, John Grant. Stewart had thus had intimate contact on the
hill with male members of the Royal Family, all of whom seemed to be avid
hunters, for the whole period of his Balmoral service. He was undoubtedly a skilled ghillie and had
a couthy manner of speech which, together with his faithful service brought him
a status which eclipsed that of all others employed on the estates. He was rewarded with gifts, medals,
prominence at ceremonials, a substantial pension and a retirement house
(Dantzig Shiel) with accommodation easily exceeding the needs of Donald and his
remaining family. It is even possible
that his name was borrowed by Prince Henry of Battenberg and his wife Princess
Beatrice in naming their fourth child, who had been born at Balmoral and was
given a Highland name to mark his birth in the Highlands. Such was the adulation with which Donald
Stewart was enveloped that he probably came to believe that his influence
carried significant weight with his Royal employers.
The antagonism
between John Michie and Donald Stewart was probably exacerbated in Stewart’s
eyes when he saw Michie, who was 27 years the younger, garnering prestige from
and influence with the Royal family between 1880 and 1901. At some stage Donald Stewart started to
bad-mouth the Head Wood Forester to King Edward VII, possibly starting while he
was still Prince of Wales. This blatant
attempt to undermine John Michie’s position continued even when Michie had
become Edward’s choice for the new manager of the estates, which earned Donald
Stewart a reprimand from the monarch, not delivered in person but through the
mouth of Sir Dighton Probyn. In spite of
this rebuke, Donald Stewart, now retired, retained his prestige and continued
to take a prominent place in ceremonials.
King Edward apparently did not wish to take sides in this dispute. However, for much of the first year after his
appointment as factor, John Michie may have been regarded with less than full
Royal confidence, having his salary set at what looked like a probationary
level, being omitted from the guest list for the first coronation date set for 26
June 1902 and being given a job title which appeared to be less prestigious (“factor”)
than that applied to his three predecessors (“commissioner”). Michie’s diary entries also seemed to indicate
a marked degree of stress in his life at this time. Did King Edward harbour some concerns as to
whether he had made a mistake in appointing his Head Wood Forester as the next
man in charge at Balmoral?
There seemed to
be some change in the Royal attitude to John Michie between the first and
second (9 August 1902) coronation dates in 1902, since the Balmoral wood
forester was invited to the reconvened crowning, though the King gave no
obvious sign of approbation of Michie during his subsequent Balmoral sojourn in
the autumn of that year. The following
year, 1903, was different in many ways from John Michie’s first year in the
factorial seat. The style and frequency
of entries in his diary indicated a man now at ease with his circumstances and
King Edward gave a number of indications of satisfaction with the performance
of his factor, including visiting the Michies socially, investing John with the
MVO (5th class) and expressing himself as being pleased with all
Michie had done, directly to his face.
As if to confirm that there had been a change in Royal attitude, Michie
expressed “surprise” at the monarch’s kindness.
It seemed to have been a case of “Ye shall know them by their fruits”
(Matthew 7:16).
For the rest of
Edward VII’s reign to 1910, John Michie worked hard and effectively to deliver
the King’s wishes for the Deeside estates and the monarch appeared to be happy
with all aspects of Michie’s conduct of his position, including the management
of the estate budget, the development of the Abergeldie herd of Aberdeen Angus
cattle and the relationship between the factor and the estates’ tenants. The King must have been kept well informed of
Michie’s conduct since Sir Dighton Probyn, his extra equerry frequently toured
the estates and their properties in the company of John Michie and plans for
repairs, renovations and modifications were generally agreed with the monarch’s
representative.
After an
undoubtedly successful period of more than nine years serving the interests of
Edward VII, John Michie must have been shocked to find that Edward’s eldest
surviving son, the new monarch George V, quickly took action which implied
strong criticism of Michie’s conduct of relationships with both the Estates’
tenants and workers. Whether he thought
the criticisms were unfair or not, he did not reveal his thoughts to his diary
but immediately accepted the Kings wish that both tenants and workers should be
treated with more consideration.
Although King George soon realised that Michie had perhaps been maligned
by Donald Stewart and others, William Carrington, who had acted as the
monarch’s cat’s paw, never seemed to warm to Michie throughout the period of
nine and a half years that the factor served this king.
The question
has to be asked as to whether John Michie bore some personal responsibility for
this admonition from George V through his own personality. Edward VII’s attempt in the early 1900s to
keep both his new factor and his retired head keeper happy, probably created a
situation where Donald Stewart’s deeply held resentment of Michie continued to
fester. In spite of being ticked off,
indirectly, by Edward VII, Stewart persisted with his mission to undermine the
factor’s position, which must have been unsettling for John Michie. Perhaps in those circumstances it was a
natural reaction for Michie to act in an authoritarian manner in an attempt to
shore up his managerial status with those under him? Was authoritarianism a Michie family
trait? It is thin evidence, but the
Michies’ oldest son, David Kinloch, at several points in his life, as
illustrated above, acted in such a way to resolve (or exacerbate!) matters of
contention. Another incident which could
be cited as pointing to John Michie’s authoritarianism was the dispute with his
wife in 1894 which resulted in physical violence to Helen when she would not
conform with his wishes. But the charge
against Michie upheld by Sir Dighton Probyn, related to his treatment of
tenants in particular. There is no doubt
that Michie held some of the Royal tenants in contempt for persistent moaning
or for attempting to gain advantages which he saw as unjustified. Not all tenants were reasonable people
downtrodden by factorial authority as George V seemed to think at the start of
his reign and the monarch did not appear to recognise that his own actions were
making circumstances more difficult for John Michie to exercise his authority
in a balanced way. The tentative answer
to the question posed above then is that John Michie did tend to act in an
authoritarian manner but that he probably saw the contemporary circumstances at
Balmoral as requiring such an approach in order to fulfil his obligations to
the monarch.
All humans have
complex personalities which are a mixture of attributes, good and bad, helpful
and unhelpful, appealing and unappealing, appropriate in some circumstances but
not others. John Michie was no different
to the mass of humanity and in counterbalance to his authoritarian tendencies
many instances of admirable traits have been cited above. Michie frequently behaved in a deeply caring
manner for those under him, such as sending William Wilson home to look after
his first wife when she was terminally ill with tuberculosis and taking charge
of funeral arrangements, despite appalling weather conditions, following the
death of old John McKenzie. John Michie also
demonstrated leadership of the highest order when he was lowered by rope down a
cliff on Lochnagar to rescue Miss Perrins who had fallen over the edge and been
stuck all night in a perilous position 200 feet down amongst rocks. This was
followed by the leader’s endearing modesty when he then omitted his own name
from the list of those involved in the rescue.
In the opinion of this observer, John Michie was an able and honest
person, at all times doing his best for his employer and, in most instances,
succeeding.
Perhaps the
final comments on John Michie should be left to the King’s representatives, written
in 1919 at the conclusion of his period of office.
Sir Fritz
Ponsonby “Everything is working smoothly at Balmoral, and it is much to
Michie’s credit that there have been no rows during the last six years when he
had practically been left to himself”.
Sir Dighton
Probyn. “But
during the six or seven years Michie senior served as factor under me I defy
anybody to have done his work more honestly, zealously and better than he
(Michie) did”.
Don Fox
20210928
donaldpfox@gmail.com
I am indebted to Dr Alison Innes (nee Kitchin) for access to her digitised copy of the John Michie diaries and other Michie family materials. My thanks also to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, partcularly to Miss Allison Derrett, for help in locating documents in the archives relating to John Michie. References to items in the archives are indicated by "RA" in brackets
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