Eighty years ago today, your blogger’s father was at St Nazaire in France, hoping to be evacuated. He was a member of the BEF, serving with the Scottish Horse. He was far from confident he would survive. He had been left behind, when many of the men he was with had been taken off to RMS Lancastria. All of this was part of Operation Aeriel or Ariel, to rescue the remaining troops in France. It turned out your blogger’s father was lucky. There was a devastating attack by a German bomber on the Lancastria, which was filled with troops and civilians. The ship sank within twenty minutes of being hit, and the estimates of how many died vary between 3,000 and just under 6,000. It is the largest maritime loss of life in British history.
Comments closedAuthor: jcairns
Given current discussions, the Blog is delighted to draw the attention of its followers to the short video available on YouTube: “Joseph Knight Scenes for Survival“.
The story of Joseph Knight is relatively well known. African-born, and acquired in Jamaica as an adolescent by John Wedderburn, a Jacobite in exile trying to restore his family’s fortunes, he was brought to Scotland where he met and married Annie Thomson and sought successfully through legal means to have his freedom recognized. He had a series of distinguished lawyers act for him, including Henry Dundas, the future Viscount Melville, whose eloquent speech was quoted in the Caledonian Mercury on 21st February, 1776.
Comments closedPompeo Batoni’s brilliant picture of Colonel William Gordon in the ruins of Rome is fairly well known. It is part of the Fyvie Castle collection, and was recently displayed in Edinburgh.
One interesting aspect is that Batoni portrays Colonel Gordon” Huntly tartan plaid and kilt as if in silk. He has also given it a consciously toga-like aspect to it. In the ruins of Rome, he becomes a dignified, if glamorous, almost classical figure, with his sword and British military dress, as a personification of Rome offers him an orb, while also holding laurel wreath. With his right hand, he leans on his sword, while his left holds his Glengarry bonnet. His best known action was to defend the House of Commons against the mob led by his nephew, Lord George Gordon, in the Gordon riots in 1780.
Comments closedThe first subject taught in law in the University of Edinburgh was Roman law, then known as was traditional as Civil Law, the term still used in the Edinburgh curriculum. The chair of Civil Law was founded in 1710 as the second chair in law, but no teaching was offered from the first chair, that of public law and the law of nature and nations until 1711. But from 1710, Roman law has been continually taught in the University.
Comments closedThe BBC this morning (25 March) reported that Hannah Durkin of the University of Newcastle had traced the last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade as one Matilda McCrear, who lived until 1940, dying in Selma, later famous for its role in the civil rights movement in the U.S.A. Dr Durkin is researching the survivors of the Clotilda, the last U.S. slave ship. Ms McCrear arrived in Alabama in 1860. This is fascinating news.
