Friday 22 December 2017

Lewis in the Second World War as viewed from a Free Church Manse

Kenneth A MacRae's diary for 1939 is missing, so that his immediate reaction to the outbreak of the Second World War is not recorded. There is however some account of that time in Stornoway in the introduction to chapter 14, “Preservation from national destruction, 1940-42” of the published diary extracts (cited with reference to the First World War on this blog), as on p.324, describing how naval reservists filed to the pier on the last Sunday in August (a week before the famous broadcast announcing the declaration of war by Britain). The Stornoway Gazette reported the largest crowd ever seen there, “strangely silent”. By the fifth month of the war, January 1940, an estimated 8-10% of the population of the island of Lewis were on active service or under training.

1940
On New Year’s Day MacRae noted, “The year has come in amid the gloom of a colossal war which only seems to be beginning.” As in the First World War one of his main preoccupations was the spiritual welfare, as he saw it, of the troops. Two days later (3-1) he was trying to get names and addresses to send some “good” literature to local recruits. So far he had got 20 for men at sea, most on minesweepers, 2 Airmen, and 19 in the Army. He considered (5-1) the “spiritual provision for those poor fellows is shocking”, provided as they were only with meagre 20-minute English-run services: “Our boys know better.” And again he was concerned with the sinfulness of the times bringing divine retribution. On 11-1 he wrote to the Glasgow Herald re cutting down on luxuries, deploring the financial and moral waste of drink, betting and amusement orgies: “frivolity, intemperance, desecration of the Sabbath run through the land”.




He took a detailed interest in the progress of the war and was ready to criticise its conduct in no uncertain terms, even at times with a bit of caustic humour. This was particularly applied to the local scene. Sometimes it was kind of personal - danger threatened in a direct way when the island was embroiled in the war effort.
On 19-3 he complained of “gigantic blunders”, and of how “our miserable PM (Chamberlain) has betrayed Abyssinia, Spain and Czechoslovakia....” But this did not absolve anyone from responsibility: “Oh that Britain would repent!” was a frequent wish, as on 10th June when Italy joined in the war, and he thought "Unless the Lord intervenes, we are likely to go under." Very soon things looked still worse, in a way that affected some of the townspeople directly:
(This links with the story of the Highland Division left in northern France after Dunkirk.)
  • 13-6 A British division has been cut off in Normandy and 6000 prisoners taken.
  • 17-6 Surrender of France; probability of defeat: life grey; furnace of persecution.
  • Our own local unit hundreds of miles from coast east of Metz. 
  • 20-6 Rather anxious about our local Battery* lads east of Metz. 
  • 16-7 [Asked] how to get letters to POW Territorials via International Red Cross.
  • 26-7 Air raids in Wick, Aberdeen, Peterhead etc.
  • 4-9 news of more than 20 captured Battery boys trickling through.
*p.327 note 1 refers to the Ross Mountain Battery: "In 1940 it was part of the Highland Division serving in France." See also SY Gone By no.49 p.29 - "The whole area [called The Battery in Stornoway] was named after the RNR Battery based there [1878-1819]... " This quotes a plaque erected "to commemorate the establishment of the largest RNR Battery and Training Depot in Great Britain..."
Ibid. p.30 The housing settlements at Battery Park (1905) and Sandwick Park (1921) were built through the Congested Districts Board, for crofters and fishermen... Sandy Matheson in Stornoway Gazette 15-4-2004.




He became more concerned for the safety of those at home too:
  • 2-7 Seeing the concentration of German troops in Norway “means they are preparing an invasion of Ireland and probably the Hebrides. I feel very uneasy about our unprotected state in this area. We have not a gun of any description, a search-light nor a soldier - except upon leave - in the whole Island.” And before the end of the year his unease appeared to have some justification -
  • 7-11 ... increasingly anxious about ourselves in this town, between a seaplane base and military aerodrome (for bombers) with no anti-aircraft gun or fighter plane to defend us. Defences should have had the first consideration, for as things are, if the enemy discover the base and the aerodrome there is nothing to prevent them bombing them to bits - and the town too.
  • 16-11 At 1.15 p.m. two German planes machine-gunned the aerodrome at Steinish and the wireless station at Ness; no casualties. I suppose, now we are discovered, that we can look out for more. But who can excuse the folly of building aerodromes and seaplane base before any defensive measures have been taken? Today those two Nazi machines could have done as they pleased. This is more Sassenach blundering; no Scotsman would be guilty of such folly.
  • 26-11 Heard today that 'Lord Haw-Haw' had been threatening the Stornoway churches with extinction...
As already seen, he was appointed chaplain to the RAF locally, and on 30-12 he “asked the R.A.F. Commanding Officer for a list of the men under my care, with their billets.”

1941 brought more on the same themes of the war’s progress, its local repercussions, and the need for spiritual regeneration, as paraphrased below. In June and through to September, he was focusing on news from the Russian front, his support for the Allies undeterred by atheistic Soviet communism.

19-3 … details of bombing of Glasgow. How inscrutable are the divine providences! How devilish are the ways of men! - 21-3 many of Grant St. congregation killed.
23-3 King has decreed a special day of intercession for the country. Preached, making special reference to the increased wickedness of the town since the war broke out; spoke very directly and forcibly to the young. Pointed out how the wickedness of Cromwell Street* was likely to bring divine judgment upon the town. Atmosphere was very solemn.
28-5 I was told by the adjutant that there are now 300 RAF in the Island: 255 Church of England, 26 Roman Catholic, 19 other. Danger of air raid. Naval vessels beginning to cluster here increasingly.

*The main shopping street in Stornoway, it could get a bit lively on a Saturday night.


11-6 Lewis promises soon to be an area of first-class importance militarily. More airmen are arriving daily and the work at the aerodrome seems to be on the grand scale. Another aerodrome has been begun at Ness...
25-6 Another German plane came over the town early this morning. It is difficult to understand the delay in sending us fighters when the runway has been ready for over a week.

The year ended on another sombre note:
30-12 Feel depressed... God's displeasure with this generation is to be manifested yet awhile. I very much feel the removal of our young people to munitions and other government work. The church services will be poor without them.
31-12 May next year bring in better things and end this awful war!


1942

Better things did not immediately appear, with the fall of Singapore duly noted on 17th February, but in April in slightly lighter vein he drily recorded a "Dad's Army" moment:
(2-4) "Last night we had an invasion practice in which commando troops tried to seize the local aerodrome and the radio location station in Shader. It would appear that their effort was unsuccessful and that the Home Guard were too many for them."

Tragedy was not far away, however.   

       - 2-6 One of our promising young men missing over the North Sea.
  • 15-9 Missing airman found on Islay coast.
  • 18-9 Funeral of Alistair Mackay - detachment of RAF.  How mysterious God's providences sometimes are! 
Meanwhile distrust of the state's wartime leaders intensified:
  • 19-6 Our newspapers, under government direction, are tantalising. One would imagine on reading them that our defeats are victories.
  • 22-6 The repeated surrender of such huge masses of men seems to suggest that Britain's soldiers in this war have neither the stamina nor discipline...
  • 29-6 Such surrendering never occurred before in British history... But it is not to be wondered at. With the present generation principle had gone to the wall and the masses have been living with nothing higher in view than their own gratification... Will the country wake up at last?.. People are now beginning to suggest that we are being sold by traitors high in society but I cannot accept that.
  • 10-7 Every boast in this war, on either side, has been falsified.
  • 3-9 Day of Prayer but very little done. Business went on as usual.
  • 7-9 Egypt. In some mysterious way our forces seem to have found out that they have emerged from recent battles on top. Quite obviously it is the direct outcome of our Day of Prayer.
"Stornoway and the harbour from Lewis Castle in 1943..."
The diary’s editor fast-forwards from the perceived turning point in 1942 to near the end of the war, telling us that MacRae continued to report and comment on the news, and recording (pp.350-351) that on “Peace Day” 9-5-45, marking “Victory in Europe”, he preached in the morning from Psalms to 290 people on “The Triumph and Overthrow of the Wicked” and in the evening to a congregation of over 300 on “Our Great Deliverance”.

The Notes for this sermon include: 
I. Our Peril
II. Our Deliverance
1. It was entirely due to the Lord being on our side - we could not save ourselves.
  2. But how do we know that? Did our wickedness deserve divine assistance?
    (1) How could He be on the side of such wickedness as the Germans perpetrated?
    (2) How could He be with those who persecuted the Jews?
    (3) Humanly speaking, gospel light was largely dependent upon Britain...
III Our Prospects
. . 4. We should never forget that He can cast us down as easily as He raised us up.

When the war finally ended, MacRae recorded (14-8-45) “Peace … but … We have reason to rejoice with trembling.” Just over a week after the dropping of the first atomic bomb and 5 days after the second, his fears for the future may well have been more intense than those he voiced after the First World War – and with reason. 

The two photographs reproduced in the text above
aptly juxtaposed in the latest issue of SY Gone By, p.35
(magazine of the Stornoway Historical Society)
Previously...
Pawns in the War Game, 1940
In and Out of the War: the Free Church and Conscription, 1914-1918







Thursday 14 December 2017

More Scottish COs: Campbeltown, Islay, Arran

The two men from Lochgilphead, Duncan Macdonald and Duncan Campbell McTavish, whose cases came up in the preceding post, were not the only First World War conscientious objectors (COs) in the rural south-west of Scotland. There were at least half a dozen more, from quite close by, whose paths may have crossed with theirs.


Dr John MacCallum is the best known to historians, and has already been referred to on this blog. Without repeating his story here, it is worth noting his Argyllshire connections. As well as being described as "TB officer" for that county, he was a son of the (Church of Scotland) manse, to wit Muckairn Manse, Taynuilt, now a Category B listed building.

It is tempting to conclude that Peter Sim from the Isle of Arran was the same person as P Simm from Arran, but if the latter's meagre record is accurate this may not be the case. Peter Sim was sentenced at Court Martial to 112 days in Wormwood Scrubs and arrested as an absentee, then sent to Wakefield work centre under the Home Office Scheme (HOS) for alternative service. "P Simm", on the other hand, is described as an Absolutist and must have refused or come off the HOS since he had served 3 sentences by January 1919... (Maybe he thought better of going along with the HOS, or absconded from Wakefield?)

Peter Sim
Age        -
Birth year            -
Year       -
Soldier Number                -
Address               -
Address 2            Isle of Arran
Local authority  Arran County District
County Buteshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               -
Longitude            -
Ordnance Survey reference        -
Motivation          -
War Service        CM (Court Martial) Perth 14.9.16 - 112 days HL (With hard labour), to Wormwood S.
Magistrates Court            Arrest reported 19.9.16
Magistrates Court comments     Absentee
Prison   Wormwood S.
Work Centre      HOS (The Home Office Scheme, administered by the Brace Committee) to Wakefield
WO363 false
Sources                NCF (No-Conscription Fellowship)/COIB Report XLV; FH/SER/VOPC/Cases/7(2549) 
Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918

P Simm
Age        -
Birth year            -
Year       -
Soldier Number                -
Address               -
Address 2            Arran
Local authority  Arran County District
County Buteshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               -
Longitude            -
Ordnance Survey reference        -
Absolutist            Yes
Motivation          -
War Service        ?
Prison   By Jan.1919 had served 3 sentences (1 month furlough) and more than two years.
WO363 false
Sources                FH/FSC(1916/20)/SER3-Two Year Men;
Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918

The island of Islay also produced a pair of COs, for one of whom a WO363 record is available.

John McFadyen, a ploughman aged 24 and 5'2" tall in 1916, was granted ECS and duly joined the NCC at Stirling Castle, serving without recorded incident until demob on 22-7-19.

John McFadyen
Marital status    Single
Occupation         Ploughman
Age        24
Birth year            1892
Year       1916
Soldier Number                1331
Address               Coullabus
Address 2            Gruinart
Local authority  Islay County District
County Argyllshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               55.76
Longitude            -6.23
Ordnance Survey reference        NR348608
Motivation          -
Military Service Tribunal                MST (Military Service Tribunal) (?) - ECS (Exemption from Combatant Service)
War Service        NCC (Non-Combatant Corps) 16.6.16 Stirling Castle, (2 Scottish); Home: 16,6,16 - 22.7.19, Demob.
WO363 true
Sources                NA/WO363 - on line 
Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918

John Mcfadyen
Age        24
Birth year            1892
Service number                1331
Regiment            Non-Combatant Corps
Unit / Battalion 3rd Scottish Company
Year       1916
Residence town               Galashiels
Residence county            Selkirkshire
Residence country          Scotland
Series    WO 363
Series description            WO 363 - First World War Service Records 'Burnt Documents'
Archive The National Archives
Record set          British Army Service Records
Category              Military, armed forces & conflict

John Mcfadyen
Age        24
Birth year            -
Service number                1331
Regiment            Non-Combatant Corps
Unit / Battalion 3rd Battalion
Year       1915
Series    WO 363
Series description            WO 363 - First World War Service Records 'Burnt Documents'
Archive The National Archives
Record set          British Army Service Records
Category              Military, armed forces & conflict

John Bell, a sawyer, was granted temporary exemption during June 1916, then ECS when his appeal at county level was dismissed. The only source given is one which would repay further study. It is quoted as if suggesting Bell has somehow managed to dodge the draft for the best part of two years:

John Bell
Occupation         Sawyer
Age        -
Birth year            -
Year       -
Soldier Number                -
Address               Lyrabus
Address 2            Islay
Local authority  Islay County District
County Argyllshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               55.76
Longitude            -6.23
Ordnance Survey reference        NR348608
Motivation          -
Military Service Tribunal                MST (Military Service Tribunal) Islay Local 9.6.16 - temporary exemption to 30.6.16; County appeal rejected - ECS (Exemption from Combatant Service) only, non-combatant
War Service        'This man is virtually a shirker, and although he has had call-up notices he has paid no attention to them and up until recently was occasionally employed as a jobbing labourer' (4.3.18)
WO363 false
Sources   [National Archives of Scotland file] NAS/HH31/28/60 Survey of Scottish Tribunals' use of Absolute Exemption - response by Islay Local 4.3.18.
Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918

Two CO students with home address in Springfield Terrace, Campbeltown, look like brothers. James Scott, studying in Belfast, where he lived at 12 Elmbank Avenue, is said to have been motivated by (unspecified) religion. Granted Exemption from Combatant Service (ECS) in March 1916 he joined the Non-Combatant Corps (NCC) in August. At the end of September he was transferred to Army Reserve Class W to allow him to finish his studies, on condition that he join the OTC Ambulance Unit. A comparatively rational and humane outcome, by contrast with the majority of COs.

James Scott
Marital status    Single
Occupation         Medical student (Belfast University)
Age        20.11
Birth year            1896
Year       1916
Soldier Number                2629
Address               Springfield Terrace*
Address 2            Campbeltown
Local authority  Campbeltown Burgh
County Argyllshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               55.42
Longitude            -5.62
Ordnance Survey reference        NR710200
Motivation          'Religious'
Military Service Tribunal                MST (Military Service Tribunal) Campbeltown 23.3.16 - ECS (Exemption from Combatant Service) only
War Service        NCC (Non-Combatant Corps) 25.8.16 Stirling Castle, (13 Aldershot); 30.9.18 transfer to Army Reserve Class W to allow him to continue his studies on condition that he join the University OTC Ambulance Unit
WO363 true
Notes    *His 'home' address; his university address - 12, Elmwood Avenue, Belfast
Sources                NA/WO363 - on line;
                 Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918

Thomas Scott, two years older, was likewise ECS, conditional on his joining the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) and served with the NCC from 18-8-16.

Thomas Scott
Single
Occupation         Student
Age        23
Birth year            1893
Year       1916
Soldier Number                2524
Address               Springfield Terrace
Address 2            Campbeltown
Local authority  Campbeltown Burgh
County Argyllshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               55.42
Longitude            -5.62
Ordnance Survey reference        NR710200
Motivation          -
Military Service Tribunal                MST (Military Service Tribunal) (?) - ECS (Exemption from Combatant Service) conditional on his joining RAMC
War Service        NCC (Non-Combatant Corps) 18.8.16 Oxford, (4 Southern)
WO363 true
Sources                NA/WO363 - on line - incomplete
                 Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918

Stirling Castle, where the NCC Scottish Companies mustered
Lastly, their fellow citizen William McMurchy was rather more unfortunate. A member of the Plymouth Brethren, he had been assigned to the Royal Scots and was court-martialled 'in the field' in January 1917. Sentenced to 12 months in prison, he came before the Central Tribunal at Wormwood Scrubs in July and was judged to be a Class A ("genuine") CO. As such he accepted the HOS and proceeded to Dartmoor work centre. Having been in the forces he was accorded the customary medals after the war, only to have them withdrawn in 1923, presumably because his CO status was pointed out.

William McMurchy
Age        27
Birth year            1890
Year       1917
Soldier Number                34458
Address               -
Address 2            Campbeltown
Local authority  Campbeltown Burgh
County Argyllshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               55.42
Longitude            -5.62
Ordnance Survey reference        NR710200
France  Yes
Motivation          Plymouth Brethren
Military Service Tribunal                MST (Military Service Tribunal) Central Tribunal at Wormwood S. 29.6.17, CO class A, to Brace Committee
Central Tribunal                Central Tribunal Nos. W. 3693 Class: A - Genuine
War Service        11 Royal Scots FGCM (Court Martial) 'In the field' 20.1.17 - 12 months without HL (With hard labour), Wormwood S.*
Prison   Wormwood S. 7.5.17 to 14.7.17 to Dartmoor
Work Centre      HOS (The Home Office Scheme, administered by the Brace Committee) 14.7.17 to Dartmoor
WO363 false
Notes    *Awarded Victory and British Medals, withdrawn 1923.*Address in 1901 census.
Sources                LMA/4417/01/016 - Wormwood S. Nominal Register; Not found in NA/WO363; NA/British Army WW1 Medal Rolls 1914-1920; NA/MH47/2 Central Tribunal Minutes.
Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918 
Category              Armed forces & conflict 

This small mixed bag of records, netted via a search using place-name keywords on the online database, is typical of the sort of information that may be found about COs in many areas of the country.

Saturday 2 December 2017

In and Out of the War: the Free Church and Conscription, 1914-1918

A search for 'Presbyterian' on the online database of First World War conscientious objectors yields well over 100 records, as previously noted. A few of these have already been looked at in some detail, notably those of Murdo Macleod from Cromore on the Isle of Lewis and Angus McIntyre from Portree on Skye; "Diviinity student" Donald Morrison, also from Lewis, is very likely to have been Presbyterian too. Although the Free Church (hereinafter FC) in Scotland did not as a body oppose the war, and many of those who belonged to it were among the casualties, there were several like Murdo, taking his stand on the testimony of the Reformed (Presbyterian) Church and the Revolution Settlement of 1688, and 'Covenanter' Angus (referring to the same history) who could not reconcile their beliefs with participation in the conflict.

The view of the Free Church (n.b. other brands of Presbyterianism were and are available, including the established Church of Scotland) on war is described by the editor of the published Diary of FC minister Kenneth A MacRae, already cited with reference to the 'Lewis Sabbath'. According to this, war, "however just" was (pp. 103-4) “a national calamity and divine judgment....” This was not one of the few Christian denominations which took a pacifist stance. A failure to condemn killing outright was not incompatible with the Sixth Commandment in the interpretation set out in the Shorter Catechism, inserting as it does the qualifications ‘lawful’ and ‘unjustly’ which crucially modify the four-word ‘law’:
Q67. Which is the sixth commandment? A. The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill.
Q68. What is required…? A. The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life, and the life of others.
Q69. What is forbidden…? A. The sixth commandment forbiddeth the taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbour unjustly, or whatsoever tendeth thereunto.
(The Westminster Confession of which this is part dates after all from 1647, in the context of the 'English Civil War', and was agreed by men strongly committed to a belief that their side was amply justified in fighting).

MacRae himself of course also professed the 'Reformed testimony' and honoured the Covenanters, and shared the general Free Church* view as outlined, while having no fundamental problem with militarism. Rather the contrary: Chapter 1 is titled “A son of the army”. He spent much of his boyhood at Fort George, where his father was a Recruiting Officer (RSM, albeit one who didn’t see action) in the Seaforth Highlanders, and he himself had joined the Royal Scots Territorials. When war was declared he was studying for the ministry at the Free Church (FC) College in Edinburgh, completing a simultaneous Arts degree at the university and spending a lot of time travelling as a preacher invited to address numerous FC congregations in Scotland.
*For an account of the origins and history of the FC in the Highlands and Islands, see The People of the Great Faith by Douglas Ansdell (Acair, 1998).

Believing he had been called to the ministry and the work of God, he did not join the rush to the colours, and from 1916 he was the FC minister at Lochgilphead, in Argyllshire. In August 1914 he noted: “Some of the hard things shown the Lord's people”, placing War at number 6 and commenting that while some "scourge" was inevitable, there might be some hope yet, since troops were having to say prayers - the hope being of a turn to God (23-8-1914). Two months later (4-10) he was bemoaning, not for the only time, the nation's “lack of repentance, provocation of the Most High.” There is no record in the book of him exhorting others to join the fighting, although he evidently accepted that many would do so, and had a certain admiration for those who did, as well as concern for their physical and especially spiritual welfare. 

On 30-5-1915 he found himself in Aberdeen, addressing in Gaelic, as a learner of the language, a hall full of soldiers of the Camerons and Seaforths, whose native tongue it was; he got on better than he had feared. On the 2nd of January 1916, a ‘Day set aside for national prayer’, his “discourse bore upon national sin and the need for national repentance.” Later that year he noted some of the side-effects of war on the home front: (22-7) the new permit* requisite to get beyond Inverness and (8-10) the difficulty of finding supply preachers owing to most of the students being away upon military service.  In March 1917 he reported that students were not now protected from military service. The Church did not accept the rationale for this where its own students were concerned, having its own set of priorities. The FC College was closed and the students posted to congregations as having there a better chance of claiming exemption at local tribunals – not as COs but as doing work where they could not be replaced.
* On 25 July 1916, the area north of the Great Glen was declared ‘The North of Scotland Special Military Area’, and access to non-residents was restricted. 

As the slaughter increased one may discern a tendency to dwell on the tragedy rather than the judgment, and even a hint that the divine chastisement may be excessive or misdirected. Chapter 5, 'The Shadow of Death, 1917-1918', has frequent expressions of sorrow over individuals known to him and records of condolence visits to bereaved families. His brother George was killed in action at Arras in April. On 21-6 he wrote about other deaths of young men: “Truly the Lord has a controversy when such lads of promise are being cut away... Who next? What awful times!” and on 14-9 “This is an awful world... One taken away after another.”

From time to time he made observations on particular battles and on what he saw closer to home. On 3rd May 1917 Arran sailings were suspended due to “mines or submarines in the Clyde” and on the 7th he saw 12 minesweepers. In December he heard of his remaining brother Duncan's “amazing escapes” (which sadly did not mean survival in the longer term). The 1st of January 1918 was “appointed a Day of Humiliation and Prayer by our Church, and more resembled a Sabbath”, which he greatly approved, considering it a happy venture as it would test the people, to sacrifice their usual festivities.
.
In February 1918 he was (8-2) at West Loch Tarbert en route for Islay, and saw 100 American troops who had come ashore on the Islay coast from the torpedoed troopship Tuscania*. He learned that the death toll out of 2500 was about 210 missing, having feared it was worse. His hotel was “completely occupied by troops”. On 9-2 a “great funeral” of 48 American soldiers was held, and it was not over - on 13-2 another dead American soldier was found among rocks on the island. Also around this time, “heavy firing was heard [one] afternoon to the south” and he found that (1-3) in Glasgow the shortage of food was much more apparent than in Islay.
* The Tuscania has been referred to previously in her earlier role of transatlantic liner.
A commemorative service was held on the centenary of the tragedy 
(news item also available in Gaelic.)

In March he was astounded at “deplorable heresies” in a book God and the Soldier declaring we should pray for the dead including those in hell, and later wrote of a dreadful battle which led to much anxiety in the village about the lads in France: (3-4) “What fearful havoc! What devastation! How is it all going to end?”

It was in April 1918 that he and other ministers of the Free Church found themselves under threat of conscription: disturbed (10-4) at the appearance of Parliament's Military Service Bill calling upon ministers (among others) for military service, MacRae declared himself “prepared to resist to the utmost”, pointing out next day that no mention was made of consulting denominations. All under 51 [and over 18] were to be deemed enlisted on a certain date, with only the choice of non-combatant or combatant service. It was not that he ruled out service with the forces for himself; he had in fact offered to go out as a chaplain if a suitable replacement could be found to carry on what he saw as his main responsibility, the work of his ministry with the local congregation. But against the demands of the state, the “rights of the Redeemer” and the autonomy of the Church were paramount.

He was not alone. On 16-4 the Presbytery meeting passed a resolution “asserting the freedom of the Church of Christ from the control of the civil power in respect of things spiritual especially re military service”. As it happened (Note, p.134) the offending clause had been dropped the previous evening, so the staunchness of the resistance was not put to the test. MacRae did not think the protest had been a waste of time; he was “overjoyed that we were able to raise our testimony before this was known”. Before the war ended “some were suggesting that the Free Church minister should be away at the battlefront” (p.147), but this was only going to happen on his terms, and in the event he was not called to a chaplaincy with the forces. Left to carry on with the sad catalogue of casualties and bereavement, he recorded among others the death within a month (10-5) “of John Munro, the [probably FC College] student from Lewis, killed in action. Those to whom we looked are falling upon the field of battle.” (It is not unlikely that another student from Lewis, who was a CO, also studied at the FC College.)
The cover shows a view of Lochgilphead
What MacRae thought of non-clerical conscientious objectors (COs) to military service is not recorded, at least in the published extracts. There are two COs known to have had addresses in Lochgilphead and so virtually certain to have been known to the minister, so that their stories fit in here – Duncan McDonald and Duncan Campbell McTavish. The latter’s ‘motivation’ is even given as “Free Church”, along with subsequent affiliation to the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Judged by Military Service Tribunal to be “unconvincing” as a CO, he was sentenced after Court Martial to detention with hard labour and served time in Stirling Military Prison and Edinburgh Civil Prison before accepting employment under the Home Office Scheme, which sent him to the Work Centres at Ballachulish, Wakefield and Dartmoor. (His record of “war service”, WO363, has not survived, but that of his brother Hugh in the Royal Garrison Artillery has, indicating that the family as a whole were not pacifists.)

Duncan Campbell McTavish
Age        25
Birth year            1891
Year       1916
Soldier Number                -
Address               Castleton Cottage
Address 2            Lochgilphead
Local authority  Lochgilphead Burgh
County Argyllshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               56.03
Longitude            -5.43
Ordnance Survey reference        NR860880
Motivation          FOR-Dartmoor Branch; Free Church of Scotland;
Military Service Tribunal                MST (Military Service Tribunal) Central Tribunal at Calton CP (Civil Prison), Edinburgh, 1.9.16 - CO class B
Central Tribunal                Central Tribunal Nos. W.1096 Class: B - unconvincing
War Service        Depot A and S Highlanders; CM (Court Martial) Glasgow 31.5.16 - 2yrs detention com.to 1 yr. Stirling Detention Barracks; CM (Court Martial) Perth 30.6.16 - 18 months HL (With hard labour) com.6 months, Edinburgh CP (Civil Prison)
Prison   Stirling MP (Military Prison)*; Edinburgh CP (Civil Prison) July 1916;
Work Centre      HOS (The Home Office Scheme, administered by the Brace Committee) 19.10.16 to Ballachulish; 7.8.17 at Wakefield; Dartmoor 1917
WO363 false
Sources                Tribunal 15.6.16; FOR Dartmoor Branch in Liddle CO 044; NA/WO86/70/65, 70/173; *Reference to his time in Stirling MP (Military Prison) in FH/FSC(1916/20)/SER2 - R. Barclay Murdoch, Scottish Quaker Chaplain's Report 26.6.16 ; Not found in NA/WO363; NAS/HH31/29/1 - COs in Scottish Prisons July 1916; NAS/HH31/29/6 - Central Appeal Tribunal 1.9.16; NA/MH47/1 Central Tribunal Minutes; FH/SER/VOPC/Cases/5(937)
Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918

The case of Duncan McDonald is a tragic one, since he had the sad distinction of being, according to the Register, the first member of the Non-Combatant Corps (NCC) to die in France, reportedly of accidental injuries. Aged 28, he had been granted exemption from combatant service only (ECS) in March 1916; he died in early June, a few days after being sent abroad. He and his father were both tailors, so that the family would have been well known in the small town.

Duncan McDonald
Marital status    Single
Occupation         Tailor
Age        28
Birth year            -
Year       -
Soldier Number                1471
Address               Daill Cairnbaan
Address 2            Lochgilphead
Local authority  Lochgilphead Burgh
County Argyllshire
Country                Scotland
Latitude               56.03
Longitude            -5.43
Ordnance Survey reference        NR860880
France  Yes
Motivation          -
Military Service Tribunal                MST (Military Service Tribunal) Mid-Argyll 9.3.16 ECS (Exemption from Combatant Service)/NCC (Non-Combatant Corps)
War Service        NCC (Non-Combatant Corps)(1 Scottish) Stirling Castle 23.5.16; To France 30.5.16 Died of accidental injuries in France 4.6.16 - found dead on the railway in France - the first NCC (Non-Combatant Corps) casualty
WO363 true
Sources                CD-Rom Soldiers died in the Great War; See also www.britishwargraves.org.uk; Daily News and Leader 27.7.16; NA/WO363 - on line;
Record set          Conscientious Objectors' Register 1914-1918

His WO363 service record is available, including a Ministry of Pensions form stating that he died or was killed on active service.
Duncan McDonald
Birth year            1888
Age        28
Death year          1916
Death date         04 Jun 1916
Number               1471
Rank      Private
Unit       No. 1 Scottish Coy.
Regiment            Non Combatant Corps
Grave reference              Plot C. Row 1A. Grave 8.
Cemetery or memorial  Calais Southern Cemetery
Burial country    France
Additional information  Son of Donald and Margaret McDonald, of Daill Cairnbaan, Lochgilphead, Argyll.
Link        https://www.cwgc.org/find/find-war-dead
War        First World War, 1914-1918
Record set          Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt Of Honour
Category              Military, armed forces & conflict

Duncan Mcdonald
Age        28
Birth year            1888
Service number                1471
Regiment            Non Combatant Corps
Unit / Battalion 1st Company
Year       1916
Residence county            Argyllshire
Residence country          Scotland
Series    WO 363
Series description            WO 363 - First World War Service Records 'Burnt Documents'
Archive The National Archives
Record set          British Army Service Records
Category              Military, armed forces & conflict

McDonald’s family may have been among those to whom MacRae made visits of condolence. There were many, including one which had lost six members, and "a woman with a brother in the asylum as a result of the war”. In August 1918 he heard of the death of his own brother-in-law, wondering again: “When will this horror of war cease?” Not that he expected peace to be without its problems, fearing “a very black day to come” after the war. By now he had found that the "preaching of consolation was becoming sweeter than warming" of the wrath of God.

On November 11 1918 there was no note of victorious triumph in his reaction: “At midday news came that peace had come at last… The first we heard was church bells in the early afternoon.” He found himself ”strangely unmoved, sad and pensive...” indeed "crushed", and fearing the future...

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Note on surnames: In the Highlands generally the Mac form, with no capital letter after the prefix, was until recently the spelling most commonly used when writing in English.
Previously on this blog:

Already linked in text above - 
http://smothpubs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/conscientious-objectors-from-lewis.html [Lewis]
http://smothpubs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/first-world-war-conscientious-objectors.html [Skye]

Other posts on COs in Scotland and elsewhere (Ealing) and what happened to them include -
Scots Against War, 1914-18 style (Scotland - book review)
Conscription Comes to Britain, 1916 (General - with more links)