wounded held together, those guarded were a jumble of highlanders and gentlemen. The highlanders had joined because the promised gain supported their ideals of raid-ing and bringing back bounty. The gentlemen were genuinely supportive to the cause.2 In one house near Culloden, a huge number of captured Jacobite supporters were held. Those bleeding had not had their wounds dressed. Sores were beginning to fes-ter and food was scarce on the 19th of April 1746, three days after the battle. Several accounts of the after-math of Culloden were com-piled into a collection be-tween 1746 and 1775 by the Bishop Robert Forbes of Ross and Caithness. He strived to have an account sealed for posterity, but op-ponents to the Jacobite cause continue to call The Lyon In Mourning a propaganda ploy. Here is one testimonial re-lated by a woman as de-scribed to in Forbe’s col- (Continued on page 2) .

Part II: The Aftermath Those of us versed in golf history probably heard the story of how John Rattray, about to be executed, was saved by his friend Duncan Forbes in the aftermath of Culloden. (Illustration 1) The story goes that Forbes defended his golfing buddy, making a good case for why the doctor should be spared. This is how James Rattray of Perth, Chairman of the Clan Rattray Society, put it in 1998 as part of a document entitled, Historical Account Regard-ing Dr. John Rattray, Cap-tain of the Golf...: “In 1746, John Rattray’s older brother, James Rattray, the Laird of Craighall Rattray, as a token of support of the Jacobite cause... suggested that John Rattray offer his medical ser-vices to Bonnie Prince Char-lie...during the Uprising. On 16-April-1746, after the battle of Culloden...Rattray was captured by the English-led forces and sentenced to be executed. Fortunately for Rattray, his good friend and golfing companion, Lord President Forbes...had consid-erable influence and inter-

vened on behalf of Rattray and his life was spared. Eventually, Rattray was able to return to his golfing and was again Captain of the Golf, in 1751.”1 Few can imagine the scene with authenticity, as history

has glamorized and sani-tized the picture. Like most of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s adventures, there is nothing romantic about Culloden. The reality was a horror. We won’t revisit the battle; suffice to say the Jacobites lost, and Dr. Rattray was captured as described above. With prisoners and

The AGM took place on 30 Jan at the Cricket Club on Leith Links. 25 members were present. Subscriptions were renewed and committee members (re-)elected. New member Punet Sachdev en-tertained us after the busi-ness-end of the meeting with a slide show on golf in India.

The 7 March Anniversary of the Signing of the First Rules event was a lunch/speaker do at the Cricket Club. Mem-bers enjoyed 3 courses pre-pared and served by Corne-lius Waugh and David Kay. This year was especially sig-nificant as our oldest mem-ber, Dan Orr, turned 100 on

the day and we passed a card around to sign before listen-ing to a “Historical Perspec-tive “ talk by archivist and historian Philip Knowles.

The year’s first challenge match between LRGS and Musselburgh Old Golf Club took place on 28 April with LRGS victorious at last!

Illustration 2 Gentlemen Golfers on Leith Links Detail from William Inglis Portrait

J o h n R a t t r a y , D u n c a n F o r b e s a n d t h e F a t h e r s o f G o l f ( c o n t )

Illustration 1: The Battle of Culloden, 16 April, 1746. (British Library, photograph The Bridgeman Art Library)

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Part 2 of Golfing

History Feature

• Winter &

Spring Events

• Interview with

Tim Bell

• Letter from the

Editor

W i n t e r & S p r i n g E v e n t s 2 0 0 8

L E I T H R U L E S G O L F S O C I E T Y N E W S L E T T E R

The Gowffer’s Tattle

MAY 2008 Issue 3 The aim of the society is to increase the recognition of Leith Links as the home of the earliest recorded rules of golf and one of the game’s prominent early locations.

(cont. from page 1) lection: “She said that the [soldiers] came to her house, and told the wounded men to get up that they might bring them to surgeons to get their wounds dress’t. Upon which, she said, the poor men, whom she thought in so miserable a way that it was impossible they could stir, made a shift to get up; and she said they went along with the party with an air of cheerfulness and joy, being full of the thought that their wounds were to be dressed. But, she said, when the party had brought them to the length of the hollow above mentioned, which is at a very short distance from her house, she being then within the house, heard the firing of several guns, and coming out immediately to know the cause, saw all those

brought out of her house under the pretense of being carried to surgeons, were dead men.”3 Another account (very likely at the same scene) describes a rescue which could have mirrored the circumstances of the res-cue of Rattray by Forbes: “John Fraser... was shot through the thigh by a musket bullet at the battle of Culloden, and was taken prisoner, after the battle, at a little distance from thye field, and car-ried to the House of Cullo-den, where a multitude of other prisoners lay under strong guards. There he and the other miserable gentlemen (for most of them were gentlemen), lay with their wounds un-dressed for two days in great torture. Upon the third day he was carried out of Culloden House and with other eighteen of his fellow prisoners flung into

carts, which they imagined were to carry them to In-verness to be dressed of their wounds. They were soon undeceived. The carts stopt at a park dyke at some distance from the house; there they were dragged out of the carts; the soldiers who guarded them, under command of three officers, carried the prisoners close to the wall or park dyke, along which they ranged them upon their knees, and bid them prepare for their death.”4 This eye witness was a bit closer than the woman at the house, for he goes on to describe what the sol-diers were ordered to do after firing their muskets: “But as those gentlemen who proceeded thus delib-erately in cold blood had their orders to do nothing by halves, a party of them went along and examined the slaughter, and knocked

ning the infrastructure, making decisions, and spending their free time on Leith Links playing golf with each other. When he pleaded for Rat-tray’s life, Forbes reasoned that “there are not two hun-dred gentlemen in the whole kingdom who are not very nearly related to some one or other of the rebels.” He was saying, in other words, what a waste of life; we know these peo-ple; they are our relations, our friends, our neighbours, our golfing buddies... which is why Forbes is recorded in history as hav-

(Continued from above) If we are to take the above accounts as evidence to what Rattray was sub-jected to when being held prisoner, we see a horren-dous, wasteful slaughter of the country’s best gentle-men: highly accomplished, highly regarded men; sur-geons, ministers, lords. No riff-raff here; and the highlanders were cream of the crop in their own right. Prior to the “Uprising” (if you were English) or “the Jacobite Cause” (if you were a Scot), these same gentlemen had been man-

ing “tempered justice with an abiding mercy.”6

Bibliography:

1. Rattray, James Historical Account Regarding Dr. John Rattray, Cap-tain of the Golf... 1998: Clan Rattray. www.electricscotland.com/history

2. McHardy, Stuart MA Hons . Lec-ture on 08/May/2008: The Jacobites

3. The Lyon In Mourning Vol 2 p.188-189 Scottish History Society 1895

4. Ibid. p. 260

5. Ibid. p. 261

6. Pottinger, George. Muirfield and The Honourable Company Scottish Academic Press. Edinburgh 1972 p.5

ings, nothing can diminish Tim Bell’s initial LRGS contribution.

Modesty seems to be a common trait among our members, for though Mr. Bell was hailed by Pat in last issue’s interview as the main spearhead, Tim was quick to reciprocate with fervent insistence that due to Pat Denzler’s “staying power”—her standing in the business community, her ability to chair meet-ings, pull things together and keep things on the road—LRGS has gone

smoothly from an ambi-tious dream to a concrete reality that has stood the test of time.

No one can deny, however, that what Pat brought to the table in terms of organiza-tion skills, Tim matched with his initial zeal in get-ting the idea off the ground and getting people in-volved in the first place. He gave an interview to the Gowffer’s Tattle from the comfortable member’s room at the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society on Giles (Continues page 3)

The featured LRGS mem-ber for this 3rd issue is Tim Bell. Tim, an Elder with the Church of Scotland and Port of Leith Chaplain, in addition to being involved with Leith Rules Golf Soci-ety has been hosting walk-ing tours around Leith for the past five years or so.

These days Tim is so busy with his new walking tour, “Trainspotters Guide to Leith” that he has had to step back from LRGS in-volvement. But even if he is no longer an ever-present force at committee meet-

P a g e 2

M e e t t h e m e m b e r s

T h e G o w f f e r ’ s T a t t l e

By Thomas Matheson, minister of Brechin

from his poem “The Goff”

first published in 1743

out the brains of such as were not quite dead; and observing signs of life in Mr. Fraser, one of them with the butt of his gun struck him on the face, dashed out one of his eyes, and beat down his nose flat and shattered to his cheek, and left him for dead.”5 But he wasn’t dead. After the slaughter, Fraser man-aged to crawl some dis-tance away from his fallen compatriots until he was spotted by a lord on horse-back. The lord offered him money because he knew the Master of Lovat, to whom the wretched man was an officer, but: “Mr. Fraser said he had no use for money, but begged him for God’s sake to cause his servant carry him to a certain mill and cott house, where he said he would be concealed and taken care of.”(ibid)(Continues below)

“–great Forbes, patron of the just The dread of the villains, and good mans trust When spent in toils in saving human kind His body recreates and unbends his mind”

about the days when LRGS first got off the ground. He was quick to make two very important points: 1) if anyone de-serves credit for trailblazing, it was the Rotary Club in 1984 for having an event and erecting a cairn 240 years on from the signing of the first rules, and 2) rather than rely-ing on individuals, our success relies on the core product which is the history of the rules of golf. “No one can take that fact away from us,” he says. “The history has always been there; it’s been neglected, but no one can take away that golf as a formal society game started in Leith and the very first written rules that set the game up as a competitive event started at Leith Links.

Who’s idea was it to name the society Leith-Rules-Golf? It’s a cheeky name. I don’t know who actually said it first but we all thought it would be an attention-getter, that people would stop to think, Leith-rules-golf? What’s that? It sounds as if you are saying there are special rules of golf that apply only to Leith. Only special in that they were the first ever penned rules. And those thirteen rules and amendments formed the basis of the rules of golf (Continues below)

cerned that Leith should have it’s own voice, that it shouldn’t become an exten-sion of the Edinburgh High Street, and Douglas McKay, who was also the founding chairman here at the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society, he and David Blakely kept muttering in meetings that the direct de-cendents of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers were holding an Open in 2002 at Muirfield and if we can’t tell the world that it all started here then we weren’t worth our salt. We gathered all inter-ested members together at

today. They have lasted. And playing with hickory clubs gets people into the fun of the period when the first rules were made. Was LRGS an offshoot of an earlier group? Not an offshoot. I was in-volved on the Tourism Board,the late-lamented, which was a voluntary opti-mistic group of amateurs. Edinburgh was interested in Leith at last, after decades of disinterest, and Leith suddenly was included in Edinburgh’s portfolio on the tourism trail. We were con-

the Cricket Club. It was late in 2001 and we were still

Tattle and I’ve learned a lot from the experience. I’ve even gone into the habit of frequenting the history sec-tion of the library again, which I never thought I would do after having the most boring history teacher ever at college. This year I took a course in Jacobiean history at Edinburgh Uni-verstiy to help hone my knowledge for the period during which the rules of golf were written. It is a very volatile period of Scot-tish history and well worth visiting. You might have noticed what probably seems a ran-dom publishing period for the Tattle: 1st issue in March, then Nov, then...June? With a May date on it? My apologies for a late May issue. May and November are the two

months the Tattle should ideally be published. May to coincide with the mailing of the Hickory Open fliers, and Nov for the mailing of invitations to the AGM. The Tattle is published online through the LRGS website, which makes it a worldwide readership. Be-ing editor has been a good experience in writing for a wider audience. I know there has been new mem-bership from across the pond because of reading the Tattle. I personally hope the new editor will pick up the torch and run with it. I am stepping down to work on other writing projects, including the development of the 3-Act musical com-edy I wrote which features the history of golf in Leith. Yours with much fondness, Lorna Moon

L E T T E R F R O M

T H E E D I T O R Next issue will be my per-sonal last issue; I am step-ping down as editor after issue four, which means the position of editor for the Gowffer’s Tattle will be open. I have created a template for a bi-annual light read that informs our members and others. What I personally want to see would be more input into the Tattle from our members, i.e. articles and photos. I hope the new editor can coax a bit of creativity out of y’all. I have thoroughly enjoyed creating and writing the

T i m B e l l r e v e a l s a l l a t t h e S c o t c h M a l t W h i s k e y S o c i e t y

P a g e 3 T h e G o w f f e r ’ s T a t t l e

“This is a claim that belongs to Leith; you can walk on it. You can hit a golf ball on it.”

Special Project Update: The first draft of a 3-act play incorporat-ing golf history on Leith Links written as a musical comedy with nearly a dozen original songs is complete. The author has been meeting with “Stage Write,” a subgroup of Leitheatre, to hear the script read aloud by ac-tors in order to hone and develop the draft into a script ready for produc-tion in the 2009 Fringe.

Street in Leith. Over a cup of cof-fee (yes, coffee) Tim reminisced

Scotch Malt Whiskey Society Giles Street, Leith

string budget. And Pat approached John Dixon, who provided the clubs and still lends us the clubs for all of our hickory events. We had a museum-like exhibit with informa-tion about golf history, and Archie Baird and others dressed up in pe-riod golf wear. We ap-proached the city with our idea. And Graham Croucher, a new appointee with a clean desk, we were his first pro-ject. And he gave us the nod and we got fund-ing for the first event and the rest is history. What would you say is the over-riding reason why Leith-Rules-Golf is still going strong? In marketing terms, the success relies on the core product. The genuineness of the central claim attracted good quality people; John Dixon, who is an out-and-out busi-nessman as well as golfing enthusi-ast, Philip Knowles, golf archivist, the list goes on. To have that qual-ity of participants was evidence that they could see it was, well it was just a good story and they wanted to be a part of it. I could see all that from the beginning, that this is a claim that belongs to Leith. You can walk on it; you can hit a golf ball on it. You can’t replace the distinctiveness of that core claim. If there had been anything shaky about it—if it isn’t verifiable or something—then it wouldn’t take off. But this little legacy be-longs to Leith.

looking for what we were going to do although we were clear about the history. What did you decide to do for the first event? I got in touch with Event Manage-ment and they almost laughed me out of court. They talked about having to have a marquis; they were talking about a budget of thousands of pounds, talking in business terms that went straight over my head, and I could see their point. If we were going to do it their way we might as well forget it. But Corny from the Cricket Club where we held our meetings said,

“Why do you have to spend any money at all?” The Cricket Club sits on part of the first fairway. We were prepared to work on a shoe-

So Leith is the “Cradle of Golf?” It certainly isn’t Saint Andrews. Now that I have a bit of knowledge about golf history I could see

clearly how Dutch traders would come into the harbour at Leith and must have played golf on the Links. And then they took it into the world. Or it was the other way around and they brought it here; nobody really knows where it started as a game, but as an estab-lished game with rules the Cradle of Golf is certainly Leith Links. WEBSITE: www.leith-rules-golf.co.uk or write to Leith Rules Golf Society c/o 14 Pirniefield Terrace Edinburgh EH6 7PW

P a g e 4 T h e G o w f f e r ’ s T a t t l e

Golfers at the original fairway on Leith Links.

Above photos of early LRGS events between 2002 and 2007