T H E C O V E N A N T E R
land which floweth with beer and suppers, and children, Rhoda, Vivienne, Francis and
he shall rejoice in his service, knowing that at Jamie. Francis and Jamie were with them in
the end cometh Penshun.” Bahrain and Nairobi, the two older girls being
at boarding school. All are evidently well,
A few weeks later we left Sharjah on the because Doris now has 10 grandchildren.
jolly troopship ‘Dunera’ for Kenya. The rest
is history. Doris was pleased the other day to receive
a visit from ex national serviceman Roy
The driver-courier’s commentary on a recent Proudfoot and Sam Shaw, Jim’s batman and
coach tour of the West Highlands reminded driver and occasional babysitters, both of
me of extend to which the Stewart dynasty’s whom have a great respect for him. Doris
history has been romanticised by tunnel- regarded the visit as a tribute to Jim. Roys trip
visioned historians. But our Covenanter from Moffat to Glasgow to pick up Sam and
forebears and their survivors from whom thence to Kelso with a return trip involving
the Regiment was formed were victims of dropping in on me, amounted to 318 miles.
a Stewart regime. Whatever our personal Doris says that of all the regiments with
persuasion, we may learn much from their whom Jim served The Cameronian were by
example. Covenanters Richard Cameron, far his favourites
Donald Cargill, Alexander Peden and many Donald CB Cameron
others, who fearlessly went to the gallows
or gibbet, did so because their consciences
compelled them to take a stand against
A Cameronian in the R.A.P.C.
laws imposed from another country.
The Intelligence Corps Centre WC) - near
Today Protestants and Catholics alike are
Uckfield.
challenged by the overturning of good,
In July 1955, having passed my course, I was
wholesome laws which, though not perfect,
feeling a little overwhelmed by the direct
have served us well, and by the introduction
promotion from bandsman to sergeant and
from abroad of new laws which may offend
yet delighted that I had received six months
our faith and our consciences and defy the
retrospective promotion as a reward for my
old commandments.
success. I had to be mindful that I was being
“Sometimes we too must take a stand,
inspired by those who went before us.“
Addendum.
Since submitting my article I have been in
touch with Mrs Doris Strachan. Doris is the
widow of the late Rev. Jim Strachan who
was chaplain to the first Battalion in Trieste
in 1948/9 and returned as Padre at the
beginning of our tour at Buxtehude in 1955.
He remained with throughout Buxtehude,
Redford Barracks and Kenya-plus-Persian
Gulf Tours thereafter he was posted to the
K.O.S.B in Berlin. I recall that he said that he
had one of the worlds largest parishes, with
members scattered throughout Nairobi, the
Rift Valley, Bahrain, the Trucial States and
briefly Oman, not to mention any soldier
under sentence of more than 56 days in the
Cyprus detention centre!
When Jim retired from the Army he became
minister at Colmonell in Aryshire and later
at Hobkirk in Roxburghshire. He loved the
posted as a specialist and so far as the unit
borders countryside and when he left the
were concerned I would be the Pay Corps at
ministry, settled with Doris near Hume in
the ICC. The name Maresfield Park Camp
Berwickshire. Sadly Jim died in 1960: Doris
did suggest to me I was about to see grandeur.
recently moved to nearby Kelso.
However, I was soon disappointed, for the
Some readers will remember the four
unit was a scattered collection of wartime
brick huts without a staircase in sight. Stoves
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