Legend of the tree that marks a dark secret!
brushing regime using the Quadraplay brushes, and twice a year a more vigorous clean and sand topping-up process is carried out by an external specialist to prolong the life. The drill square is brushed weekly during term times and kept free of algae and moss with applications of mosskillers. The Redgra athletics track is
extensively used during the summer months and, each spring, a programme of surface renovation is undertaken to restore levels, applying over twenty tonnes of Redgra material. The golf area is maintained on a minimal input of regular cutting of the greens, tees and fairway areas. The course, a six hole par 3, was developed from the need to keep a fairly large area tidy.
The most important date in the working calendar is Grand Day which takes place each year in early July. Rich in custom, the ceremonial ‘Trooping of the Colour’ is the highlight of the day. This is when the Inspecting Officer, with entourage, plus parents, former students and their families, and visitors, totalling around 1,500, pay homage to the school’s military heritage. The day also marks the end of the summer term, and at the close, pupils and staff take their leave. Preparations for the day begin in April, ensuring the grass is cut, fed and groomed on a regular basis, and shrub beds, hedges and informal gardens will be at their best.
A week before Grand Day all the furniture and goal posts are removed from the rugby pitch areas. Once the grass has been mown the staff begin the task of
CLOSE to the entrance of the Duke of York’s Royal Military School, and located within the school grounds, stands a tree passed daily by hundreds of people. The Elm is surrounded by other trees now and is difficult to find, but, just over a century ago, it stood alone, high on a then barren hill. It was known as the Lone tree and was marked as such on Ordnance Survey maps. Legend is that the tree grew from a staff used by a soldier who murderously attacked his comrade and then drove the staff into the ground. When, years later, he saw the tree growing he confessed his crime. It dates back to the middle of the 18th century,
marking out special boxes and grid areas for the marching areas and the positioning of two large marquees for the VIPs, visitors and guests. After the event damage to the playing fields, especially the marquee areas, is repaired. This generally involves decompacting, brushing, mowing, topdressing and overseeding. The Duke of York’s Royal Military School is certainly an interesting site. The work is varied and undertaken with military precision which, to some, may seem unusual. But, judging by the quality of the facilities, it works. All work is policed by David and his management team who liaise with school departments to ensure that all outdoor activities and games fixtures are successfully catered for. The PriDE staff are provided
with excellent working conditions, equipment and training, a situation that mirrors the high standards the school has set for the past 99 years.
there were two Scottish soldiers, companions since childhood, in the castle garrison. They fell in love with the same local girl. One evening one of them, Donald MacDonald, came upon his friend walking with the girl along the narrow and lonely road over the hills to Deal. He waited for him to return and then attacked him. He rained blows down on his head and left him for dead. The staff was
covered in blood and MacDonald feared his crime would be discovered. So he thrust it deep into the soft earth and went back to the castle. Next day the regiment sailed for service overseas - without Donald’s lifelong friend, who was posted as missing. Soon after the regiment had gone, the missing man was discovered, more dead than alive. He eventually recovered but could remember nothing of the attack and so MacDonald was never suspected.
Meanwhile, MacDonald was haunted by the memory of his cowardly attack, believing himself to be a murderer. Once a happy fellow, he became melancholy. When the regiment eventually returned to England some years later he felt compelled to return to the scene of the crime. He climbed the hill out of Dover and walked along the road he had once known so well. When he came to the area of the attack he realised with horror the tree was growing on the very spot. He realised the staff he had used to attack his friend had taken root and grown into the tree. He went back to Scotland but, as the years went by, he again had a morbid wish to visit the tree. Eventually he walked from Montrose to Dover to satisfy the desire.
It was springtime when he again reached the tree, which was flourishing and in full leaf. MacDonald knew there was to be no relief for his conscience so he went to the local police and confessed. Inquiries were made and it was eventually established the man MacDonald thought he had killed was alive and well.
So, the man who for years had believed himself to be a killer was allowed to go. He returned to Scotland but never sought out his one time friend. He lived to be 95 and, just before he died, in a tiny village, told the story of the Lone Tree to his minister.
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