CHAPTER 1
My father's story starts in 1325 AD. In that year, the winter was extremely cold and wet across the rolling hills of the Clydesdale farmlands. The icy winds swept in from the Atlantic Ocean and covered the Lowlands of Scotland with sleet and blankets of rolling fog. In the village of Lanark, farmers wondered about the effects of such ill weather on their sheep and cattle. Even the market gardeners became concerned for next year's crop, as their vegetable patches became water logged with streams of thick sticky mud.
One of those families anxiously waiting events, were my grandparents. Known as the McBride's, they lived on a small acreage at the village edge. A grey stoned out house with its thatched roof was home to Malcolm McBride, his wife Margaret and their three children William, Marion and Agnes. During these long winters, the family were very much confined to work on the farm allotment. The nearby town of Lanark was situated on the top of a large hill and the trek to and from the river valley below could be an arduous one for all those who had to make the journey. The family's only relief from a cold days labour in the fields came from a log fire in the centre of the modestly furnished two-roomed house.
Like so many of the other market gardeners in Lanark, my grandparents struggled to make ends meet. Malcolm made extra pennies by carting cattle fodder for farmers in his horse and cart, while Margaret tilled our market garden along with the help of William, their seventeen year old son. As both toiled throughout the day, Nan would try and educate her son as best she could with stories and tales from the family's ancient Celtic past. And after these lessons, Will would often dream at night of what it would be like to accompany the great mythical warrior, Cuchulainn, who protected the immortal souls of those Celtic peoples occupying the lands of Ulster against the evil kingdoms of Munster, Leinster and Connacht in the south of Ireland. Nan use to always say. `Those of the Celtic faith must always be prepared for the battles ahead. One day the Lion of Septebtrion, will come in the name of Cuchulainn and call on the faithful to follow his path to a better Celtic future.'
While Gramps had few expectations of his children, Nan was more ambitious. Often she would do extra housekeeping work on weekends for the more well-to-do families of the Clydesdale valley. As a maid at the many country house afternoon tea parties, Margaret often overheard stories of the outside world and the politics of the day. Many a gentleman farmer would talk of the benefits that Robert the Bruce had brought to the Lowlands since becoming king of an independent Scotland. For more than a decade now of his rule, the Borderlands between Edinburgh and Northumberland had been relatively free of invading English armies. And over these years, industry and trade had expanded between the Scottish towns on the plains below that in turn demanded an ever expanding civil service to keep pace with a bustling economy.
Nan firmly believed that the future of her son, Will, lay outside of having to work in a vegetable garden for the rest of his life and thought a job in the civil service might just be the answer. Some six months before, she had discussed this matter with the village priest. Father Byars was sympathetic and suggested that the young man begin his education by attending parish writing lessons every Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The priest explained to Margaret that all new employees of the nearby Sheriff Offices in Douglas and Hamilton had to count numbers and record their findings in ledger books. The writing classes for Will would be a good first step the priest said. At the beginning, Malcolm disagreed, strongly believing the boy would be more help to his mother on the land. However, Margaret persisted and eventually Gramps allowed Will a few hours a week to attend classes, providing all his chores at home were completed beforehand.
In his early years, according to all accounts, my father had been a rather sensitive and shy child. He spent little time with other boys of his age, instead enjoying his own company playing in the nearby forest. Will's greatest pride and joy came from a slingshot that was made of animal skins. He practiced his shooting skills for hours on end in the forest and took the weapon everywhere he went. Over time, this trademark would come in very handy, particularly during spring time when it was necessary to scare away wild birds attempting to steal the growing vegetables at the back of the house.
At first, the young man found the writing classes difficult to master. He was conscious of his lowly status and found himself frequently competing against the sons of town merchants and traders. Often these lads had travelled with their fathers on business to other Scottish towns and cities and were more worldly than Will. They continually looked down on him and he felt isolated and disadvantaged for being just a farming boy. Will's baggy farm pants, rough wavy hair and my grandmother's home-sewn shirts set him aside from his more refined class mates. At times, the boy wished he could just leave, but decided to continue only out of fear of making his mother very angry and disappointed in him.
On those occasions when he wandered about the churchyard by himself during a break in classes, Will noticed a blacksmith shop opposite. The sign read GILMOUR: IRONMONGER & BLACKSMITH. Will loved the big brown and white horses that did so much of the back breaking work for farmers on the land. Often on his way back from the forest, he passed the majestic Clydesdales in the fields as they slowly ploughed the pastures for next years barley crop. The young lad often wondered how these horses could be so placid and content with their lives, when toiling so hard from sunrise to dusk.
Every now and then, when the horses were brought to the blacksmith shop for a new set of shoes, Will would inevitably sneak across the road and talk to each one of the horses as they waited patiently out the front. Alexander Gilmour, the owner of the business, noticed the young lad at various times and was impressed by his ability to calm a frisky animal with a single stroke of a horses nose. The blacksmith had been in the trade for twenty seven years and knew how difficult it was to find a handler that could work well with horses.
`To have a natural affinity with animals is a rare quality to possess in any human being;' he often said to the other workers.
Gilmour decided to test his curiosity out and waited for the right opportunity. This came sooner than expected. Another bout of influenza had swept through the village keeping a number of foundry hands away from work. This could not have come at a worse time for the blacksmith. As the winter thawed, farmers were beginning to stir into action and horses needed to be ready for a hard workdays ahead. In the workshop, tensions were rising as the backlog of incoming horses fell behind schedule. By that Thursday, the place was positively chaotic and Gilmour started hearing complaints from the frustrated foremen waiting outside. Drastic measures were now called for to deal with these difficult circumstances.
Around noon, the blacksmith kept a look out for Will and as soon as he came out of class, Gilmore called out to the lad across the road. `Young man, can you come here, I need you right away.'
Will at first looked bewildered, however, Gilmour kept waving at him to come. Recovering from the initial shock, the boy hesitantly made his way in the direction of the blacksmith thinking he had done something wrong. However, when he came face to face with Gilmour, the blacksmith said. `I am unable to explain right now, but can you bring the horses into the workshop when we ask you. Do you have the time?'
Without thinking Will said, `yes I can.' Relieved, the blacksmith reassured the lad by saying. `Don't worry, I will show you what to do,' before immediately disappearing back inside the busy workshop.
As each call came, Will brought one horse after another into the workshop. He held them by the tether while each was given a new set of iron shoes. For Will, the inside of a blacksmiths shop represented a very different experience to anything he had witnessed before. Hot kilns turned old scrap metal into liquid moulds of all shapes and sizes. Then, the blacksmiths would pound the moulds with hammers until they fitted perfectly the hooves of each individual horse. Fascinated, the boy tried to figure out how the blacksmiths could be so skilled at such a task. Towards the end of the afternoon, everyone grunted their thanks to him as weary workers headed for home. This just left Will time enough to pick up his belongings and make for the main road to the valley floor below.
Several days passed without any contact with Gilmore, until one morning after class, Will found the blacksmith waiting for him in the church yard. As they approached each other, he said. `Young man, I am sorry for not speaking to you earlier. We have been so busy over the last week that your help the other day slipped my mind.'
Will acknowledged the comments without saying anything.
Gilmour, then pulled from his jacket pocket a leather pouch and handed it to Will.
`Something in appreciation for your efforts.'
At first the boy was not sure of what to make of the pouch until his visitor continued.
`Go on, take it. I notice you always have a slingshot in your belt. That is no place to keep such a fine weapon. A warrior always needs to take good care of his life blood.' Will was not sure what the blacksmith meant, but managed to say a thank you anyway.
Gilmore then asked. `Are you interested in horses? `I guess so,' answered the boy. `Their grace and natural strength have always fascinated me in some way.'
As the exchange continued, Will became conscious for the first time of the man he was talking to for the last five minutes. Dressed in heavy workman's boots and a full length leather apron, Gilmour, stood about five and a half foot tall, thick set with little hair on his scarred head. A ruddy face made him look around sixty years of age, but the boy thought he was probably younger. The result of someone who had spent most of his life sweating in a hot and dirty foundry, seemed the most likely explanation. Will, who was several inches taller and much thinner in build, looked down as the blacksmith said. `If you are interested, come over after class on Thursday and I will show you the way we do things in the work place.'
Gilmour had walked out of the churchyard before Will could even respond, leaving the boy to ponder the invitation over the next few days. As with most things, curiosity finally got the better of the boy and as expected he turned up at the workshop the following week. In between bringing the horses into the workshop, the blacksmith demonstrated to his eager pupil how to measure the thickness of a horseshoe and where to place the nails in order to secure a good fit on the hoof. As time went by and more visits to the workshop came and went, Will started to show an ability to use a rule and compass to measure different hoof prints. Then, after a month or two, he could identify what fittings were more suited for each breed of stallion and gelding.
Inevitably however, the workshop visits came to an abrupt end. Gramps had come to learn that his son was spending more time in the village than helping at home. This led to an angry exchange between the two men as the blacksmith tried to explain that his star pupil had a real talent for animal husbandry. And this could be where the boy's future employment prospects lay. No matter the logic, all reasoning failed and Malcolm forbade Will to attend further church classes and meet with Gilmore again.
As spring turned into summer, the fear of many vegetable gardeners in Lanark became a reality. The heavy rains had washed away much of the topsoil. Next year's crop would be a lean one. Will spent much of the following months, helping his father cart virgin soil from the countryside to their small farm in an effort to improve garden yields. Although he worked hard, Nan could see that the boy's heart was elsewhere in the village. His mother fretted for Will's future and wondered what would become of this lad without any real prospects.
Indeed, everyone in the McBride family had to take on extra work in the village over the coming months to make ends meet. This was not something everyone relished. The walk up the road to the village was a long and tiring one and Nan would only undertake the trek when absolutely necessary. As luck would have it, one morning Margaret came across Gilmore at the village meat market and they exchanged pleasantries. The blacksmith asked after Will's wellbeing and Nan mentioned her concern for the boy's future. Gilmore acknowledged the problem and said he even had to lay off several foundry hands at the workshop. Times were tough. However, before departing on their separate ways, the blacksmith said he would try and keep a lookout for any employment possibilities for Will and let Mrs McBride know if anything came along. Margaret thanked Gilmore for his interest in the boy.
It was not until a few weeks later when Father Byars was passing the farm that he called out to Margaret about a message from Gilmore to come and see him. She eventually caught up with the blacksmith one afternoon outside the front of the workshop. On the street veranda, he told her that a knight and local landowner was in need of a new squire to attend his stable of horses. According to Gilmore, the knight, a Sir Walter Logan, had been for some years the chief protector of the monastery at Balantradoch, near Rosslyn. The blacksmith had known the knight for many years and provided Sir Walter with advice on his farm animal needs. Perhaps, Will might be interested in the position.
`He is a demanding ... but, fair man,' Gilmore told Margaret. `And William would have to apply himself to the task ... however, the boy will learn a trade and the opportunity to gain further education ... who knows what the possibilities may lead to,' he said reassuringly.
Nan hesitated, for she knew Will would have to leave home and more importantly, what might Gramps think. That indeed would be a very big stumbling block to overcome. The blacksmith could see that Mrs McBride had many questions to consider and suggested she and her husband take some time to think about the offer. Nevertheless, the discussion had finally brought things to a head and the pressure was now on Nan to respond. Over the coming days, Margaret stewed on the proposition. As a result, she became very moody and not her usual self around the house. Everyone could see there was a problem brewing and eventually Malcolm insisted on an explanation. After a rather tense standoff, my grandmother finally gave in. At first Margaret was afraid of Malcolm's reaction. He had not been consulted on William's future and she thought her husband would take the situation very badly. Initially, Gramps was extremely angry at being kept in the dark and took some time to calm down. However, in the end, even Malcolm could see that Will's future needed sorting out and a solution must be found as soon as possible.
At first, Gramps thought Rosslyn was too far away from Lanark, some forty five miles across the other side of the country, south of Edinburgh. The boy would not see his mother again for many months or even perhaps years. Will seemed to like the idea, although the prospect of being away from the family for the first time, made him anxious and uneasy. Eventually, Malcolm swallowed his pride and asked for a meeting with Gilmore. He told the blacksmith that the family was tentatively in favour of the proposal, but the boy and his mother were worried about being separated from each other.
Gilmore recognised Mrs McBride's concern and after some thought on the problem, said to Malcolm. `There may be a way out of this dilemma for everyone. Sir Walter and his brother Sir Robert Logan, own lands south-west of here at Cumnock. They visit their Grugar Estates at least twice a year to supervise work requirements and attend local cattle sales. On these visits, Sir Walter may allow Will to accompany him as far as Lanark for a few days stay with the family. What do you think?'
The prospect of a possible compromise pleased Malcolm and he asked the blacksmith if Sir Walter would agree. Gilmore said he was due to visit Balantradoch in the next month to talk to the knight about the estate's stable needs for the coming year and would raise the possibility with him if Gramps wished. In fact, the blacksmith thought it maybe a good idea for Will to accompany him to Balantradoch. Then, both parties could see if they were suitable to each other.
Malcolm believed this would be acceptable to Will and his mother and so, both men agreed to go ahead with planning the trip to Rosslyn.
