Hector MacDonald
Sir Hector Archibald MacDonald | |
---|---|
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order | |
Relations | Ross MacDonald (Bathgate Boys Brigade) |
The son of a crofter, MacDonald left school before he was 15, enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders as a private at 17, and finished his career as a major general, a rare example of a British Army general who rose through the ranks on merit alone.[1] He distinguished himself in action at the Battle of Omdurman (1898), became a popular hero in Scotland and England, and was knighted for his service in the Second Boer War.[1] Posted to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) as Commander-in-Chief of British forces, he committed suicide in 1903 following accusations of homosexual activity with local boys.[2]
Early life
Hector MacDonald was born on a farm at Rootfield, near
Military career
On 7 March 1870 MacDonald joined the Inverness-shire Highland Rifle Volunteers, and in 1871 enlisted in the
MacDonald served as a subaltern in the First Boer War (1880–81), and at the Battle of Majuba Hill, where he was made prisoner, his bravery was so conspicuous that General Joubert gave him back his sword. In 1885 he served under Sir Evelyn Wood in the reorganization of the Egyptian army, and took part in the Nile Expedition of that year. In 1888 he became a regimental captain in the British service, but continued in Egyptian service, concentrating on training Sudanese troops. In 1889 he received the Distinguished Service Order for his conduct at the Battle of Toski and in 1891, after the action at Tokar, he was promoted substantive major.[8][7]
During the
After Omdurman, MacDonald became a household name in Britain. He received a brevet promotion to
In October 1899, MacDonald received the temporary rank of
MacDonald returned to the United Kingdom in May 1901, but soon left for India where he had been appointed to command the South District Army, and was in command of in
Ceylon: scandal and suicide
Historian Ronald Hyam comments that "Ceylon furnished MacDonald with a lethal combination of a military command which was inactive and uninteresting, and a community of boys who were interesting and very active."[21] He ruffled the feathers of the civilians by forcing the unkempt and ill-disciplined local militia, most of them the sons of British planters, to show more spit and polish; he deeply offended the Governor, Sir Joseph West Ridgeway, when he yelled at him to get off the parade ground; and compounded the process of alienation by declining the social invitations of the British community and consorting instead with the locals.[22] Rumours began circulating that he was having a sexual relationship with the two teenage sons of a Burgher named De Saram, and that he was patronising a "dubious club" attended by British and Sinhalese youths. Matters came to a crisis when a tea-planter informed Ridgeway that he had surprised Sir Hector in a railway carriage with four Sinhalese boys; further allegations followed from other prominent members of the colonial establishment, with the threat of even more to come, involving up to seventy witnesses. Ridgeway advised MacDonald to return to London, his main concern being to avoid a massive scandal: "Some, indeed most, of his victims ... are the sons of the best-known men in the Colony, English and native", he wrote, noting that he had persuaded the local press to keep quiet in hopes that "no more mud" would be stirred up.[2]
In London MacDonald "was probably told by the king that the best thing he could do was to shoot himself".
Aftermath
The suicide of the war hero caused great public shock. Now made public was the discovery that MacDonald had a wife and a son. In 1884, aged 31, he had secretly married a girl of fifteen. They had seen each other only four times in the subsequent nineteen years.[22] (Lady MacDonald died in 1911; MacDonald's son became an engineer and died in 1951.) MacDonald's funeral was held at Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh, conducted by Rev Wallace Williamson,[24] and 30,000 people turned up to pay their last respects. In the weeks following thousands more from all over the world came to say farewell, James Scott Skinner wrote a tune in his honour called Hector the Hero,[25] and Robert W. Service wrote his poem "Fighting Mac".
The grave lies towards the north-east in the first northern Extension. A highly elaborate monument including a bronze bust of Sir Hector by William Birnie Rhind was erected on the grave the following year.[26]
The case file is thought to have been destroyed soon after his suicide;[21] a Government Commission released a report on the tragedy on 29 June 1903:
In reference to the grave charges made against the late Sir Hector MacDonald, we, the appointed and undersigned Commissioners, individually and collectively declare on oath that, after the most careful, minute, and exhaustive inquiry and investigation of the whole circumstances and facts connected with the sudden and unexpected death of the late Sir Hector MacDonald, unanimously and unmistakably find absolutely no reason or crime whatsoever which would create feelings such as would determine suicide, in preference to conviction of any crime affecting the moral and irreproachable character of so brave, so fearless, so glorious and unparalleled a hero: and we firmly believe the cause which gave rise to the inhuman and cruel suggestions of crime were prompted through vulgar feelings of spite and jealousy in his rising to such a high rank of distinction in the British Army: and, while we have taken the most reliable and trustworthy evidence from every accessible and conceivable source, have without hesitation come to the conclusion that there is not visible the slightest particle of truth in foundation of any crime, and we find the late Sir Hector MacDonald has been cruelly assassinated by vile and slandering tongues. While honourably acquitting the late Sir Hector MacDonald of any charge whatsoever, we cannot but deplore the sad circumstances of the case that have fallen so disastrously on one whom we have found innocent of any crime attributed to him.[27][28]
MacDonald remains a national hero in Scotland. A 100-foot-high (30-metre) memorial was erected above Dingwall in 1907, as well as another memorial at Mulbuie on the Black Isle, near where MacDonald was born. In March 1911, the Ashburton Guardian reported that MacDonald had been seen in
Over a century after his death it is widely asserted by his many modern supporters that the crofter's son was the victim of a conspiracy by the British Establishment, motivated by jealousy and snobbery, with the allegations of homosexuality a fabrication.[
Cultural references
MacDonald is often said to have been the model for the soldier who appeared on the label for Camp Coffee.[32]
Along with the occultist Aleister Crowley, MacDonald is one of the central characters of the novel The Devil's Paintbrush by Jake Arnott. Arnott's novel uses a historical meeting between Crowley and MacDonald in Paris "as a springboard for a fictional tale that entwines the two figures closely together and charts the final days of MacDonald's life."[33]
Hector MacDonald Laws Waller, captain of HMAS Perth, was named after him.[34]
Scottish fiddler J Scott Skinner, composed a lament as a tribute to MacDonald, entitled Hector the Hero. Lyrics by Thomas McWilliamin were set to the air.[35]
Notes
- ^ a b Harold E. Raugh, "The Victorians at War, 1815–1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History, (ABC-CLIO, 2003)
- ^ ISBN 1842124986. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Friseal, A. Eachann nan Cath Gairm, Glasgow 1979
- ^ Bulloch, John, ed. (1900). "The Ancestry of General Hector Macdonald". Scottish Notes and Queries. Vol. 1. Aberdeen: A. Brown & Co. p. 188. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
- ^ "Men of Mark: Colonel Hector MacDonald". Aberdeen Weekly Journal. 12 April 1899. p. 7. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 1-4179-5885-5
- ^ a b c Raugh ibid. p. 213
- ^ public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Macdonald, Sir Hector Archibald". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 210. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ ibiblio.org, "Hector the Hero"
- ^ Gilbert, W. M., ed. (1901). Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century. Edinburgh: J. & R. Allan. p. 186 Edinburgh. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "No. 27325". The London Gazette. 21 June 1901. p. 4186.
- ^ "No. 27177". The London Gazette. 27 March 1900. p. 2043.
- ^ "Latest intelligence – Movement of Transports". The Times. No. 36043. London. 19 January 1900. p. 5.
- ^ "Latest intelligence – The War, Western Frontier, Lord Methuen's force". The Times. No. 36050. London. 27 January 1900. p. 7.
- ^ "The Action at Koodoesberg Drift". The Times. No. 36086. Modder River (published 10 March 1900). 10 February 1900. p. 13. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The War – Casualties". The Times. No. 36077. London. 28 February 1900. p. 6.
- ^ "The War - Casualties". The Times. No. 36099. 26 March 1900. p. 7. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No. 27306". The London Gazette. 19 April 1901. p. 2695.
- ^ "No. 27441". The London Gazette. 10 June 1902. p. 3753.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36726. 27 March 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Ronald Hyam, "Empire and Sexuality: The British Experience" (Manchester University Press, 1990) pp.33–34
- ^ a b c d Robert F. Aldrich, "Colonialism and Homosexuality" (Routledge, 2003), p.188
- ^ Martin Marais, The Battle of Paardeberg: Lord Roberts' Gambit, pp. 411–412
- ISBN 1840187891. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Hector the Hero (mp3 file)
- ^ Dictionary of Scottish Sculptors: W B Rhind
- ^ "Vindication of Sir Hector MacDonald". The Celtic Monthly. Vol. XII. October 1903. p. 10. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 1840187891. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Local and General", Ashburton Guardian 29 (8316) (13 March 1911): 2 – via Papers Past
- ISBN 978-0-208-02252-3. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "The MacDonald/Von Mackensen Myth". Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "A Colonial Legacy, An Officer and an Icon", The Independent.
- ^ Catherine Deveney, Jake Arnott interview: The thrill of the novel, Scotland on Sunday, 24 May 2009
- Robert Hale Limited. p. 25. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Hector the Hero". 3 July 2021.
References
- Royle, Trevor Fighting Mac : the downfall of Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald (Edinburgh : Mainstream, 2003)
- Macleod, Kenneth I E The Ranker : the story of Sir Hector Macdonald's death (Cortland : The author, 1976)
- Clive, William Fighting Mac : the climb to disaster of Sir Hector Macdonald, KCB, DSO, 1853–1903 (London : Macmillan, 1977)
- Gury, Christian L'honneur professionnel d'un bourreau homosexuel en 1847 ; suivi de L'honneur suicide d'un general homosexuel en 1903 ; et de L'honneur assassine d'un homosexuel ordinaire en 1909 (Paris : Editions Kimé, 1999)
External links
- So Great a Crime, a play by David Gooderson which tells the true story of Sir Hector MacDonald–"Fighting Mac"–and his downfall. The play is based on extensive research into newspapers of the period, both British and foreign, and all the relevant documents that have survived. Many have disappeared and the play reconstructs Sir Hector Macdonald's story in the light of the evidence that remains.