Hector MacDonald Monument

Address:
Mitchell Road, Dingwall IV15 9JN, Scotland

Major General Sir Hector Archibald MacDonald, KCB, DSO , also known as Fighting Mac, was a Victorian soldier. 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. He distinguished himself in action at Omdurman , became a popular hero in Scotland and England, and was knighted for his service in the Second Boer War. Posted to Ceylon as Commander-in-Chief of British forces, he committed suicide in 1903 following unsubstantiated accusations of homosexual activity with local boys.
Continue reading...
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Attraction Location

Hector MacDonald Monument Videos

hector The hero

Hector the Hero is a classic lament penned by Scottish composer and fiddler James Scott Skinner in 1903. It was written as a tribute to Major-General Hector MacDonald, a distinguished Scottish general around the turn of the century. .
In 1879 the 92nd were part of Lord Roberts's advance on Kabul, and Colour Sergeant Macdonald proved himself to be a skilled leader in a small engagement near Karatiga where he led a detachment of highlanders and Sikhs up a steep slope to scatter a force of 2000 tribesmen. This action was mentioned in Lord Roberts' despatch.
A second display of courage and leadership, this time at Charasia, prompted Roberts to recommend him for a commission. And so, on 7th Jan 1880, after 9 years in the ranks, at the age of 27, Hector Macdonald became a 2nd Lieutenant in the 92nd Gordon Highlanders. He took part in the fighting at Sherpur and the march from Kabul to Kandahar.

the date is March 25, 1903, and a prominent British general lies dead in a hotel bedroom in Paris. General Sir Hector Archibald MacDonald was the son of a crofter from Mulbuie. He had taken his own life after ‘grave charges’ of paedophilia in Ceylon were brought against him. However, to his Scottish compatriots, and in particular the people of the Highlands, ‘there is but one opinion as to the charges, namely, that they are groundless and incapable of being established’. The Town Councils of Tain and Dingwall passed special resolutions regretting that MacDonald’s widow had opted for a quick and private burial in Edinburgh, instead stating their desire that he be reinterred with ceremony in the Highlands

General MacDonald

Provided to YouTube by Ingrooves

General MacDonald · Peter MacCormick

Field Recording of Gaelic Music and Song

℗ 2015 Greentrax Recordings

Released on: 2015-04-01

Composer: Traditional

Auto-generated by YouTube.

Dingwall History - unsubstantiated accusations of homo

MacDonald Monument
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, one of only a few British Army generals who rose from the ranks on his own merit and professionalism.
Commander-in-Chief of British forces, he committed suicide in 1903 following unsubstantiated accusations of homosexual activity with local boys

James Scott Skinner

These are two of my favourite Skinner compositions. The Rosebud of Allenvale was dedicated to Skinner's cousin Jessie, who was married to James Macdonald, the gardener at Allenvale Cemetery, Aberdeen, where Skinner is now buried.
Hector the Hero is a lament written in memory of Sir Hector Macdonald (1853-1903) b. nr Dingwall, Ross-shire; d. Paris. He served at the Battle of Khartoum; Knighted in 1901. Aide-de Camp to Queen Victoria, and Major-General in the British army. He had one son with his wife Christina Duncan, secretly married, in the Scottish style, in 1884. Unsavoury rumours and illness drove him to suicide.