Saturday 1st June 2024 - Cargilfield 150th Ball
We would like to invite the entire Cargilfield community to come together and celebrate an important moment in our school’s history - our 150th anniversary. The Cargilfield 150th Ball is the perfect occasion to commemorate this milestone and we hope to see many generations of our families in attendance.
The wait is over! Tickets for the Cargilfield 150th Ball are now available.
Email [email protected] to get yours!
Come and join us at the Cargilfield 150th Ball on Saturday 1st June.
The evening will consist of a drinks and canapé reception with the pipe band then piping us into dinner. After a delicious dinner there will be a live auction followed by dancing to a fabulous band. All of this will be taking place in the beautiful grounds of the school.
Live and silent auction prices include:
All proceeds from the evening will go to the Cargilfield 150th Anniversary Fund, a fund aimed to make a clear difference in the lives of our pupils, including those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend Cargilfield School.
Friday 15th December - Former Pupils’ Hockey Match
On the afternoon of the Autumn Term, we welcomed back nearly thirty former pupils to play hockey as part of our 150th anniversary celebrations. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces, and there were also lots of old boys and girls and their parents who came along to watch. The hockey was a lot of fun with players who had played for Scotland, England and Scotland age group teams and also just the keen enthusiasts! A wonderful way to end the term, and Happy Christmas to all!
Remembrance Service 2023 - Friday 10th November
Remembrance at Cargilfield is always a very poignant moment in the school year, a time when we pause to remember the 190 former pupils and masters of Cargilfield who died in both World Wars. This year, it was especially poignant since it was exactly 100 years since the opening of our War Memorial Chapel which was built in honour of the 126 old boys who died during World War 1. The Headmaster gave the address at our own Remembrance Service in Chapel, and he also spoke at the Service on Sunday at Cramond Kirk.
His sermon is reproduced below.
While my theme today is Remembrance and that should touch upon those who died or were injured, those who suffered or lost loved ones throughout the ages, I hope you don’t mind if this morning I stick to the events of what was known as the Great war. As we gather in chapel today within our 150th anniversary as a school but, in 2023, we are also marking the 100th anniversary of the opening of this chapel. It was created by pupils, parents, staff and governors as a memorial to the 126 Cargilfield boys who died between 1914 and 18.
There were about 40 million casualties in World War I – over 23 million dead and 16 million injured. About 10 million were civilians.
At the 1911 census, the population of Great Britain was about 45 million.
About 150,000 Scots died – representing about 20% of British losses. At that time, Scotland made up about 10% of the British population. That suggests twice as many Scots died as those in England and Wales.
How can we picture 150,000 people? Try filling Murrayfield Stadium – twice – and you’ve still tens of thousands left over.
To give this a modern context:
10,000 people are believed to have been killed in Gaza and Israel last month. Compare that to 20,000 British soldiers killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Or the 457 members of the Armed Services who were killed in Afghanistan over 20 years – quite rightly that number was felt to be too high a cost. How on earth can you make sense of this? Each soldier, sailor or airman killed was someone like me or you – they all had parents, friends and family. Perhaps with a wife or sweetheart, or with children? Every death would have been mourned widely. These numbers only makes sense if you think of individuals.
My first encounter with WWI was in 2014 and involved this man. Francis Renton.
He was the only man on the memorial who also went on to Sedbergh School where my eldest son had just started.
Andrew and I cycled from Cargilfield to his home in Northumberland and on to Sedbergh School and then - via a train and ferry - to France and a cycle ride to the Somme. Blighty Valley cemetery is a beautiful tree-lined sport down a grassed path from a small back road near Albert.
I returned this year; we placed a rugby ball signed by rugby players from Cargilfield and Sedbergh – including some of you - on his grave
He died in the second month of the Battle of the Somme. Five men on the memorial behind me died on the first day of the battle – 1st July 1916.
There on that day – the bloodiest day in the history of British warfare – were three future British prime ministers. Adolf Hitler was also there – as was the creator of Winne the Pooh and the author of The Lord of the Rings. They all survived and I am left wondering which great talents, who might have influenced the course of world events or culture, were among the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who didn’t survive?
Scots troops featured prominently on the Somme. The Edinburgh-born General Douglas Haig, who would go on to be a parent at Cargilfield and was Commander in Chief of the British Forces and a national hero, was convinced that a powerful attack could determine the outcome of the war.
Haig was to be proved tragically wrong. Soldiers of the Highland Light Infantry were among those to be butchered en masse in the carnage that followed. They were told to make their way out of the trenches and across No Man’s Land to try and take over the German positions.
To the skirl of the bagpipes, the men went over the top. The Germans had ensured their own lines were heavily defended. The heavy machine guns opened up, and the Scots soldiers, along with other allied troops, were mown down. In one day of fighting alone, 20,000 allied soldiers died. The 17th Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry alone lost 447 soldiers and 22 officers.
Among them was Edward Gallie who died aged 19 and her is little Edward Gallie outside our house as a boy at Cargilfield.
This summer I went on a walk along the Western Front and, while there, I found his grave in the Lonsdale cemetery, about a mile from where Renton is buried. It is a pretty little cemetery – a short walk across field from a tiny lane behind the village of Authuile. His grave bears a lovely inscription: ‘He had done his work and held his peace and held no fear to die’.
We placed a wreath there and, as with other wreaths that we placed this summer, each one had a personal dedication.
This summer we reached the graves (for those whose bodies were found) or memorials (for those who weren’t) of 66 former pupils.
In truth, my walk was because of this little boy – probably aged about 10 - and somewhere on the land where the Cargilfield View houses now stand.
He became Head Boy, won a scholarship to Winchester College, to Oxford University and was already a brilliant young lawyer – working on the Titanic enquiry – when war broke out and his younger brother went out to fight and died in 1914.
Alexander Gillespie signed up and became an officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. In October 1915, he and many other Scottish soldiers found themselves in the first significant land action of the First World War at the Battle of Loos.
The battle was a disaster. The British attempted to use poison gas on the enemy but the plan backfired: the wind was in the wrong direction and it blew back on their own men.
Scots regiments were in the thick of the action at Loos. They were ordered over the top and marched towards the enemy lines, making themselves sitting ducks for German machine gunners. It was a turkey shoot. By the time the battle was over, the British had lost 50,000 men against the enemy’s 20,000 and had failed to make any strategic gains whatsoever.
Among those who died in that battle were:
Michael Henderson
Lt Col. 9th Bn Black Watch
Aged 44
and
Donald Graham
Capt. 9th Bn Black Watch
Aged 41
These two were within three years of each other at Cargilfield and died on the same day as part of the same battalion. They were buried next to each other in a large cemetery at Dud Corner. Would anyone have realised that they had been prep schoolmates?
If you look at the battlefield map for Loos, there was a very significant landmark that was known to all the soldiers as The Lone Tree. I visited it this summer. Did the Cargilfield boys fighting there look at this and think of their time at prep school?
I think most of these boys in this photograph from about 1905 fought in WWI. Some of them are named on our memorial.
Gillespie was killed at the Battle of Loos but, before he died, he wrote to his headmaster at Winchester and suggested a route to trace the Western Front – a pilgrimage that everyone should follow to reflect on the carnage of the war. I walked part of that route this summer – just over 150kn in total to mark our 150th anniversary. I am grateful to children, teachers, governors and former pupils that joined me.
Mrs Dholakia is placing a wreath on the grave of James Mitchell.
Mitchell was a career soldier.
He had previously been a boy in Moredun House at Fettes where many Cargilfield boys like to go to this day.
When we got back home I was contacted by a Belgian lady who saw our wreath on Mitchell’s grave. Since she had visited Scotland a few years ago and seen his name in a Perthshire church, she had decided to tend his grave which was just a few miles from her home.
It is a lovely story and excited the interest of a journalist. This is Marijke who still visits James Mitchell’s grave.
Like A.D. Gillespie, his brother Thomas’ body was never found and so his name was inscribed on the memorial at Le Touret. There are nine other Cargilfield boys who names are listed on this massive memorial with over 13,000 names on it: soldiers who died in the first year of the war and whose bodies were never discovered. Among them was Philip Wilson.
He died aged 20 having left Cargilfield to go to Winchester like the Gillespies. The poem that we heard read by Wolfie. was written by his mother, Lady Ashmore. She was devastated by his death. His great nephew, Rob Wilson, is now a governor at Cargilfield.
Perhaps the most telling story for me this summer was that of the last grave I visited. This required me to drive for about half an hour from Ypres where the walk finished.
This young man died, aged 20, in the last three weeks of the war in 1918. Howard Thomas was known affectionately by his men as Tommy. On his grave, it says that his men ‘would follow Tommy anywhere’. His news was received by this man who must have already received news of the deaths of so many of his boys.
Mr Thomas was the second headmaster of Cargilfield. He arrived here in 1898 and had already been headmaster for 16 years when war broke out. He and his wife were the first people to live in the house where Mrs Taylor and I live. You look at his portrait in the library – over the fire – most days. In the last week of the war and so many former pupils already dead, the Thomas family received a telegram to learn that Howard had died as the German army was almost defeated. I wonder if Howard Thomas slept in the same bedroom as one of my children?
Harry Thomas was present as the Cargilfield Memorial Chapel was opened in 1923 – he retired a year later and the Barnton gates were erected to remember him and his wife. Look at the details of the opening of the chapel in the display case in the front hall. What was running through his mind on that day?
We visited another memorial chapel in Ypres in Belgium at the end of our walk – St George’s
Alongside many other plaques on the wall there, we unveiled this plaque to remember the Cargilfield boys.
It uses the same language that is on the memorial behind me.
‘The sons of Cargilfield whom this building commemorates were numbered among those who, at the call of King and Country, gave up their lives that we might live in freedom. See to it that their names be not forgotten.’
Might I suggest that one way of doing it is that each of you – each family at Cargilfield - takes one name on this memorial and adopts it just as our friend in Belgium has done? Find out about them. Visit their grave or memorial one day. Find out if they still have relatives alive who would like to know about them.
See to it that they are not forgotten.
Amen
Walking the Western Front Way - August 2023
As one of the events to mark the 150th anniversary of Cargilfield School this year, we decided to walk at least 150km of the Via Sacra, the walking route along the Western front of the First World War. In doing so, we visited the graves or memorials of 66 of our former pupils and laid wreaths by which to remember them.
Like many other schools, the centenary of World War I made a significant impression at Cargilfield. Given that our school chapel was built as a memorial to the 126 Cargundians who lost their lives in the conflict, this was always going to be a significant event. The significance grew, however, when we learned of a proposal to create a route through Europe along the line of the battles on the Western Front. A podcast created by the children’s laureate and celebrated story-teller of the Great War, Michael Morpurgo, revealed that the idea for this walk came from a former soldier….and that his name was on our memorial in Chapel.
In 1915, 2nd Lieutenant Alexander Douglas Gillespie wrote to his former headmaster while resting behind the front line and reflected on the devastation around him. Gillespie, the Head Boy of Cargilfield and elected scholar to Winchester College in 1903, was a developing a promising career as a lawyer, even working on the enquiry as to the sinking of the Titanic, had enlisted soon after his beloved younger brother, Thomas, another old Cargundian and an Olympic medallist, was killed at the Battle of Aisnes in October 1914.
ADG in the uniform an officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and from a photo taken at Cargilfield (gifted to the School by the grandson of our second headmaster). In the letter, he wrote:
*’There are graves and crosses scattered all about, some with names on them, some are nameless, as I think my brother’s must be. I have been fighting around the village where he was killed these last eight months. That doesn’t trouble me much for every soil provides a grave but still, these fields are sacred, in a sense.
I hope that, when the peace comes our government might combine with the French government to make one long avenue between the lines from the Vosges to the sea or, at least if that’s too much, from la Bassee to Ypres all along the line of this Western Front. I would make a fine broad road in No Man’s Land with a broad strip of ground on either side for pilgrims on foot, well planted with fruit trees and trees for shade. It would be a useful war memorial as a great road is always useful. It is a sentimental idea perhaps but we might make the most beautiful road in all the world besides being the most interesting road for future generations of Englishmen and Frenchmen.’*
From then on, it seemed obvious that we must respond to his plea and the idea of linking a pilgrimage along the Western Front Way to the School’s significant 150th anniversary was created, anc in August 2023, the Headmaster, a number of members of staff, old boys and current pupils headed over to France to walk part of Gillespie’s Via Sacra in memory of the many former pupils who made the ultimate sacrifice during WW1.
Friday 7th September - 150th Beach Day at Silver Sands
In the past, it was a tradition that the whole school used to decamp to the beach for the day, often over to East Lothian to Seacliff or Tyninghame beaches, and so in honour of Cargilfield’s 150th anniversary, the children headed off to Silver Sands in Aberdour on Friday for a wonderful few hours of fun on what was a gloriously warm and sunny September day.
Both children and teachers alike had an unforgettable time together building sandcastles, having water battles, and skimming stones in the water, under wonderful blue skies - the perfect weather for the beach! There were also lots of beach games and Mrs Hare did lots of beach art for those who were keen.
It was a memorable day indeed for our school community, and one that reconnected us to our past, and maybe this might become an annual tradition, judging by the smiles on the children’s faces as they piled in the minibuses and headed back to school.
Sunday 27th August - 150th Golf Day at Bruntsfield Golf Club for Former Pupils, Parents and Friends
44 golfers - including former pupils and parents alongside current parents and staff - gathered to enjoy a morning’s golf at Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society on Sunday 27th August as part of our 150th anniversary celebrations. Cargilfield School and Bruntsfield Links are proud of their shared history - not just with so many of their members being current and former members of our community - but going back to 1898 when school and club purchased land from the former Barnton estate to create their new homes on the land running down to the Forth. 125 years later, both are thriving and the golf day was a perfect way of reflecting our shared heritage.
With prizes for longest drive, nearest the pin and most points scored across the team, we all enjoyed some excellent competition as well as sharing stories of Cargilfield past and present (going as far back as the 1950s!) out on the course and over lunch.
We would we’d like to thank everyone who took part in the competition, particularly Bruntsfield Links and Michael Braidwood for hosting us.
Tuesday 4th July - ‘150 and All That’ at The Queen’s Hall
Our special 150th Show ‘150 years And All That’, took us on a riveting journey celebrating Cargilfield’s long history since 1873, as well as music and popular culture, with every child from P1 to Form 8 performing in front of a large audience at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh. We got to meet our first Headmaster, Rev Charles Darnell, whose aim was to provide a liberal education and teach the merits of hard work and honesty under conditions of happiness and well-being, and which remains at the core of our ethos today. During the show, we were treated to a whole host of characters ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter, and we were thoroughly entertained with some wonderful musical numbers, and then the finale which saw the whole school up on stage!Thank you to all the children for their wonderful performances, and to Mr Parker, Mrs Lyell and Dr Allsop, who created the show. It was certainly a night to remember, and a fitting one to celebrate Cargilfield’s long and rich history.A special thank you to former pupil, Leonard Harper Gow, for sponsoring the event.
Friday 23rd June - Former Pupils’ Art Exhibition
Curated by the Head of Art, Ms Alexa Hare, Cargilfield was immensely proud to present the Former Pupils’ 150th Art Exhibition showcasing more than 50 works in Chapel on Friday 23rd June, 2023.
The physical exhibition took place in the Chapel and presented a curated selection of artists’ drawings and paintings showcasing their spirit and immense talent. We were delighted to welcome our former Head of Art, Mr. Mark Rees, who charmed guests with stories from days gone past.
A special thanks goes out to our brilliant former students, who made this 150th event come to life: Chidaro Nyirenda Jasmine Lasnet Iris Lasnet Maddy Macaulay Stella Wood Sasha Macquaker Jasmine Macquaker Edward Macquaker Flora Macquaker Blaize Harper Gow Sophie Chapman Ruby Mitcham Gabriel Myerscough Mariella Hall Harry Dodds Iona Findlay Rowan Findlay Ruby Mitchum Francis Salvesen Emily Parnell Mariella Hall India Myerscough
Thursday 13th April - Former Pupils’ London Drinks Reception at The House of Lords
We hosted 160 former pupils and friends in the Cholomondeley Room at the House of Lords on what was a beautifully sunny Spring evening in London with wonderful views across the Thames towards the London Eye - a truly spectacular setting for a very special evening. It was lovely to welcome so many old boys and girls as well as lots of former parents to celebrate Cargilfield’s 150th Anniversary; there were former pupils from the 1960s right the way through to some who have just left senior school, many of whom were back in touch with us for the first time since leaving.
We were grateful to Lord Dholakia for hosting us at the Palace of Westminster, and after some words of welcome from Lord Sinclair, the Chairman of Governors and the Headmaster, the evening was spent reminiscing about life at Cargilfield over the years and then long in to the night afterwards at various venues in London. It was a wonderful evening reconnecting with our Cargilfield community and one which we hope will become a regular event in future years.
Friday 23rd March - Former Pupils’ Concert in Chapel
On the final afternoon of term, we welcomed a number of former pupils stretching as far back as the 1950s to take part in a special concert to celebrate Cargilfield’s 150th anniversary. We were delighted to welcome former Director of Music, Vaughan Townhill, who conducted an all comers’ choir, and he enjoyed chatting to a number of pupils who he taught during his 34 years at Cargilfield.
What a wonderful hour’s entertainment we enjoyed, with some fond reminiscences of life at Cargilfield in the old days and some memorable musical performances. Thank you to all those who took part and it was so good to be able to reconnect with so many former pupils and parents.
The concert was brought to an end with the pipe band playing the specially composed 150 tune in front of a large audience of parents out in Ash Court, and they were joined by some former pupil pipers too!
You can watch some of the performances here.
Thursday 19th January - Drinks at The New Club, Edinburgh
We hosted a drinks reception at The New Club on Thursday evening where we welcomed 170 former pupils and parents to launch our 150th anniversary celebrations which will continue throughout 2023.
It really was a wonderful evening and after a short welcome from Lord Sinclair, the Chair of Governors and also a former pupil, and the Headmaster, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the chance to chat with old friends and there were many stories told about bygone days at Cargilfield!
It was a special way to begin our 150th year, and we look forward to a year full of celebrations where we hope to reconnect with the Cargilfield family of former pupils, parents, members of staff and friends as we celebrate this important milestone in the school’s history.
Please do look at our dedicated 150 page on the school website to keep up to date with our exciting plans for this year. https://www.cargilfield.com/150-years
Saturday 11th February - Drinks before Scotland v Wales 6 Nations Rugby
It was lovely to welcome a number of former pupils, former parents and current pupils and parents for a drinks reception before the Scotland v Wales 6 Nations game on Saturday, as part of our 150th Anniversary celebrations.Courtesy of former parents Edward and Maryla Green, 60 people congregated for drinks, just a stone’s throw from Murrayfield, and we enjoyed some wonderful hospitality.
After the Headmaster had welcomed everyone and talked about our exciting plans to reconnect our Cargilfield family, we heard from guest of honour and former Scotland International and Captain of the British Lions, Finlay Calder, who reminisced about previous Scotland/Wales games and the friendships forged through sport.A big thank you to all those who supported the event and to Mr and Mrs Green for their wonderfully generous hospitality.
Then, Scotland won!
Thursday 13th April - London Reception at The House of Lords
We are hosting a 150 Reception at the House of Lords, in the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace, between 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Thursday 13th April 2023.
All former pupils and parents, as well as prospective parents, who are interested in attending should email [email protected].
It promises to be a wonderful occasion and a chance to reconnect with friends. We look forward to hearing from you! This is for Over 18s only.
Western Front Way Walk - Sunday 30th July to Sunday 6th August
Dear parents, former pupils and friends of Cargilfield,
Now that we have reached 2023, I wanted to be in touch about an exciting project that will form part of our 150th anniversary this year.
As some of you will be aware, Cargilfield is very proud of its connection to the Western Front Way, the route that was conceived by 2nd Lt Alexander Douglas Gillespie, Cargilfield’s Head Boy in 1903, when he wrote from Northern France to his headmaster at Winchester College in 1915.
“when peace comes, our government might combine with the French government to make one long avenue between the lines from the Vosges to the sea….I would make a fine broad road in the ‘No-Mans Land’ between the lines, with paths for pilgrims on foot and plant trees for shade and fruit trees, so that the soil should not altogether be waste. Then I would like to send every man, woman and child in Western Europe on a pilgrimage along that Via Sacra so that they might think and learn what war means from the silent witnesses on either side.”
Indeed, our large astroturf is named after Douglas Gillespie and his brother, Thomas (an Olympic oarsman who was killed in the first few months of the conflict) and I would like to use this anniversary as a means of following ADG’s wish by making a Cargilfield pilgrimage to the Western Front.
As I mentioned in my letter to parents in the Publiciser of 18th November last year, I plan to walk at least 150km along this route in late July/early August of 2023. In doing this, I would like to place a personalised Cargilfield 150 poppy wreath on the graves/memorials of about 75 of the former pupils who lost their lives in that part of France/Belgium.
Learn more about the Western Front Way by clicking here.
The walk will start from Albert on the Somme on Monday 31st July and will finish at Ypres on Saturday 5th August with Cargilfield playing a part in the Last Post memorial at the Menin Gate that evening (pipers especially welcome!). Indeed, I hope that the weekend of 5th/6th August might be the focus for a gathering in Ypres with opportunities to visit battlefield sites and memorials, attend the Last Post event and a 150 dinner in Ypres and be present to unveil a plaque for the Cargilfield fallen at St George’s Church in Ypres at their service on the Sunday morning.
The purpose of my letter is, at this stage, to advertise the walk (should there be current families or former pupils/parents/friends who would like to join me for some or all of this adventure) and the other opportunities of supporting this event.
While joining the walk or the Ypres weekend might not be possible for many of you, I hope that some of you might like to support the project by purchasing a 150 wreath from the Lady Haig Poppy Factory (Earl Haig being a Cargilfield parent during the 1920s) and writing a personal note for the individual soldier before the wreath is placed on a grave or memorial. More details of how to do this will follow.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this year might see someone visit every Cargilfield grave or memorial (126 in total) which include sites through other parts of the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Israel, Malta, Greece, Macedonia and India. Between us, we might be able to conceive ways of doing this?
I do hope that this project might capture the imagination of some of you. For those who want to read more, I can recommend Anthony Seldon’s book The Path of Peace (Walking the Western Front Way) or the article describing Tom Heap’s cycle ride along the route on a vintage bicycle (Tom is the great nephew of the Gillespie boys and a BBC journalist who opened our astroturf in 2018): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/what-like-cycle-western-front-knowing-uncles-dug-trenches/
My proposed itinerary for the walk is:
Sunday 30th July
Monday 31st July
Tuesday 1st August
Wednesday 2nd August
Thursday 3rd August
Friday 4th August
Saturday 5th August
5th August evening
Sunday 6th August
Having completed a recce of the likely route last summer, I am now working from the latest version of the route as appears on the Western Front Way app (something I would recommend for anyone considering a walk/cycle ride on the route). As recommended accommodation and amenities are still being finalised on the app, I propose to finalise destinations for the Monday and Wednesday nearer to Easter. By then, we hope to have welcomed Rory Forsyth, the CEO of the Western Front Way, to speak to us at Cargilfield.
I am aiming to walk about 30km each day and hope that this will then also allow time to travel (by support vehicle) to visit some of the graves/memorials in Northern France/Belgium that aren’t directly on the walk.
The Eurostar station at Lille serves trains to Albert, Arras, Armentieres and Ypres for those wanting to join the walk without bringing a car. I would be delighted to discuss the project with anyone who is interested in supporting the adventure.
Yours sincerely Rob Taylor Headmaster
2023 marks Cargilfield’s 150th Anniversary, and we have a number of exciting events planned throughout the year.
Thursday 19th January 2023
Saturday 11th February
Guest: Mr Finlay Calder, former Scotland International and Captain of the British and Irish Lions
Friday 24th March
Thursday 13th April
Saturday 17th June
Thursday 22nd June
Friday 23rd June
Tuesday 4th July
Saturday 30th July to Saturday 5th August
Saturday 5th August
Sunday 27th August
Friday 8th September
Tuesday 19th September
Friday 10th November
Friday 15th December
Saturday 1st June 2024
Please get in touch with us at [email protected] for more information.
Join us on Friday 2 May between 9am and 12pm to discover what makes Cargilfield truly special.