Earlston War Memorial - A short history

In mid-January 1919, and perhaps embarrassed by the poor turnout at the December meeting, the Secretary of the Men’s Committee, John Weatherston, called a meeting to discuss how to provide a war memorial. At the meeting, under the chairmanship of John Neil, a motion by Colonel Hope was carried – that a large committee would be appointed to consider the matter. And the committee was certainly large, with thirty-seven members. Colonel Hope was the chairman, Dodds, the bank manager, was the treasurer, the Reverend Davidson represented the church and George Dove, as the Mellerstain Estate Factor, represented the Earl of Haddington. Only seven of the dead were represented by family members, and only one member of the committee, Bill Frater, had seen active service. 

Within a month of that meeting, the committee considered a proposed design that would incorporate a Runic Cross with the names of the dead inscribed around the base. This design was deemed acceptable by the majority of the committee, and, more importantly, by Lady Binning of Mellerstain. Lady Binning vetoed the suggestion that the memorial be erected in the square opposite the Corn Exchange and indicated that she would accept the memorial being sited on the Green. And so, without any apparent sense of irony, the memorial to commemorate victory at the Battle of Waterloo was demolished to erect a monument to another war.

(L)The well pump and memorial to the Battle of Waterloo and the end of the Napoleonic Wars
(R) Dismantling the memorial to make way for the war memorial 

Captain Mitchell told the committee that some places had decided to build cottages in memory of the fallen, which were to be given to the severely wounded, but this concept was not progressed. The Veterans Housing Association had been formed in 1915, but it would not be until after the Second World War that Earlston would provide two houses on Mill Road for veterans under this scheme. 

It was agreed that a public meeting be held on 5 March to ‘settle the question’ regarding the final design. 

On the last Wednesday in February, Earlston school children were given a half-day holiday, owing to a visit to the village of a ‘Whippet’ tank. The Scottish War Committee arranged visits to the towns and villages of Berwickshire as a token of thanks for their contribution to the war effort. Earlston had financed three larger tanks in response to the War Implements Investment Week, and this was an opportunity for villagers to see a tank, albeit a smaller, lighter version, up close. The tank trundled its way along the High Street from the east end of the village. It was notoriously difficult to control, but its two-man crew (on this occasion) managed to prevent it hitting anyone and made numerous stops so that curious adults and children could marvel at this war machine. 

 

In late February, John Hardie, who had already lost one son in Gallipoli, received news from his daughter-in-law in Canada that his remaining son, James, had been killed at the Battle of Vimy, in September 1918. The report didn’t come through official channels, but a soldier who was in the same platoon as James had informed his widow on his return to Canada. 

A week later in early March, villagers found out that Robert Johnston had died in a German hospital, where he was being treated for his wounds following his capture. 

A brief announcement of the War Memorial Committee meeting was reported in the Scotsman on 13 March, which read: ‘Earlston – It has been decided to erect on the West Green, Earlston, a Runic or Ionic cross as the memorial to the local men who have fallen in the War’.  However, the final design did not have the agreement of the entire committee, as suggested in the Scotsman. 

When the committee met in mid-April the chairman, Colonel Hope, tabled the minutes of the previous meeting, which reported that it had been decided that, ‘Under all the circumstances the best memorial that could be erected would be a Northumbrian or Early Christian Cross’. However, the vice-chairman, Mr J.M.D. Simpson, advised the committee that he had agreed to the cross design on his understanding that a bronze figure or statue would be too expensive, but had learned post-meeting that the cost was not nearly as much as he had been told. 

Despite this new information, Colonel Hope proposed that a cross be erected, which was seconded by Mr Aitkenhead. Mr John Weatherston made a countermotion and proposed that a figure, rather than a cross be erected, provided the necessary funds could be raised. Mr W. Frater seconded this countermotion, and the motion was carried. The committee agreed to invite Mr Thomas Clapperton, a well-known local sculptor, to the next meeting to offer advice. 

Clapperton was born in Galashiels in 1879, and studied at Galashiels Mechanics Institute before winning a scholarship to study at Glasgow Art School. He also studied at Kennington School of Art in London and the Royal Academy Schools. By the time he was invited to speak to the War Memorial Committee, he had been commissioned to design the Flodden Memorial at Braxton and the Mungo Park Memorial in Selkirk. Arguably his two most viewed works are the Robert the Bruce statue mounted on the wall at the entrance to Edinburgh Castle, and a frieze on the Liberty Building in London. 

At his meeting with the committee in late April, Clapperton outlined his vision for the memorial, which would consist of the figure of a soldier in uniform. The statue would be cast in bronze and stand about six feet six inches high. The memorial would have a granite base on which bronze panels, inscribed with the name of the dead, would be mounted. 

We can only assume that the committee gave Clapperton the go-ahead to finalize his design and the final cost. 

In August 1919, the committee announced that it intended to raise £2,000 (equivalent to approx. £58,000 in today’s money) to erect the memorial. Funds would be raised by voluntary subscriptions and not by entertainment, which was in contrast with the fundraising events for the war effort. Contributions could be made either as single sums or as instalments. 

Tom Murdison, a committee member, was so passionate that a fitting memorial be erected that he felt compelled to compose an appeal to Earlstonians: 

To Earlston Natives at Home and Abroad 

For the sake of the auld hame, and bygone days and tender memories, may I ask if you can kindly help us with our War Memorial Scheme. We are desirous that every Earlstonian – near and far – might have the opportunist of remembering his or her native village in this fashion. Better there could not be. The brave boys (48 in number) who gave their all for us, were our and your successors here - laddies who, like many of us, in the long ago, played about the street of the old place, who spent many a glorious hour ‘paddling’ in the burn and the Leader, speeling’ the Black Hill, picking’ the berries, the room and the wild rose on our bonnie banks and braes, bird nesting’ in the charming woods of Carolside and Cowdenknowes or kicking’ the ba’ on the Green around the old pump well.’ For their sakes, and also to enable us to record their immortal names on imperishable bronze through out the ages, we shall gladly welcome whet you care to send us. with sincerest greetings from Leaderside, about which our local weaver-poet, the late James Sanderson, wrote nearly 80 years ago: 

O’er pebbly beds, by wooded banks, 

The Leader rushes on,

 By Rhymer’s Tower and Blaikie’s grave 

That tell of time long ago.

To me more dear these sylvan shades, 

Than rivers more renowned. 

Loved memories linger on thy banks 

As on enchanted ground.  

Murdison planned that every house in Earlston should receive a copy of the appeal, but how he intended to supply Earlstonians ‘living abroad’ is not known. 

Sadly, his appeal and other fundraising efforts failed to reach the £2,000 target. And so, instead of Clapperton’s bronze statue, his more modest Celtic cross design was built. The memorial was described as a: 

Celtic Cross, with interlacing bands on all four sides, executed in Freetown granite, and stands on a rustic granite base in which are fixed three bronze panels bearing the names of the fallen and on the front the following dedicatory inscription: ‘To the Glory of God and in memory of 48 men of the Parish of Earlston who gave their lives for King and Country during the Great War, 1914–1918. Their name liveth for evermore’. 

The work was executed by Messrs G. Sutherland and Sons of Galashiels, at a total cost of £650. 

It would be natural to assume that the names of the dead inscribed on the memorial were from Earlston parish, or at least have some family connection with the village, but that isn’t necessarily the case. 

A service of commemoration was held in the village church in January when the Reverend Walter Davidson conducted the devotional part of the service and the Reverend James Turner preached the sermon. The names of the fallen were read out. Comparing those names with those inscribed on the memorial we find that Privates James Dunn, Thomas Blackie, Robert Anderson and William Bell are not listed on the memorial. 

Thomas Blackie was born in Earlston, but his name appears on the Hawick memorial; William Bell’s father lived in a cottage at Town Farm in Earlston yet his name is recorded on Lilliesleaf memorial, as is Robert Anderson, who lived and worked in Redpath, a village less than 2 miles from Earlston. Thomas Faichney, whose parents lived in Hawick, is listed on the memorial. Robert Halliday, whose mother lived at Bridgehaugh Mill, Earlston, is listed neither on the memorial nor was mentioned during the service. Lance Corporal James Rogers, whose wife lived in Earlston, was similarly absent from the service list and the memorial. 

It is sobering to consider that the number of war dead from a small village might well exceed the forty-eight men recorded on the memorial. 

Although the War Memorial Committee continued to argue over what was ‘the best’ tribute to Earlston’s dead, a peace celebration was held in July 1919, which took the form of a picnic on the banks of the Leader River, close to Cowdenknowes House, home of Colonel and Mrs Hope. A sports day was held in a field at Sorrowlesfield Farm on the other side of the river, connected by bridge to the picnic site. That evening a beacon was lit on the summit of the Blackhill and a firework display was held. 

Newspaper coverage of the event suggested that it was very well supported. The reports include the names of the successful athletes in the family sports events. Few, if any, of those watching the children run their races would have imagined that in twenty years’ time that generation would also be ordered to fight another war. 

 

Two years later, on the afternoon of 13 November 1921, the unveiling ceremony of the war memorial took place. A sizeable crowd gathered for the occasion, with the ceremony presided over by Colonel Hope. Before asking his wife to unveil the memorial, he addressed the crowd. His speech concluded: 

'This memorial cross which we are about to unveil will keep the memories of these brave men always before the minds of those seeing it from day to day or passing by it from time to time. We are proud also to see present today so many of those gallant men who went forth from this parish and have been spared to return to their homes. And now having all pulled together to win the war – for I really think that those who had to stay at home did something to help – shall we not all pull together to win the true peace and prosperity which are so much wanted throughout the world after all the devastations of the war.'

This text is an extract from 'A Village At War' by JJ Price

SCHOOL DAYS

 

This year, the Auld Earlston exhibition focuses on the rich history of School Days. With a legacy spanning over four centuries, Earlston schools have a unique story to tell. Did you know Earlston had a boarding school for 'young ladies'? We're eager to hear your personal experiences that add to this fascinating narrative.

My memories of school only go back as far as the 1950s. You were sitting in classrooms that were freezing in winter and baking hot in summer. I remember Primary 2 with Vera Davidson. As Christmas approached, we made paper chain decorations and Chinese lanterns. After an hour of licking the glue strip, your mouth was dry, and your tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth. You could hardly speak. Of course, that might have been the idea all along! Other times, we would weave mats using thread on a cardboard sheet. The mats were supposed to be rectangular, but mine looked like an egg timer!

Did you attend school in Earlston? What years were you a pupil? What are your memories of your school days in Earlston? Please let us know in the comments section below or email us at, auldearlston@gmail.com.

Every memory will be a cherished part of our exhibition, no matter how big or small. Your contributions will help us paint a rich and diverse picture of school days in Earlston.

Lil Cochrane - School Teacher and Earlston worthy

 Introduction

Lil Cochrane

It has a been said that a good teacher can shape students’ lives by inspiring hope, nurturing imagination, fostering a love for learning, and contributing to their long-term personal and professional development.

Most people who attended Earlston Primary School in the 1950’s and 1960’s would name Lil Cochrane as a ‘good teacher’. 

But Lil was much more that just Primary 6 teacher. She contributed so much more to the community.

Lil, or to give her her formal name, Elizabeth Cochrane, was born in Gordon, Berwickshire, on November 2nd, 1906 to David Cochrane and his wife Elizabeth (nee Thomson).  David was a general labourer from Swinton, Berwickshire and Elizabeth was from Canonbie, Dumfriesshire. For a time they had lived in Dumbartonshire where Lil’s elder sisters, Marion and Barbara, were born. Lil’s other elder siblings, James, John, and Christina, and younger brother David were born in Gordon.  By 1912, the family had moved to Earlston, living in Thorn Cottages where the youngest family member, Jeanie, was born.

Teaching

Lil attended Berwickshire High School, Duns, taking her Lower and Higher exams (as they were known then) between September 1919 and July 1922.

In October that year she attended Moray House, the teacher training college in Edinburgh. She graduated in June 1924 and took up her first appointment at Reston public school.

She was promoted several times over the years and taught at number of schools, including Gordon primary school. She would continue to hold a strong bond with Gordon through her community work even after she was living and teaching in Earlston.

Lil Cochrane with her class at Gordon Public School 1936

Former pupils of Lil during her years in the 1950s and 1960s at Earlston recall her classroom as being a place of quiet calm, a place where learning was entertaining. She encouraged her pupils by working with them on a one-to-one basis to give them additional support where needed, sometimes rewarding work well-done with a few pennies.  She encouraged curiosity in her students to look at themselves and their surroundings in often the simplest and funs ways for example drawing caricatures of the children. She instilled confidence by having the pupils take part in the  annual musical with pupils from Primary 6 & 7 which she and Mary Rodger (later Mrs Weatherly) co-produced. 

Her influence extended beyond her classroom, through her work in the community, which no doubt shaped the children’s personal relationships and contribution to society.

Lil Cochrane, front row, third right, with Earlston Junior Secondary School staff

Community involvement

The Cochrane children were encouraged to participate in community events from an early age. When the Gordon Horticultural Society held its fifth annual flower show in 1909, Barbara, Chrissie and Lil Cochrane were all prize winners.

In 1922, when the Cochrane family were living in Earlston a musical evening was organised by the United Free Church of Scotland Women’s Foreign Mission when Chrissie and young David Cochrane participated in the show. Other players included Margaret Robb, Magdalene Rutherford, Nellie Fox, and May Frater. 

In years to come Chrissie Cochrane would be elected president of the Earlston branch of the WRI.

For her part, you can judge what Lil considered important and worthy causes by the clubs and societies she participated in. For instance, she was a member of the Personal League of Service, a short lived group that produced garments for the ‘distressed and unemployed’. The group was formed in 1933 and held its last meeting in 1935. During its brief time the group made over a thousand garments for the needy.

Lil was a member of the Scottish Rural Workers Approved Society, an early trade union for rural workers,  and, as a delegate, was nominated to attend its annual conference in 1939.

Her involvement with her former pupils would continue through her work with the Girl Guides and the Sunday School.

Her contact with the girls in the village was enhanced by her role in the Earlston Girls’ Club. In 1938, Lil was vice-president of the Club and the number of members and range of activities grew.

The following year, and no doubt influenced by Lil’s love of theatre, the Club staged a play. The Southern Reporter described the event: 

‘The members of Earlston Girls’ Club gave an excellent presentation of the play, “Simple Simon.” All the players acquitted themselves in a very creditable manner, and were fully deserving of the warm appreciation of the audience. The cast was as follows: —Jim Strong. Elsie Readman; Lady Proudfoot, Christine Paton; Rose (her daughter), Betty S Kerr; Simple Simon, Elizabeth Cochrane; Mrs Simon. Helen Paxton; Jack and Jill (their children). Chrissie Burrell and Eunice Keillor; Bill Brag (the pieman). Jean Cochrane; Sylvana (Queen of the Fairies), Mary P. Kerr; Captain Bluenose, Bessie S. MacGregor; Pedlar, Madge Graham; Showmen, Jessie Paxton, Dorothy Burrell. Jenny Stafford. The members of the chorus of villagers, sailors, and native girls were; Annie Aitchison, Helen Angus, Ruby Archibald, Dorothy Burrell, Muriel Cowe, Eileen Chisholm, Isa Darling. Winnie Frater, Madge Graham, Betty Gibson. Annie Gillie. Nan Hunter, Nan Hollands, Norma Hollands. Ella Hood, Jean Mack. Ella Montgomery, Martha McLeish, Mary Paterson. Jessie Paxton, Rena Paxton. Mary Rodger. Jenny Stafford, Mary Young. The orchestra members were: Violins —Mrs McCrae, J. Kerr, John Armstrong; trombone — W. Fisher: cornet - A. Hewitt; drums - J. M. McBurnie. Accompanist - Margaret Milton.’

Girls' Club parade on Coronation Day

1941 and 1942 were busy years for Lil. In 1941, the Border Union of Girl’s Clubs was formed. Representatives from Earlston, Kelso, Peebles, Hawick, Jedburgh and Innerleithen attended a meeting and the constitution was drawn up. Lil was elected as secretary and the other elected officials were President Lady Stratheden and Campbell; Vice-president Miss Hope of Earlston; and Treasurer Mrs Logie. 

Later that year the Berwickshire Education Authority, under its Juvenile Welfare Scheme, held an inaugural meeting to the Earlston Youths’ Club. Unsurprisingly Lil was elected as leader.

At a national level and, influenced by the war in Europe, the government announced the formation of the Girls Training Corps (GTC).

The aim of the GTC was to prepare girls for service to their community and to support the war effort when they reached adulthood. The Corps was open to girls aged between 14 to 20.

Activities included learning to act as bicycle couriers, learning morse code, aircraft recognition, gymnastics, homemaking, craft-work, public affairs, land navigation, learning first aid, marksmanship, firefighting, and assisting with air warden duties. 

The GTC was organised into local units lead by an adult commandant. 

Unlike their male counterparts in other cadet organisations, members of the GTC had to provide their own uniforms using clothing coupons. The uniform consisted of black shoes, navy blue skirt, white blouse, navy blue tie, GTC badge, and a navy blue forage hat.

In June 1942, a meeting was held at Earlston with a view to forming a Girls' Training Corps. Miss Hope, Cowdenknowes, introduced the Countess of Haddington who explained how the Corps came into existence, and indicated its recognition by the Government. Lil was elected as Area Commandant for the Earlston GTC.

Within 6 weeks, Lil had established a growing membership who enjoyed a series of lectures the following speakers—Mrs Scott Aiton of Legerwood gave a talk personal hygiene; Nurse Dowie on character-building; Mr Hector Brodie, on first aid in-gas attack; Miss Bremner. M.B.E., Earlston. assisted by two Land Army girls, from Georgefield Farm, talked about the Land Army and its national importance, while the girls gave interesting insights as land workers.

Girls Training Corps outside Earlston Manse (undated)

Back Row l to r: Mary Lee Kerr, Margaret Betts, Ina Hewie, Ella Simpson, Lillie Currie, Mary Gold, Helen Cannon, Jane Melville (evacuee from Newcastle), Bunty Thomson

Front Row l to r: Margaret Milton, Elizabeth Faulkner, Francis Bell, Lil Cochrane

In December 1942, the government announced that it would no longer accept clothing coupons for GTC uniform items. Despite this the Earlston GTC continued to grow with regular meetings held in Earlston and Gordon. Activities included drill instruction conducted by Sgt. Major Crosbie of the Home Guard, PE led by Mrs Campbell, wife of the Earlston GP, Aircraft Recognition and learning morse code.

There were, however, lighter moments when, for example, the girls were treated to talk on ‘Beauty Culture’ by an unnamed expert.

Earlston Amateur Dramatic Society

In 1943 a lecture was given in the school hall. The lecturer was Mr Paterson Whyte, organiser of the Scottish Community Dance Association on the topic of drama to encourage amateur dramatic societies. It appears that the seed was sown and within a few years the Earlston Amateur Dramatic Society was formed. In the late 1940s the Society  performed a number of plays, not just in Earlston, but entertained audiences in Gordon, Duns and Lauder. In 1950, at a meeting in the Court Room Lil was elected Producer. Other officials elected were President, Mrs A. Brownlie; chairman, Mr F. Weatherby; Hon. secretary Mrs H. Cossar, Summerfield Terrace. Earlston; Hon. treasurer, E. Kerr; executive committee, Miss Blackie and Mr Sanderson.

Unnamed production from mid-1950s
Back Row l to r: Mr Connell, Fred Weatherly, Mary Lothian, Jock Stafford, Ian Buckham
Front Row l to r: George Rennie, Margaret Amos, Helen Lang, Il Cochrane, Walter Taylor

Unnamed production from late-1950's
l to r: Mrs Robson, Jock Stafford, Heath Brunton, Walter Taylor, Mary Lothian, Ian Buckham, Helen Lang

Sailor Beware staged late-1950's
Standing l to r: Fred Weatherly, Mrs Buckham, Lil Cochrane
Seated l to r: Ian Buckham, Mary Lothian, Walter Taylor, Helen Lang, Mrs Robson, Jock Stafford

Lil would continue to produce many plays for the Dramatic Society over the coming years, but that did not stop her being involved with other groups. The Girls Training Corps was disbanded and the Girls Club, led by Lil, resurrected, she also participated in the Girls Guides and Sunday School.

In 1951 Lil was elected president of the Earlston Ladies Club. Lil’s sister, Chrissie was elected secretary, Mrs Smith, treasurer, all supported by a committee consisting of Mrs Burns, Mrs Wyllie, Mrs D. Bell, Mrs Readman, Mrs Malcolm, and Mrs R. Thomson.

Lil’s love of theatre was first documented in 1938 when she staged ‘Simple Simon’ with the Girl’s Club. Fourteen years later Lil once again involved the school children in a play. In 1952 the Berwickshire News and General Advertiser reported:

A play entitled "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was presented the pupils of Earlston Junior Secondary School in the School Hall on Thursday and Friday evenings of last week. Miss  L Cochrane was the producer, and great credit reflects on her for the very fine performance the cast. Principal parts were played follows —Angela Brunton (Snow White): Ronald Hollands (Prince); Patricia Doyle (Queen): and Pat McInally (Huntsman). The Hall was filled to capacity on both evenings. Mr Jas. Young, headmaster, accorded special vote of thanks to Miss Cochrane, producer: Miss Davidson for the scenery: Mr Malcolm for the erection of the stage: the accompanists. Miss B. S. Kerr and Miss M. L. Milton, and all those who supported the effort of the pupils. Now that the school have their own staging and scenery, it is hoped to have further small plays from time time.

Ten years later and the play was staged again.

1962 School production of Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
Lil Cochrane (l) and Mary Rodger (r) being presented with bouquets 

Lil retired from the Earlston school in 1964. She continued to live with her sister Christina, who died in 1984, in a flat they shared overlooking The Square. 

Lil moved to Perthshire, where she had family. Then, in 1991, at the Tomdoran Retirement Home, she passed away aged 86.

While researching this blog, I found several reports of prize-giving at a primary school in Coupar-Angus, Perthshire. The Cochrane Prize for art was awarded to children in Primary 6 and &. It's tempting to think that this may have been another legacy from Lil.

Ecky Black - Earlston's Last Bellman

Alexander 'Ecky' Black

'Ecky' Black had suffered from a childhood illness that resulted in a leg having to be amputated just above the knee. Whether an artificial leg was too expensive, given that as a boy, he would have several as he grew to adulthood, or if he just elected not to wear a prosthesis, he always wore his trouser leg pinned up throughout his adult life. Thus making him instantly recognisable on the streets of Earlston with his crutch and walking stick and making him an unlikely choice as the village bellman. Nonetheless, he was Earlston's last bellman, a Scottish equivalent to a town crier but with its origins in religious belief.

In the seventh century, the church required that a bell be rung when a person died. It also stipulated that a bell be rung when someone was excommunicated to signify that person's spiritual death.

There was a belief that devils lay in wait to attack the soul of the dead person at the moment the soul departed the body. It was also believed that the sound of the bell terrified these devils.

After the Reformation, the interpretation changed, and the purpose of the bell ringing was to encourage the living to offer up prayers for the recently deceased. 

Since the church now levied a charge to ring the bell, not everyone could afford the service; those who were privileged were willing to pay the fee, providing the church with a considerable income.

Different towns had different requirements for the bellman. In some towns, the bellman would walk the street tinkling a small bell, head uncovered, making the announcement, 'I hereby take you to wit that …, our brother (or sister) departed this life at … of the clock, according to the pleasure of the Lord.'

In Jedburgh, the bellman was required to keep his head covered and to make this announcement immediately after the death, regardless of the time of day.

In Hawick and other places, the bellman would invite people to go to the deceased's house and offer prayers after the intimation. The bellman would also visit the home to place the bell on the bed where the corpse was lying until the corpse was removed for burial. 

Sometimes, a 'lykewake' or body watch took place during the nights between the death and the burial. 

In some places, for instance, Polwarth, the bell was carried at the front of the funeral procession to 'frighten away the evil spirits’. Female relatives walked behind the procession until they reached the gate to the churchyard, where they always stopped and dispersed.

Bells have long been associated with death. The seventeenth-century poet and clergyman John Donne is credited with coining the phrase 'for whom the bell tolls', meaning that the funeral bell that tolls for another person's death, then, also tolls for us, in a sense, because it marks the death of a part of us, but also because it is a reminder that we will die one day.

But an incident in Chirnside may have started a fashion that brought new meaning to tolling bells.

There is a tale associated with a grave in the kirkyard of Chirnside. When Margaret Halcrow, second wife of the Reverend Henry Erskine, died in 1674, a few months after their marriage, she was carried to the grave and interred with a valuable ring still on her finger, a fact noted by the village sexton. After the funeral service, when only a light covering of earth was placed over the coffin, the sexton returned to the kirkyard to dig up the grave and remove the ring. It was so hard to remove it from the corpse's finger that he used his knife and began the task of cutting the digit off. As he did so, the corpse sat up in the coffin, screamed, then dashed across the kirkyard to the manse, where she shouted for the minister to open the door, 'For I'm fair clemmed wi' the cauld.' The wife lived a fair number of years after that, giving birth to Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, founders of the Secession Church. ⁽¹⁾

The story of Margaret Erskine became a folklore theme to be cannibalised with different names and different locations. ⁽²⁾

Declaring a person dead should have been straightforward for the doctors of the day. Nonetheless, people were fearful that they may be buried alive. This fear became increasingly common in the mid-1880s when American author Edgar Allan Poe published a horror short story, 'The Premature Burial', in which the main character develops a phobia about being buried alive. Enterprising businessmen were keen to cash in on this fear and offered 'safety coffins' to ease people's fear.⁽³⁾ 

Franz Vester's "improved burial-case," U.S. Patent No. 81,437, issued Aug. 25, 1868 in Newark, New Jersey.

Those who could afford it could purchase coffins with an elaborate system of rope and pulleys connecting the coffin to a bell on the ground above the grave. Family members, or more likely paid people, stood guard over the grave for the first few days just in case the bell should be rung by the interred person. Hence, the phrase 'saved by the bell' and those who stood at the graveside were known to be on 'graveyard watch'.

After the Reformation, the church was keen that it be understood that the bellman's purpose was to announce a person's death rather than chase away evil spirits. About this time, many parishes incorporated the bellman's position with the grave digger to save money.

Latterly, the bellman's job focussed on public announcements.

In 1881, the Galashiels bellman was roused at around midnight to make announcements about missing children and raise volunteer searchers. The bellman made his rounds again at six o'clock to muster more searchers. The two girls, aged seven and eight, were found safe and well.⁽⁴⁾

Some bellmen took to selling their services. Walter Stiller, a Jedburgh bellman, went the round of the town and made the following announcement on his own behalf:

'Notice To merchants and the general public.—As I am slack, and every one else slack, and having nothing else that I can do than that of the bell - crying to while away some of my dark, weary hours, I have resolved to proclaim any one's goods through the town lost, found, or to sell—at 3d for the bell, 6d for the drum. All goods lost, and not found, no charge made. I have myself, in bygone days, employed men in this town, and I do not see why blindness should now shut out of existence. All orders strictly attended to.’ ⁽⁵⁾

Bobby the Bellman, Jedburgh Town Crier
Credit: Border Cavalcade

A Selkirk bellman, Tom Murray, had a sense of civic duty. Before the First World War, he was asked to promote a 6½d Bazaar at the Volunteer Hall. Before he started out, however, he called into a local ironmonger who pointed out that he sold similar goods at a halfpenny less. That was enough for Tom. Round the town he went, ringing the bell and shouting:

Notice! A sale is being held in the Volunteer Hall. All articles are being sold at cost price, nothing over 6½d. You can get the same articles at 6d in Blank's, the ironmonger's, in High Street. God Save the King!' 

This incident was reported in Tom's obituary in 1934. Apparently, a crowd of about 300 young men followed the bellman, and every announcement brought fresh roars of laughter. The bellman received no payment from the bazaar promoters.⁽⁶⁾

Alec Stainton, Hawick bellman
Credit: Border Cavalcade

Bellmen would be financed by town councils rather than the parish. Depending on how rich a town council was was determined by the standing of the bellman. Peebles, for example, was relatively affluent and kitted out its bellman with a uniform. Less well-off councils were content that the bellman discharged his duties in everyday clothes. Other concessions were made, e.g. Peebles supplied a drum rather than a bell, although he was still called `the bellman`. In Hawick, announcements were also preceded by the beating of the drum. Three surviving drums are on display at Hawick Museum. 

John Rennie, Peebles Town Drummer
Credit: Border Cavalcade

We don't know when the role of bellman in Earlston was created, nor when the role was transferred from the church to the council. There are no photographs of Earlston bellmen. However, we do know that the Earlston bellman was never issued with a uniform and that Ecky was the last one and we also know something about the man.

Ecky, or Alexander Landell Black, was born in 1893 in Primrose Street, Leith, the second child of Archibald Black, a merchant seaman, and Alice Landell. Ecky's older brother, John, was also born there.

By 1901, the family had moved to Earlston. Archibald Black had jobs on the railway, first as a signalman, then as a porter. In Earlston, the Blacks would raise another five children - Jane, Archibald, Alice, Heriot and Jessie. Archibald would die in the First World War just days before the armistice was declared. He is buried in the Awoignt British Cemetery and commemorated on the Earlston War Memorial.

Ecky Black with friends in the Earlston Reading Room
L to R: Bob Wilson, Ecky Black, George Rutherford, Bob Patterson, and Andrew Murdison
Credit: Auld Earlston Collection

Ecky died in 1968 at the Inch Hospital in Kelso and is remembered on the family gravestone in Earlston Cemetery.

Some Earlston residents still recall Ecky making civic announcements but his death marked the end of another aspect of village life.

Credits

1 Scottish Kirkyards, Love, Dane 1989 Published London, R Hale 1989

2 Scottish Folk Lore, Lamont-Brown, Raymond 1996 Published Edinburgh Birlinn, 1996

3 www.en.Wikipedia.org, Taphophobia

4 Southern Reporter, 04 August 1881

5 Souther Reporter 18 December

6 Southern Reporter 25 January 1934

7 Border Cavalcade 'Life a Century Ago', Moffatt, Frederick C, Published Newcastle-upon-Tyne, F C Moffatt 1980