ONE OF THE MISSING OF THE SOMME-JOHN DAVID NISBET- DIED 1 JULY 1916

Memorial plaque; St Peter & St Paul , Longhoughton

When I was a child the names on the War Memorial in Longhoughton Church did not mean much to me.But later on I was told that one of the names was that of my great uncle John David Nisbet.It is next to last on the righthand side of the plaque. As I got to know the village better I recognised local names still well known in my youth-Foreman,Stanton, Wood, Douglas and Dodds. Some of these came from families which not only served in the military but provided  crews for  the lifeboat at Boulmer.

John  came to England a child when the family moved there from Midlothian.His father's work as a gamekeeper had brought him to Northumberland.

John David Nisbet died on 1 July 1916 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He had just passed his 17th birthday and was in fact 17 years and three months old. His actual birthday was 2nd March 1899 and he passed his 17th birthday in France.This suggests to me that there is something in the family stories that John was tall for his age and was teased and harassed into  running off to join up. He was one of the tens of of thousands who responded to the call  for volunteers. The response was so overwhelming that recruiting  centres struggled to cope.It is no wonder that this sixteen year old-and no doubt quite a few others- slipped through. Johnnie Nisbet's story is hardly unique. 

John David Nisbet. Private 20/1708 Tyneside Scottish (Northumberland Fusiliers)

Soldiers were not sent off to the front immediately after enlisting, so a period of some months training must have occurred before his going out  to France,and this confirms that he did sign up when underage.If it is correct that the minimum age for  Pals battalions such as the Tyneside Scottish was 19 then something seems seriously wrong here.

I am left wondering what to think of John David's rush to join up and then to die so young. Mostly  I am bemused by this. Quo fata vocant, indeed.

John Nisbet's body was never found and his name is recalled on the Thiepval Memorial.
He probably knew another Longhoughton man-John Kim Butters (20/313)  had  been in the same battalion though he was a bit older. He died  in June of 1916. Both were in the 20th Battalion of the Tyneside Scottish (Northumberland Fusiliers) This was part of  102 Brigade, 34th Division at la Boiselle near Albert.

He would have heard the enormous explosion of the Lochnagar and other associated mines, felt the earth shaking and the  dreadful silence which must have followed and was broken by the whistle for the advance.Did he hear, is there any way he could have actually heard through what must have been an unbelievable cacophony, the sounds of the bagpipes playing as they did? And then did he really advance with his comrades at walking pace in the expectation that the German wire had been cut?

(See also my post about the substantial and very interesting stained glass windows at nearby Lesbury which are the memorial to another local man who died at the Somme and portray the troops going out-7.30 am,1 July 1916. Access it here)

A MEMORIAL OF JULY 1 1916- THE FIRST DAY OF THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME.

The small church of Saint Mary at Lesbury in Northumberland has an intriguing memorial of the Great War. It is a group of  three windows in the south wall of the nave. They are full of symbolism .There is reference  to two members of the Scott family who had strong local connections. The windows  particularly commemorate the death of George Henry Hall Scott on the first day of the battle of the Somme, July 1 1916. And what is more the design goes out of its way to memorialise that day  and the Franco-British collaboration on this front. The window is the product of the Archibald K Nicholson Studios.This was obviously a firm which could produce high quality glass if not particularly inspired glass.. It continued into the 1960s and Nicholson lived from 1871-1937.

The window was commissioned by Captain Scott's mother- Lady Henrietta Scott. Her husband, Sir Henry Hall Scott who was Captain Scott's father had died in 1911 and the window is partly to commemorate him.The family had a local connection with Hipsburn and  among other things Sir Henry founded the  Imperial Yeomanry for the South African War.

Captain Scott was born in Northumberland and by profession was an engineer. He was in the 7th Battalion of the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment. His age at death was 34. He is  buried in the Dantzig Alley Cemetery, Mametz-not far away from where he died.

Much is made of the Anglo French collaboration in the Great War and military circumstances have obviously suggested this theme. I cannot sufficiently stress its importance for the scheme of the design.

The three windows have conventional depictions of-from east to west-St George,The Angel with the Crown of Victory,and St Joan of France. It is the lower panels of the windows which have the most  detailed interest.

When you look at the lower panel of the St George  window which illustrates the alliance you see that there are British troops on the left going out to attack Montauban and French troops are shown on the right setting out to capture Hardecourt. These places were respectively at the southern end of the British  Fourth Army  sector and the northern end of the French Sixth Army sector. So the  British and French armies are advancing to take  places only a mile or two apart.Both actions were in fact successful. On the left the British soldiers have just left their trench. On the right the French troops are setting out.Lest anyone could possibly forget the time of the offensive it is listed as "7.30 am.THE FIRST OF JULY 1916 on a scroll to the left of the scene, The objectives Montauban and Hardecourt are named clearly in the glass.The significance of Montauban is that it was a ridge in a commanding position:so too the hill at Hardecourt,

British and French Soldiers starting their advance on the first day of the battle of the Somme.

French Soldiers

The lamb and flag of St George appear in the lower panel of the central window with the inscription GLORIA: IN: EXCELSIS: DEO on the left of the panel and ET:IN:TERRA:PAX on the right.The lamb of course symbolises Christ. Nearby is a chalice, referring to communion and sacrifice-Christ's sacrifice and by implication that of Captain Scott.Below the altar are the figures of Martyrs with particular associations with Britain.

The Central, Angel Window.

Lamb and Flag, also the badge of Capt Scott's Regiment.

St Joan Window

The third window shows St Joan. In a cartouche above the panel are the words BEATA:JEANNE:D'ARC. The panel below shows her on horseback. Once again there is reference to martial glory.Her flag is mentioned with its slogan "De par le Roy du Ciel" (By God's Will). To the right is  is shown the fleur-de-lys and the French war cry "Montjoye Saint-Denis". The cross of Saint George is on the left side.

Lower panel, St Joan Window.

There is additionally a plaque commemorating Captain Scott-placed there by his regiment.

At one time the official explanation of the iconography hung in the church but I did not notice it on my last visit.I  photographed it in 2008.Other information is available on the internet.

A note about my great uncle who enlisted under -age  and also died on the first day of the Somme can be found in the post about the war memorial plaque at nearby Longhoughton church. You can find it here.

BERWICK'S BURRELLS

About a year ago I visited  Berwick  to see the artworks which Sir William Burrell gifted to the town. The other Burrell Collection. I had seen the paintings as a child when they were  displayed  in the old library.
 I knew there would be Crawhalls. That was sufficient reason to go. And there were two watercolours by Arthur Melville. Now I yield to none in my admiration for Melville and Crawhall.But both artists were represented by second grade work. To see those  four pictures by Crawhall was to think that  Burrell was giving Berwick less good examples. The Crawhall masterpieces, of which Burrell had many, went to Glasgow.The Daubigny is nothing special and the Gericault drawing-if it is by Gericault is not up to much.

In terms of quality,the best works-showing a good artist working well-were by Boudin, particularly the scene of the River Toques.

Boudin, River Toques

The damatic and stagey Rembrandtesque landscape by Georges Michel is  hard to forget-but then he did churn them out.

The Degas sketch of Russian dancers was an indifferent example from a group of late works. Still it is always good to see a Degas.

It is a slightly odd collection, an Opie portrait and a portrait which was once given to Raeburn.And yet another LeNain type group. There are several items by well known C19 Dutch artists-very much collected in late C19 Scotland. They are not very exciting examples of their work.

I will not say anything about the examples of decorative art such as the Islamic tiles, the metalwork and woodcarving. Why Burrell gave these secondary items to Berwick could have many explanations. There wasn't an actual art gallery in Berwick and that may have influenced him as much as anything else.

EXCELLENT IONAS

A  fine auction of modern Scottish painting is coming up on June 9 2016 at Lyon and Turnbull in Edinburgh. There are several works from the Wood collection. That is the eminent surgeon Walter Quarry Wood who was President of the RCS in Edinburgh.Some of the works from the sale are shown below. This is a treat for those who love Iona paintings by Cadell and Peploe. The standard here and with the great majority of works in this auction is rather high.You can see that here below.

Sandbank and the Sound of Mull: FCB Cadell (Wood Coll)

Roina in the Sound of Mull:FCB Cadell.(Wood Coll)

Ben More from Clachanach: FCB Cadell

Iona Abbey: S J Peploe (Wood Coll)

LISMORE AND BENDERLOCH BY ADAM BRUCE THOMSON

Two paintings-the first a watercolour and the second an oil, by the eminent Scottish artist Adam Bruce Thomson, have just been sold by Lyon&Turnbull in Edinburgh. They represent places I know and like and for me they raise questions about artistic   licence. To me they are pleasant  works but they raise the kind of thoughts that chime with Constable's views about painting and what he calls manner. I think that manner is dominant here.I think it is the easiest and most seductive state for artists to pursue. You might call it poetic licence-and I would agree that there is no doubting the charm of Thomson's work.

Castle Coeffin, Lismore: Adam Bruce Thomson

Castle Coeffin,2015.

Caastle Coeffin,by Adam Bruce Thomson 

Castle Coeffin on Lismore is presented by Thomson in his watercolour as an apparently mighty stronghold perched on a towering cliff in what looks like an extremely strong defensive position. A cottage appears below and gives a considerable effect to the scale of gigantism There is a croft nearby but the scale here is extraordinary.If you visit Castle Coeffin the main ruin appears as if sitting on a humpy piece of grassland; you must descend a steep and rough path to get there. There is a croft near the castle but not quite in this position.

From the Mull ferry, for example, you can just see it as a stump, like a broken tooth in the distance. Close at hand it is still not vastly impressive and I doubt if it can have changed much in the decades since Thomson's visit.In the painting it appears as a much more upright and substantial run than it is now. The hills across Loch Linnhe seem to be put in for some kind of rhythm.The colour in the painting is perhaps its best point, it is very harmonious.

The pen drawing once again exaggerates proportions. The cliffs in the distance are rather perfunctory.It is interesting to see the land around the castle has hay stooks.

Thomson's view of the Dun at Benderloch is an equally striking image with richer colour.There are cliffs as you come up from Connel to the village so I am presuming a viewpoint to the west of them It is good in showing the dramatic light and shade effects which you get on a day of rain and sun. There is a rainbow to be seen over the crags and the sky in the east has a lowering appearance which suggests that more rain is coming.The glimpse of sea in the distance and light picks out some rocks above the water. You might be looking towards Loch Etive.