Tweet
I live in a small village in Aberdeenshire. There is a great deal of history and prehistory in the area: we have a fine example of a particular type of stone circle which is only found in the Aberdeenshire area, there is an Iron Age house, or at least the cellar of the house, nearby, and in 1056, King Macbeth fought a battle near the village as he was retreating to make his last stand at the nearby village of Lumphanan.
In the middle of the village there is a war memorial, like so many in every town, village and parish in Scotland. Our war memorial has a sculpture or a First World War Highland infantryman bowed over his reversed rifle, and the pedestal bears the names of the dead from the two world wars of the 20th Century. If you look at the names from the Second World War you will find two brothers, and it is their story I am going to tell here.
Most of the land around the village was owned by the MacRobert family. The patriarch of the family was Alexander MacRobert, who was created First Baronet of Crawnmore and Cromar. He had founded the British India Corporation and made a fortune. He married the daughter of an American physician and she became Lady Rachael Macrobert. They had three sons, Alisdair, Roderick and Iain.
Sir Alexander died in 1922 and the eldest son became Sir Alisdair MacRobert, Second Baronet of Crawnmore and Cromar. He also became the Chairman of the BIC. All three brothers were enthusiastic aviators and each qualified as a pilot as soon as he was old enough. Unfortunately Sir Alisdair was killed in a flying accident in 1938 and so Roderick became the Third Baronet.
When the Second World War broke out Sir Roderick joined the Royal Air Force and became a fighter pilot. Shortly after, the third brother, Iain, also joined the RAF and began flying Wellington Bombers. In 1941 Sir Roderick was killed while leading a squadron of Hurricane fighters in an attack on a Luftwaffe air base, and Iain became the Fourth Baronet. Unfortunately, Sir Iain didn't get to keep his title for long as he too was killed in action less than a month after his brother, earning his place on the war memorial, just below his brother.
Lady MacRobert had lost her sons and had no heir to inherit her fortune, so what did she do? She bought a bomber aircraft and gave it to the RAF! More precisely she donated the funds required to build a bomber and asked that it be named for her family. This is what she wrote to the Air Ministry:
MacRobert's Reply was a Stirling Bomber, commissioned in October of 1941. After flying missions to Nuremberg, Cologne and Bremen the bomber was badly damaged by flak and was sent to RAF Lossiemouth for repair. Unfortunately MacRobert's Reply crashed into a Spitfire on the runway at Lossiemouth (killing the Spitfire pilot) and was damaged beyond repair.
The name was transferred to a new Stirling Bomber which continued to "attack with great fire power, head on and hard" as Lady MacRobert had wished. The second MacRobert's Reply was shot down on a mission to Middelfart in Denmark, killing all on board save the radio operator.
Not one to give up easily, the redoubtable Lady MacRobert donated the funds to buy four Hurricane Fighters, which were named The MacRobert's fighter Sir Iain HL735, The MacRobert's fighter Sir Alisdair HL844, The MacRobert's fighter Sir Roderic HL851, The MacRobert's salute to Russia the Lady HL775.
After the war was over Lady MacRobert build a substantial nursing home which she donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund for the care of retired servicemen. The home is named Alastrean House after her three sons.
Meanwhile the RAF continued to transfer the name MacRobert's Reply to new bombers as required, and the tradition has carried on to this day. The eighth MacRobert's Reply is a Tornado Bomber based at RAF Lossiemouth.
In the middle of the village there is a war memorial, like so many in every town, village and parish in Scotland. Our war memorial has a sculpture or a First World War Highland infantryman bowed over his reversed rifle, and the pedestal bears the names of the dead from the two world wars of the 20th Century. If you look at the names from the Second World War you will find two brothers, and it is their story I am going to tell here.
Most of the land around the village was owned by the MacRobert family. The patriarch of the family was Alexander MacRobert, who was created First Baronet of Crawnmore and Cromar. He had founded the British India Corporation and made a fortune. He married the daughter of an American physician and she became Lady Rachael Macrobert. They had three sons, Alisdair, Roderick and Iain.
Sir Alexander died in 1922 and the eldest son became Sir Alisdair MacRobert, Second Baronet of Crawnmore and Cromar. He also became the Chairman of the BIC. All three brothers were enthusiastic aviators and each qualified as a pilot as soon as he was old enough. Unfortunately Sir Alisdair was killed in a flying accident in 1938 and so Roderick became the Third Baronet.
When the Second World War broke out Sir Roderick joined the Royal Air Force and became a fighter pilot. Shortly after, the third brother, Iain, also joined the RAF and began flying Wellington Bombers. In 1941 Sir Roderick was killed while leading a squadron of Hurricane fighters in an attack on a Luftwaffe air base, and Iain became the Fourth Baronet. Unfortunately, Sir Iain didn't get to keep his title for long as he too was killed in action less than a month after his brother, earning his place on the war memorial, just below his brother.
Lady MacRobert had lost her sons and had no heir to inherit her fortune, so what did she do? She bought a bomber aircraft and gave it to the RAF! More precisely she donated the funds required to build a bomber and asked that it be named for her family. This is what she wrote to the Air Ministry:
It is my wish, as a mother, to reply in a way my sons would applaud - attack with great fire power, head on and hard. The amount of £25,000 is to buy a bomber aircraft to continue my son's work in the most effective way. This expresses my feelings on receiving notice about my sons ?
They would be happy that their mother would avenge them and help to attack the enemy. I, therefore, feel that an appropriate name for the bomber would be the MacRobert's Reply. The aircraft should also bear the MacRobert's coat of arms the family crest, a crossed fern leaf and an Indian rose. Let the bomber serve where there is the most need of her and may luck be with those who fly her. If I had 10 sons, I know they all would have done service for their country.
They would be happy that their mother would avenge them and help to attack the enemy. I, therefore, feel that an appropriate name for the bomber would be the MacRobert's Reply. The aircraft should also bear the MacRobert's coat of arms the family crest, a crossed fern leaf and an Indian rose. Let the bomber serve where there is the most need of her and may luck be with those who fly her. If I had 10 sons, I know they all would have done service for their country.
The name was transferred to a new Stirling Bomber which continued to "attack with great fire power, head on and hard" as Lady MacRobert had wished. The second MacRobert's Reply was shot down on a mission to Middelfart in Denmark, killing all on board save the radio operator.
Not one to give up easily, the redoubtable Lady MacRobert donated the funds to buy four Hurricane Fighters, which were named The MacRobert's fighter Sir Iain HL735, The MacRobert's fighter Sir Alisdair HL844, The MacRobert's fighter Sir Roderic HL851, The MacRobert's salute to Russia the Lady HL775.
After the war was over Lady MacRobert build a substantial nursing home which she donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund for the care of retired servicemen. The home is named Alastrean House after her three sons.
Meanwhile the RAF continued to transfer the name MacRobert's Reply to new bombers as required, and the tradition has carried on to this day. The eighth MacRobert's Reply is a Tornado Bomber based at RAF Lossiemouth.
)who was accused of having murdered one of his peasant farmers. He claimed to be innocent and said that if he was guilty, his body should not rot after death. Some more than 200 years have passed and you can still go and see his mummyfied body. There are several places where people were found mummyfied, due rather to the wind and the climate than to spooky doings.
Comment