Gordon is on song for memorial in France
Paisley man will perform his tribute to war hero
A Paisley man who wrote a song about a hero minister is to perform the piece at the unveiling of a memorial.
Gordon Whyte, from Oldhall, was so moved by the story of Rev Dr Donald Caskie that he was inspired to pen the song.
Next week he will travel to France with his son Ciaran, 22, where they will sing The Ballad of Donald Caskie at the memorial event in Nice.
Forty-eight-year-old Mr Whyte, a maths teacher at Paisley’s St Andrew’s Academy, said he was contacted by the organiser of the event, Jacquie Berben-Masi, after she watched his song on YouTube.
“It was through the internet that she heard the song. She got in touch with me and invited me to perform it,” he said.
It was after reading Dr Caskie’s autobiography, The Tartan Pimpernel, that Mr Whyte set about telling the extraordinary story.
Dr Caskie was the minister of the Scots Kirk in Paris when he denounced the Nazis from his pulpit.
When World War Two broke out and the Germans invaded Paris in 1940, he had to flee the city.
While in southern France, he refused the chance of safe passage on the last ship bound for the UK and fled to Marseille instead.
There he ran a Seaman’s Mission, living a double life and passing the close scrutiny of the Vichy Police.
He helped British and Allied soldiers to freedom across the mountains into Spain.
He was recruited by British Intelligence and was told his mission was the last link of a chain of safe houses that they had set up.
The crofter’s son operated in the Seaman’s Mission for many months until he was betrayed.
Dr Caskie was arrested by the Vichy Police, interrogated and banished from Marseille.
He moved to Grenoble where he continued to arrange for the escape of soldiers, seamen and airmen under the cover of being a university chaplain. But he was caught and imprisoned by the Gestapo and sentenced to death.
His life was only saved through the intervention of a German pastor and he spent the rest of the conflict in a prisoner of war camp.
He later returned to Scotland and passed away in 1983 at the age of 81.
Mr Whyte is a committed Christian himself, and sees only one hand in Dr Caskie’s actions.
“God was guiding him through it,” he said.
“It was this man of God who inspired me.”
The Very Rev Dr Susan Brown, convener of the World Mission Council of the Church of Scotland, said Dr Caskie was a fine minister during a dark period of history .
She added: “His memory is already celebrated in the Scots Kirk in Paris, where he served before and after the Second World War, and it is marvellous that he is being officially recognised in the south of France.” Paisley vet Neil McIntosh, of Abbey Veterinary Group, shares his views with you every Thursday.
Today, we hear about how it’s important to lay the boundaries from an early age.
Biffy bounded into my consulting room with his usual manic enthusiasm, dragging his owner behind him.
He greeted me with a mad space rocket launch at my shoulders with his front paws and much slobbering at the mouth. My mouth that is.
I have learnt, under these circumstances, to back off as rapidly as possible and reach immediately for papers towels to dry my face.
Because Biffy is a boxer. And never has one breed of dog been responsible for so much saliva.
I turned side-on to my patient and threw a smile at his lady owner. She batted it straight back with a frosty stare and I knew I was in trouble.
“Do you think I have a vicious dog?”she asked, testily. I shook my head, still trying to maintain my confident smile whilst attempting to waggle Biffy off my leg.
“Do you think I have a dangerous dog?”she enquired. I wavered over this one, as he was still attached to my now sodden thigh, but, regardless, shook my head again.
“Then tell me why,”she exclaimed,“Did the last vet I saw here find it necessary to muzzle him?”
Ah! Now I knew the reason for her belligerent attitude. Many owners will take any suggestion that their dog should be muzzled as an appalling slight on their character.
For some people, this type of offence is second only to implying that their children might be badly behaved. And since Biffy was this owner’s surrogate child….well, I was in deep doo-doo.
I retreated to my computer screen, relieved that I had the security blanket of my consulting room table between Mrs Biffy and me.
I paged up a little and read the history. It was there in big bold type.
“Friendly dog but owner reluctant to hold him properly in case she hurts him. Dog tries to bite when examining ears. Worried owner might be bitten so used muzzle.”
I wasn’t too surprised. It’s a common reason for having to muzzle dogs.
Biffy is a friendly big soul but his owner treats him as an equal and so, if he doesn’t feel like doing something, he lets you know about it.
I think“spoilt”is the technical term for this type of behaviour.
Biffy, although frequently marginally dehydrated due to the loss of fluid in the pools of saliva he sheds, is not daft.
He has learnt, over the years, that a little bitey, snappy tantrum invariably gets him his own way.
The trouble is, when he comes to the vets, we just don’t have the time or the inclination to put up with this (dangerous) nonsense.
If we let him away with it once, he’ll just keep doing it again and again until he’s taking the mickey out of us as much as his owner.
Things would have been so much better if she had turned her back on him and ignored him for a while whenever he used his teeth on her when he was a puppy.
Now all I needed to do was think of a way of explaining all this to his rather indignant owner.