Old piper joins clan
51st Highlander statute given to Donnachaidhs
A striking statue of a piper in Highland Perthshire has been handed over to one of the country’s oldest clans.
The statue of the 51st Highland Division piper, which overlooks the A9 at Bruar, was officially handed over to Clan Donnachaidh on Wednesday at a special ceremony.
Brigadier Alastair Dorward, chairman of the 51st Highland Division trustees handed ownership of the statue over to Gilbert Robertson of Struan, 23rd chief of Clan Donnachaidh, who also marked 35 years as chief and his 80th birthday.
The statue, which has sat at the entrance to House of Bruar and the clan’s centre for the past 12 years,is used to commemorate those who served in the 51st Highland Division, alongside other memorials to the regiment in France and The Netherlands.
Catriona Macaulay, clan secretary, said it was a “real honour” for Clan Donnachaidh to have been gifted the statue.
She said: “Clan Donnachaidh is based in the grounds of Bruar, and we have the piper statue outside our property owned by the 51st Highland Division, but it has now been handed over to ourselves.
“It was a real honour to be handed this after the history of the 51st Highland Division.
“It came out of the blue – the chair of 51st Division just came into our office and started chatting to us and asked if we would take it on.
“We need to look after it and maintain it, but we didn’t need long to agree because it is great for us.”
This week also marks the annual clan gathering, where Robertsons, Duncans, Reids and other clan members gathered together on the Bruar site celebrating the clan’s history from August 10 until 19.
This will include an ancestry DNA project, a guided visit to Culloden battlefield, a ceilidh and Gaelic singing with local schoolchildren.
And to mark Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018, the chief will give out the first Clan Donnachaidh award at the annual dinner to Calum Ryder, for demonstrating the courage and determination of King Robert the Bruce in overcoming adversity.
Gillespie Robertson, chairman of Clan Donnachaidh, said: “The 51st Highland Division – the ‘ladies from hell’ as they were once known to an
Members of Clan Donnachaidh at the Bruar statue enemy used neither to men in kilts nor the fierceness of the Highlander in battle –and Clan Donnachaidh have much in common.
“The clan’s warrior were passionately loyal to the cause of the Stewart kings, but were known as well many centuries earlier for their exceptional performance in battle.
“They were famed for their support of – and their first chief ’s friendship with – King Robert the Bruce and for their exploits at the Battle of Bannockburn, and in many subsequent military encounters over the centuries.
“They also had the reputation of being among the Highlands’ most brilliant, feared and fearless swordsmen.
“The 51st has a long and hugely proud fighting reputation of its own.
“Not a few members of the clan served and not a few died with the 51st, and the clan as a whole is intensely proud now to be entrusted with the care of this memorial statue in perpetuity.”
RSM Daniel Carter (7 SCOTS), Brigadier Alastair Dorward, chairman of the 51st Highland Division trustees, Gilbert Robertson of Struan, 23rd chief of Clan Donnachaidh, and Captain Scott McCauley (7 SCOTS)