In the next part of Jim Henderson’s series, we hear about the 11th Commando’s first engagement at Litani after their period of training on Arran. The featured image shows the Qasmiye Bridge where the 11th Commando were sent. Part 5. The Litani River engagement and Rommel Raid Password ‘Arran’ The first active engagement by the …
By Dr Jake King – a blog posted on the Arran Arts Heritage Trail website Arran is first mentioned in an Irish poem of around 1200 as Arand na n-aighedh n-imdha ‘Arran of the many stags’. The majority of the names of larger Scottish islands are very old, and Arran is no exception. We cannot …
In the next part of his series on the 11 Commando, Jim Henderson looks at the training regime of Colonel Pedder and Admiral Cowan. Featured image shows the 11 Commando in Cyprus. Training Regime and Cyprus The troop would rally, running from their billets on hearing the sound of a horn. Training would consist of …
This Dear Place, Corrie and Sannox. Memories and Reflections by Lesley Paton Cox A Review, by Elsa Rodeck Last week, a copy of the recently published book This Dear Place, Corrie and Sannox. Memories and Reflections by Lesley Paton Cox, fell into my possession. I have been immersing myself since in another time and place …
A history of the 11th Commando in Arran by Jim Henderson ‘Lest we forget’ In Part 3, Jim Henderson recounts the time in September 1940 when the 11 Commando arrived in Lamlash. On arrival at Lamlash the troops were marched from the Pier through the village, divided into groups and billeted in several homes in …
A history of the 11th Commando by Jim Henderson ‘Lest we forget’ In the second part of Jim Henderson’s history, we learn about Churchill’s orders, early combat and the start of the 11 Commando Winston Churchill ordered the formation of the Commando following the disaster of Dunkirk in 1940. They proved to be very effective …
By Dawn Hollis, published in The Conversation, 21st August 2020. Dawn Hollis is a Research Fellow, School of Classics, University of St Andrews. Featured image: Engraving from John Chardin’s Travels into Persia and the East Indies, 1686, showing Mount Ararat, Turkey As a historian of mountains in Europe, I have been struck by the environmental …
The 11th (Scottish) Commando Black Hackle A history by Jim Henderson In this new 6 part series, Arran local Jim Henderson, gives an account of the period during the 2nd World War when the 11th Commando were posted to Arran where they lived and trained, forging many relationships and connections with Arran that continue to …
A report on the findings of a roundhouse in the Arran hills, and the subsequent development of the replica built in the Brodick Castle country park, from local MSP, Kenneth Gibson. It is believed that Arran has been inhabited almost since the end of the last ice age and the retreat of glaciers that once …
By Jim Henderson In the fourth episode of the Viking story (see Voice for Arran, issue 111) reference was made to ‘Innis Shroin’ (Holy Isle.) In fact, over the years, there have been many inaccurate references to Lamlash and Moliase. What follows is the background to the village and island name, which has developed and …