HLI Chronicle 1907 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY CHRONICLE. 89
to the number of their place. There were
nearly fifty starters. Shaw led from the start,
with Gallacher and Collins close up; Sha w
gradually increased his lead, and eventually
• won in fine style by t\vo hundred yards.
Gallacher and Collins ran a close race for
second place, which ended in favour of the
former. ThC/latter is better known as a short·
distance ruImer,' but his performance in this
race sh~edthat he is probably better at the
long di~ance than at the short. Connelly
was an easy fourth. The order at the finish,
with the Companies they belonged to, was as
follows ;­
1, Shaw, "H"; 2, Gallacher, "I"; 3,
Collins, "I"; 4, Connelly, "K "; 5, Welsh,
" H"; 6, Elliot, " I "; 7, Spendlove, " K " ;
8, Sharp, " I"; 9, Greer, " K "; 10, Duncan,
" K"; 11, ,Vilkinson, " K "; 12, Henderson,
" H"; 13, Reddy, " I "; 14, Holley, " K " ;
15, Corrigan, "I"; 16, Gregor, "H"; 17,
Cruickshanks, "I"; 18, Gourlay, "H";
19, Mechan, "H"; 20, Street, "I"; 21,
M'Gubbin " H " . 22 Graham "H " .
23, Matthew, "H',,; 24, M'Into;h, "H ,,';
25, Green, "H"; 26, M'Cormick, "H";
27, Rintoul, " I "; 28, Main, " I" ; 29, Nisbet,
" I ". 30 Lieut. M'Leod "H'" 3] Mauds·
ley, '~'I:' '; 32, Petrie, ,; I "; 33, Bradford,
" I "; 34, Sim, "I."
This left "J)' Company winners with 47
points, '~.K" being second with 55, and "H"
third with 70.
DINAPORE NOTES.
ON the 16th of November we were honoured
by a visit from the Commander-in-Chief, Lord
Kitchener. He was accompanied by General
Martin, Adjutant-General; Colonel Birdwood,
Military Secretary; and Captain Wyllie, V.C.,
A.D.C., who had accompanied him on a tour
in Nepal, where the party.had enjoyed some
excellent shooting, provided for them by the
Maharajah. Lord Kitchener seemed greatly
benefited by the change, for his illness in
September last had been the cause of no small
alarm.
Arriving from the north bank of the Ganges,
he drove from Digha Ghat, and did an informal
inspection of Companies at their usual
work, finishing off with a visit to Barrack
Hospitals and other Government buildings,
and it was gratifying to learn that he was
pleased with all he saw.
When saying "good-bye'" at the Officers'
Mess, he kindlYipromised to~send the Battalion
a Transvaal Flag. This arrived during Decem·
ber, with the following letter from the Military
Secretary ;­
FORT-WILLIAM,
CALCUTTA, 22nd Dec., 1906.
My DEAR STOCKWELL,-Lord Kitchener has
asked me to send you the Transvaal Flag,
which goes to you by parcel post, and which
he promised you when he lately saw the
Regiment at Dinapore. He asks me to say
that it gives him the greatest pleasure to be
able to give this present to the Mess of your
Regiment, which did such excellent work
throughout the whole war in South Africa.
Yours sincerely,t
(Signed) W.r@ R BIRDWOOD.
Major Stockwell, then commanding in the
place of Colonel Garland, who was on leave,
sent the following reply ;­
DINAPORE,
24th December, 1906.
My DEAR COLoNEL,-In answer to your
letter of 22nd December, I write to ask you
to convey our respectful thanks to Lord
Kitchener for presenting us with a Transvaal
Flag, an honour which we greatly value.
That the work done by the Battalion in South
Africa should have e~rned the commendation
of the Commander-in-Chief is a source of deep
satisfaction to all ranks, both past and present.
Yours sincerely
(Signed) G. STOCKWELL.
On the 3rd December we had some excellent
aquatic sports in the river, just below barracks,
and quite a number of good, strong swimmers
turned out to show their powers. The following
is a list of events, and results ;­
1.-50 YARDS' RACE.-1st, CorpI. Smithson,
"D" Company; 2nd, Pte. M'Kinnon, "D"
Company; 3rd, Pte. Millaney, " D " Company.
Splendid race, only a yard separating 1st and
2nd, and a good 3rd.
2.-440 YARDS' RACE.-lst, Pte. Fraser,
,. G " Company; 2nd, Corpl. Smithson, "D "
Company; 3rd, Pte. M'Kinnon, "D" Com·
pany. Fraser took the lead from the start,
and won easily.
3.-GREASY POLE.-Ist, Bugler Mapp, " A ".
" B" Companies; 2nd, Pte. Fraser, "G'
Company; 3rd, L.-CorpI. Phillips,~" ~'
Company, and Bugler Cassidy, " G" C0m¥&ny.
This proved an amusing event for tie. spec·
tators. Bugler Mapp was a popular winner.
4.-LoNG DIVE.-1st, Bugler Mapp, "A"·
" B" Companies; 2nd, Bugler Stansfield.