When Orkney Minister Ewen Traill died in October 1987, obituaries appeared in the national newspapers to celebrate the incredible life and contribution of this quiet but adventurous Minister. This article provides a short flavour of the life of this extraordinary man.

In recalling the life of Ewen Traill, The Orkney News is indebted to his daughter Carolyn, for her memories of her father and of the images she has permitted us to share.

Ewen Traill was 74 when he died at his home in Graemsay. Up until 1983 he was an Orkney councillor where he also chaired the Education Committee. He was a former moderator in Orkney, retiring in 1984, and served for 15 years in Longhope as the Minister for the South Isles. Before that he was the Minister in Ashkirk in the Borders. Previous to that he was in India as Principal and Minister of Dr Graham’s Homes at Kalimpong India which he had taken up after being the Minister in Rattray, Perthshire.

So far so very conventional. But Ewen Traill was no ordinary man. His daughter Carolyn has provided a few memories of his earlier life.

Joseph was a rather quiet academic but was always keen that every issue was considered from all angles.

Carolyn has been spending hours reading through the dozens of letters from Hector to her.

Ewen Traill was very active in many extra-curricular activities while at Glasgow University: Goalie for the Scottish Universities football team; President of the SRC; Convenor of Debates; and President of the Nationalist Association. The young Ewen Traill was an activist for the cause of Scottish Independence and he took part in several activities.

With others, he scaled to the top of Glasgow University tower to replace the Union flag with a Saltire. For years, this Union flag, the size of a room, followed the family round from Manse to Manse.

Together with his student friends he planned the original scheme to return the Stone of Destiny to Scotland, in many ways similar to what took place in 1950 by Ian Hamilton and friends. It was planned in great detail, down to his friend, Bertie Gray, identifying the quarry from which the Stone originated and making a replica. (This prompted speculation as to whether the real Stone was returned in the 50s – Bertie said that it was.)  Sadly, the whole plan had to be aborted when one of their number got very drunk one night and revealed the entire plot to everyone in the pub.

Carolyn recalls that,

“Their next action was something which my father rather regretted in later life. With the idea of flourishing it during a debate about Scottish Independence in The Union, they stole Wallace’s Sword. He later felt quite sheepish about taking something already in Scotland and, in fact, such was the stooshie from the police and newspapers, that he and the others were feart, and they returned it – can’t remember whether they left it at Stirling Bridge or Bothwell Bridge, but the folk at the Wallace Monument will know”.

It was stated yesterday evening that the Wallace sword stolen from the Wallace monument, Stirling on November 8 1936, has been recovered. The sword is undamaged and in the same state of preservation as it was when stolen.

It is denied that it was found by a roadside or in the River Clyde , near Bothwell Bridge.

Stirlingshire police have never regarded the case as closed, and following recent close inquiry in widely separated parts of Scotland, officers went to a house in Lanarkshire, and there, carefully concealed, found the sword. The hiding place was such that the sword might have lain undiscovered for many years. – Aberdeen Press and Journal, 12 October 1939

In another episode the students planned a protest against what had happened during the Highland Clearances, and the fact that the Duke of Sutherland had made his tenants pay for the monument to his father on the hill above Golspie, they decided to blow it up. 

Carolyn recalls,

” He and Bill Clark obtained explosives from Ayrshire mining friends, borrowed a car, and made the long journey to the monument. However, when they reached it, they discovered how enormous it was and, being pre-war, they had had no ordnance training. They managed to blow up only a corner of the plinth.”

Like most of his generation, Ewen Traill served in World War 2. During a walking holiday in Bavaria in 1938 Ewen and Bill Clark had witnessed the manipulation of German thinking, also, by 1939 it was becoming clear what Hitler was up to. Carolyn said , ‘I think he concluded that it was a “just war”.’

In early 1942, Ewen Traill joined the Army, serving first in The Reconnaissance Corps. He was commissioned and gazetted to the First Gordon Highlanders and was with them in North Africa, then Sicily. On their return home he was asked to become the battalion padre, however, it was not until the war was over that he was ordained as the chaplain.

It was as a combatant that he landed with the 1st Gordon’s on D Day and throughout the North West Europe campaign. He was awarded the MC at Goch on the Siegfried Line.

During his wartime service he did question the actions of mankind. There were two events which led particularly to his difficulties:

• During the Battle of Normandy, he witnessed the blanket bombing of Caen. German units were embedded amongst the civilian population of the city. It is thought that at least 12,000 French residents of Caen died as a result of the Allied bombing.
• The 1st Gordons were part of the forces liberating Belsen.

Carolyn recalls that ‘During remembrance services he always stressed that, “war is never glorious”. ‘

And she added, ‘Of course, he also enjoyed recounting stories of amusing situations during the War.  For example, they had a really incompetent blimp of a commanding officer when they landed at D Day.  Before their landing craft had reached sufficiently shallow water, this commanding officer gave a gung-ho shout of “Follow me men!” and leapt into the water – glug, glug, glug…  They thought they’d better fish him out, but were pleased when he was relieved of his command a couple of days later.’

When Ewen Traill moved to Orkney he recorded a sort of desert-island disc type of programme with Howie Firth on Radio Orkney on which he talked of his life.

Howie Firth also broadcast updates of Ewen’s sponsored fasting during one Lent which he was doing to get money for new church hymn books. Howie Firth read out Ewen’s weekly weight on Radio Orkney during the reporting of fat stock prices. 

Carolyn said: ‘This helped with funds donated, but also prevented my father cheating – when he tried to order a sponge and custard pudding at the Royal Hotel in Kirkwall, the waitress refused to let him have it!’

Ewen Traill, was remembered fondly in the parishes he had ministered in. On news of his death in the village of Lillisleaf, people recalled that ‘there was ever an open door at the Manse, ‘ and ‘a warm welcome to all. His readiness to help anyone at anytime was always appreciated. ‘ – The Southern Reporter, 12 November 1987.

Fiona Grahame

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