Glasgow Bells to Ring Out for Lochiel

[ChrisDoak]

On Saturday 16th September,the City Council of Glasgow will be holding a Civic Reception for Lochiel,and the old Tolbooth bells of Glasgow will be rung in his honour.

In a tradition stretching back 230 years,the town of Glasgow first bestowed this honour on Charles Cameron of Lochiel,21st Chief of Clan Cameron,in respect of the courage of his grandfather,the Gentle Lochiel,in preventing the Jacobite Army from plundering the town upon their retreat back to Scotland from Derby in 1745/46.

Most Lochiels since 1776 have been the beneficieries of the thanks of the people of Glasgow,with the bells being rung out on their presence in the City where appropriate.It last happened in 1974,I think.

Since taking up office two years ago,the Rt.Hon.the Lord Provost of Glasgow , Liz Cameron (the Scottish version of City Mayor),has been keen to invite Lochiel to her home town,and continue the tradition of the bell ringing.

The Clan Association will be gathering in George Square at 12 midday to hear the bells,and will them join Lochiel and his family at a Civic Lunch in the adjoining City Chambers.

It promises to be a great day!

[hilbil21]

I might go to hear the bells!

[Cameronian]

Hilary, go along and meet up with the Clan, you will certainly hear ‘the bells’ then, and you will meet up with many of them there on the day, just put on some Cameron tartan, and I am sure that one of Clan Cameron Association in Scotland will make contact with you and say welcome. Let them know that you have made contact with Camerons outwith Scotland through The International Clan web-site, that your ancestry is Corpach based and you are presently interested in this research.

Your Lord Provost of Glasgow is a Cameron by marriage, the wife of a Cameron whose ancestry relates back to Glencoe and in her words:

“I’ve seen Glencoe now in all its moods from the mists and soft rains of spring, the lucent summer evenings through the rich colours of a Scottish autumn to the hush of the mountains covered in snow. To me it is a place of the utmost romance, at once dark and brooding, nursing its own tragic story, and then beautiful and inspiring as the road winds down from the Pass, through the village, to the clear waters of Loch Leven. This is Cameron Country, or at least, the borders of it and the place from which my husband hails. So, because I’m blessed with my own romantic Scotsman, who first brought me to this place, Glencoe will always be a bit special to me.” Liz Cameron, Lord Provost of Glasgow

All of us outwith Scotland would wish to be there on this very public witness to our past History and we hope that the weather is kind on the day

[hilbil21]

I will try, although the only thing I have in the Clan tartan is a travelling rug!!!

xxx

[Cameronian]

Saturday 16 September. - from BBC-UK

Bells ring out for Clan Cameron
A 260-year-old tradition has been revived for the triumphal return of a historic clan to Glasgow.

Bells were rung across the city to mark the return of the Clan Cameron in a tradition dating from the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. Councillor Liz Cameron, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, was also hosting a civic reception for clan members.

A Cameron leader stopped angry Jacobite troops from destroying the city as they retreated in December 1745. Glasgow was openly hostile to Prince Charles Edward Stuart and the Highlanders as they retreated through the city during the second Jacobite Uprising. Many of the army's commanders were incensed by the reception they received, and were determined to sack and burn the city, putting the residents to the sword. However, the intervention of the Cameron of Lochiel - known as the Gentle Lochiel - forced the commanders to think again and the city was spared.

As a sign of the city's appreciation it was decreed by town magistrates that each time the Lochiel or his descendants entered the city the bells would be rung in his honour. The age-old tradition was re-enacted at noon, as the Camerons of Lochiel, were greeted by the sounds of bells peeling from the Trongate Steeple and St George's Tron. The Lord Provost was then hosting a reception for the Clan at the City Chambers.

The lord provost said: "The intervention of the Gentle Lochiel saved Glasgow from the most terrible of fates. "He was known as one of the noblest of Clan chiefs and I'm delighted to be able to salute a little known, but incredibly important, part of our city's history. "With the launch of our new Mediaeval Strategy, it is crucial that we cherish Glasgow's past just as much as we look forward to an ambitious and prosperous future for our great city."

[Alans]

I have always been proudest of my Cameron descent from 2 paternal G.grandparents despite having other Scots and British/Irish ancestry. There is an unmistakably Cameron ring to this story that indicates a large kernel of Historical fact to it-a little bit like that formidable enemy James Wolfe describing the Camerons as the bravest of the Highland units at Culloden in a letter. The fact that Glasgow's municipal authorities see fit to continue ringing the bells for Lochiel also indicates to me that legend and History mix comfortably in this case.
Has anyone got an idea of the written sources for this customary honour rendered to the Chief?

regards to all,
Alan