Warrant Officer Bruce Waterhouse, CD, in a photograph from the recent publication "Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders" by Alastair Campbell of Airds.Thanks to Archie Mac Laine, A&SH (ret.), for the scan.
Brigadier Ian Mackay
Awarded the MC for his leadership of D Company of the Argylls in a difficult engagement in Aden’s old town
Although he was later to command the Royal Highland Fusiliers in the Far East and 6th Armoured Brigade in Germany, the high point of Ian Mackay’s operational career was with his original regiment, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in Aden in 1967. A reconnaissance party of the Argylls and the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers had been ambushed in Crater and control of the township taken over by the terrorist National Liberation Front (NLF). Mackay was appointed to command the company of Major Bryan Malcolm, killed in the ambush, for the retaking of Crater by the Argylls’ battle group under Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Mitchell.
The situation was tense by any standard. The treacherous ambush, initiated by the hitherto loyal Aden Armed Police, infuriated the Jocks and Geordies of the two battalions, the former taking over from the latter, and vengeance was in the air. But Major-General Philip Tower (obituary December 11, 2006), fearing a bloodbath, forbade any attempt to recover the bodies or any survivors. An eerie silence descended as the mob and NLF activists fell to wondering what retribution might follow. In fact, the two-phase reoccupation of the densely inhabited area was conducted calmly and with only one fatal casualty.
Shortly after dark on July 3, Mackay led 1st Argylls’ D Company round the rocks of the coastal entrance to the extinct volcano containing Aden’s old town, passing the burnt-out legislative council building — heading for the central market. Two other companies flanked his advance and by dawn the Argylls, supported by an armoured car squadron of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards, had half Crater under control. The order to continue was given and the whole township was quickly theirs.
Two weeks had elapsed since the ambush and although the NLF leaders had slipped out as the Argylls moved in, hard-core terrorist cells remained and a population ready to follow their lead. Mitchell decided to keep his entire battalion on the spot with Mackay’s company responsible for the market area, frequently subject to rioting and sniping or grenade attacks. For the four months until the British withdrawal from Aden in October, Mackay’s company dominated the market area, keeping peace of a kind. His inspiring leadership under constant threat earned him the Military Cross.
Whether speaking to or listening to anyone, Mackay never shifted his eyes from those of the other person, holding them in the intense gaze not infrequently encountered in Scotsmen of a certain character. Born in Warwickshire, the son of Doctor G. S Mackay, MC, he had intended to follow his father into medicine after education at Oundle but National Service training at Stirling Castle, the Argylls’ regimental depot, led to Sandhurst and a commission in 1955. He served with the 1st Battalion during the Eoka terrorist campaign in Cyprus and for a year acted as ADC to the Governor of the island, Sir Hugh Foot.
After attending the Staff College, Camberley, he was posted to the operations staff of the UK-based 3rd Infantry Division commanded by Major-General (later Field Marshal Lord) Carver. He went back to Cyprus with Carver’s headquarters and some supporting units to form the nucleus of what was to become the United Nations Force there. He received the news of his appointment as MBE for this service on the eve of the operation to retake Crater and was later presented with the decoration by the Queen on the same occasion as he received the MC.
On return from Aden, Colonel Mitchell had said: “Ian, all your future is behind you,” hinting that the best of his army career was over. If never quite so exciting again, it was never dull. After return to Camberley to join the directing staff, he was selected to command 1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers. It is seldom easy to command a battalion of a regiment other than one’s own and in Scotland, with such strong “tribal” ties, it can be very difficult. Mackay commanded 1st RHF in Singapore, where it was part of the ANZUK Brigade, comprising Australian, British and New Zealand units — based there as a signal of Commonwealth commitment to the region under threat from an expansionist communist Vietnam — and his new regiment made him welcome.
On promotion to brigadier in 1978 he took command of 6th Armoured Brigade in the Army of the Rhine. He was familiar with the deterrence requirements of the Nato Central Region but this did not prove to be a launch pad for further advancement; perhaps that unflinching, hard-questioning gaze of his did not fit in. But two further prestigious posts were to follow. He was Commandant of the School of Infantry, 1982-84 (and advanced to CBE for his imaginative review of infantry training practice), and military attaché in Paris, 1986-88.
On leaving the service, he carved out a second career as a consultant to British companies seeking to market defence and security products in France, a task he enjoyed through his lifelong love of that country, its culture and its wines.
He married Susan Jarvis in 1964. She survives him with a son and daughter.
Brigadier Ian Mackay, CBE, MC, was born on December 5, 1933. He died of cancer on March 10, 2007, aged 73
| War Memorials within the Parish of Glenorchy and Innishail, Argyll | |
| Lochawe War Memorial | The Lochawe War Memorial is placed adjacent to St. Conan抯 Kirk, Lochawe and by the side of the A85. It was unveiled on Saturday, 10th July, 1920 by Lady Breadalbane. The Oban Times of 17th July described the memorial thus: "The Memorial is in the form of the figure of an Argyll and Sutherland Highlander sculptured in freestone surmounting a handsome cairn of Cruachan granite. The whole is finely executed, and is the work of Mr. Alexander Carrick, A.R.S.A., Edinburgh. Mr. A MacTavish, builder, Oban, placed the cairn and statue in position." The memorial is in reasonable condition, although with a slight growth of moss. |
| The inscription reads: Major J.W.H. Alston, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The names of the regiments are abbreviated on the memorial. |  We understand that Carrick抯 sculpture is identical to the memorial on South Ronaldsay. |
Lieutenant Colonel Colin Mitchell ( Mad Mitch)
Colin Campbell Mitchell (
Although born and raised in a South London suburb, Mitchell always considered himself to be Scottish and exhibited a romanticised view of Scotland.
Mitchell was educated at theHe was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1944 and fought in the final battles of the
He subsequently served in various campaigns in
Mitchell was made Officer Commanding 1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (the ‘Argylls’) on 12 January
On 5 July 1967 Mitchell led a force that reoccupied the Crater district accompanied by 15 regimental bagpipers of the Argylls playing "
In July 1968, Mitchell gave notice of his intention to resign from the Army at the end of the year. Although Mitchell had not given the customary 7 months’ notice required of senior officers, his resignation was accepted immediately.
Once he was a civilian, Mitchell assumed a prominent role in the “Save the Argylls” campaign. He wrote his memoirs (“Having Been a Soldier”), undertook some freelance journalism and briefly took a job as management trainee with Beaverbrook Newspapers. However, he had become a popular public figure and turned this to his advantage when he started a new career in politics.
 Mitchell made regular appearances in the media |
Lt Col Colin Mitchell became a national hero when he led his Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders back into the Crater area of Aden in July 1967.
The British army had earlier pulled out of the district after 24 soldiers were killed by insurgents.
But Mitchell's reputation has been tarnished by allegations of brutality.
Aden, in what is now Yemen, had for more than 100 years been Britain's only Arab colony - but its rule was coming to an end amid an armed uprising by nationalists.
Scottish regiments were sent to keep the peace in what became known as the Aden Emergency.
In the summer of 1967 the local police mutinied and killed 24 British troops, including three Argylls. The bodies of the dead soldiers were dragged through the streets and mutilated.
Mitchell was horrified by the decision to withdraw British forces from Crater as a result of the killings, and by the failure of the army to recover the bodies of the dead soldiers, which he viewed as a betrayal of those who had died.
On the night of 3 July 1967, while senior officers wanted to negotiate a peaceful return to the area, Mitchell and his men, accompanied by 15 regimental pipers blaring out Scotland the Brave, reoccupied the Crater.
The district of about 80,000 people was retaken with hardly a shot fired.
Mitchell, who always considered himself Scottish despite being born and raised in London, later used his controversial concept of Argyll Law to maintain order.
The strong arm tactics endeared the brusque Mitchell to the British media and public and were credited with helping to avoid the security breakdown that was happening elsewhere in Aden.
Allegations of abuse
But it did little to endear him to the local population in Crater - or to his superiors in the army and High Commission, with one official describing the Argylls as a "bunch of Glasgow thugs."
Labour MP Tam Dalyell asked in parliament whether Mitchell had disobeyed orders by re-entering Crater.
Allegations of abuse and mistreatment soon followed.
Leading Yemeni lawyer Sheik Tariq Abdullah recalled: "They [The Argylls] were very rough. They tried to show as much restraint as possible but in general during that period you would find most of the people complaining."
But Mitchell firmly believed Argyll Law was the only way of tackling the insurgents, who left 200 British soldiers dead across Aden.
He said at the time: "I have no compunction in saying that if some chap starts throwing grenades or starts using pistols, we shall kill him."
Speaking a few years before his death in 1996, Mitchell remained unapologetic.
"A great many Arabs are alive today because we used these methods and a great many Argylls are alive today because we used them," he said.
"This to me is the complete exoneration of anything, if we needed exonerating, which we don't and never have done."
By the time the British withdrew completely from Aden in November 1967, Mitchell had clashed with the army high command once too often.
On his return home to Britain, it was made clear there was no room in the military for Mad Mitch.
He resigned from the army in 1968, before taking up a prominent role in the Save the Argylls campaign and eventually winning the Aberdeenshire West seat in parliament for the Conservatives in the 1970 General Election.
But his brief career as a politician last only four years, and was dogged by his frequent criticism of the army top brass.
He became involved in a failed business venture before the next 10 years were spent in unsuccessful attempts to get back into Parliament, with the one-time darling of the British public finding himself an increasingly marginalised figure.
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
His final years saw him take on a leading role with the Halo Trust, a non-profit organisation which removed mines from former war zones.
Maj Alastair Howman, who served alongside Mitchell in Aden, said the Argylls had nothing to apologise for on the 40th anniversary of their withdrawal.
The end of British rule left a power vacuum which resulted in the deaths of thousands of people in the decades of civil war that resulted.
But Maj Howman accused today's politicians of failing to learn the lessons of the Aden Emergency.
He said: "Crater was run on Argyll Law and that is perfectly sensible because there wasn't any other law.
"Once somebody declares what date they are going leave a situation it is fraught with danger for the people who are there.
"That happened in Aden and it seems to certainly be happening in Iraq. I don't think politicians ever really learn this lesson. I don't think they read their history books."
Mad Mitch and The Last Battle of the British Empire was broadcast on BBC 2 Scotland on 26 November at 2000 GMT.
NAM 1987-08-39
Captain Arthur Henderson
Captain Arthur Henderson, 2nd Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders won the VC on 23 April 1917 near Fontaine-les-Croiselles in France. Although wounded in the left arm, he led his company through the enemy front line and then proceeded to consolidate his position, which owing to heavy fire and bombing attacks was in danger of becoming isolated. He was killed soon afterwards.
Private Grahame Rodgers
Ancestor Details
Name of Ancestor: Grahame Neilsen Rodgers
Ancestor's date of birth: Detail not Provided
Ancestor's date of death: 25/10/1917
Cause of Death: Died of wounds in France during WWI.
Service Number: Detail not Provided
Colony or State of enlistment: NA Place of Enlistment: Kinross, Scotland, UK
Unit: Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Scotland UK
Rank attained in Boer War: PTE, Date Effective: Detail not Provided
Highest Rank attained (if served after war): PTE, Date Effective: Detail not Provided
Murray Page: NA
Contingent: NA
Ship: Detail not Provided, Date of Sailing: Detail not Provided
Memorial details: Le Treport, France
Decorations: Queen's South Africa Medal with 4 clasps (South Africa 1902 and Cape Colony)
Personal Characteristics: Liked fishing for a past-time
Reasons to go and fight: Not known.
Details of service in war: Detail not Provided
Service and life after the Boer War: Served with another Scottish regiment in World War I in France but probably not the Argylls.
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At Edinburgh Castle, Argyll and Sutherland's Highlanders on parade.
Photo of Edinburgh Castle, courtesy of www.britainonview.com
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