Flower of Scotland , livre ebook

Title Page

FLOWER OF SCOTLAND
Surviving the Great War












By
P. F. Loveys




Publisher Information

Flower Of Scotland
Published in 2012 by Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Copyright © P. F. Loveys 2012

The right of P. F. Loveys to be identified as author of this book has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyrights Designs and Patents Act 1988.




Prologue

March 19, 1911


The cold winds of March whipped over the barren hillside as Kate Kinross stood shivering at her brother’s side. The minister was just concluding the funeral rite as a handful of mourners stood by.
Young Kate had lost her mother on the day she was born, twelve years earlier. Now her father was dead as well, leaving her and her only sibling, Kenneth, orphans.
None of their relatives residing in Scotland had the means to take in both of the Kinross children, so it had been decided that they would be split up.
Kenneth, at age fourteen, was old enough to be of help on the farm that his Uncle Gordon Kinross worked.
Kate, however, was very small for her age, and would not be of much use on a farm. It had been decided that she would go to live in the south of England with her late mother’s brother George and his family.
George MacLelland was a kindly man, who had immigrated to England when the unemployment in his native Scotland had left him no choice. There he met and married Enid, who had given him three children: two daughters, Jane and Abigail, and a son, Gerald. It had been George’s idea to accept the guardianship of young Kate. He had loved his sister Mary very much, and saw much of her in his young niece. His wife, however, was less than enthusiastic at the prospect of another mouth to feed.
As for Kate, she was still too numb from the sudden death of her father to consider the drastic turn her life was about to take. Malcolm had been a miner, and had died in a senseless, tragic and very sudden accident at the age of 36.
“Come on now, child,” said George as he took his young niece’s hand. “It’s time for us to leave.”
Kate looked up at her uncle. She was grateful for his kindness, though at this point he was no more than a stranger to her. Kate turned to her brother and took his hand.
“Come along, Ken,” she urged. “Uncle George is taking us to live with him.”
Kenneth looked up at his uncle, knowing that this was not the case, but not having the heart to tell his sister.
“No, Kate,”George told the girl gently. “Your brother is staying here with your Uncle Gordon.”
Kate frowned, not understanding.
“What do you mean, Uncle?” she asked an edge of panic in her voice. “Why can’t Kenny come with us?”
George sighed, feeling sorry for the young girl. He had done his best to procure the rights to both his late sister’s children, but had been only able to obtain guardianship of Kate. Besides, Enid would not have accepted it. She resented taking Kate, let alone both of the children.
“I’m sorry, lass,” replied George. “Ken must remain here. We’ll come and visit him, I promise.”
Kate turned to her brother and threw her arms around him tightly. “No!” she cried.” Don’t take him away too!”
Ken felt the tears in his eyes as his sister sobbed against his chest. Being older, he understood the situation better than Kate, and realized that their family was doing their best to take care of them. This was the only way.
“Come on, Kate,” said Ken, his voice rough with emotion. “It has to be this way. Now be a good lass and go along. We can write letters to each other.”
Kate was inconsolable as George pried her away from Kenneth. “Come on,” he told her. “We have train to catch.”He picked her up into his arms and carried her away as she watched her brother over his shoulder, calling his name pitifully.
“Ungrateful child,” muttered Enid as they left the cemetery. “Nice thanks we get for taking you in.”

Kate buried her face against her uncle’s neck, sensing that he was her only ally now, and that her life was about to become more difficult than she could have ever imagined.




Chapter One

August 14, 1916


James MacLeod sat in the crowded train, watching the Scottish countryside racing past. He was only one of hundreds of young Scotsmen who had been conscripted into the Great War.
The war that was supposed to have been over by Christmas of 1914 had become stagnant as the casualties on both sides climbed higher and higher. The eager young men who had flooded the recruitment offices all over the United Kingdom a mere two years earlier had been either killed or changed irrevocably by the war. The idealism that had thousands of young British men all over the United Kingdom rushing to be the first to enlist had given way all too quickly to the horrible reality of war.
James had seen many of his contemporaries, men only a few years older than himself, marching off to fight for King and Empire. He had been only seventeen when Great Britain had declared war on Germany after its invasion of Belgium. James had been enrolled in university in England when the war had started, and had returned to the Isle of Skye to his father’s farm. Now that he was nineteen, he was eligible to join the war effort. James and his best friend, Kenneth Kinross, had received their draft notices within days of one another, and had been assigned to the same battalion, the 6 th Battalion of the 51 st regiment of the Gordon Highlanders.Though only nineteen, James had few romantic notions about the war. He knew how vicious war was, and was not taken in by all the propaganda which depicted it as noble and heroic. James knew that young men like he and Ken were simply a commodity needed by the government to fuel their war machine.
James wasn’t a coward, however; nor was he a shirker. He would do his part, as thousands of other men had already done, perhaps even die doing so. James knew he’d never forget the look in his mother’s eyes when she had said goodbye to him. He had seen fear in her eyes; fear that she would never see her first born again, fear that the war would drag on long enough to claim James’ four younger brothers as well.
Ken Kinross had grown up under the protection of the MacLeod family, having been adopted by his uncle at the age of fourteen. Ken’s Uncle Gordon was one of a number of families who lived on the MacLeod land, in return for their fealty.
Ken and James, being the same age, had grown up together, and were as close as any two brothers could be. Not that any one could ever mistake them for brothers; Ken had a head of bright red hair and brown eyes, while James’ hair was dark brown and his eyes green. Both men were tall and fit, having worked on a farm most of their lives.
“Take a good look, lad,” remarked James as the train sped steadily southward. “We won’t be seeing the hills of Scotland for a long time, I’ll wager,” he continued.
Ken shook his head with a sigh. He, like James, loved his homeland passionately. The rolling hills of the Scotland were part of who he was, and the thought of leaving them filled him with sadness.
“No,” he replied at last. “I don’t suppose we will.Southern England is a far cry from the Highlands.”
“It is,” agreed James.
“You spent six months there, though, lad,” Ken reminded him. “You ought to be used to it by now.”
“Aye,” agreed James. “I suppose I am.”
“Though sitting in a stuffy classroom is hardly akin to the adventure we’re about to undertake, lad,” grinned Ken.
James raised his eyebrows. “Adventure?” he said. “Is that what we’re going to have?”
Ken laughed. “Well, I hope we’ll have some good times to tell our grandkids about some day.”
“If we live long enough,” muttered James.

Ken did not let himself think of that possibility. “Don’t be so negative, lad. Maybe you’ll meet yourself a bonnie English rose to take home after the war.”
James smiled. “Perhaps. The lasses do have a thing for men in uniform, don’t they?”
Ken nodded. “Aye, lad, that they do.”
James laughed. “Well, then, maybe this won’t be so bad after all.”

The battalion arrived at the town of Westbury late that next morning, and was greeted by an assembly of townspeople, who stood on the train platform waving British flags. Ken searched the crowd, knowing that his sister Kate, who he had not seen in five years, lived in the small town with their Uncle George. In her last letter to him, Kate had told him about how she had put her instruction at nursing school on hold so that she could volunteer at the hospital. That was the last time he had heard from her, and he did not know if she had managed to get stationed at a local hospital or if she were in one of the larger ones in nearby London.
“Can you see her?” asked James, knowing who Ken was looking for. Through the letters Ken had shared with him, James almost felt as though he knew Kate.
Ken shook his head. “No, I can’t,” he replied, disappointed. “I’m not even sure I’d recognize her. She was a wee lass of twelve the last time I saw her. Now she’s almost eighteen.”
James nodded. “Aye, a lass changes a lot in that time.”
The battalion proceeded to the barracks that would be their home for the next four months while they underwent the vig