Tag: Edinburgh Castle

On a Stone Obsession

You can call them stone collectors, petrographers, or, if they are people who seek out their formation, geologists, but many people refer to them simply as rock hounds. They love rocks and collecting them, studying them, classifying them, and sometimes simply looking at the rocks in their possession.

Then, there are those in a rare category of rock hound who seek the perfect stone, that one special mineral, the holy grail of their particular desire. Robert Gray was one of this latter category. He had his eyes on one special stone, and he spared no expense in tracking it down and bringing it home. Now, Gray was trained as a stonemason, so his love of rocks came to him as a vocation as well as an avocation. But there was one stone that was special to Robert Gray.

As a mature man, Gray had served in the army during World War 2 and had made good money in his masonry business. In addition, he wielded influence before and after the war as a politician, getting himself elected to the Glasgow, Scotland, City Council. He also served as a board member of the Glasgow Corporation, the organization that ran one of the largest and most efficient public transportation systems in the UK.

It was because of these commitments that Gray couldn’t leave Glasgow and pursue his desire to obtain the stone. So, he did what anyone in his position would do; he hired someone else. He paid four Glasgow University students to go get the stone for him. He provided all expenses and the planning for them to go to London, obtain the stone, and bring it back home to him.

Now, if you’re thinking that it sounds like Robert Gray paid some college kids to go to London and steal the stone he desired, well, frankly, you’d be correct.

In December of 1950, that’s exactly what happened. The foursome went to London and stole the stone. Except, to Robert Gray, the group of thieves weren’t really stealing the stone for him. Rather, they were returning it to its rightful place. You see, Gray didn’t want the stone for himself. He felt that it belonged to all of Scotland. When the students returned with their prize, they brought the stone to Robert Gray’s masonry yard. There, according to some, Gray made a copy of the stone before arranging for it to be returned to London and the care of King George VI.

The stone in question had been the one upon which, for centuries, kings and queens of Scotland and England had sat when they were crowned. And, about a week from now, when King Charles III of the United Kingdom is crowned, he may or may not be sitting on top of the original Stone of Destiny.

That’s because some say Robert Gray hid the original one somewhere in its rightful home of Scotland.

On the Elephant in the Room

If you follow this space, you know by now that Edinburgh is one of my favorite places in the world. At the heart of this beautiful and historic city sits Edinburgh Castle, perched atop a large rock stopper on a dormant volcano. That prominence lords over the city, and all life radiates from its epicenter. Over the centuries, the castle has been host to kings, queens, foreign dignitaries, and even captives and prisoners. This tale is about one of those prisoners.

In the early 1800s, Britain was ramping up its systematic colonization of what is now Sri Lanka and was then Ceylon. While the British wrestled control over the territory from the Dutch, the people there were loyal to their local king, a man whom the British eventually replace. Land, economic, and infrastructure reform soon followed. The rich soil of the island provided resources for Britain for decades as a plantation system was imposed.

When the 78th Highlander Regiment returned from their posting in Ceylon, they arrived in Edinburgh with a prisoner in their custody. He was placed in confinement in Edinburgh Castle as it was seen to be the most secure facility to hold him. Now, several mysteries surround this prisoner. To begin with, no history records his name. We don’t know his age. We are not even sure why he was being held; we don’t know why the regiment brought him to Edinburgh in the first place.

Here’s what we do know for sure. This Ceylonese native had a personal jailer. And, because the victors usually write the histories, we even know the jailer’s name: Private McIntosh–can you get more Scottish than that? And we know that the regiment regarded their prisoner as a sort of regimental mascot. When the regiment was on parade in the large courtyard in front of the castle, they put this poor guy at the front of the marching soldiers and made him march with them. And, to further add insult to injury, the soldiers often thought it funny to ply the captive with beer until he could not stand.

We also know that, after a few years in jail, the prisoner died in the castle. He never saw his native land again. Today, you can see wonderful things in Edinburgh Castle. The Stone of Destiny is there. The Scottish Crown Jewels call it home. Wonderful art and architecture can be viewed all around. And, in a small corner sit the feet of this former prisoner. Yes, his feet are on display there.

At this point, you might be wondering what the elephant in the room is that is referred to in the title. Well, the title refers to the fact that the prisoner who lived for a time in Edinburgh Castle was actually an elephant.