THE WET REVIEW
by
Armourer-Sergeant John MacCallum
In 1880 I joined the newly formed section of the 5th Argylls at Southend, Kintyre.We had no rifles and no uniform, but expected to have them in time for the Royal Review by Queen Victoria arranged to be held at Edinburgh on 25th August, 1881, so our hopes were high. We got Snider (?Schneider) rifles and new uniforms in the Spring of that year.
The day before the review on a lovely morning with the mist lying low on the hills we started off on the first stage, a ten mile drive to Campbeltown. Along with the Campbeltown companies we joined the steamer for Greenock, then the train to Edinburgh. This took us a whole day. We were housed in the bare flat of a large brewery in Edinburgh and next morning we marched to the Queen's Park where the review was to be held. We were there two hours before the time set for the march past and after a lot of marching and counter marching took up our allotted space on the parade ground. Then the rain started and from forenoon till night fell steadily in a drenching downpour and what otherwise could have been a brilliant spectacle was shorn of most of the glory by the ravages of the weather.
The rain kept steadily and constant so that in a short time we were wet to the skin. Clad only in red tunic, tartan kilt and glengarry headpieces we had but little to protect us, and there we stood for hours in the pelting rain. Had we been on the move, it would not have been so bad, but standing still and letting the rain soak through was torture.
At last the order came to march off and led by the pipers playing "The Campbells are Coming" we went by the saluting point in good order. So many horse, artillery and infantry taking the same road soon made it into a soft bog. The march past lasted two hours and the last regiments had the worst of it - over the boots in mud, water oozing from every stitch of their clothing. They looked a bit bedraggled but their discipline and carriage were excellent. The military authorities sai they were agreeably surprised at the discipline and bearing of the troops under such conditions.
This was the largest gathering of armed men in Scotland since the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. About 40,000 were represented, drawn from every part of Scotland. This gathering did much to call public attention to the deficiencies of the Volunteer equipment and improvement dates from that day. Catering and housing arrangements were not so well understood then as they are now. It is also true, however, that many lves were sacrificed on the parade ground under Arthur's Seat. The drenching and the long journey home in wet clothing led many men to their deathbeds. When we, the Argylls, got back home to our quarters the first thing we did was to get off our wet clothing, wring it as dry as possible, and then put it on again. There was nothing else for it. In the morning we started off on the long journey to lone Kintyre; got there in the evening and found the whole country bathed in glorious sunshine. It made us partly forget the miserable time we had had in the Scottish capital.
The foregoing acount of the Wet Review was written by Armourer-Sergeant John MacCallum, when he was in his 83rd year, for the National Rifle Association Journal, which has graciously allowed us to reprint the article. John MacCallum (1863-1946), was a blacksmith, and the eldest son of Duncan MacCallum, Blacksmith, Machrimore Smithy, Southend. John and his brother, Edward, also a blacksmith, who succeeded his father in Machrimore Smithy, were well known international shots. John competed at Bisley every year until he was 83 years of age, and reached the King's Hundred on fourteen occasions. Edward was twice Scottish Champion, and competed yearly at Bisley, also in the pre-First War years.
Note:
About 120 years ago uneasiness about
the ability of Britain, with its Army's Imperial committments to defend itself
against a continental army resulted in a new volunteer force being formed,
and the first "Rifle Volunteer" force came into being. The men of the Argyll
Force appeared at a Royal Review in Edinburgh in 1860 in uniform, a somewhat
misleading term, and here we find the first evidence of the strong individuality
which has been a strong characteristic of the Argyllshire Battalion throughout
its history. Shortly before the Wet Review previous uniforms of grey tunics
and trousers, and later of dark green doublets, kilts and plaids, were replaced
by the scarlet doublets in which it is recorded the Argyllshire Volunteers
made such a picturesque of bright uniforms against the grey walls of the
Castle on a visit of H.M. Queen Victoria to Invereray in 1875. In 1908 the
Volunteers were displaced by the Territorials, and the place of the 5th Argyll
Volunteers was taken by the 8th Argylls, which are an integral part of the
history of Argyll, and, indeed, of our own Kintyre.
Page 4: Machrihanish Golf Club - Early Days