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"One of the Hardest Things I Have Ever Done"

The words of John (Mav) Yarrick who lead a team of 2 serving soldiers from 4SCOTS The Highlanders, Royal Regiment of Scotland, and 6 veterans of the Queens Own Highlanders who took on a gruelling mission to navigate the entire length of the Caledonian Canal, in a Bellboat. 

The trip took them 2 days of blister inducing paddling, and covered 60 miles from Fort William to Inverness and crossed 4 of Scotland's largest Lochs, including Loch Ness, Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Dochfour. I was all in aid of the Museum Redevelopement Project and their impressive efforts have netted over £2,500 in sponsorship. 

John Yarrick, who served for 22 years with the Queens Own Highlanders and 1 Highlanders, said

“We do a fundraising challenge every year for a charity which we all believe in. Two years ago it was the Red Cross when we mountain biked down the Great Glen. This year when we heard that our Museum needed our help we all decided to make them the beneficiary. As soldiers, the water is not our natural environment, so we are very grateful to Mark Grant of the Sea Scouts who lent us the equipment and training we needed.”

One member of the Team, Des Irvine, who works for local firm Lifescan Scotland, may benefit from their policy of encouraging their employees to support local charities by match funding donations raised for local good causes.

You can still make a donation to sponsor the boys, please click "Donate Now" on the left hand side of this page. 

Press Release

Issued: 22^nd March 2010

Title: Highlanders’ Museum Receives Tremendous Funding Boost

Release: The Highlanders’ Museum has received over £120,000 to draw up exciting plans to upgrade all aspects of their museum. The money has been secured from a broad spectrum of Regional and National public agencies which have seen the potential of the Museum at Fort George. These include Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Highland Council, and the Highland LEADER Programme.

The last time any significant physical work was done to the Museum was the early 1980s and as such it is now in need of refurbishment. This funding will be used to draw up detailed plans to upgrade the Museum to the very best 21^st century standards.

The plans include the creation of a new Archive and Study Centre, new interactive exhibits, restoring the building which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument to its former glory, improved care for the collection, better disabled access equipment, and new display cases. The total costs for creating the exciting new facilities are currently estimated at £2million.

Chairman of The Highlanders Museum Development Committee is Major General Seymour Monro, who formerly commanded the Queen’s Own Highlanders in Belfast and the Gulf. He said: “We are thrilled to have received such a broad base of endorsement and support from these hugely respected organisations. I think the reason we have been so successful is that we are a most deserving project that undertakes a wide range of work with the community, as well as our unashamedly ambitious plans to take this superb Museum up to the next level. These funds have got us off to a tremendous start.”

Nicola Ewing, Senior Development Manager from HIE’s Inner Moray Firth Team said: “The Highlanders Museum is one of HIE's account managed social enterprises and we are working with them to support them in their growth aspirations and development plans. Our commitment of £27,189 towards the design development phase of their project is one of the ways we have been helping them reach their true potential and grow their business.”

Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland said: “HLF’s development funding of £32,376 for The Highlanders Museum means the project has the potential to transform Fort George into a modern, engaging museum. We look forward to seeing the full proposals that come out of this development phase which will then allow the Museum to compete for a much larger stage 2 HLF grant.”

Councillor Sandy Park, Convener of The Highland Council said: “The Highland Council recognises the importance of cultural activities, events and projects to the Highlands. The Highlanders Museum not only celebrates and helps to maintain our cultural heritage but it also assists the economic vibrancy of the region in helping to generate and sustain tourism.”

Martin Culbertson, Development Officer for the Highland Leader Programme said: “In approving The Highlanders Museum application for £30,567 the Rural Inverness Leader Group felt there was an obvious and clearly justified need for the works involved. The group noted that the proposed works would have major benefits for school pupils and students, together with professional researchers. The re-development work will also promote equal opportunities, both via physical access and through offering interpretation to visitors who do not speak English. The group were particularly impressed by the potential of the Museum as a national visitor attraction”

--Ends--

Press Release

Photo Opportunity

Title: History repeats itself at Highlanders’ Museum

Embargo: None

Synopsis: A remarkably detailed book of sketches drawn when one of the precursors to the Highlanders Regiment was posted to Afghanistan in 1881 has been rediscovered.

Release: There are over 8,000 documents and books within the Archive of the Highlanders Museum at Fort George. Most describe in detail the actions that the Regiments have undertaken over the past 300 years, which is invaluable for people researching their ancestors or for people with an interest in military History.

As the old axiom says, history repeats itself, and this never truer than with Military History. This was demonstrated very clearly when Dr Alix Powers Jones, Director of the Highlanders’ Museum recently uncovered an incredibly detailed 132 year old sketch book of the Afghan landscape drawn by an officer of the “78^th Highland Regiment of Foot. He had been posted to the country from 1879 to 1881 to look after the communications infrastructure in the country and endured an extremely cold winter in tents at Kandahar.

Dr Powers Jones said, “this is a truly amazing book that shows the cyclical nature of conflicts flaring up in the same geographical areas throughout history. The landscapes that the book contains have changed very little despite the passage of so much time.”

The uncovering of this book now is especially interesting because THE HIGHLANDERS 4^th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland are set to return to the war torn state next year to take part in Operation HERRICK 14.

This fabulous book can be viewed on special prior request at the Highlanders Museum in Fort George near Inverness.

--Ends--

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Peter Guthrie, Development Director, The Highlanders’ Museum, Fort George, Near Inverness, 01667 460 466 www.thehighlandersmuseum.com

The Highlanders’ Museum tells the history of the Highlanders Regiments for the last 300 years until the present day. It is home to the largest Regimental collection outside of London and attracts over 55,000 visitors per year.

On Monday 14th September 2009, one day after my 59^th birthday and also a day after the 127th anniversary of the Battle of Tel-El-Kebir, my wife Ann and myself set off on our second adventure to Japan.

We had an inauspicious start when the train we were meant to take from Inverness to Aberdeen broke down even before we had time to board it. However, that was almost the only hiccup in a journey of many thousand of miles, which included travel by aeroplane, train – very fast and local, bus, taxi, private car and boat.

Our objective in returning was:

• To visit our Japanese friends in Tokyo and their parents in Aomori, a town located in the far north of the country.
• To visit smaller towns. We didn’t manage to do this during our short visit in 2003.
• Attend a special festival in the town of Aizu Wakamatsu.
• Generally see more of the country making full use of our Japan Rail Pass.