Under A Wider Sky

Allan Pinkerton (1819-1884) Gorbals-born detective, who founded the famous Pinkerton National Detective Agency, of which US President Abraham Lincoln was a client.

@RestIsPolitics @campbellclaret @RoryStewartUK I am struck by how much discussion there is in the media and in politics about migrants and refugees that do not directly involve a dialogue with migrants and refugees themselves. Surely one way to understand others is to have a connection with them and to hear their stories.

QUESTIONS REQUEST🚨 @campbellclaret + @RoryStewartUK are recording next week's pods on SATURDAY this week, due to Rory's 🇯🇵 adventure. We're looking at AI, Spain (never covered!) and press regulation, but any questions - on those or other topics - would be much appreciated 👇

George Pattullo, a young Scot who ended up in Catalonia in 1910 to work as a coal trader, was one of Barça's first great goal scorers, bagging 43 goals in 23 games between 1910 and 1912. He was known as 'el gran Pattullo’, and was a teacher to the legendary Paulino Alcántara.

Buffalo Bill visited Ibrox in 1891, where Rangers were playing a Glasgow Cup match against Queens Park. Cody, wearing a white sombrero and a broad smile, received a warm reception. Some wit in the crowd, referring to the Colonel's flowing locks, shouted ''get your hair cut''.

Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone patent occurred today in 1876, and it changed the world. But we forget Bell’s great work in other areas of science & tech, from research on deafness, to aviation, metal detection, and the photophone! A great inventor who deserves a look!

Captain William Kidd (born c.1645) was a Scottish sailor and/or privateer/pirate. There has long been an argument over Kidd's piratical career - was he a privateer acting on the King's commission, or was he someone more politically lawless... Here is Kidd's royal commission.

Continuing to do some pro bono work on this as we never managed to track down a photograph of the good captain... If anyone has any images of this officer, we would be very grateful.

We were fortunate enough to be commissioned by a collector in Pittsburgh, USA, who had spent some time researching the story of the uniform pictured below. Our American correspondent was a historian and had made some significant progress... Continues in messages... #WW1

His son continued to live on, and work, the farm until he died in 2020. His father's uniform and other items were found in a trunk in the attic and were sent to auction and the farm itself was sold. As such, to all intents and purposes, this is where the trail ends.

Sadly, he then died at a relatively young age in 1930 of pneumonia - possibly connected to him being gassed during the war.

From a time when he was part of a large family (he had five brothers) that worked on the lands of the once enormous Panmure Estate to when, after his soldiering was done, he returned to his own farm in Angus where he married and had a son.

Not only did we find a great deal of detailed information on the officer’s service in the artillery of the 51st Highland Division – where he was twice mentioned in despatches – but we traced his life and adventures before and after the Great War.

So we explored military and civil archives, spoke with subject specialists, examined media and multimedia sources, and connected with local museums, groups and individuals. We supplemented these investigations by mining a range of secondary sources.

He was also awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre. But at this juncture, the trail had cooled a little and our new contact sought some specific expertise on the Scots in WWI (and knowledge of the local context) in the hope that we might provide a key to unlock the door.

The uniform belonged to 2nd Lieutenant William Hay who was commissioned to the Royal Field Artillery in November of 1915 and went to France in April 1916, and at some point during the war, he was promoted and made the Divisional Trench Mortar Officer.

Around 250 years ago, a curious phenomenon arose in the south-eastern United States: chiefs whose ancestry was more Scottish than Native American... Below is an image of Chief William Weatherfield.

The level of detail in the print is astonishing. Looking to the top of Kelvingrove Park, I've just spied the three captured Russian guns - two cannon and a mortar - from the Crimean War, which were removed in 1916 for the installation of the Lord Roberts statue.

Johnny Cash traced his lineage back to the Scotland of King Malcolm IV (1153-1165). He and his daughter Rosanne made several trips to Fife, and she (herself a singer) wrote a song called 'Good Intent' - after the ship that carried the first Cash across the Atlantic in the 17th C.

🛩️ #ArchiveAviation This is an in-flight photo of RAF 603 Squadron taken around 1936. The Hawker Hart day bomber is flying over the East Lothian coastline, close to the Bass Rock near North Berwick. 📸 thanks to Dugald Cameron Collection ow.ly/KpYw50MeNTr

A fine definition of being Scottish.