The Dunbar Martyrs

[peterpikefisher]

came across this on the web.

 

 

 

 

 

"March of shame” and incarceration at Durham Cathedral

 

On September 3rd, 1650 Scottish defence forces suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of Oliver Cromwell’s invading English army at the Battle of Dunbar. Cromwell went on to ruthlessly ransack Edinburgh and other Scottish towns and cities and take control of the country south of the Highlands.

 

Immediately after the battle, Cromwell’s forces rounded up around four to five thousand Scottish prisoners (estimates of the exact number vary) and embarked on the ‘march of shame’. You will hear little about this in the history books probably because it marks a profound disgrace in the annals of English military history. The battle weary Scots were brutally forced on an eight-day, 118 miles march south to the English cathedral city of Durham with virtually no rest (the first 28 mile stage to Berwick being undertaken non-stop and through the night) and with no food or water other than what could be scavenged. So starved, en route, raw cabbages and roots were pulled from fields in a desperate effort to gain some sustenance, however, this only served to cause dysentery like symptoms. Of the estimated four to five thousand who started out the march, only three thousand were left at the end when they reached their destination on September 11th .

 

Of the survivors, Durham Cathedral was used as a makeshift prison and an equivalent disgraceful episode commenced. The conditions the Scots were kept in were utterly appalling. Records indicate that the Scots died at an average of 30 a day between 11th September and 31st October and it seems this reached over 100 a day with virtually no food, clean water or heat and the linked spread of disease and infection.

 

By the end of October 1650, approximately 1,600 Scots had died horrible deaths in Durham’s much-revered House of God. The military leader appointed by Cromwell to take charge of the prisoners (Sir Arthur Haselrigge, Member of the English Parliament for Leicester) later claimed in a letter to the Parliament that adequate food, water, bedding and fuel for heating had been provided, however, the facts speak for themselves that this was a merely an attempt to excuse his own conduct during the horrific weeks in September and October 1650. The Scots in a desparate effort to create some heat and reduce the death toll stripped the Cathedral bare of all wooden items, including pews and the organ for the making of fires, save as for one item - a clock embossed with a carved Scots Thistle, which remains to this day.

 

Only 1,400 of the estimated four to five thousand men who started the march from Dunbar in September were still alive less than two months later, when they were sold as slave labour by their captors. Nine hundred of those survivors were sold to the New World, mainly Virginia, Massachusetts and the Barbados colony in the Caribbean. Another 500 were forced the following spring to serve in the French army, and were still fighting seven years later against the Spanish, side by side with a contingent of English soldiers sent over by Cromwell. Those who profited from the slave trade grasped every opportunity to earn money from this evil practice which wasn't abolished in Britain until 1807.

 

 

 

Discovery of mass grave at Durham Cathedral

 

The mystery of what happened to the dead was seemingly solved just over sixty years ago.

 

"When the central heating system was installed in the The Music School in 1946, the trench for pipes cut into a mass grave on the north side of the Cathedral .... The bodies had been buried without coffins and had been tossed in on top of one another."

 

This is the text of an article by Durham Cathedral's John A. Cole in 1991, "The Scottish Prisoners from Dunbar Held in Durham Cathedral" (available from the Durham Cathedral library). At the time, clearly the Cathedral authorities were convinced that this was the mass grave of the Scots soldiers.

 

Cole also notes, "They may not have had Christian burials; they have no memorial".

 

After the 1946 discovery you might have expected the authorities to exhume the bodies and provide Christian burials. At the very least to say a blessing and erect a memorial.

 

However, no… it would appear that the corpses were simply covered up and left where they lay… the hidden dead of Durham Cathedral.

 

In 1993 the Scottish Covenanters Memorial Association entered into discussions with the then Cathedral Authorities to gain an appropriate memorial to the dead, however, "... were unsuccessful in this proposal - the Cathedral authorities placed too many obstructions in the way ..." (SCMA).

 

To this very day, there is no memorial of any kind to these unknown Scottish soldiers. They lie in a House of God, however, it seems have not received a Christian burial. They lie in anonymity in what they would have regarded as foreign soil in the place they had been imprisoned, far from their homes and the graves of their loved ones.

 

It must be mentioned that at the time of writing and updating this site (19 Feb 2008) it is understood that Durham Cathedral do not now endorse the previous conclusion regarding the 1946 finding and mass grave and are undertaking further excavations and investigations.

 

Dunbar Martyr’s campaign

 

A modern United Kingdom should be leading the world in ethics and humanity not least in respect for its dead soldiers and heroes and its heritage and history. This is all the more pertinent with our brave UK forces currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

It is accepted that these were brutal times for both the Scots and the English, yet what might be described as a war crime in our fairly recent history (it is certainly is not ‘ancient’ history) where today there is an unmarked mass grave of Scots sons hidden in one of Britain’s principal Cathedral’s, there is surely a wrong that must be put right!

 

It is perhaps interesting to note that Durham Cathedral reveres and honours "the Venerable Bede", with memorial en-scribed Christian burial tomb - and he died about 1,000 years prior to Dunbar Martyrs!! (now that is ancient history).

 

Both from a moral and historical perspective it is surely wrong that the remains of Scotland's latter day heroes who sought to defend their country against invasion lie without coffins tossed in an unmarked pit in such a manner, with neither memorial nor Christian burial?

 

The campaign seeks to:

 

raise public awareness of the hidden mass grave of which virtually no one appears to be aware of (including, very learned Historians).

 

generate public debate over the appropriate way to respect and remember the Scots dead beneath the Cathedral.

 

to then work with the appropriate authorities to ensure actions actually take place to appropriately respect and remember the Dunbar Martyrs.

 

In terms of the appropriate way to respect and remember, options may include a suitably appropriate and en-scribed memorial (such as, a Celtic cross, if suitable) at the site to the Martyrs grave along with a Christian burial service. An alternative might even be the exhumation of the remains of the soldiers and to return them to Scotland for proper Christian burial at an appropriate site. This would at last release them from their place of imprisonment, allow them to rest in peace in their own soil and be properly respected and remembered by their fellow country men and women.

[five bellies]

A memorial may well be appropriate, The English have had some dark moments as have the rest of the nations of Britian jiontly,

Slavery For one! but whats done is done looking backwards not forwards causes us more harm than Good! is this campian being waged because of religious sentiment or political deviceivness, The terms Martyrs,and Scotts sons gives me an inclination to believe the second, It is of course wrong to forget past atrocitys it is also wrong to cling onto them to beat future innocent generations about with, those Poor soul's war ended on thier deaths, miserable and depraved as they were, I would argue that fighting it still in thier name 350 years after thier death,rather than letting them rest wins pionts now but dosn't redress wrongs then,But at least these poeple are buried in halowed ground which is more than many British soldiers have enjoyed elsewhere and at other times through out history.What Do the Scottish parliament have to say on the issue, and have they opend formal talks with the church of England about the repatriation of these remains ? The Covenanters and their sympathisers were and are Prestbitarian fundermentlists (please correct me if Im wrong) who overruled the comand of Lesley that September at the Battle of Dunbar costing Scotland a decisive victory over Cromwells out gunned army I thought after that embarressment the movement would have been disbanded or at least kept quiet having caused Scotland at least another 150 years of misery maybe more.

Edited July 20, 2008 by five bellies

[chevin]

I think that the Prime Minister of England should offer a sincere apology to the Scots! Mind you, General Haig did extract his revenge - and then some!

Edited July 20, 2008 by chevin

[chesters1]

errr England doesn't have a prime minister

the rest do but called first minister or whatever ,in reality England doesn't exist but for a spot on the map ,perhaps if the scots hadn't been joined at the hip with the frogs and had them refortify Dunbar castle perhaps they would have held out longer ,unfortunately the scots themselves destroyed it errr twice once before when it could has been useful the other when they blew it up making the harbour ,mind you the scots and fortifications have nothing to crow about

i remember falling off a bit dunbar castle as a kid ,pull it down its a ruin!

isnt a martyr one who gives his life purposely for a belief (usually religious),hardly the term for a rabble of forced labour ,nor for the (what would today be called "union " rabble rouser's ) the tolpuddle lot either ,obviously those that live at either end of britain dont have any real ones

Edited July 20, 2008 by chesters1

[peterpikefisher]

errr England doesn't have a prime minister

the rest do but called first minister or whatever ,in reality England doesn't exist but for a spot on the map ,perhaps if the scots hadn't been joined at the hip with the frogs and had them refortify Dunbar castle perhaps they would have held out longer ,unfortunately the scots themselves destroyed it errr twice once before when it could has been useful the other when they blew it up making the harbour ,mind you the scots and fortifications have nothing to crow about

i remember falling off a bit dunbar castle as a kid ,pull it down its a ruin!

isnt a martyr one who gives his life purposely for a belief (usually religious),hardly the term for a rabble of forced labour ,nor for the (what would today be called "union " rabble rouser's ) the tolpuddle lot either ,obviously those that live at either end of britain dont have any real ones

 

 

see thats wit happins when you get cross breedin with them romans they should have left our island alone

insted of trying to civilise us we wiz doing jist fine there wiz the english the welsh the irish the picts (scots) and every thing wiz okdokey

fair enough we had wir wee falloots

but they wiz soon resoved usualy by marrige and a bit of land swapping.

[Colin Brett]

see thats wit happins when you get cross breedin with them romans they should have left our island alone

insted of trying to civilise us we wiz doing jist fine there wiz the english the welsh the irish the picts (scots) and every thing wiz okdokey

fair enough we had wir wee falloots

but they wiz soon resoved usualy by marrige and a bit of land swapping.

 

Any chance of a translation?

 

Colin

[peterpikefisher]

Any chance of a translation?

 

Colin

 

aye Wit wurdz is ye wantin tranzl8ted mucker is it jist the wurdz ye canne unerstond or awe o em.

[chesters1]

he's from livingstone so a little unsure whether he's actually scottish mines from longstone a little more pedigree a little more english

[peterpikefisher]

he's from livingstone so a little unsure whether he's actually scottish mines from longstone a little more pedigree a little more english

 

 

That's LIVINGSTON NO e

 

unless your a junkie unlike the longstoned cowboy Eh! Chesters1

[DavyR]

A nasty event, but not exactly uncommon in war. Bad stuff happened in the English Civil Wars too, and that was Englishmen fighting Englishmen (as well as Scots and Irish at various times):

 

"Historians think that about 180,000 people died from fighting, accidents and disease. That was about 3.6% of the population. (In World War 1 around 2.6% of the population died). The Civil War also saw terrible events. For example, in May 1644 Royalists massacred the Parliament forces in Bolton. This was provoked by the Parliament troops hanging several Royalist prisoners during the battle."

 

http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/civilwar/g4/key/

 

Once you start apologising for events in the distant past, where do you stop?