An Comunn Gàidhealach Publications > Gaidheal > Volumes 44--45, January 1949--December 1950

OUR NEW ASSISTANT
SECRETARY
Mr Malcolm MacLeod
AS empowered by the Executive
Council, the Finance and
Advisory Committees have
made choice of a successor to Mr
Alasdair Matheson. The new
Assistant Secretary of An Comunn
Gaidhealach is Mr Malcolm
MacLeod, who belongs to
Ardhasaig, Harris.
Mr MacLeod received his early
education in Bunayonedder
School and Sir Edward Scott
Junior Secondary School, Harris,
and Portree Senior Secondary
School, Skye. At Portree he gained
the Senior Leaving Certificate,
Gaelic being one of his subjects,
and also the Angus Robertson Gold
Medal for Gaelic. He was also
Ceannard of Feachd Phort-righeadh
of Comunn na h-Oigridh and
attended the Camp at Sonachan in
1938.
After being a student of Glasgow
University for two years, Mr
MacLeod enlisted in the Royal
Artillery Anti-Tank Corps and
was on active service in the Far
East. At the fall of Singapore
in 1942 he was taken prisoner and
remained in the hands of the
Japanese until the end of the war
in 1945. During the years of
captivity he worked on the making
of the railroad between Bangkok
and Moulmein.
Mr MacLeod comes to An
Comunn’s service young in years
but—like so many of his generation
-—with much experience. We
welcome him as a member of our
staff, and we wish him well in his
new post, for which he is so well
fitted.
Fios oan Kunaire
SECRETARY’S NOTES
Helensburgh
THE monthly meeting of the
Helensburgh and Clan
Colquhoun Highland Associa¬
tion was held in the Victoria Hall
on 1st February. I had the honour
of presiding over this delightful
gathering, and gave the members a
talk on the work of An Comunn in
general and complimented them on
the good work they are doing.
The Gaelic Class has been well
attended, and an appeal was made
for members for next session. The
Gaelic artists were Miss Mary
Hunter, Miss Flora M. Campbell,
and Iain R. Douglas. Mr. Ewing
Hunter moved votes of thanks and
made intimation of a number of
functions to be held in the near
future. The Association are join¬
ing whole-heartedly in support of
the County Stall at the Great Feill.
Skelmorlie
I paid my annual visit to Skel-
morlie on 7th February, and
presided over a well-attended
meeting of the Skelmorlie and
District Highland Association.
Accompanying me were Miss
Bessie Alexander (violin), Miss
Margaret MacCallum, Miss Chris
Turner (accompanist), and Alasdair
Matheson. All these well-known
concert artists gave fine renderings
of Gaelic and Scottish items, and
their contributions were much
appreciated. In my address I
referred to the various efforts put
forth by An Comunn in different
directions towards the furtherance
of its objects. A special plea was
made for the Great Feill, and
support is assured. Mr. Malcolm
Ramsay, President, moved votes
of thanks.
Alexandria
ANOTHER annual visit was
paid to Alexandria on 15th
February, when I presided over
a large gathering of members and
friends of the Vale of Leven Branch
of An Comunn. Those who accom¬
panied me on this occasion were
Miss Bessie Alexander, Miss Jean
Cameron Greer, Miss Chris Turner,
Peter MacKay and Hugh Martin.
This Branch is doing good work in
the Vale of Leven and presents
programmes of a very high order
at all its meetings. The members
are busily engaged in collecting
for the National Mod Fund and the
Great Feill. Votes of thanks were
proposed by Councillor Donald
Aitken, J .P.
Provincial Mods
THE following are the dates
fixed for Provincial Mods in
the Southern Area:—
March 31—Islay.
April 29-^Ed inburgh.
May 25-27—Glasgow.
June 6-7—Mid-Argyll.
June 15-16—Kintyre.
June 16—Perthsh ire.
MISS
LETTICE MACNAUGHTEN
A Tribute
S a Pan-Celt and one who had
a long acquaintance with Miss
Lettie MacNaughten, I would
like to express in An Gaidheal what
a loss her passing is to the Gaelic.
She was one of the band of patriotic
Scotswomen whom Mrs Burnley-
Campbell won to the Gaelic Cause.
A daughter of Sir James Mac¬
Naughten, first cousin to the Chief,
she went back to her Perthshire
home full of enthusiasm for the
language and determined to master
it. Henceforth it was the dominant
influence in her life. She learned
to read, write, and (most important
of all) speak Gaelic, and this
beautiful Celtic tongue would be in
a far safer position today had her
contemporaries followed her
example. She realised that ‘‘no
language can live unless spoken
every day,” and—what I admired
so much—she had no inferiority
complex to hamper her mission.
With what joy she travelled to
Glenfinnan for the ‘‘Forty-Five ’
anniversary. ‘‘A wonderful day,
she said, ‘‘and, as for me, I spoke
Gaelic here, there, and every
where.
During the Inverness Mod she
asked us to join her party to
Culloden, and we were shocked to
find children on Drumossie Moor
could only speak English!
One of her last expeditions was
to a bird sanctuary in the High¬
lands , and she was delighted to
find the people in the neighbouring
village thought it quite natural, to
be greeted in the Gaelic.
May the example of Lettie
MacNaughten be an inspiration to
the young Gaels!
Mallt Williams.
HAVE YOU GOT YOUR
COMUNN BADGE?
(see p. 46)