Lieutenant Fireworker

Out for a drive this afternoon, we caught a glimpse of some kind of monument on a hillside across the valley as we were admiring the autumn colours of the beech trees alongside a minor road leading north from the tiny hamlet of Ythanwells.

We had no idea at the time who or what this monument was dedicated to - but we thought it merited further investigation.

As it happened, it was readily accessible (up a marked track off the public road just north of the crossroads by Aucharnie Church).

It was well worth the steep climb to discover the wonderful inscriptions on two faces of the structure, telling of the life and achievements of the man to whom it was dedicated: one Colonel Shand.

The inscription broadly follows the text recorded here. Colonel Shand, we are informed, "received a very good education, and some time before the year 1760, he joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and saw much military service. For some time he was Lieutenant Fireworker, in which capacity he gallantly distinguished himself in several engagements in Germany, and was severely wounded in the foot at the Battle of Brandywine River in America, on 11 September, 1777. He was also present at the memorable siege of Gibraltar in the years 1780-81-82, and rendered distinguished service there under Lord Heathfield, whose confidence and regard he enjoyed in a very high degree. He died on his estate of Templeland in April, 1803, and was interred in the churchyard of Forgue, where there is a monument to his memory."