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5th October 2010 - Can't Shoot a Man With a Cold Colin Campbell Mr. Sandy Laird President welcomed members to the start of the new session prior to introducing Mr Colin Campbell, former history teacher and secondary school headmaster as guest speaker of the day. Colin’s well researched and excellent talk was based on his book. “You can’t shoot a man with a cold”, jointly written with Rosalind Green, on the life of Lt.E. Alan Macintosh mc 1893-1917 poet scholar and soldier. Although he was only one of millions who met a premature death in the trenches of World War 1. It was his aspiration to be a poet that distinguished him from his peers. Macintosh’s poems are recorded in two volumes, “A Highland Regiment” and “War the Liberator”. Macintosh Identified strongly with his paternal connections to Ross-Shire Scotland. He taught himself gaelic thus endearing himself to the soldiers under his command in the 5Th Seaforth Highlanders. The Title . comes from a line in Macintosh’s poem “In No Man’s land” When in the cold and darkness of night with the opposing forces operating within yards of each other, a stifled sneeze or cold sniffle can give away the location of the enemy, Macintosh decides to give the German soldier a second chance. “Get back into your Trench you blighter, I really can’t shoot a man with a cold” Bill Whiteside gave a vote of thanks and the president reminded members of the next meeting on the 19th Oct. When Tom Gray will speak on, The Scottish Railway Preservation Society. |