1939-09-19 — Page 15

THE CHINA MAIL, SEPTEMBER 19, 1939.

TO-DAY'S STRANGE STORY OF REAL PEOPLE.

STRANGE CASE OF SIR HECTOR MACDONALD

By VINCENT TOWNE

Sir Hector Macdonald, "Fighting Mac," was a generation ago the idol of the British soldiers in the Sudan. He was one of Britains future mili- tary heroes who arose from the ranks and the humbler walks of like. The son of a Scotch day labourer, he began life as a bare-foot ploughboy, later becoming a', salesman in a country store. Almost from the cradle he wanted to be a soldier, and when a small lad a retired veteran of his native village taught him the rudi- ments of miflitary tactics.

of

Grave

He Sensed His Brother Officers' Criticism

were charges

the

Gradually there leaked out rumour that Sir Hector had taken the advice of the Governor of Cey- Ion and had disappeared, the suicide story and a mock funeral having been

the and engineered with

friends.

CASTLE

.

PEAK ROAD ACCIDENT

Blinded by the headlights of a mo- tor-lorry coming from the opposite direction, Mr. S. Tichopad swerved his, car to the left and crashed into the hillside to avoid collision last night on Castle Peak Road.

In reporting the incident to the Po- lice, Mr. Tichopad, who.resides at No. 221, Prince Edward Road, said that he was driving his car, No. 4772, towards Kowloon.

Near the 10-mile stone a motor-lor- ry which failed to dim its headlights temporarily blinded Mr, Tichopad.

The lorry did not "stop. .....

Mr. Tichopad's car was not badly damaged.

CHUNGSHAN BEATS OFF JAPS.

As soon as he was old enough he enlisted as a private in the famous Gordon Highlanders and until he was 25 carried the musket of a pri- vate soldier. Opportunity knocked first at his door during the Afghan campaign in 1879. Being with a small body of men who found themselves ambushed by 2000 blood-thirsty na-

preferred tives, Macdonald took command his comrades and led them in a bril-against Sir Hector in 1930 while still

Shluhing, To-day. liant bayonet charge that drove

off holding his Ceylon command, and al-

The defenders are reported to have the enemy.

though none of his friends believed

been victorious on the entire Chung- him guilty, his morbid state of mind

shan front. caused him to lose his nerve

assistance of All vantage points around Cheung- The Mikado having once kaipin have been recaptured. Part of run from his enemies rather than hold them at bay. In other words, he offered Macdonald a handsome salary the Japanese force retreated to Ta- asked for leave to return home and and royal honours if he would come wangtau and the rest re-embarked. it was granted, The Governor of to Japan and modernize his army, it Tension at Shekki, arising from the was suspected that, "Fighting_Mac," Japanese invasion of Chungshan, has Ceylon, when bidding him farewell, is said to have advised him to dis- after his alleged escape from disgrace, | eased.-Central News.

the secretly presented himself at the Im- appear during the voyage, as

accept- disgrace entailed by the charges was perial palace at Tokio and such that could never be lived down.ed the Mikado's offer. It was rumour- Arriving home he appeared at the Wared at one time that the great Japan- Office, protesting his innocence. Lord ese hero, General Kurokl, was, to return to Ceylon with stiff upper Roberts, believing him, advised him fact, Sir Hector.

lip and work on in the knowledge that truth would ultimately prevail.

As this charge not only saved Macdonald's little band, but expos~ ed a plot to annihilate Lord Roberts and his staff, that general offered "Fighting Mac" in return for his bravery a choice of a commissioned officer's straps or the prized Victorian

Cross. Macdonald chose the officer's

upon

commission. He now piled success success. During the Sudan campaign, while only a colonel, he showed distinguished bravery by thwarting a dervish charge upon the British flank an action which pre- vented a serious defeat. His successes were repeated during the Boer War, and as a reward for a long catalogue

of victories and brilliant charges he was both knighted and elevated to rank of brigadier general.

as

in

or

Whether he committed suicide

Macdonald ran from disappeared,

the bugaboo that oppressed him and took his desperate step with a clean conscience. Immediately after his alleged death a commission of in quiry delved into the charges against him and found that they were en- tirely groundless-that he' had been a victim of circumstantial evidence. But no inquiry has ever been able to solve the mystery of "Fighting Mac's" fate.

BONG KONG IN THE NEWS

London, To-day. Interest in the fact that a thriving

branch of the British Red Cross unit

Kong's first efforts in support of Great Britain at war, is supplemented by the fact that it is receiving widespread generous help from Chinese in Hong Kong and from China herself.

has been established as one of Hong

On this island, Britain's only Crown Colony in the China Seas, there are 45 Chinese to every European resi- dent.-British Wireless.

Others of his war chiefs de- manded that Macdonald return to Ceylon and face a court-martial. Whe- ther such an inquiry was definitely These successes, of course, pro- ordered or not is unknown. voked jealousy and envy, added to which was the prejudice always felt

In any event, "Fighting Mac" left return to by British officers for comrades who England presumably to "smell of the barracks." It is said the Orient.

Proceeding only as far

Paris, that Macdonald forfeited true hap- piness when he left the ranks and he registered at a hotel, remaining became an officer. Being of a hyper. in hiding for a period, during which sensitive nature, he sensed the criti-it was noticed that he cism rankling in the hearts of his highly nervous state. Then one day brother officers and was

the British

out given

newspapers. came

that spells of brooding which undermined with the shocking intelligence his health.

Sir Hector's corpse had been found Having suffered from severe wounds in the Paris hotel with a bullet hole and sunstroke, it was not long before through the head. It was said that he became a nervous wreck. He was just previous to the suicide he had maintain a watchful attitude on events Ministry, of Agriculture of Northern in this state when after the Boer been seen reading an English news-in Europe.

to

was in a

which had caused him to

to burst into tears and hurry

his

War, he was placed in command of paper the British officers in Ceylon.

Kitty

8-9

(Rafaaaad by The Bell dyndicato. Esta

A confirmed pessimist is he who never can ade the need for play.

room.

preferred

JAPAN AND EUROPE

Tokyo, To-day.

The Japanese press urges Japan to

The "Nichi Nichi Shimbun" be- lieves that the Soviet invasion of

fur-

An examination of the news-Poland will mark the turning-point paper proved that it recounted in of the war and says that any

ther Soviet proposals for the settl ing of differences with Japan will be welcomed.-Reuter.

great detail the against him.

charges

VALUABLE RING LOST ·

Suspicious events were now about to befall. It was generally supposed that Sir Hector was a bachelor, but when representative members of his family reached Paris to claim his Mr. Dennis Victor, proprietor of the body they were told that the dead Lido Dancing Hall, lost a gold finger- hero's widow had appeared and hur-ring, set with a large ruby, yesterday ried the corpse to Scotland. There while travelling between the Macao was a public agitation in favour of a Wharf and the Lido Dancing Hall. military funeral, but it was given out The ring is valued at $600, that the widow would not allow the army and navy to do honour to the dead hero. Later it was announced that his funeral had taken place pri- vately at a very early hour in the morning,

NORMA SHEARER FOR ENGLISH FILM

Arrangements have been completed for Norman Shearer to appear · with Robert Donat in a film version "Pride and Prejudice.”

of

The picture will be produced in England by Victor Saville and direct- ed by Clarence Brown.

Miss Shearer, who is now abroad, will pay a brief visit to Hollywood before starting on the film, which will inaugurate a new plan for Anglo- American productions.

CULTIVATION · PROGRAMME

London, To-day.

The Ministry of Information an nounces that the scheme of the

Ireland for increased cultivation pro- vides that farmers of ten acres or arable land cultivated by 1940, over shall have one-fifth of total

of 250,000 acres in tillage area, and The aim is to secure an increase

it is confidently expected that this will be reached.-British Wireless,

+

AMAH'S $800 LOSS

A small fortune was lost by a Chinese amah yesterday afternoon. Leung Ng, the victim, reported to the Police that some person entered her quarters at No. 67, Wongnolchong Road and stole $800.

Troops of all-rogimonta are being taught at Aldershot how to han- die the collapalble, canvas boats and the pneumatío rubber reconnais- ance boats. Photo shows troops nearly come to grief 'when rowing In one of the canvas Boats" at "Aldershot,

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