David Sutherland (headmaster)
Major David Sutherland MA, MC and bar TD, (9 November 1873 – 14 March 1955) was a Scottish teacher, headmaster and Territorial Army officer. He was the father of Scott Sutherland, sculptor.
Life[edit]
David Sutherland was born in 1873, the son of Robert Dunbar Sutherland, a journeyman cooper and fishcurer, and his wife Christian Morrison (née) Sutherland in Latheronwheel. The family home consisted of a two-roomed cottage with an adjacent wooden structure providing limited additional accommodation. According to the census of 1881, when he was seven, this was occupied by a family of nine consisting of three generations: his grandparents, his parents, four children, and his father's unmarried twin sister [1]. He attended the local school,became a pupil-teacher, and went on to a course at Moray House and Edinburgh University leading to a Scottish M.A. degree, qualifying him as a teacher.[2] He was appointed as an assistant teacher in Gilmerton School.
He was a member of a cycling club, and in 1897, given the nature of bicycles at that time, it recognised his achievement in cycling 100 miles in 5 hours and 33 minutes [3]. He was also the secretary of the Northern Counties Shinty Club, an active member of the Edinburgh John o'Groat Association, a member of the Caithness Company of the Queen's Edinburgh Volunteer Brigade and an 'ardent Freemason'[4].
On the 3rd of April 1899 he married Helen Scott and subsequently took up his new post as headmaster in Bonar Bridge, back in the Scottish Highlands. He continued to be socially engaged,and during his time in Bonar Bridge he organised a singing class at the school,[5] joined the Parish Council,[6] became a Justice of the Peace,[7] acted as chairman of a newly-established literary society,[8] and acted as secretary to the newly-established Bonar-Ardgay Golf Club as it raised the necessary funds to establish the course with the generous support of Andrew Carnegie who lived nearby at Skibo Castle. In addition, in a decision with far-reaching consequences, in 1906 he joined the territorial army as a second lieutenant.[9]
In 1908, Sutherland took up a new appointment as headmaster of West Banks School in Wick, Caithness, eighteen miles from where he grew up. In 1912 his military career progressed - he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and passed the examination at the school of signalling. In the same year he was responsible for the Continuation School in Wick, providing evening classes for pupils over the age of fourteen, "lads learning trades", and young people in shops and offices .[10]
The outbreak of war in 1914 brought a radical change in Sutherland's life. At the age of 40 he was now promoted to the rank of Captain and appointed to command Number 2 section of the Highland Division Signal Company. The 5th Seaforths were transferred to Bedford for further training, and in 1915 they were sent to the Western Front, where they remained for the duration of the war. He served alongside Ewart Alan Mackintosh, who died in the course of the Battle of Cambrai (1917) and is probably the best-known Scottish First World War poet. During his military service he wrote back to the John o'Groat Journal, and after his return he used this material as a basis for a book [11], [12]. He was mentioned in despatches and twice decorated,earning a Military Cross and Bar [13] for organising repair parties under heavy shell fire. He was wounded in 1916. Unlike many critical accounts of the war, His book reflects his consistent commitment to its successful completion, and has also proved a valuable source about Mackintosh[14].
Despite early misgivings[15] Sutherland was consistently supportive of his son Scott's career as a sculptor and Scott's early maquette of a memorial to the Seaforths clearly relates to his father's wartime experience.
After the end of the war, Sutherland was promoted to the rank of Major and took responsibility for the Territorial Army in Wick until the end of 1923. He was also appointed headmaster of Pultneytown Academy, a post which he retained until he retired in 1938.[16] During this time he fulfilled various social roles. As Chief Marshal he, together with the assistant marshal, led the Lifeboat Procession on horseback in 1922.[17] In the same year, he was appointed chairman for the Wick Gala[18]. In 1923 he became a member of the Wick School Management Committee[19]. In 1924, his silver wedding was celebrated by presentations and a dance in the Rifle Hall [20]. He was an elder in Wick U.F. Church,[21] and a supporter of the Unionist Party[22].
The school inspector's report for 1937-38 states that the Academy had 632 pupils. It went on to say:
"The school is efficiently organised and conducted and there is an excellent understanding between the headmaster, his staff and the pupils. The headmaster, who retires this year after a long and happy association with the school, has constantly kept himself in close personal touch with the work, progress, general welfare and individual circumstances of every child. His genial personality and faithful work will be greatly missed in the school and community."[23]
On his retirement Sutherland was given an illuminated address by the town as a sign of recognition. After he retired, he and his wife moved to Edinburgh, living in Corstorphine. He returned to teaching during the Second World War. He died in March 1955, three months after Helen.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1881 Sutherland, David Census(038/12/2 Pages 2 and 3
- ↑ John o'Groat Journal, 14/4/1896 p.4
- ↑ John o'Groat Journal, 19/11/1897 p.3
- ↑ John o'Groat Journal, 17/2/1899 p.3
- ↑ Northern Ensign 06/04/1900 p.6
- ↑ Northern Times 28/11/1901 p.4
- ↑ Northern Ensign 21/07/1906 p13
- ↑ Northern Ensign 29/10/1903 p.5
- ↑ National Archives: Service Record of David Sutherland, 5th Seaforth Highlanders
- ↑ John o'Groat Journal 20/01/1912 p.1
- ↑ War diary of the Fifth Seaforth Highlanders by Captain David Sutherland MC,TD, published by John Lane,The Bodley Head
- ↑ https://www.electricscotland.com/books/pdf/war_diary.htm
- ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette,16th September 1918
- ↑ "Can't shoot a man with a cold: Lt E.A. Mackintosh MC 1893-1917" p.111 Colin Campbell and Rosalind Green Argyll Publishing
- ↑ http://www.alexandercarricksculptor.co.uk/teacher3/4516969464 accessed on 28/3/2020
- ↑ John o'Groat Journal 21/10/1938
- ↑ Northern Ensign 4/01/1922 p.5
- ↑ Northern Ensign 09/08/1922 p.4
- ↑ Northern Ensign 02/05/1923 p.4
- ↑ Northern Ensign 09/04/1924 p.4
- ↑ Northern Ensign 27/01/1926 p.5
- ↑ Northern Ensign 22/09/1926 p.2
- ↑ Highland Archive, Wick
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