Throughout
the First World War, the Library at Innerpeffray appears to remain open. The Keeper of Books at Innerpeffray Library is recorded as
D. Sutherland. When he borrows books from the library he writes that he is the
’Librarian.’
It is not D. Sutherland, so much as it is his
visitors, who are of interest. Many Sutherlands come and go throughout the
war-period, but two stand out in the Register, as they write their occupation
as ‘Soldier.’ The two soldiers appear in the Visitor’s Book eight
times each and borrow several books during their stay at the Schoolhouse.
We can
see from the Borrower’s Register exactly what the soldiers read on their stay.
The books they borrowed came mainly from the Reading Room, which houses a
collection from the 19th Century and later, many of which are fictional works.
Were these the source of recreation and respite for
the soldiers?
· Salmon Fishing by William Earl
Hodgson, 1906.
· One of the 28th: a tale
of Waterloo by
G.A. Henty, 1890.
· Hoof and Claw by Sir Charles G.D.
Roberts, 1915.
· Kim by Rudyard Kipling,
1901.
· The First Hundred
Thousand by
John Hay Beith, 1876.
· Masterman Ready by Frederick Marryat,
1841.
From
1914 to 1919 we see the progression of the soldiers who write themselves into
the Visitor’s Book, particularly R.W. Sutherland and J.W.R. Sutherland, the
soldiers who stay in the Schoolhouse and borrow from the library.
R.W.
Sutherland was part of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery “B” Battery Overseas
Contingent. The RCHA came from older Batteries of the Canadian military and
supported British formations.
J.W.R.
Sutherland was part of the Scottish Horse M.E.F. and was later in the 2nd
Cavalry Reserve in Ireland. In October 1916 the 1st and 2nd Regiments of
Scottish Horse became known as the Black Watch.
Other
visitors by the name of Sutherland also write down their occupation in the
military, from the Royal Navy to the Seaforth Highlanders, though none of them
appear to borrow books from the library.
Sophie Wood
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