St Ternan's Parish Church, Forglen

The parish of Forglen was created from Marnoch and Alvah in the mid 17th century. The kirkyard and remains of the long abandoned kirk are pleasantly situated above the Devron in the heart of rural Buchan about 2.5 miles west of Turriff. Surrounded by rolling fields of reddish earth Forglen kirk  has been described  as being in the centre of, 'a parish of fertile soil, well-sheltered  and with a mild climate'. Dedicated to St Ternan, the kirk was in use until 1806 and once contained the incomparable Monymusk Reliquary, considered to be one of the great treasures of Scotland. The Reliquary which was carried at the head of the Scots army at Bannockburn, contained relics of St Columba.

The kirkyard gates, on the left part of the bole of the vast beech tree which dominates the kirkyard, it is tempting to speculate that the tree may be as old as the ruins of the kirk.

All that remains of the kirk is a plain rectangle orientated east - west, and deeply littered with beech leaves. On the inside of the east wall directly opposite the doorway is a tablet proclaiming that  'This church was re-edified by George Ogilvie, Master of Bamff, 1652'.The church at Forglen was mentioned in a charter of Arbroath Abbey dated 1204. and it is likely that the building has seen several reincarnations over the centuries.

Memorial to George Findlater V.C.
15 February 1872 - 4 March 1942

One of eleven  children, George Findlater, V.C. was the son of  a Turriff miller and left school at the age of 13. He worked as a farm labourer before joining the Gordon Highlanders when he was sixteen. He became a piper and was involved in the  Chitral Expedition on the North West frontier of British India, now Pakistan. He was awarded the V.C. for his bravery at Dargai Heights, where on 20th October 1897, despite being shot in both feet and unable to stand, he sat and played his pipes to encourage his comrades to charge. Findlater was discharged from the army and for sometime made a living by playing his pipes in  music halls in the U.K. and North America. This was frowned upon by the British Military.  He returned to Scotland in 1899 and took up farming in Banffshire. At the outbreak of the Second World War he rejoined the Gordon Highlanders and fought at Loos before again being discharged. He later became a Pipe Major in the Turriff Pipe Band.

Brigadier General William James St John Harvey of the Black Watch  was the eldest son of the Harveys of Carnousie and  served with distinction in both the Boer War and 1st World War. He was wounded  in an attack on Hanna on the River Tigress on January 20th 1916 and died of his wounds at Amara on 1st February. He was mentioned in dispatches four times between 1914 and his death. He is buried at the Amara Cemetery in Iraq.

A winged soul on the stone commemorating the splendidly named 'George Herrygery, once miller at Milne of Ribra d.21 December 1735 aged 94.

This  beautifully carved stone is now set in the kirkyard dyke, note the unorthodox spelling and the mortality symbols, the died bell, skull, book of life and hour glass.

The Doune Church, Macduff

The Doune Church, Macduff Parish Church, stands sentinel high on the Doune Hill commanding views over Macduff Harbour, the mouth of the Devron, Banff Bridge and the town of Banff. A relative newcomer amongst North East Kirks the Doune Kirk was built in 1805, originally as a chapel of ease, Macduff being in  Gamrie parish until 1864 when, with financial support from the Earl of Fife, Macduff became a parish in its own right.

The flamboyant  Bodie tombstones tower above the kirkyard dyke.

On the left the marble angel clinging dramatically to a cross commemorates the celebrated showman, the Electric Wizard, music hall star and magician, Walford  Bodie.

Born in Aberdeen in 1869, the son of a baker, Samuel Bodie spent much of his childhood in Macduff where as an adult he became a familiar mustachioed figure strutting about the town swathed in his flamboyant black cloak.  Performing on stage as Walford Bodie, he became  one of the most popular music hall entertainers of his day carrying out acts which included illusions hypnotism and  mock electrocutions. His success was phenomenal; at one point he employed Harry Lauder and is said to have inspired  Houdini, and Charlie Chaplin. The climax of his act involved him sitting in an 'electric chair' and apparently having a 30,000 volt electric current passed through his body to light up electric light bulbs which he held in his hands. Several members of his family, including his first  wife Jeannie Henry as Princess Ruby, his niece as  'Mystic Marie' and 'La Belle  Isabella' his sister,  assisted him in these performances. Brodie also claimed to have a series of qualifications including M.D., PhD. and DSc.,and to be able to carry out astonishing cures, later saying that the letters MD after his name merely stood for Merry Devil.  He was taken to court by the Medical Defence Union on account of these claims but  lost the case and his career eventually began to lose momentum.

Bust of Bodie's sister  Isabella who assisted in his performances as 'La Belle Electra'

At the height of his career Bodie was hugely popular,  he described himself as the 'Most Remarkable Man on Earth',  He amassed a vast fortune some of which he used for the benefit of the people in Banff and Macduff  where he built a public swimming pool and had a house for himself, The Manor House  designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, the architect responsible for Aberdeen Art Gallery.  In 1932 his property portfolio included two hotels, six guest houses, a further house in the London area and  a house boat on the Thames, This house boat was described as being palatial and was used to hold  lavish parties at which the guests are said to have included Edward V111 and Wallace Simpson.

Bodie collapsed  when performing at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1939, dying a few days later on 19th October, aged 68.