Remnants of a Republic - Jackie Crookston Memorial, Tranent

I visited the Jackie Crookston memorial in Tranent, East Lothians. Heard about this person from one of our supporters who signed our petition in our stall in Princes street.  She mentioned a street named after this legend in Tranent. It was not difficult to find this memorial , It is right at the centre of town in the high street. It was a bright Sunday afternoon, quite calm and serene in this town which is nearly an hour away from Edinburgh and near Haddington.I had plenty of time to sit and be able to sketch a drawing of her marching forward with a small boy and raising her hand in protest and carrying a drum used to call the people of Tranent against the Military recruitment that happened during the French revolutionary wars in the 1700s. Statues and memorials are a good indication of someone who is respected by the local people. This memorial was erected in 1995 and stands strong today with bright and colourful flowers decorating around it.

The Tranent Massacre

An Army recruitment took place in 1797 for 6000 men in Scotland to fight against the Republican French Government. The military created a ballot system to select young men to fight in this war for the British monarchy.  This Militia act and its implementation faced significant opposition from all around Scotland . There were widespread protests across the Lothians against this law.

On the morning of the 29th of August 1797, The ballot list was to be discussed and announced by John Cadell (whose family owned the coal mining industry in Tranent at that time)  at Glen's Inn  with the large military dragoons encircling the village knowing there was dissatisfaction among the villagers. When the process went ahead even after much insistence to stop, The people protested and threw makeshift projectiles like stones at Cadell and the soldiers at Glenn's Inn.

There was even a written letter submitted to Cadell from thirty villagers who said if they proceeded with the ballot,  “ they would refuse to disperse our fellow countrymen or to oppose a foreign foe “ which was outright rejected.

The massacre occurred when the Military started firing live rounds on the villagers. One of the first to die was Jackie Crookston. The dragoons and soldiers went about brutally killing children, women and men in and around the village using rifles and sabres.Most of them who got killed were unrelated to the unrest near Glenn's Inn and were going about their day to day lives. The belongings and very little money held in the pocket of those killed were looted by the soldiers . Official accounts state 12 dead and 20 more critically wounded but the real number could be unknown given most families of those who were killed did not have money to give a proper funeral.

No Millitia !

The military treated the people of Tranent as deserters in this war.  The ballot system used tried to force upon a duty to the people to fight in a war which they did not want to be a part of.We need to note here the occupations of the people who had to give their lives.Farmers, wood cutters, timber sawers , carpenters, mason , carter,  servants, dung layer, coal miners, young school going children and house wife's and families together were targeted and killed. We should also recognise the bravery of women like Jackie Crookston who went against men with rifles and sabres shouting ‘No Militia’ and threatening them from the very start (when the soldiers entered the village) and further organised the villagers together in protest.

The happenings in the August of 1797 brought two opposing interests in direct conflict, the working people and their employers and rulers.The forced implementation of the militia law and riots law that sided with the ruling interests (monarchy , company owners) acted as the match to the fire. It was a conflict between the interests of the Republic against the interests of the Monarchy.

I went to Tranent to understand more about the legend of Jackie Crookston but in the end understood the bravery of the people of Tranent who went against all odds and fought to protect their families and community. It has been 228 years since this incident occurred but it is every bit worth remembering now.

This memorial is one of the republican remnants of Scotland where the will of the people stood strong.

Not our war

The Tranent Massacre reminds us that the fight against unjust wars and conscription is not confined to the past. Today, as governments prioritize military spending over public welfare, the courage of Jackie Crookston and the people of Tranent resonates anew.

The NATO Military Alliance countries are committing a 5% GDP allocation for military spending showing a bogeyman Russia and China as the reason to do so.Almost all European countries have a big deficit in their public budgets and any increase in spending for defence will only cause cuts to public spending for those in dire need of this.The ones who will be hit as always are the working class whose spending on health care, social care and benefits will be first removed to bring about an increase in defence spending.

Perhaps it is time for the soil to be turned over for the white poppies to rise from the ground again.

Sennaya Swamy Naickar

Many thanks to Tranent library and Haddington museum and  John grey centre for resources used to write this article.

References :

The Tranent Massacre : Sandy Mullay

Blood stained fields : Arran Paul Johnston

Lamp of lothian : James Miller (pg 145 - 154) :
https://electricscotland.com/history/haddington/lampoflothianorh00mill.pdf