General Frederick William Traill-Burroughs Page

The book “The Little General and the Rousay Crofters - Crisis and Conflict on an Orkney Estate” by William P.L.Thomson (for details see foot of page) tells the story of the General and his dealings with his tenants on Rousay.

"General Frederick William Traill -Burroughs of Rousay and Viera had the reputation of being the worst of the nineteenth century Orkney lairds. To be so regarded was an unenviable reputation since Orkney lairds were a far from popular class and it was not easy to earn the distinction of being the worst.”

He had been born in 1831, the eldest of seven children, to General Frederick William Burroughs and Caroline (nee de Peyron), at Fatehgarh - a military post - on the banks of the Ganges not far from Cawnpore, India. His mother, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles Adolphus Marie de Peyron, who had died at the age of twenty-six. Charles’s father, the Chevalier Charles Adrian de Peyron, a recently ennobled Frenchman in the service of the King of Sweden, was killed in a duel in Paris with the Comte de la Marck in 1784.

When he was nine years old, the young Frederick was sent home to England in the company of his uncle, George William Traill, who was retiring from the Bengal Civil Service. His uncle arranged for his education firstly at Blackheath and then Hofwyl in Switzerland. He did well at school but never grew tall. In fact, all through his life he was very conscious of his shortness - he was only about 5 feet tall.

When he was sixteen and still in Switzerland he learnt of his uncle’s death and his inheritance of the Island of Rousay.

The next year, when he was seventeen, he joined the 93rd, the Sutherland Highlanders, as an ensign. The regiment had just returned from Quebec and his first official duty was to be one of the three officers and fifty men who formed the guard of honour at Balmoral for Queen Victoria’s first visit.

Six years later he was in the Crimea with the regiment. He fought at the Battle of Alma where the 93rd were part of “The Thin Red Line”. Despite many casualties caused by fever, cholera and dysentery as well as enemy action, his own health was good. The regiment was in the front line at Sebastopol when the war ended. They were preparing to assault the town - it is said with Burroughs leading the first wave of the Highland Brigade - but discovered next morning that the enemy had withdrawn during the previous night so he missed his moment of potential glory.

The regiment returned to England in the autumn and embarked for China the next June. On arrival at Capetown they heard of the terrible stories of the Indian Mutiny, which had just started. On the authority of the Governor of the Cape, their orders were changed and the regiment was sent to Calcutta. In the meantime, Sir Colin Campbell, had arrived from England to command a force to relieve Cawnpore then to do likewise at Lucknow. The 93rd were to be part of this force with Captain Burroughs in command of No. 6 Company.

On arrival at Lucknow they met fierce resistance with the mutineers eventually falling back into the Sikanderbagh (the Garden of Alexander). This was a large square garden with walls about twenty feet high and only one very well protected entrance. It was decided to bring up the meagre force of artillery to make a breach in one of the walls for the infantry to storm through. The 93rd were again in the leading position with Captain Burroughs sheltered a little ahead of his company. From the moment a small breach was made so the controversy raged as to who was the first to leap through the gap and into the garden.

Captain Burroughs was adamant that he was the first but, due to the confusion of the moment, various other accounts of who was first were reported. He was subsequently recommended to receive the newly created Victoria Cross for his gallant action. However, because of the conflicting reports from various eyewitnesses and certain interventions by the commander, Sir Colin Campbell, it was eventually awarded to Captain Stewart of the 93rd, one of three officers of the 93rd who had been recommended for the honour.

In the meantime, Captain Burroughs had been left for dead in the garden with a head wound from which he recovered then shortly afterwards sustained compound fractures to both the bones in his right leg. In the fullness of time he made a complete recovery; came home on leave; visited Rousay then returned to his regiment in India. Later a cholera epidemic struck; two of the senior officers died and Major Burroughs found himself promoted to battalion C.O.

In 1864 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and commanded the regiment in bitter fighting in the North West Frontier. He and the regiment returned home in 1870 and after a spell in command at Edinburgh Castle he eventually retired from the army in 1873.

On his return from India, he and his wife, Eliza (Lizzie) D’Oyly Geddes, visited Rousay in July 1870 and were loyally greeted by his various tenants with speeches on both sides and suitable refreshments. From this high point there began the gradual breakdown in relations between Colonel Burroughs and the islanders.

He did not own all the island but purchased other parcels of land. He was not at all well off and had to borrow money firstly to pay off his father’s outstanding debts and to finance his purchases and later, to have the grand house at Trumland built. To increase his income he increased the crofter’s rents and if they couldn’t pay, they were evicted. Evictions had also taken place in the time of the previous laird, his uncle, George William Traill. However, from 1870 until 1883, there were a large number of improvements to the social life of the island, which were generally appreciated by the crofters - the building of Trumland pier; first ploughing match; first Agricultural Show; annual school picnic; various island schools were opened; public market; best kept cottage award; first steamship service by the “Lizzie Burroughs”; Post Office; first resident doctor and many other firsts.

“For the thirteen years up to 1883 life in Rousay was, at least superficially, something like that ideal. Burroughs was genuinely trying to provide a lead and to work for the betterment of the community. As long as the agricultural prosperity lasted, relations between the laird and his tenants were generally good. On an individual level his tenants found him approachable and often more amenable than his factor. For example, strict estate regulations bound a tenant to specified crop rotations but Burroughs would sometimes allow the tenant to vary his cropping when the reason for the change had been explained to him. He was also well liked by his household servants and even embarrassed the well-trained servant with his courtesy. At that time it was not considered proper for the master to recognise a servant girl should he meet her in the street but Burroughs, with the officer’s habit of returning the salute of the other ranks, would always doff his hat. The girls at market time avoided embarrassment by dodging into Kirkwall lanes when they saw the General approaching.”

Work on the new Trumland House started in 1873 to a design by David Bruce of Edinburgh and was finished in 1876. The first estimate of the price was ‘a very compact, complete and nice looking house for less than £3,000’. Even after various changes, the final bill was about £12,000, including furnishings. This dramatically increased Burrough’s indebtedness.

Trumland House, Rousay

William Thomson describes the house as follows;-

“It was an imposing mansion house with Burroughs’ military medals carved in stone above the door (without, to his continuing chagrin, the Victoria Cross), and its high-ceilinged rooms provided spacious and comfortable surroundings for a household that could afford an indoor staff of a butler-valet, a cook, three maids and extra help at busy times. The first-floor drawing room looked out over the islands of Wyre, Egilsay and Gairsay, one of the most magnificent views in Orkney with the random scatter of smooth green islands, which gave the North Isles of Orkney their peculiar charm. Burroughs always hoped that the future Edward V11, then Prince of Wales, would visit Trumland and it was a setting in which he could have entertained without disgrace. The impending visit of Prince Edward was used to keep the servants up to the mark. ‘What would Teddy say?’ the laird would demand in mock anger when he found something amiss. However, a visit from Prince Henry of Orleans - deposed French royalty - was the most he was ever to achieve. Despite its grandeur, Trumland was a gaunt building. The Orkney landscape was too naked for such an extravagance. The house was surrounded by fifty acres of terraced gardens, gravel walkways and wooded policies but, even a hundred years later, the trees have not yet grown sufficiently to blend the house into its setting. In Burroughs’ time, despite the attempts at landscaping, it must have appeared a monstrous pile on a bare hillside.

Such a house with its surrounding offices - coach house, kennels, joiner’s shop, stables and gamekeeper’s house - could not be cheap and turned out to be a good deal more expensive than Burroughs had expected.”

The book also indirectly explains how the seventh child of Alexander and Catherine might have come to be named.

“Previous factors had lived in Kirkwall, but in 1875 Burroughs appointed a full-time resident factor to manage the estate and George Murrison, an Aberdeenshire man, was chosen. Living in Viera Lodge, the former residence of George William Traill, and working in regular contact with a resident proprietor who took a keen interest in the day to day running of the estate, Murrison had neither the independence nor the status which Scarth (his predecessor), had enjoyed “.

It is quite possible that Alexander and the factor had struck up a friendship as they arrived to serve General Burroughs about the same time and were both from the mainland. They most probably would have been in daily contact with one another by nature of their respective jobs. Possibly Alexander wanted to impress and influence the factor by naming his son after him.

In the mid 1870’s General Burroughs was anxious to start up a steamship service to serve Rousay and adjacent islands. The ‘Lizzie Burroughs’ was built and experienced many troubles.

“In 1877 it was decided to go ahead on the basis of a service terminating in Rousay. House-to-house visits were made by the factor, by now George Murrison, for the purpose of persuading farmers to take shares in the company. The collection met with some success and a number of Kirkwall people also invested in the venture, but the factor’s efforts had made a bad impression. With the recent financing of the roads in mind, many people were wary of taking on a new burden. They felt that someone as wealthy as Burroughs should be financing his own schemes, not cadging money from his poor tenants”

The ‘Lizzie Burroughs’ had been built in Leith, was 61 feet overall and had a gross tonnage of 31 tons. She was supposed to have a speed of 15 knots but when in service was very slow.

By August 1879, at the first Annual General Meeting, things appeared to be going reasonably well and General Burroughs was reappointed chairman with George Murrison as unpaid secretary. However, in succeeding years, things went from bad to worse.

“In reality there was no money to be made from the company and the expenses were never-ending. In 1887 the company had to pay £138 for a new boiler and in 1890 the Board of Trade inspector ordered extensive repairs, which required the vessel to go to Hall, Russell and Co., Aberdeen at a cost of a further £116. Then Burroughs decided to dispense with the services of a full-time factor and George Murrison, who had acted as unpaid manager since the company’s inception, left to take a farm in Aberdeenshire. Burroughs insisted that Murrison receive and honorarium of £52.10s for his services over the years and, although other directors protested that the company was again in debt by over £300, the honorarium was paid”

In the meantime, as the book relates, there was so much underlying trouble and ill feeling on Rousay generated by the results of the Napier Commission under the chairmanship of Francis Napier, Lord Napier and Ettrick, onetime Governor of Madras, which had been set up to examine the grievances of the crofters of the Highlands and Islands in 1883 and which eventually set crofter against farmer and the General; increased rents on crofts and eventual evictions of those who couldn’t pay. The General appeared to take full advantage of the situation to get rid of all the ‘trouble makers’ from the land he owned. There was also the constant strife amongst the members of the School Board for control and implementation of their own pet ideas.

Rousay was a very unhappy place for many its inhabitants especially in the 1880’s.

“Burroughs spectacular reaction to the anonymous letter encouraged others to write in the same vein. The ‘Orcadian’ received, but did not publish a letter thought to be in the same handwriting. The ‘Friend of the People’ wrote again from Edinburgh describing the Sheriff and his entourage as ‘all toadies’. A third letter, addressed to Mrs. Burroughs, purported to come from Mrs. Grieve, her former maid, and contained threats against Burroughs and also against ‘all Caithness men and strangers’ “

This third letter is quoted in ‘The Orkney Herald’ of the 14th May 1884. Whether this was the reason that the Auld family left the island is not known but it quite possible that it was a contributory factor.

As a postscript to this stage of the Auld story, the book shows that;-

“For Burroughs there were honours in old age. He was appointed honorary colonel both of the Warwickshire Regiment and of his own regiment, now amalgamated to form the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and he was a popular figure at their regimental dinners. In 1904, a year before his death, he received a knighthood and saw this as a recompense for his failure to win the Victoria Cross at Lucknow............... In November Burroughs was taken ill just before he was due to act as chairman at a regimental dinner to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Balaclava, and his illness developed into a sharp attack of jaundice. By the end of the year he was well enough to move to London but suffered a relapse and died there on 9th April 1905”

General Sir Frederick Traill-Burroughs & Lady Traill-Burroughs Lady Trumland House staff

General Sir Frederick Traill-Burroughs
& Lady "Lizzie" Traill-Burroughs Lady "Lizzie" Traill-Burroughs Trumland House staff
thought to be in late 1880's

Trumland House

Trumland House Trumland House

The five images shown above have been kindly provided by several present day descendants of the Burroughs family.

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Trumland House was badly damaged by fire in 1985 and was subsequently reroofed at a cost said to be about £250,000. However, there was much internal renovation needed to make it habitable. The estate was up for sale stating 'Offers in the region of £500,000 are invited'.

The house was sold in December 2001 but up to about the end of 2003 no obvious internal repairs appear to have been carried out.

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“The Little General and the Rousay Crofters” - Crisis and Conflict on an Orkney Estate - by William P.L.Thomson.
Published by John Donald Publishers Ltd., 138 St.Stephen Street, Edinburgh in 1981
ISBN 0 85976 062 6

Alexander Auld
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General Sir Frederick Traill-Burroughs & Lady "Lizzie" Traill-Burroughs	Lady "Lizzie" Traill-Burroughs	Trumland House staff thought to be in late 1880's