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Cò an aon duine, a bharrachd air an rìgh no banrigh, a th’ air ainmeachadh anns an laoidh nàiseanta Bhreatannach? Seo an rann anns a bheil e:

Lord, grant that Marshal Wade

May, by thy mighty aid,

Victory bring.

May he sedition hush,

And, like a torrent, rush,

Rebellious Scots to crush.

God save the King.

Cha tèid mi an sàs anns na poilitigs! Ach ʼs e freagairt na ceiste – an Seanailear – no Marasgal – Seòras Wade. Bha mi ag innse dhuibh mu Wade an t-seachdain sa chaidh. Thog e rathaidean is drochaidean air a’ Ghàidhealtachd. 

Ach carson a bhiodh fear-togail dhrochaidean is rathaidean air ainmeachadh ann an laoidh nàiseanta Bhreatainn? Uill, a chionn ʼs gun robh Wade cliùmhor mar shaighdear.

Dh’fhàg Wade a’ Ghàidhealtachd ann an seachd ceud deug is ceathrad (1740). Fhuair e àrdachadh dreuchd. Bha e a-nise na fheachd-mharasgal no fieldmarshal. Bha e thall ann am Flànrais greis. Thill e a Shasainn ann an seachd ceud deug, ceathrad ʼs a ceithir (1744). Bha e an uair sin os cionn an airm gu lèir.

Carson nach e Wade a sheas an aghaidh arm nan Seumasach aig Blàr Chùil Lodair? Uill, cha deach cùisean ro mhath dha ann an Sasainn. Chaidh na Seumasaich thar na crìche. Bha Wade anns a’ Chaisteal Nuadh. Bha e an dùil gun rachadh na Seumasaich thar na crìche aig Bearaig. Ach ghabh iad rathad Chathair Luail air taobh eile na dùthcha. 

Eadhon air an rathad air ais a dh’Alba, cha do rinn Wade cron air na Seumasaich. Cha robh e furasta dha armailt mhòr a ghluasad eadar an Caisteal Nuadh agus Cathair Luail. Thog e rathad airm eile – an turas seo ann an ceann a tuath Shasainn. Gu mì-fhortanach, ge-tà, thàinig mòran de na clachan airson an rathaid bho Bhalla Hadrian. 

Ghabh Diùc Chumberland ceannas arm Bhreatainn thairis bho Wade. Chaochail Wade dà bhliadhna an dèidh sin. Cha do phòs e riamh. Bha e beartach. Dh’fhàg e fortan. Chaidh còig ceud not dhen t-sùim a chleachdadh airson carragh-cuimhne a thogail dha ann an Abaid Westminster. Sin far a bheil e air a thiodhlacadh.

Who is the one man, in addition to the king or queen, who is named in the British national anthem? Here is the verse in which he appears:

Lord, grant that Marshal Wade

May, by thy mighty aid,

Victory bring.

May he sedition hush,

And, like a torrent, rush,

Rebellious Scots to crush.

God save the King.

I’ll not get involved in the politics! But the answer to the question is – General – or Marshal – George Wade. I was telling you about Wade last week. He built roads and bridges in the Highlands.

But why would a builder of bridges and roads be named in the British national anthem? Well, because Wade was renowned as a soldier.

Wade left the Highlands in 1740. He got promotion. He was a now a fieldmarshal. He was over in Flanders for a while. He returned to England in 1744. He was then in command of the whole army.

Why was it not Wade that stood against the Jacobite army in the Battle of Culloden? Well, matters didn’t go too well for him in England. The Jacobites went across the border. Wade was in Newcastle. He expected that the Jacobites would cross the border at Berwick. But they took the Carlisle route on the other side of the country.

Even on their journey back to Scotland, Wade did not damage the Jacobites. It wasn’t easy for him to move a large military force between Newcastle and Carlisle. He built another military road – this time in the north of England. Unfortunately, however, many of the stones for the road came from Hadrian’s Wall.

The Duke of Cumberland took over the leadership of the British Army from Wade. Wade died two years later. He never married. He was wealthy. He left a fortune. £500 of the sum was used to build him a memorial in Westminster Abbey. That’s where he is buried.