Campbell, Part II (Chapter 2)

Peter Campbell readily came to the rescue of his newly widowed daughter, Annie Campbell Stewart. He sold the Airlywight farm in Perthshire and put the money in a trust for Annie and her children. He then moved the entire family in Lignwood, Scone. He had one son living there at the time, Edward. Peter was delighted to have all his grandchildren under his watchful eye and to have his daughter there to care for her mother who had suffered a slight stroke. He also brought along two of James Stewart's ploughmen and hired them as groundskeepers along with a stable boy. So, almost the entire household from Airlywight ended up at Lignwood. There was also a cook and parlormaid on the estate. Campbell and Helen loved exploring all the rooms and attic, plus the wonderful cupula at the top of the house where there was a lookout and a flagpole. Nan, their older sister, was more inclined to "sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam" and loved entertaining her little friends in the garden gazebo. James, the youngest, was a rather sickly child who was small and had frequent colds. He required extra care, so Annie Campbell Stewart had her hands full. But they all loved Lignwood with it's spacious lawns, tennis court, gardens, and stables.

One of the two ploughmen hired as groundskeepers took Campbell under his wing and patiently taught him to fish, and the two of them spent many happy hours fishing the nearby Tay River. He also introduced little Helen to gardening, and provided her with her own little garden space on the Lignwood grounds. This made her supremely happy and she became a gardener for life. On trips to the seashore, she and Campbell would collect large shells that she would use to border and define her flower beds. It was a happy time for the children.

The only cloud for Campbell was having to sit in his grandfather's pew in the Baptist Church of Scotland every Sunday listening to the Rector and then the painful visits with his grandfather to the Rectory. He hated all the hellsfire and brimstone that was preached there and made a secret vow that, when he grew up, he would never darken the door of a church again.

When I visited the Kirk in Scone in 1974, there was my great grandfather's name on a plaque on the church wall. Campbell also kept his vow!

The four Stewart children all attended Perth Academy in Perth for their early school years. Campbell's passion for fishing continued into his teens and he became an expert fly fisherman, bringing home lines of trout and salmon (in season). One of his favorite spots was the ancient stone bridge in Perth. Sometimes Helen would accompany him, bringing her little trowel and a bucket to dig up pretty plants or flowers to transplant in her garden.

At the age of 12, Campbell made a memorable trip to London with his mother, Aunt Nellie, and his sister Nan, to go shopping and sightseeing. Their carriage was stopped, and the Queen's guard of six mounted guardsmen approached and signalled them to pull to one side. They did so and the Queen's black carriage approached. Campbell became very excited, jumped up and waved vigorously. She tilted her head at him and smiled and waved back. It was Victoria, and an exciting moment for a twelve year old from Scotland. It was at this age, as he was heading into his mid-teens, that he learned to play rugby, and that became as much of a passion as fishing had been. He loved it and had excellent coaches at the private Merchison Castle School for boys in Edinburgh, which he attended in his teens.

The Perthshire Rugby Football Club. Campbell is 4th from left, back row.