“Are these already the Highlands?” I ask Stephan as we get off the bus in Edinburgh. “Not quite,” he grins. A few hills don’t make the Highlands. Those are further to the northwest. And soon I’ll get to know them.
But first things first. Today it’s Edinburgh on the agenda. Bus route 26 has taken us into the city centre and we’re looking up a hill from Princes Street. There, Edinburgh Castle sits enthroned above the Scottish capital. Below, where we are, lies Princes Street Gardens. Perfectly mown lawn, trees and benches.
Benches everywhere, in fact. “Banks of Scotland,” I think to myself, and resolve not to bother anyone with that pun, when the plaques on the benches catch my eye. Every bench carries a plaque with a donor’s name or a dedication.
Here’s one bench that reads
IN MEMORY OF
ALEXANDER CRAMOND HOBSON, M.B.E.
GIFTED BY HIS WIDOW
Who might Alexander Cramond Hobson have been?
M.B.E. stands for “Member of the British Empire”, an honour awarded for special services to the Kingdom. Though admittedly, “Member” is the lowest rank of the Order of the British Empire. But let’s not be too critical. Alexander Cramond Hobson surely earned his M.B.E.
A Google search turns up two more pieces of information about Alexander Cramond Hobson: the entry in the “London Gazette” helps place Mr Hobson in time. He apparently received his honour in June 1935. Under
To be Additional Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order
you’ll find the entry
Alexander Cramond Hobson, Esq., Vice Chairman of the Edinburgh Employment Committee
So he was vice chairman of the Edinburgh Employment Committee. What does this committee do? Did Alexander Cramond Hobson receive his honour for his services to employees? Or did he advocate for employers? The Gazette doesn’t say.
There’s just one more find: there’s a blog that shows the view from benches in Edinburgh. Including the bench dedicated to the highly decorated Alexander Cramond Hobson, M.B.E. In that photo the bench must have stood somewhere else, looking towards the castle. Now, the view from the bench looks up towards Princes Street.
When I look up, I notice that Stephan and everyone else have already moved on. We have one day for Edinburgh – far too little for the castle, the Writers’ Museum, Holyrood Park and all the other sights.
And tomorrow it’s off to the Highlands. Alexander Cramond Hobson stays here on his bench in Scotland.