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Bells Ring Out for Clan Cameron
from BBC News
September 16, 2006

A 260-year-old tradition has been revived for the triumphal return of a historic clan to Glasgow.

Bells were rung across the city to mark the return of the Clan Cameron in a tradition dating from the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.  Councillor Liz Cameron, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, was also hosting a civic reception for clan members.  A Cameron leader stopped angry Jacobite troops from destroying the city as they retreated in December 1745.

Glasgow was openly hostile to Prince Charles Edward Stuart and the Highlanders as they retreated through the city during the second Jacobite Uprising.

 

The intervention of the Gentle Lochiel saved Glasgow from the most terrible of fates
Liz Cameron
Lord Provost of Glasgow

 

Many of the army's commanders were incensed by the reception they received, and were determined to sack and burn the city, putting the residents to the sword.  However, the intervention of the Cameron of Lochiel - known as the Gentle Lochiel - forced the commanders to think again and the city was spared.  As a sign of the city's appreciation it was decreed by town magistrates that each time the Lochiel or his descendants entered the city the bells would be rung in his honour.

The age-old tradition was re-enacted at noon, as the Camerons of Lochiel were greeted by the sounds of bells peeling from the Trongate Steeple and St George's Tron. The Lord Provost was then hosting a reception for the Clan at the City Chambers.  The lord provost said: "The intervention of the Gentle Lochiel saved Glasgow from the most terrible of fates.  "He was known as one of the noblest of Clan chiefs and I'm delighted to be able to salute a little known, but incredibly important, part of our city's history.

"With the launch of our new Mediaeval Strategy, it is crucial that we cherish Glasgow's past just as much as we look forward to an ambitious and prosperous future for our great city."