Aonghas Caimbeul (9 October 1903 – 28 January 1982), alias Am Puilean, was a

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

, and

memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) ...

Early life

Caimbeul was born on 9 October 1903 at

Swainbost Swainbost () is a village on the Isle of Lewis in the district of Ness, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The name Swainbost meaning ''Sweins steading'' is of Viking derivation. The settlement is situated in the parish of Barvas. According to Ron ...

Ness Ness or NESS may refer to: Places Australia * Ness, Wapengo, a heritage-listed natural coastal area in New South Wales United Kingdom * Ness, Cheshire, England, a village * Ness, Lewis, the most northerly area on Lewis, Scotland, UK * Cuspate ...

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

, where his family had lived since being evicted from

Uig Uig is a placename meaning "bay" (from Norse) and may refer to: Places * Uig, Coll, a hamlet on the island of Coll, Argyll and Bute, Scotland * Uig, Duirinish, a hamlet near Totaig, on the Isle of Skye, Highland Scotland * Uig, Lewis, a civil par ...

in 1842, during the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...

. The island's

Anglo-Scottish Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British de ...

landlord had originally intended for the families of the evicted to emigrate, and only granted them land at Swainbost to avoid the threat of violence. The poet's parents were Alexander Campbell from

Habost Habost () is the name of two crofting townships on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. One is in the Ness area at the northern tip of the island at and is home to an arts and music centre. It is a traditional area of the Clan M ...

(''Alastair Mhurchaidh Òig'', 1865–1948) and Christina "Christy" Maclean (''Cairistìona Aonghais MhicillEathain'', 1868–1930). Of the poet's nickname of Am Puilean, his son Donald John has said, "Many Ness nicknames have no meaning, as appears to be the case here."Ronald Black (1999), ''An Tuil: Anthology of 20th century Scottish Gaelic Verse'', page 757-759. Between 1909 and 1918, Aonghas attended the 300-pupil Cross School and later recalled, "A Lowlander, who had not a word of Gaelic, was the schoolmaster. I never had a Gaelic lesson in school, and the impression you got was that your language, people, and tradition had come from unruly, wild, and ignorant tribes and that if you wanted to make your way in the world you would be best to forget them completely. Short of the stories of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Baron Münchhausen, I have never come across anything as dishonest, untruthful, and inaccurate as the

history of Scotland The recorded history of Scotland begins with the Scotland during the Roman Empire, arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the Roman province, province of Roman Britain, Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. No ...

as taught in those days." In 1918, the poet's father became a missionary for the

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

and was assigned to Berneray,

Isle of Harris Harris (, ) is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to in opposition to the ''Isle of Lewis'' as the Isle of Harr ...

. As the family journeyed to the new assignment, they travelled through

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

, which the poet thus saw for the first time. Aonghas worked first as a cowherd at Bernery and then began working for the Stewarts of Ensay as a boatman and handyman on the islands in the

Sound of Harris The Sound of Harris () is a channel between the islands of Harris and North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Geography Approximately in width, the Sound of Harris provides the main sea passage through the Hebridean archipelago, from the ...

. In 1924, the poet began working as a crewmember on luxury yachts. In this job, he visited the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

, which later fuelled his radical social views.

India and Lewis

During the

Interwar Period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, Caimbeul enlisted in the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...

using the anglicised form of his name, Angus Campbell, and served for seven years. He wrote his first poems while on a troop transport bound for

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. While there, Caimbeul served in combat against the

Afridi The Afrīdī ( ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ) are a Pashtun tribe present mostly in tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Afridis are most dominant in the Spin Ghar range west of Peshawar in Tribal areas of modern-day Khyb ...

Pashtun tribe The Pashtun tribes (), are tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who speak the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali, the social code of conduct for Pashtuns. They are found primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan ...

during the Redshirt Rebellion in the

Spīn Ghar The Spīn GharSafīd Mountain Range
in

...

mountains of modern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. During his service in India, Caimbeul managed to attend a speech made by independence activist

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ru ...

and an aerial show by aviator

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records dur ...

. In 1932, he returned to Swainbost and invested his earnings in a shop. In 1933, he married Mary Mackay of

Eoropie Eoropie () is the most northerly village on the Isle of Lewis in the parish of Ness, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Eoropie is within the parish of Barvas. The Teampull Mholuaidh is found here. Eoropie is situated at the end of the B8013 and ...

(''Màiri na Pòlag'', 1909–1983). They had seven children, Donald John, Christine, Alasdair, Angus, Marion, Murdina, and Norman.

War poet and POW

Caimbeul remained a member of the Territorial Army and, upon the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in September 1939, he rejoined the

and saw combat against the invading

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

during the

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

. After Major-General

Victor Fortune Major General Sir Victor Morven Fortune (21 August 1883 – 2 January 1949) was a senior officer of the British Army. He saw service in both World War I and World War II. He commanded the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division during the Battle ...

surrendered the

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the World War I, First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was ra ...

to Major-General

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Pays de Caux, Caux'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. The ad ...

on 12 June 1940, Caimbeul spent the rest of the war as a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

held at

Stalag XX-A Stalag XX-A was a German World War II German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war camp located in Toruń in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland. It was not a single camp and contained as many as 20,000 men ...

, near Thorn, in

Occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...

. In accordance with the

Third Geneva Convention The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was first adopted in 1929, but significantl ...

, POWs like Caimbeul, who were below the rank of Sergeant, were required to work. For this reason, Caimbeul spent his captivity attached to ''

Arbeitskommando Forced labor was an important and ubiquitous aspect of the Nazi concentration camps which operated in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe between 1933 and 1945. It was the harshest and most inhumane part of a larger system of forced labor ...

'' ("labour units") and doing unpaid agricultural labour. In his award-winning memoir ''Suathadh ri Iomadh Rubha'', Caimbeul recalled the origins of his poem, ''Deargadan Phòland'' ("The Fleas of Poland"), "We called them the ''Freiceadan Dubh'' ('Black Watch'), and any man they didn't reduce to cursing and swearing deserved a place in the courts of the saints. I made a satirical poem about them at the time, but that didn't take the strength out of their frames or the sharpness out of their sting." Caimbeul composed other poems during his captivity, including ''Smuaintean am Braighdeanas am Pòland, 1944'' ("Thoughts on Bondage in Poland, 1944").

Later life

After a three month long forced march from Thorn to

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

and which he graphically describes in his memoirs, Caimbeul was liberated from German captivity on 11 April 1945. He returned to his native Swainbost and spent his life there as a shopkeeper until he died at

on 28 January 1982.

Writings

Aonghas Caimbeul's collected poems, ''Moll is Cruithneachd'', were published by

Gairm ''Gairm'' was a Scottish Gaelic quarterly magazine founded in 1951 by Derick Thomson, and Finlay J. MacDonald (Fionnlagh Domhnallach). Its first issue was published in Autumn 1952. MacDonald served as an editor until 1964; Thomson remained prese ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1972 and were favourably reviewed. Caimbeul's memoirs, ''Suathadh ri Iomadh Rubha'', which won the £200 prize in a contest offered by the Gaelic Books Council, was edited for publication by

Iain Moireach Iain Moireach (John Murray) (27 March 1938 – 17 November 2018) was a Scottish Gaelic writer from Barvas, Isle of Lewis. He wrote poetry, screenplays, and short stories. He published many short stories in the Gaelic magazines ''Gairm'' and '' ...

and was also published by Gairm at Glasgow in 1973. Of the memoir, Ronald Black has written, "It is a remarkable achievement consisting as it does of the memoirs of an exciting life, woven together with a forthright personal philosophy and much detailed ethnological commentary on tradition and change in island communities during the twentieth century, all steeped in a solution of anecdote, sometimes brilliantly funny. It is the twentieth century's leading work of Gaelic nonfictional prose."

References

External links

Hebridean ConnectionsBBC Alba on Aonghas Caimbeul (in Gaelic)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caimbeul, Aonghas 1903 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Scottish Gaelic poets 20th-century Scottish poets 20th-century Scottish memoirists 20th-century Scottish autobiographers British people in colonial India British World War II prisoners of war Calvinist and Reformed poets Military personnel from Highland (council area) People from the Isle of Lewis Scottish male poets Scottish expatriates in India Seaforth Highlanders soldiers World War II poets British Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany