Elephant mystery was solved for HRH The Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, by former Lord-Lieutenant of Nairnshire, Ewen Brodie of Lethen, who recalled a story which caused the duke some amusement on a visit to Nairn during his days as a student at Gordonstoun School
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The passing of the Duke of Edinburgh has resulted in an outpouring of messages of condolence from around the world.
Former Lord-Lieutenant of Nairnshire, Ewen Brodie of Lethen, recalled a story which caused the duke some amusement on a visit to Nairn during his days as a student at Gordonstoun School.
“I met the duke for the first time at a function in St James’s Palace for Lord Lieutenants and when he found out I represented Nairnshire, he approached me and recalled playing cricket for Gordonstoun on the Links,” he said.
“But he also had a very vivid recollection of an elephant being led around the boundary of the cricket pitch and he said he always wondered why.
“I saw him again at another function and he asked: ‘Did you ever solve the elephant problem’ and I had to confess I hadn’t. He slapped me on the back and I promised I would investigate.”
Ewen added: “I returned home and spoke to Alan McGowan, who is a font of knowledge about Nairnshire and does a lot of research on local history.
“He found an article in the Nairnshire Telegraph on the sports pages of a match between Nairn County Cricket Club and Gordonstoun.
“I don’t remember the result but the Duke of Edinburgh was named simply Philip on the scoresheet and he scored 21 runs. However, the answer to the mystery was contained in an advert for Billy Smart’s circus which was in Nairn during that summer of about 1935.
“By the time I solved the mystery he was married to Queen Elizabeth and was HRH Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh. They were on their summer holiday at Balmoral so I wrote to his private secretary and explained I had solved the mystery of the elephant on the Nairn Links. I received a letter back saying HRH was delighted and we met up again at another function at St James’s Palace.”
The duke paid another visit to Nairn Links for a royal visit with the Queen in 1961 when thousands turned out and the royal couple were received by the then Lord Lieutenant Brigadier James Stirling.
Ewen’s wife Mariota said: “We found him very amusing but he certainly didn’t suffer fools gladly.”
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