Every month we choose a clan to celebrate, we highlight their history, castles, famous faces and an interview or two with interesting people from the clan or society. As part of our celebration we always ask clan members to share their stories with us too as we love hearing more about the lives of the modern day clan. This month we are delighted to share the story of Clan MacKenzie.
Touring Castle Leod with the Clan Chief
Judy McKenzie from Danvers Massachusetts, emailed us to tell us about her visit to Castle Leod in 2016 where they had a wonderful meeting with John MacKenzie, Earl of Cromartie, and head of the Clan MacKenzie. He gave them a personal tour of the castle and the grounds. It was a trip to be remembered ! Her husband, Peter Mackenzie, was born in Bridge of Weir, Scotland. They waited at the post office to inquire after Hillary MacKenzie, the postmistress as they had seen an article in a newspaper that stated that the postmaster of this village had been in the MacKenzie family for a hundred years, and had been told that Peter’s great grandfather, had been a post master there.
A MacKenzie Marriage
Eddy and his new wife Emily, were married in July during the Covid 19 lockdown. Despite the restrictions in place they had a beautiful day, with Eddy choosing to wear his partners tartan - Mackenzie Clan Ancient - for the ceremony. While his new Father in Law wore a Mackenzie Dress Ancient Kilt.
A Mini MacKenzie Mask
Regular customer Guy wanted to protect his family during the Covid Crisis and asked us to make some masks for his Daughter and Son in Law in the Mackenzie Modern Tartan, but made a special request for a tiny mask for his new granddaughter (purely for novelty of course). They loved their gift and as you can see.
MacKenzie Manicure
Caitlin (@caitlinvnails on Instagram) has an Instagram Account dedicated to her Nail Art, when we noticed that she had re-created the MacKenzie tartan on her nails we had to have a chat with her! Here's what she had to say about her Scottish Ancestry:
My grandmother was a McKenzie and very proud of her Scottish heritage. It was her great-great grandfather that came to America from Prince Edward Island. Our connection to Scotland has been passed down for generations. My grandmother always had a picture of Eileen Donan castle over her fireplace. She called it the McKenzie castle and we always thought of it as ours. Visiting the castle in person, and Scotland as a whole, was such an amazing experience.
Celebrating St Andrew's Day at the Ball
Richard MacKenzie is Vice President of the St Andrews Society of Los Angeles and he got in touch to tell us about the annual St Andrews Ball that is organised alongside the St Andrews Society of Montreal. The two societies formed an alliance as the President of the Montreal Society, Brian, is actually a MacKenzie as well! This picture is from the Ball in 2015, when the Earl of Kinnoull Charles Hay and his wife Clare visited from the family seat of Dupplin Castle just outside of Perth, Scotland. The St Andrew's Society of Montreal was first founded in 1835 and the St Andrew's Ball has been held annually since 1872, a tradition that has grown to include events held throughout the week surrounding the ball and hosts guests from throughout North America and of course Scotland. We were lucky enough to visit Montreal in 2019 to take part in their Highland games and to meet their wonderful president, Marilyn.
Discovering RAF Sunderland
Kenneth MacKenzie from New Zealand emailed in to us to tell us the story of his ancestor finding a remnant from a plane crash during World War II. Read his story below:
On August 25th 1942 an RAF Sunderland flying boat crashed in mysterious circumstances on Eagle Rock above Dunbeath, killing 14 of the 15 on board, including Prince George Duke of Kent, the youngest brother of King George VI. My great-uncle, Robert MacKenzie-Sutherland, who happened to be up in the hills above his croft tending his whiskey still, was first at the crash site, and although unable to be of assistance, he came across a dessert spoon in the wreckage, bearing the RAF crest and marks of the disaster. This has been passed down through several generations of the MacKenzie family, and is now a treasured possession of my son, Kenneth Mackenzie III, reminding us of those dark days of WW2. The 'mysterious circumstances' of the crash according to the sole survivor, Flight Sgt. Andrew Jack, the Duke of Kent had taken over the controls from the pilot, Flight Lt. Frank, and was responsible for the deviation from the flight plan. The official report placed the blame on Lt. Frank, and the sole survivor was prevented from telling the true story under the Official Secrets Act. He was so concerned that the reputation of his flight commander was unjustly tarnished that on his deathbed in 1976 he told the true story to clear the Commander Frank's name.
Stories from the ScotlandShop Sofa
Anna and Monja were back again on the sofa to give you the lowdown on Clan MacKenzie, from their interesting history, to Clan Chiefs and even talking about the present day Clan and what they have been up to most recently. Give it a watch to learn all there is to know about the Magnificent Mackenzie's.
Now that August has come to an end, that certainly doesn't mean our love for Clan MacKenzie is over, so be sure to get in touch with us if you fancy chatting all things MacKenzie!
