Glen Grant's African Son

Glen Grant's African Son

Iain Russell

The North East abounds with 'Macs' - Macintosh, MacPherson, MacIntyre etc. But only the Morayshire town of Rothes can lay claim to a 'Mak', and the remarkable story of an orphaned African boy who came to live there during the 1890s. Biawa Makalaga was his name, and he became one of the town's favourite sons.

Biawa came to Scotland in highly unusual circumstances. In February 1898 Maj. James Grant, the eccentric and impulsive proprietor of the Glen Grant Distillery at Rothes, sailed for Southern Africa in search of big game and adventure. After the death of his first wife he married his children's governess, Fanny, who accompanied him on the long voyage by luxury liner from Southampton to Cape Town. Together they travelled north to Kimberley, then to his son's farm on the Orange River. Finally, they travelled by train to Bulawayo to meet up with the Major's old friend, the goldmine owner and adventurer 'Boss Johan' Colenbrander who had played a crucial role in founding Rhodesia. With Colenbrander and friends they set off on safari in ox-drawn wagons to hunt big game.

The little hunting expedition roamed far and wide across remote parts of Matabeleland, returning to Bulawayo a few weeks later. On their way back, the Europeans passed through country recently devastated by famine, and came across two skinny orphan boys in the care of a destitute Matabele cattle herder and his wife. On questioning the couple, Colenbrander discovered that the boys were of the Kalanga people. They had been wandering in the bush when the couple found them and took them in.

The boys' chances of survival seemed slim, and one of the Major's companions said he would take a youngster back to Bulawayo and employ him as a servant. The Major decided he would take the other boy. When he and Fanny returned to Rothes, the bewildered child travelled with them. The Major's new ward was known as Biawa Makalaga - Biawa, apparently, because he had been found 'By the way', (although biwa is the Shona word for stolen), and Makalaga because that was the name that 19th century Europeans gave to the Kalanga.

Back at Glen Grant House, Biawa was employed as a pageboy, and was dressed in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit of black and a starched white collar. He was educated at the local school, and soon had a perfect command of English - tinged with Doric, of course, and with a strong Rothesian accent! The little boy grew to a strong, healthy adulthood, and he became Major Grant's footman and general house servant. Biawa lived through happy times at the big house, for the Major was a great entertainer and many celebrities of the day would come to stay when travelling in the area.

Although he was never 'naturalised' Biawa was born in an outpost of the British Empire and was considered a British citizen. In 1916 he was called up to serve his adopted country in the Great War, and enlisted in the Northampton Regiment at Fort George near Nairn. In February the following year he sailed from Devonport for Alexandria in Egypt, where he and his fellow soldiers joined the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force fighting the Turks. Biawa was posted to the East Africa Field Ambulance.

Private Biawa Makalaga 203281 embarked from Port Said for Britain in August 1919. When he was demobilised in March 1920, he returned to life as a servant at Glen Grant House. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his spell serving in his adopted country's army.

It seems that it was after the war that Biawa developed his greatest passion - for Rothes Football Club. Biawa played in goal for the team, originally known as Rothes Victoria, during the 1920s. Locals remember him as a solid and reliable performer between the sticks, and he became something of a celebrity in the local football world - after all, there were not many teams in Scotland playing with an African butler for a goalie.

After his playing days ended, Biawa remained a loyal Rothes supporter and regularly attended home games after the club joined the Highland League in 1938. He became such a fixture at the ground, Mackessack Park, that he was given a complementary seat in the stand and a half-time cup of tea on match days. On the rare occasions when he went to watch Rothes play away from home, he travelled on the team bus.

When the Major died in 1931, his will stipulated that "any heir occupying Glen Grant House shall maintain Biawa as a servant so long as he is obedient, respectful and sober and willing to remain". Biawa stayed on to work for the Major's daughter by his thrid marriage, Mary.

Biawa got on well with his fellow Rothesians, but there is no doubt that for much of the time his life there must have been a very lonely one. The friends he made in his youth soon married and settled down, but Biawa, a black man living at a time when mixed race marriages were frowned upon in Scotland, seems never to have had a sweetheart. Nevertheless, his quiet, shy manner and cheery nature made him a popular man in the town and beyond. After Biawa's life story appeared in a local newspaper in 1969, he received many letters from people he had met over the years, all of them from ladies.

Biawa had to move out of Glen Grant House during the Second World War, when the 51st Highlanders requisitioned Glen Grant House and Mary moved to a new home in the south of England. He found a position as a servant in a mansion on the Moray Coast, but he did not enjoy the experience of living some miles from his beloved Rothes and even tried (unsuccessfully) to find work with his friends at the Glen Grant Distillery. After the soldiers departed the old house, he was happy to hand in his notice to his employers and return to his old home.

Mary never returned to the house, and the Major's grandson and successor as proprietor of the distillery, Douglas Mackessack, chose not to move there. The house was divided into flats and let out to distillery workers and their families. Biawa had his own rooms, and Douglas Mackessack made sure that his grandfather's faithful old retainer had his meals provided each day at a nearby inn, the Seafield Arms.

At the end of 1971, Biawa took ill and was admitted to Aberlour Hospital. He died there on January 4, 1972. No one, including Biawa, knew his correct age. He was probably in his early eighties. In his will, the Rothes loon left his savings and any money that might be realised by the sale of his gun, fishing rod, and wood saw to his beloved Rothes FC. The club received a cheque for the princely sum of £36.11s.

Rumour has it that Biawa's ghost has been seen at night wandering through the Glenrothes Distillery in the town. It seems a strange place for someone to revisit when his affections and loyalties must have lain with the Major's establishment along the road. But then again, Biawa never did develop a taste for the free single malt whiskies from the distillery on his doorstep. Down at the Seafield Arms, Biawa's favourite tipple was gin and tonic!

This article first appeared in September 2000 in Leopard Magazine (www.leopardmag.co.uk) under the title 'African orphan with a passion for football' and is re-published in "Celtic Spirit" with permission. Pictures courtesy of Chivas Brothers (with thanks to Yvonne Thackeray).