Royal Scots Greys Statue

This statue is beside Princes Street in West Princes Street Gardens, opposite the junction with Frederick Street. 

It commemorates the Royal Scots Greys who left Edinburgh in 1899 to fight  in the South African War.  It was unveiled by Lord Rosebery on 16 November 1906

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Several people have contacted me telling me that their ancestors were models for this statue.  See below  -  in particular, 'Comment 5' below.

Comment 1.

Models for the Statue

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Thank you to Claire Connelly for sending me an email in November 2004, telling me:

Anthony James Hinnigan and Polly

"My great grandfather and his horse were the models for this statue.  His name was Anthony James Hinnigan.

I can't remember the name of his horse; was it Polly?"

Comment 2.

Models for the Statue

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Thank you to Liam Harkin, Jedburgh, Scotland for an email in January 2005 giving the following additional information about the models for the statue:

Anthony James Hinnigan and Polly

"I can confirm that Sergeant-Major Anthony James Hinnigan and his horse Polly were the models for the Scots Greys Memorial, sculpted by Mr Birnie Rhind in 1906.

Anthony James Hinnigan was born in Jedburgh in 1866 and in 1882, at the age of 16, he joined the Royal Scots Greys. For the next 17 years he served with the Greys on home duty but in September 1899, by now with the rank of Sergeant-Major, he went with the Greys to South Africa when they were mobilized for service in the Second Boer War.

On his return from South Africa in 1904 Sergeant-Major Hinnigan and his horse Polly were selected as the models for Rhind's Memorial.

Sergeant-Major Hinnigan was discharged from the army in 1911 and became mine host at the Railway Inn at Irvine in Ayrshire."

Comment 3.

Model for the Statue

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Thank you to Richard Minto, Solihull, for contacting me concerning the dates above.

If I discover anything further, I'll update this page again.  Meanwhile, here is Richard's message to me.

Richard wrote:

Anthony James Hinnigan

"My wife is a great niece of Anthony Hinnigan.  She  tells him that the date of birth of Anthony Hinnigan and other dates mentioned above are not correct.  Anthony Hinnigan was actually born on May 24, 1872."

Comment 4.

Model for the Statue

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Thank you to Paul Vile, London who wrote:

George Stephen 'Doddy' Vile

"I believe there may have been more than one model for this statue.  I was brought up in the belief that my Great-grandfather, George Stephen 'Doddy' Vile, was also a model for this statue.

He was a drum major and retired from the Regiment just before the first world war, only to rejoin when the war broke out."

Comment 5.

Model for the Statue

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There appears to be more controversy than I had expected over who was the model for this statue:

I've now received two emails from Nicholas Alexander, Melbourne, Australia.

Nicolas wrote:

Robert McIntosh Alexander

"It was my Grandfather, Robert McIntosh Alexander, Royal Scots Greys Regiment, who was the model for this statue.  This has been well proven.

You can find out the correct history of the model of the statue by checking with Edinburgh Castle records.  I thought this was resolved over 20 years ago.

I have the original coloured in black and white photograph used by the sculptor, which is not my grandfather's Army Horse, but a special horse for standing for long periods very still.

I have the paperwork and correspondence from the sculptor to my grandfather discussing his saddler blanket and other chattels which my grandfather had left at Bernie Rhind's rooms.

My auntie (the model's daughter, now deceased) took this paperwork to the Castle many years ago to stop the people who claim (without offering proof) their heritage."

The Sculptor

Matt Jarrett sent me an email today, telling me that he was interested to read Nicholas Alexander's comments above.

Matt Jarrett is  the great, great grandson of the sculptor, Bernie Rhind

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