The cutting above tells the story. The Games celebrated their centenary in September 1926 and the King and Queen were there to see it. The weather was not at its best, but as the headline says, the crowds turned out in force. The Press pointed out that Braemar was once a local event but the motor car changed that. Among the vehicles spotted were Rolls Royce, Daimler, charabanc, motor cycle and combination, plus of course ‘the humble push bike’. The village itself was described by one local as a huge parking place. Everywhere in the village there were visitors trying to buy souvenirs, even the Post Office was full. A stall selling a book on the history of the Games was sold out very quickly.
The Games themselves went off well with events that were confined to locals, confined to members of the Society and open events. There were many athletes with multiple successes:
J Maitland won four events; F Grassick and J Edwards won three events; R Milne, B Smith, R Starkey and Ian Grant won two events each. But many athletes competed in a whole plethora of events. eg. Starkey took part in a total of 7 events, all throws, but he didn’t stop there. He also took part in the Cumberland style wrestling where he was beaten for first place by J Nicholson and had George Clark behind him in third place. Ian Grant also did seven. F Grassick was in action five times in the course of the afternoon. And many more athletes had similarly demanding schedules.
The Invercauld Highlanders marching in to the arena
The results of the Games Events, there were 10 races, 14 Heavy events and 5 Jumps (29 in all):
Girls Race: 1. Bella McIntosh; 2. Lizzie Young; 3. Alice Armstrong. Boys Race: 1. Jas Christie; 2. Alex Thain
Obstacle Race: 1. JM Morrice; 2. DJ Edwards; 3. J Aitken; 4. W Gray
Boys three legged race: A Thain & J Christie
Sack Race (Local and Society): 1. R Milne; 2. J Gillespie; 3. J Gilbert; 4. J Munro
Sack Race Over Hurdles: 1. R Milne; 2. J Morrice; 3. J Lenie; 4. J Christie
Clansmen’s Race (Over 55 years of age): 1. J Duncan; 2. G Beddie; 3. D Grant; 4. C McIntosh
200 Yards Race: 1. J Edwards (22 sec); 2. G Taylor; 3. R Bennet; 4. J Drummond
Quarter Mile Race (Local and Society): 1. W Gray; 2. W Croll; 3. R Milne; 4. J Gilbert
Half Mile Race (Open): 1. B Smith 2 min 05 sec; 2. R Bennet; 3. J Drummond; 4. J Edwards
Two Miles Race: 1. B Smith; 2. R Bennet; 3. F Tate; 4. Hector
Heavy Stone (Local): 1. Ian Grant 24′ 5″; 2. F Grassick 23′ 5″; 3. A Innes 21′ 9 1/2″; 4. G Simpson
Heavy Stone (Society): 1. BK Michie 25′ 2″: 2. J Davidson 24′ 6 1/2″; 3. Ian Grant 24′ 5″; 4. F Grassick 23′ 5″
Putting 16 lb ball (Local): 1. F Grassick 35′ 2″; 2. Ian Grant 34′ 5″; 3. A Innes 31′ 5″; 4. G Simpson 30′ 6″
Putting 16 lb ball (Society): 1. R Starkey 40′ 8″; 2. M Michie 89′ 8″; 3. J Graham; 4. J Maitland
Putting the Stone 28 lb: 1. R Starkey 28′ 2. J Graham 27′ 5″; 3. J Nicholson 27′ 1″; 4. M Michie 26′ 9 1/2″
Throwing 18 lb Weight: J Maitland 62′ 8″; 2. R Starkey 61′ 9 1/2″; 3. WW Fergueon; 4. Graham 55′ 6″
Throwing 56 lb Weight: 1. J Maitland 32′ 1″; 2. WW Ferguson 31′ 3″; 3. R Starkey; 4. J Nicholson
Throwing 16 lb Hammer (Local): 1. Ian Grant 95′ 1″; 2. F Grassick 88′ 4″; 3. W Innes; 4. W Jamieson
Throwing 16 lb hammer (Society): 1. J Davidson 100′ 11″; 2. J Kennedy 99′ 4″: 3. J Gilbert 95′ 6″; 4. Ian Grant 95′ 1″
Throwing 16 lb Hammer (Open): 1. J Maitland 112′ 10″; 2. R Starkey 105′ 10″; 3. G Clark 104′ 1″; 4. WW Ferguson 101′ 2″
Throwing 22 lb Hammer: 1. J Maitland 90′ 6″; 2. R Starkey 83′ 7″; 3. G Clark 83′ 4″; 4. WW Ferguson
Tossing the Caber (Local): 1. F Grassick ; 2. Ian Grant; 3. A James; 4. A Jamieson
Tossing the Caber (Society): 1. F Grassick; 2. DH Michie and Ian Grant equal; 3. J Davidson
Tossing the Caber: 1. 1. J Nicholson; 2. R Starkey; 3. Maitland and Michie (equal)
Running Long Leap (Local): 1. W Croll 15′ 7″; 2. J Munro 15′ 5″; 3. G Gillespie 15′ 1″; 4. 15′
Hop, Step and Jump: 1. J Edwards 41′ 2″; 2. W Lenie 41′ 3″; 3. Hector 39′ 10″; 4. Cruikshank 38′ 7″
Running High Leap (Local): 1. G Thomson 5′ 1″; 2. J Gillespie 5′ 0″; 3. G Simpson 4′ 11″; 4. W Croll 4′ 9″
High Leap: 1. J Edwards 5′ 6″; 2. W Lenie 5′ 5″; 3. G Aitken; 4. J Gilbert
Vaulting with Pole: 1. J Cameron and A Sinclair (equal) 10′ 3″; D Tulloch and A Lawson (equal) 10′ 1″
Braemar was 100 years old and in the course of that time it had made many innovations – some worked (as with the boys and girls races) and some were dropped after several years (such as the hurdles race over 13 hurdles and ending with a swim over the river). Centenary Year was significant for the fact that the BBC was there broadcasting the event to the nation. The picture above is evidence of that. The programme was on the radio from 2:45 to 4:00 pm.
The photograph below is of cars waiting their turn to get over the Devil’s Elbow on their way to the Games – we are told that it was just as difficult for the on the way home
The Games were still up and running!