Old Edinburgh Worthies 5: Tory Gunn, Piper Campbell and Apple Glory

Georgian and Victorian Edinburgh​ boasted a considerable population of street characters. The Victorian artist Ned Holt made it his business to record the doings of these ‘street worthies’, shedding much-needed light on the dark underbelly of the Capital of the time.
Piper CampbellPiper Campbell
Piper Campbell

TORY GUNN

Look out for him, he’s often seenStrutting smartly round the townHe’s a soldier of the Queen;A loyal servant of the CrownThus begins Donald Campbell’s poem about yet another quaint old Edinburgh worthy, the recruiting​ ​sergeant Tory Gunn​, who ​used to swagger along the Royal Mile, dressed in his elegant uniform​ ​complete with a cap, a kilt and a stick. A tall and handsome man with large bushy whiskers and a​ ​moustache, he had an eye for the ladies, and was sometimes called the Widow’s Curse.​ ​

Gunn used​ ​devious methods to ensnare the young army recruits, plying them with pints of strong beer until they​ ​agreed to enlist. It is said that on one occasion, when a military inspection was held on the Esplanade,​ ​the commanding officer asked all the ranks who had been enlisted by Gunn to take one step forward.​ ​Nearly the entire regiment stepped out, as a tribute to Tory Gunn’s success.He’ll promise any lad who’s willingA pint of ale to take the shillingAnd be a soldier of the Queen,A loyal servant of the CrownThe only clue as to Tory Gunn’s true identity is a query posted on the RootsWeb internet forum in​ ​2000 by a certain Kay Liney, who claimed that George Gunn, also known as Tory Gunn, had been her​ ​husband’s grandfather. He had been a sergeant major in either the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders​ ​or the Seaforths, born at Watten in 1872 and dead in Edinburgh in 1941.

Tory GunnTory Gunn
Tory Gunn
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Visiting the Clan Gunn​ ​Heritage Center in Latheron, Caithness, Kay Liney found the postcard with his picture and posted a​ ​query about what had happened to him. It turns out that a George Gunn really died in Edinburgh in​ ​1941 at the age of 68, from arteriosclerosis, myocardial degeneration and senile Parkinsonism​ ​according to his death certificate.

Disappointingly, he is not listed as a sergeant or sergeant major, but​ ​as a retired gardener and a widower. It is noteworthy, however, that the next of kin is given as his​ ​daughter Mrs Isabella Liney, of 4 Atholl Terrace; surely an indication that this George Gunn was​ ​really Kay Liney’s ancestor.

If the family tradition about his military background is correct, then we​ ​have tracked down the dapper-looking, kilted Tory Gunn, who must have become a gardener after​ ​retiring from the army, living in a humble basement flat at 14A Gardener’s Crescent.Peacock-proud, he’s hard and meanAnd full of tricks to nail you downSo mind and take this warning, son;Never take a drink from Tory Gunn!

PIPER CAMPBELL

Piper CampbellPiper Campbell
Piper Campbell

Piper Campbell was an old army man who used to play the bagpipes in the Edinburgh streets. For​ ​many years, he used to sit on a camp stool at the foot of Hanover Street, playing away to entertain his​ ​audience, as explained by his poet namesake Donald Campbell:Whenever Piper Campbell playedOld soldiers would arriveAs if called to some paradeThat they would never dare to skive.Whenever they heard that stirring noiseThose old boys knew they were aliveRemarkably, Piper Campbell used to travel in a small cart pulled by two​, ​some say three​,​ large dogs,​ ​playing his pipes as the animals pulled him along the pavement.

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He lived in the Castlehill district and​ ​was generally respected as a good musician and a decent man. He was later provided with a bothy at​ ​the corner of Waverley Bridge, where he could stable his dogs and cart and give his bagpipe concerts​ ​while sheltered from the elements.

APPLE GLORY

Sarah Sibbald, also known as Apple Glory, used to stand near the corner of Princes Street and North​ ​Bridge, selling apples and fruit from a large barrow. She was stout and cheerful and had many​ ​customers.

In 1866, ​T​he Scotsman​ ​tells us that she petitioned the Edinburgh Town Council,​ ​claiming to have been deprived of her stall and her livelihood through the removal of the hoardings of​ ​the new General Post Office. She was now 75 years old, she claimed, and had an infirm husband to​ ​support. The bonhomous Town Council granted her a new site for her fruit stall, namely a small shop​ ​in the corner next to Princes Street.

Census records tell us that there was a Sarah Sibbald, born​ ​Archibald and married to the journeyman tailor William Sibbald when she was quite young.

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The 1841​ ​Census finds her in Greenside lodgings, with her husband and four children. In 1851, she is described​ ​as a costermonger aged 48, living at 8 Broughton Street with her husband and children. In 1861, she​ ​for some reason is described as being 68 years old, living in Greenside Place with her husband and​ ​two adult children. She died there in 1874 from paralysis and chronic bronchitis, her husband William​ ​having predeceased her; her age is now given as 72 years, indicating that if this is indeed the right ​Apple Glory, she must have exaggerated her age when facing the Town Council eight years earlier.

Jan Bondeson is author of Phillimore's Edinburgh, published by Amberley Books and Murder Houses of Edinburgh

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