Sited on the summit of Mitchell Hilll above Dingwall, tihs beaufiful castellated tower stands (now amid a beautiful cemetery) in silent tribute to Ross-shire's (and Scotland's) most famous sons, Major-General Sir Hector Archibald Macdonald KCB, DSO, ADC, LLD.(1853-1903), otherwise known as "fighting Mac" and "Hector the Hero".

From Rootsfield, near Dingwall this crofter's son joined the Gordon Highlanders Regiment aged 17 and went on become of the first men of humble background to rise to the highest postions in the British Army.

He was also highly thought of by HM Queen Victoria, and took command of the Highland Brigade in the Boer War after the debacle, which resulted in severe casualties, that was the Battle of Magersfontein.

His military career is well documented, as is his fall from grace (in what appears to have been a smear campaign) cullminating in him taking his own life in Paris in 1903.

Fact is, the man was a National Hero, who brought great credit on his native land, and the monument is a fititing memorial to a Great Man.

A document, which was to be opened and made public a century after his death, was NOT made public in 2003 - because "the material contained within was still too sensitive".

Richard Reincke has produced a superb website on Fighting Mac at: <a href="http://pw1.netcom.com/~reincke/homepage.html" rel="noreferrer nofollow">pw1.netcom.com/~reincke/homepage.html</a>