1. None of this was Robert Nairac's scene. He was never politically minded, but he
clearly revered tradition, while, as the author says, being cynical about convention.
His school, Ampleforth, embodied the former. Even though, as a young pupil, he
was brutally sodomised there by senior boys, an episode which went unpunished,
he never spoke out against it. What happened to him there, along with drug use at
Oxford, may well have done him real psychological and emotional damage. Some
friends sensed this behind the charm and charisma that he could radiate so easily.
Off-duty Robert Nairac liked to walk on the wild side. His taste for pub brawls
in Kilburn might have got him into trouble with one commanding officer, who, in
any case, had little liking for Catholics in his mess. Even so, his world was still one
of class entitlement. Boarding school, Oxford, sports cars and a commission in the
Guards were all part of that as were escapades from which he seemed to be able to
extricate himself without serious repercussions.
For example, while on ceremonial duty at the Tower of London, he used a fire
hose after a party to drench spectators as well as soldiers performing the Ceremony
of Keys. Nothing appears to have happened to him over this, yet only a few months
ago a young private in the Royal Regiment of Wales died from the punishment
meted out to him over a very similar exploit.
None of this, however, diminishes the courage and leadership qualities of a
young man whose talents any army would have valued. Even one of his murderers
paid tribute to him in court. Alastair Kerr's superb book is as fine a tribute as his
surviving family could wish for, and also a highly important contribution to the
history of the army, the Troubles in Northern Ireland and of post-war Britain.
IanS Wood
Reviewers:
Ian Campbell is Professor Emeritus of Scottish and Victorian Literature at the
University of Edinburgh and Reviews Editor of the Journal.
Peter B Freshwater is former Deputy Librarian at the Univeristy of Edinburgh and
Editor of the Journal.
Ian S Wood graduated with an MA in History from the University, and has worked
as a lecturer for Napier University.
Ann Gillian Chu is a Chartered Accountant, and has having worked with KPMG and
the Hong Kong Government. She is currently working at Tenth Alliance Church in
Canada, and is completing Regent College's Master of Divinity programme.
Ian Wotherspoon spent nearly 30 years in Asia and the Pacific before returning to
Edinburgh to teach at the Office of Lifelong Learning.
Stephen G Hillier OBE is Professor Emeritus of Reproductive Endocrinology and
former Vice-Principal International of the University.
228 University of Edinburgh Journal 47: 3 (june 2016)