Clan News
Share your clan event or story with Frasers around the world: info@clanfraser.org
Events
October, 2026
Seaside Highland Games, Ventura, California
Events
October, 2026
Seaside Highland Games, Ventura, California
Glen Thompson and friends representing the Clan at the Seaside Highland Games, Ventura CA.
News
25 September, 2026
Malcolm Fraser, clansman and Lovat Estate employee of 61 years, has sadly passed away aged 91
News
25 September, 2026
Malcolm Fraser, clansman and Lovat Estate employee of 61 years, has sadly passed away aged 91
RIP Malcolm, you will be sorely missed by many friends and family. Malcolm pictured in between Lovat Estate colleagues, Steven Fraser and the Hon Kim Fraser.
News
5 September, 2026
Chris Fraser visits Lord Lovat in Beauly
News
5 September, 2026
Chris Fraser visits Lord Lovat in Beauly
Chris was a former (National Service) Royal Marine and attended the 1951 Fraser Gathering at Beaufort Castle as a young boy.
News
April, 2026
Clan Fraser Association of Germany lays a wreath at Culloden Battlefield for its 280th anniversary
News
April, 2026
Clan Fraser Association of Germany lays a wreath at Culloden Battlefield for its 280th anniversary
News
10 March, 2026
Fraser Gathering Video
News
10 March, 2026
Fraser Gathering Video
Read full articleThe Clan Fraser gathering of 1997 hosted at Castle Fraser.
News
20 October, 2025
Russell Crowe is a Fraser
News
20 October, 2025
Russell Crowe is a Fraser
Read full articleRussell Crowe is stunned to learn he is related to last man beheaded in Britain: Machiavellian schemer known as ‘The Fox’ was the origin of the phrase ‘laughing his head off’ after he broke out in laughter when nine died in stand collapse at his execution | Daily Mail Online
News
20 October, 2025
Clan chief gifts 400-year-old ‘Outlander’ mausoleum to Scottish Highland community
News
20 October, 2025
Clan chief gifts 400-year-old ‘Outlander’ mausoleum to Scottish Highland community
Read full article
News
20 August, 2025
Lord Lovat attends the 83rd anniversary of the Dieppe raids honouring his grandfather's role in Operation Jubilee.
News
20 August, 2025
Lord Lovat attends the 83rd anniversary of the Dieppe raids honouring his grandfather's role in Operation Jubilee.
News
10 April, 2025
Why last man beheaded in Britain was not a ‘terrible auld monster’
News
10 April, 2025
Why last man beheaded in Britain was not a ‘terrible auld monster’
Read full article
News
11 April, 2024
Simon Fraser, Jacobite and Lord – the last peer of the realm beheaded in England
News
11 April, 2024
Simon Fraser, Jacobite and Lord – the last peer of the realm beheaded in England
Read full articleOutlander fans may recognise Simon Fraser as the grandfather of Jamie Fraser, but the 11th Lord Lovat is best known as the last man to have been executed by beheading in Britain.
Fraser was said to have lived a colourful life and was eventually condemned for his part in the 1746 Jacobite uprisings.
He was known as a wily character – the Old Fox, he was called – and though he was sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered, Simon Fraser was instead the last man to die by beheading in England.
Simon Fraser was an ambitious man
Born in the Highlands of Scotland in 1667, Simon Fraser lived a colourful life.
Not much is known about his earliest years, however he is said to have been educated at King’s College in Aberdeen around the year 1691, following the death of his elder brother, Alexander. Alexander fought for the Jacobites and led the Frasers in the Battle of Killiecrankie, where he was wounded in battle and killed. This led to Simon Fraser being named his father’s heir.
An elderly Lord Lovat.
He was a successful student who went on to gain a Master of Arts from Aberdeen University. He initially planned on continuing his education, though his priorities shifted and he instead grew concerned with succeeding Hugh Fraser as Lord Lovat, Clan chief of the Frasers.
Simon wasn’t pleased with the way Hugh – whom he described as a man of “contracted understanding” – was leading the clan, and felt they seemed weak against the growing Mackenzie clan.
When Hugh Fraser passed away, Simon decided the best way to secure the Lordship would be to marry his heir; Hugh’s daughter Amelia. But Amelia’s uncle, Lord John Murray, had other plans and he married his niece off to Alexander Mackenzie, heir to Lord Saltoun. In response, Simon Fraser forced her mother – whose name was also Amelia – into marriage, and consummated the ceremony by raping her.
This incited a feud with her family, the Murrays of Atholl, and following a series of legal battles – including a trial for the “rapt” of the dowager Lady Lovat – he was outlawed, with a price on his head.
Fraser’s history of betrayal
Simon fled to France, where he travelled in Jacobite circles making contact with the court of exiled Stuarts. He was granted an audience with King Louis IX, where he declared his support for the Jacobite cause and restoring a Stuart King to the Scottish throne. In addition, it is said he helped form the basis of a plan for the Jacobite uprising.
However, his main goal was still to claim the Lordship.
News
15 September, 2023
Fraser Tea reaches the Highlands
News
15 September, 2023
Fraser Tea reaches the Highlands
Read full articleLord Lovat was very pleased to meet Bernie Fraser in Beauly on the 14th of September 2023. Bernie is one of the three Fraser brothers who started the famous “Fraser Tea” brand out of Michigan, USA. They have created delicious, custom organic tea blends, handcrafted and delivered online. Much more information can be found on their website below:
Bernie has kindly set up a special discount code for our members: **Lovat20** for any orders online. It will give you 20% off your order.
Organic Tea: Loose Leaf Tea & Organic Tea In Non-GMO Pyramidal Bags – Fraser Tea
News
26 June, 2023
San Diego Highland Games
News
26 June, 2023
San Diego Highland Games
Diolain Fraser and Glen Thompson of the Clan Fraser Association of California representing at the San Diego Highland Games.
News
21 June, 2023
Beaufort Castle is for SALE
News
21 June, 2023
Beaufort Castle is for SALE
Read full articleDear Clansmen,
After years of trying to sell off market, Mrs Gloag has finally put the castle up for sale via Rightmove.com. A link to the press article reporting the sale is here:
Clan Secretary
News
16 March, 2023
March Past! Shimi Lovat’s WW2 memoir of a Commando Leader, From Lofoten to Dieppe and D-Day
News
16 March, 2023
March Past! Shimi Lovat’s WW2 memoir of a Commando Leader, From Lofoten to Dieppe and D-Day
Read full articleWe are extremely pleased to report that Pen & Sword Books have chosen to reprint Shimi Lovat’s remarkable memoir, March Past! The book leads you through the Commando leader’s swashbuckling World War 2 escapades from Loften to Dieppe and D-Day. They have kindly offered www.Clanfraser.org a discount code if you buy it online at the link below: AUTH25
Pen and Sword Books: March Past! – Hardback (pen-and-sword.co.uk)
Also available in the current Lady Lovat’s shop in Beauly, www.petrapalumbo.com
News
06 March, 2023
Muir of Ord Golf Club – A Success Story
News
06 March, 2023
Muir of Ord Golf Club – A Success Story
We are very happy to promote an excellent book by adopted Highlander Rif Clarke on this history of Muir of Ord Golf Club. Started in 1875 it is one of the oldest clubs in Scotland and includes a foreword by the current Lord Lovat as the family played a key role in the development of the golf club.
The course, designed by the legendary Scottish golf course architect James Braid in the 1920s, left a lasting impression with visiting golfers from around the world.
“Muir of Ord Golf Club – A Success Story” priced £9.99 can be found by searching for “Muir of Ord” in the Kindle or Google Play Books bookstores, or by using the links:
News
04 August, 2022
Cynthia Fraser from Baltimore visits Beauly
News
04 August, 2022
Cynthia Fraser from Baltimore visits Beauly
Lord Lovat had the pleasure of receiving Cynthia Fraser in Beauly as she retraced her grandparent’s similar trip in the 1960’s when they met Shimi, 17th Lord Lovat at Beaufort Castle.
News
12 June, 2022
St Mary’s Eskadale – Grand Reopening
News
12 June, 2022
St Mary’s Eskadale – Grand Reopening
Read full articleIn 2016 the trustees of St Marys Eskadale embarked on a huge restoration project on the externals of the church. After 5 years of hard work it was complete in mid 2021, but the grand opening was delayed until 12th of June 2022. We were blessed with a beautiful summer’s evening and following a Mass given by the Bishop of Aberdeen, the church was formally opened by Lord Lovat’s baby daughter Vaila who cut the ribbon.
A commemorative whisky was also made for the occasion and some remains for sale in Beauly via the Lovat Estate office. Eskadale Whisky – ST MARY’S ESKADALE
Eskadale Church opening. June 2022
Photos of the event can be found on the Eskadale web site here:
News
09 September, 2021
Donald Fraser-Clark, Secretary of the CFSSUK and his wife Ann visiting Simon, Lord Lovat in Beauly
News
09 September, 2021
Donald Fraser-Clark, Secretary of the CFSSUK and his wife Ann visiting Simon, Lord Lovat in Beauly
Read full articleIt was a great pleasure to receive Donald and Ann Fraser-Clark of the CFSSUK as they were passing through Beauly in September. Much was discussed at the Lovat Estate Office, including the possibility of a Highland Games in Beauly sometime in 2023. Fingers crossed!
> Welcome
News
02 September, 2021
St Mary’s Eskadale Fundraise Launched
News
02 September, 2021
St Mary’s Eskadale Fundraise Launched
Read full articleOnly months after the completion of a huge restoration project of the building externals we have discovered some dry rot in amongst the pews inside. This is a direct result of fixing the water ingress issues when we installed multiple new drains outside the historic church. This has allowed the wood inside to dry out to a level that supports dry rot.
The Church is lovingly cared for day to day by the local parishioners and the Lovat family. Their support and assistance in the practical running and maintenance of the Church is appreciated by everyone who visits either as a tourist or for the Mass, but restoration costs like this are reliant on wider support.
The total cost to fix the dry rot is £35k. If you are able to donate towards helping fix this dry rot issue we would be so grateful to receive any donations to the Trust Fund via Just Giving
Many thanks in advance from the Eskadale Trustees Committee
News
04 August, 2021
Lovat Estates launches its new web site and branding
News
01 August, 2021
Europe’s oldest elm tree, at the entrance to the Priory in Beauly, is dying.
News
01 August, 2021
Europe’s oldest elm tree, at the entrance to the Priory in Beauly, is dying.
Read full articleDisease killing ‘Europe’s oldest’ elm tree
News
23 June, 2021
Lord and Lady Lovat’s first child
News
23 June, 2021
Lord and Lady Lovat’s first child
We are delighted to announce the happy news that last month Lady Lovat gave birth to beautiful baby girl called Vaila Gianmarina Fraser. Mum and daughter are doing extremely well and the whole family is delighted. The young bairn is now in Beauly, having been born in London, and enjoying the attention from the many Frasers and friends around the Aird.
The Clan Secretary
News
25 May, 2021
Pipe Major William Norris and Glasgow’s Clan Fraser Pipe Band
News
25 May, 2021
Pipe Major William Norris and Glasgow’s Clan Fraser Pipe Band
Read full article**This band was formed on 3rd February, 1930, by the present Pipe Major, William Norris, at the age of 19 years. A committee consisting of six band members, with the assistance of several ladies, controls the financial side and this arrangement has proved very successful.**
Much of this success is due to the energy and pertinacity of Mrs Margaret T. Hendry, a sister of the Pipe Major.
In 1933 the splendid co-operation existing amongst the band members resulted in them gaining second prize in the Grade 3 Championship at Stirling and fourth prize in the No. 3 contest at Dunoon. The following year they were delighted when they were placed first at Bonhill.
In 1935, the previous year’s performance was considerably improved on, the band gaining the three firsts at the three contests held for third grade bands that year.
These were first at the Stirling contest, Bonhill contest, and Renfrew contest, in itself an unusual feat. They attracted considerable attention, however, when they were placed third in 2nd grade at Renfrew in addition to winning the above first.
In 1936 the band was promoted to 2nd Grade and they proved their ability in their new sphere by being placed second at Alloa in the Grade 2 championship.
Following on this, they gained first place at the Renfrew Grade 2 contest and fifth in the No.1 contest and third in the No. 2 contest at Dunoon.
The band featured in an early edition of Pipe Band Magazine
The band consists mainly of ex-Boys’ Brigade players, and as their ages range from 16 to 25, the above performances do ample credit to them.
This band wears the Red Fraser tartan, Balmoral bonnets, Prince Charlie Coatee etc., and endeavour to maintain a smart appearance.
This is a most difficult job as most members of bands will agree who find, like the Clan Fraser, that their main source of income is obtained by doing a series of social functions each year.
The band members place implicit faith in the ability of their Pipe Major and fully recognise that co-operation and co-ordination are the qualities necessary for the success of any organisation musical or otherwise.
P/M Norris’s understanding of the essentials of piping, whether individual or band, coupled with his outstanding patience, have contributed vastly to the success of the band and the good feeling which permeates the atmosphere at practices and during the more serious preparations prior to entering the competing field.
As the enthusiasm of the band has not waned, and they are still receiving the splendid support of their friends, many of whom are not known personally to them, they intend to give of their best in the future to reciprocate this fine assistance.
News
25 May, 2021
Major-General Jeremy Phipps obituary
News
25 May, 2021
Major-General Jeremy Phipps obituary
Read full articleWith great sadness we say goodbye to Major-General Jeremy Phipps, son of Veronica, Shimi Lovat’s younger sister, and passionate clansman. Jeremy was a larger than life, flamboyant SAS officer who helped plan the dramatic response to the Iranian embassy siege and later became director of Special Forces. A life well lived by any standard as the obituary will attest.
News
04 March, 2021
Lord Lovat’s Rifles: In Film, Recollection and Reality
News
04 March, 2021
Lord Lovat’s Rifles: In Film, Recollection and Reality
Read full articleOur old friend and Clan piper in chief, Glen Thompson of Redondo Beach California, shared this article by Robert Maze on the web site: www.americanrifleman.org
_Lieutenant Colonel Simon Fraser, the 15th_ _Lord Lovat, brandishes his swagger stick while briefing No. 4 Commando before the Boulogne Raid. David Style is seen on the left of the photograph with a modified SMLE slung on his shoulder and a Colt M1911 on his hip._
Simon “Shimi” Fraser, the 15th Lord Lovat (the 17th de facto), was one of the most brilliant tacticians Britain produced during World War II. A fine gentleman, a superb soldier and a commando leader, Lovat was once referred to by Winston Churchill as “the mildest-mannered man that ever scuttled a ship or cut a throat.”
As a lieutenant colonel leading No. 4 Commando, he planned and implemented the only truly successful facet of the ill-fated raid-in-force on Dieppe on Aug. 19, 1942. The entire operation was codenamed “Jubilee,” though his commando’s role of the action was referred to as “Cauldron.” His unit was tasked with the elimination of the Hess shore artillery battery at Varengeville-sur-mer, three miles west of Dieppe, which it performed with spectacular aplomb.
Two years later, on D-Day, Lord Lovat was the brigadier general commanding the 1st Special Service Brigade, composed of the Nos. 3, 4 and 6 commandos, the Free French Commando, and No. 45 Royal Marine Commando. Dug-in near Le Plein, these elite soldiers were able to withstand—and defeat—massed German counter-attacks of three times their strength on their section of front during the night of June 10, 1944.
This was the decisive battle of the perimeter, and only through Fraser’s enlightened tactical know-how and the determination of the Commandos and 6th Airborne troops, did the eastern flank of Overlord remain intact. Two days later, on the night of June 12, Brig. Gen. Fraser was severely wounded by friendly artillery fire and evacuated. His wounds precluded him from any further active service, though he remained in the reserves until 1962 as a brigadier.
Simon Fraser had grown up on an immense Scottish estate surrounding the ancestral residence of the Chiefs of Clan Fraser, Beaufort Castle on the Beauly River near Inverness. From an early age, he enjoyed a vigorous outdoor life of fishing and hunting. Stalking red deer over the wild terrain taught him the importance of fine marksmanship and fitness. Following his appointment as commanding officer of No. 4 Commando in April 1942, these early lessons on movement over a rugged landscape and stalking were just two of the many he incorporated into the training of his Commando. Lovat’s memoir March Past made clear that he knew in tactics, as in hunting, when to be cautious in an advance, where to dig-in and when to charge; he said of the latter, “Get off the beach and you will live.”
The expectation that an officer was to provide his personal sidearms had by World War II been a long-standing tradition in the British army. Also, an essential part of a commando’s training was to be familiar with a variety of arms and understand their operation, those of both the Allies and the Axis troops.
So much latitude was given to the arms shouldered by Commando officers that, for example, Lt. (later Capt.) David Style appears in an Imperial War Museum (IWM) image attending a briefing by their new commanding officer immediately before No. 4 Commando’s Boulogne raid (Operation Abercrombie) with a modified SMLE and a Colt M1911 in a modified Pattern 1937 web holster. For all intents and purposes, this altered Lee-Enfield depicts the rifle that a backwoods deer hunter would have made from a surplus Lee-Enfield in the 1960s, when SMLEs were then cheap and cheerful.
However, I can attest that this type of rifle handles superbly without the extra weight of the fore-end, and is surprisingly accurate to at least 250 yds. Later on in the Commandos, this fashion of “personalized” arms gave way to more standardized arms, as more choices from the coming abundance of better British and U.S. guns from Lend-Lease made their appearances.
Lord Lovat, with his sporting rifle, at the Newhaven docks upon returning from Dieppe in August of 1942. The en bloc clip is just visible behind the web holster, under the rifle’s sling.
**Dieppe**
Looking first at the earlier Dieppe era, the belief that Lt. Col. Fraser was armed with a Winchester sporting rifle is purported to have arisen from an interview by a newspaper reporter on No. 4 Commando’s return to England. Subsequently, many authors have perpetuated this identification as dogma.
However, from close examination of several IWM photos taken by Lt. Humphrey Spender at the Newhaven docks after No. 4 Commando disembarked following the raid, the rifle Lovat carried appears to be a Model 1892 Steyr-Mannlicher sporter, likely in 6.5×53 mm \[rimmed\], that used en bloc clips for loading. Thus, Fraser did field a sporting rifle, but not the one that has been repeated so often in print. It was one that he’d grown up with hunting, with the Lord Lovat saying, “It was a rifle I had done a lot of shooting with, and I was dead accurate with it.”
News
18 November, 2020
Lovat whisky rarity set to boost Hospice charity auction
News
18 November, 2020
Lovat whisky rarity set to boost Hospice charity auction
Read full articleA very rare whisky donated by Lovat Estates will be one of the sought-after items at a special Dingwall auction to raise funds for Highland Hospice. Only 777 bottles of The Old Fox spirit were made by Ben Nevis Distillery for Simon Fraser Lord Lovat’s private whisky collection. It commemorates the life of the 11th Lord Lovat, nicknamed the ‘Old Fox’, who was beheaded after the Battle of Culloden for his Jacobite allegiance.
News
01 November, 2020
SAS founder the ‘quite mad’ David Stirling is remembered.
News
01 November, 2020
SAS founder the ‘quite mad’ David Stirling is remembered.
Read full articleTHIS week sees the 30th anniversary of the death of the Scot who founded the world’s most famous military force, the Special Air Service.
Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, always known as David, was born in Keir House near Doune on November 15, 1915. His father was Brigadier-General Archie Stirling, veteran of the Boer War and World War I, and commander of the 2nd Lovat Scouts, which was an elite ‘sharpshooter’ sniper regiment recruited in the Highlands. David’s mother was Margaret Fraser, fourth daughter of Lord Lovat, and his cousin was the famed Lord Shimi Lovat who was the leader of the commandos who helped to capture Pegasus Bridge on D-Day.
Educated at Ampleforth College, the Roman Catholic boarding school in North Yorkshire, Stirling went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, and spent some time in Paris. Standing a strapping 6ft 6inches (1.98m) he was a keen mountaineer from his teens and loved nothing better than scaling Munros in the Highlands.
Stirling’s ambition was to climb Mount Everest, no less, but Adolf Hitler had other ideas. Amidst the growing threat from the Nazis, Stirling, who had been in Ampleforth’s officer training corps, joined the Scots Guards in July 1937 and was immediately commissioned into the regiment’s Supplementary Reserve of Officers which saw him become a lieutenant on the outbreak of war.
In June 1940, he volunteered for the new Commando brigade under Lt-Col Robert Laycock, which later became known as Layforce. Irregulars such as the Commandos were not popular with the old guard of officers and it was disbanded in 1941.
Serving in North Africa, Stirling, who had broken an ankle during parachute training, spent his recuperation time working up an idea to create a raiding force that would parachute deep into enemy territory, carry out reconnaissance and destroy aircraft and airfields in particular. He went on crutches to try and see the commander-in-chief of the British forces in Egypt, General Claude Auchinleck, but had to settle for a meeting with the deputy commander, General Neil Ritchie, formerly of the Black Watch. As he outlined his plan for special operations behind enemy lines, Ritchie grasped the concept immediately and took the plan to Auchinleck. At that point, the British Army was involved in a grand deception, trying to convince German leader Field Marshal Erwin Rommel that there was a full parachute brigade in Egypt, so in line with that deception, Stirling’s unit was called L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade. The SAS name was thus born out of a con. The first raid mounted by the SAS was something of a disaster with only 22 of the 66 participants making it home alive from the mission to support ground troops near Tobruk. Stirling, now a Major, was forced to have a re-think and hooked up with the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) which had rescued them after the first mission. Many people think of the LRDG as the forerunner of the SAS, but it was in fact an entirely separate raiding and reconnaissance force.
The LRDG ferried the SAS back and forward on their raids, and they were fondly nicknamed the Libyan Desert Taxi Service. But the SAS soon had their own converted Jeeps and airfield after airfield behind enemy lines were attacked. The SAS also blew up railways and in the 15 months after its formation, the SAS had become so feared that Rommel nicknamed Stirling the ‘phantom major’.
Stirling had recruited Irish and British and Irish Lions rugby internationalist Robert Blair Mayne, always known as Paddy, and it was he who joined with Stirling in pioneering their tactics for raiding enemy airfields which basically involved driving up and down the lines of enemy aircraft and destroying them with machine gun fire, hand grenades and special ‘sticky’ bombs. In one raid alone, that on the Sidi Haneish landing strip in July, 1942, the SAS destroyed 37 aircraft for the loss of just one man.
Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was quoted as saying: “The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad. However, in a war there is often a place for mad people.” The high command approved of what he was doing – they formally approved the 1st SAS Regiment in September 1942 and Stirling was promoted to Lt Colonel in charge.
In the space of 15 months, the Luftwaffe and the Italian Regia Aeronautica suffered the loss of more than 250 aircraft and dozens of supply dumps.
In January 1943, Stirling was captured and though he managed to escape and be recaptured four times he was eventually sent to the maximum security prison at Colditz where he spent the rest of the war. Meanwhile Mayne took command of the SAS and continued the regiment’s extraordinary work especially operating alongside the French Resistance before and after D-Day.
After the war, Stirling moved to Rhodesia and founded the Capricorn Africa Society to promote a non-racial Africa. But he also set up private security companies in the Middle East and was reported to have been involved in a plot to topple Libya’s dictator Colonel Muammar Ghaddafi.
Stirling proved a very controversial figure in the 1970s with his attempt to undermine trade unions, while he also was involved in forming GB75, a right-wing ‘action group’ that would tackle any general strike called by the union – it was never put into action, thankfully. His much more acceptable work was with military veterans for which he was knighted in 1990.
Stirling died on November 4, 1990, at the age of 74. He was buried in Beoraid Cemetery after his funeral service at the nearby Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and St Cumin’s RC church at Morar. The striking monument to Stirling stands on the A820 on the north side of the road between the A9 and Doune. The memorial shows him looking towards the hills of Perthshire and it is well signposted with a small car park.
News
13 September, 2020
The exciting life of Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Fraser of Braelangwell (1773–1851)
News
13 September, 2020
The exciting life of Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Fraser of Braelangwell (1773–1851)
Read full articlePaul Mackenzie Fraser has kindly shared this research by Dr. Jim Mackay on the life of his ancestor, Lieut. General Sir Hugh Fraser , 1773-1851. Dr. Mackay’s work can be found here https://www.kirkmichael.info/GeneralSirHughFraserOfBraelangwell.html
In 2016 Paul visited Koppal Fort, the taking of which was mentioned in the presentation of a Knighthood. I have attached a video taken from the fort .
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Thank you Paul for sharing this interesting history with the clan.
News
13 September, 2020
Genevieve Fraser shares a photo of Lord Lovat and the 78th Fraser Highlanders from 1997
News
13 September, 2020
Genevieve Fraser shares a photo of Lord Lovat and the 78th Fraser Highlanders from 1997
Genevieve Fraser of Orange \[MA\] kindly shared her photos from August 1997 when she and her late sister Lillian visited Beauly after the Fraser Gathering. The main photo shows Lord Lovat at the age of 20 inspecting the troops of the 78th Fraser Highlanders after becoming their new Colonel-in-Chief in Beauly square.
The picture below shows Genevieve’s grandfather Donald William Fraser in his bowler hat, whose father John Fraser who was born in Inverness in the mid-1850s and immigrated to America and joined the US Army. They were related to the Lovat Frasers and in the early 1960s (or late 1950s) when the 15th Lord Lovat was touring in America, her great uncle Henry Hunter brought several of his Lordship’s pipers to greet my father. They did a presentation in their yard (40-acre farm) in Hampstead, NH and then headed down the driveway onto the road and had a mini-parade.
Thank you Genevieve for sharing your story and photos with the clan.
News
09 August, 2020
Dr. JJA Fraser with Shimi Lovat at Balblair in 1980
News
09 August, 2020
Dr. JJA Fraser with Shimi Lovat at Balblair in 1980
Gordon Fraser of Ontario Canada sent in this lovely old photo of his father Dr. JJA Fraser meeting Lord Shimi Lovat at Balblair in September 1980 and treasured until his demise in 1999. Many thanks to Gordon for sharing this with us.
News
07 July, 2020
Michael Dean at the 2019 Highland games in Victoria BC
News
07 July, 2020
Michael Dean at the 2019 Highland games in Victoria BC
Michael Dean kindly sent us a picture from the 2019 Highland games in Victoria British Columbia of him at the Stewart of Appin’s tent trying out the armoury.
News
03 July, 2020
Funeral of Simon Joseph Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat – 1933
News
03 July, 2020
Funeral of Simon Joseph Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat – 1933
Read full articleJohn Fraser & Son, Funeral Directors based in Inverness have found this wonderful old footage of the Clan walking the coffin of the 14th Lord Lovat (more commonly known as the 16th Lord) to the family graveyard at Eskadale Church.
News
23 January, 2020
The last Fraser gathering at Beaufort Castle
News
23 January, 2020
The last Fraser gathering at Beaufort Castle
Chris Fraser, OBE kindly shared this wonderful old photo he found of the last Fraser gathering held at Beaufort Castle. Shimi Lovat, the great Commando war hero, is beaming in the foreground surrounded by family, friends and clansmen from across the world. Many thousands attended this gathering and we will endeavour to post more photos of it in due course.
Chris says he is the blond boy near the front on the left side, with the local blind MP of the time using him for support. Many thanks for sharing this happy photo with the clan.
News
22 January, 2020
Clan Fraser Association of California visit Beauly
News
22 January, 2020
Clan Fraser Association of California visit Beauly
It was my great pleasure in early January to catch up with Annie and Jan Fraser from the Clan Fraser Association of California. They are regular visitors to the Highlands, and stopped in at the Lovat Estate Office on their way through. Here is a lovely photo of Malcolm Fraser, Annie, Jan and I outside the estate office.
News
09 January, 2020
Lady Keswick, daughter of Shimi Lovat, publishes her excellent book on China
News
09 January, 2020
Lady Keswick, daughter of Shimi Lovat, publishes her excellent book on China
The Colour of the Sky After Rain’ tells the story of her relationship with mainland China over a period of some forty years. My principal focus is the Chinese people, their remarkable character and their diversity. I wanted to investigate why, for most Westerners, the people of China are so difficult to know with any degree of depth or intimacy. And yet, since they comprise one-fifth of the world’s population, it is imperative that we in the West should understand them.
News
08 January, 2020
The seized Jacobite money and land that helped build Scotland
News
08 January, 2020
The seized Jacobite money and land that helped build Scotland
Read full articleInteresting article in the press on how the money seized from the Jacobite estates following the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 (left) helped to fund major projects in Scotland, including the building of modern Beauly.
Events
27 December, 2019
Oak planted to commemorate 100 years of public forestry in Scotland
Events
27 December, 2019
Oak planted to commemorate 100 years of public forestry in Scotland
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Oak planted to commemorate 100 years of public forestry in Scotland
Where
News
04 December, 2019
Terry Lovat presents his new book to Lord Lovat
News
04 December, 2019
Terry Lovat presents his new book to Lord Lovat
Terry Lovat, a long standing member of the Clan Fraser Society of Australia (NSW Branch), dropped in to the Lovat Estate Office to present Lord Lovat with his new book.
_Son of a Jacobite_ tells the story of Thomas Lovat, born on the final day of the Jacobite Rebellion at Culloden. The book follows Thomas’s travels though the Middle East and Americas, as he struggles with the death of his father and the impact of the Highland Clearances.
News
27 October, 2019
Clan Fraser Society of the Pacific Northwest visit Beauly
News
27 October, 2019
Clan Fraser Society of the Pacific Northwest visit Beauly
We are very pleased to announce that Garth Frazer is launching the Clan Fraser Society of the Pacific Northwest, covering Washington and Oregon. He visited Beauly this September, and met with Lord Lovat at the estate office with his wife Marti Nash and sister Robyn Frazer.
News
25 June, 2019
Inverness Highland Games – Sat 20th July 2019
News
25 June, 2019
Inverness Highland Games – Sat 20th July 2019
Read full articleThe Inverness Highland Games will take place at Bught Park Inverness on Saturday 20th July 2019 commencing at 11am. Founded in 1822 the Inverness Highland Games is one of the most spectacular traditional gatherings staged in Scotland and is one of the highlights of any visit to the Highland capital city of Inverness.
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Clan Fraser of Lovat will have a tent, marshaled by senior clansman and our official secretary, Malcolm Fraser of Beauly.
News
15 June, 2019
Fraser country up close
News
15 June, 2019
Fraser country up close
For those who want to see Fraser country up close, Sarah Fraser, clan historian is blogging each week https://www.sarahfraser.co.uk/blog/
This photo is of the Beauly Firth at dusk, looking westwards from Kirkton farm.
News
09 June, 2019
Clan Fraser of Lovat at the Epoch Festival in Jülich near Aachen
News
09 June, 2019
Clan Fraser of Lovat at the Epoch Festival in Jülich near Aachen
On Sunday the 9th of June the Clan Fraser association of Germany represented the Clan at the Epoch Festival in Jülich near Aachen, where they met the good friends from the Clan MacKinnon.
News
02 June, 2019
Lord Lovat and his faithful piper
News
02 June, 2019
Lord Lovat and his faithful piper
An interesting write up of the story of Shimi Lovat and his piper Bill Millen and their exploits on D-Day.
Shimi + Millin – Mail on Sunday 2 June 2019
News
29 May, 2019
Clan Fraser tent at Costa Mesa Highland Games, California
News
29 May, 2019
Clan Fraser tent at Costa Mesa Highland Games, California
World renown piper Glen Thompson of the Clan Fraser association of California was judging the piping at the Costa Mesa Highland Games last weekend. A good time was had by all and Glen kindly sent us a few photos of the Clan Fraser tent at the event.
News
18 April, 2019
Clan Fraser of Lovat Association of Germany lay a wreath at Culloden
News
18 April, 2019
Clan Fraser of Lovat Association of Germany lay a wreath at Culloden
Harald from the Clan Association of Germany represented the Clan by laying a wreath on the 273rd anniversary of the Battle of Culloden.
News
28 March, 2019
Lovat Estate maps show land confiscated from Old Fox
News
28 March, 2019
Lovat Estate maps show land confiscated from Old Fox
Read full articleLovat Estates have made available online more than 400 maps made to help the government control the confiscated estate of the 11th Lord Lovat, Simon Fraser, who was known as the Old Fox.
News
13 January, 2019
WHERE IS LORD LOVAT?
News
13 January, 2019
WHERE IS LORD LOVAT?
As historical posers go, it has been an enduring mystery – where is the body of Lord Lovat buried?
Experts felt they had got closer to answering the question after exhuming remains from a clan crypt in the Highlands.
But last night, Scotland’s top anthropologist was able to reveal with some confidence that the body in the crypt was not the 80-yearold, 6ft Jacobite clan chief – but that of a woman in her 20s or 30s.
Forensic experts – led by Inverness-born Professor Sue Black – have now been left with more questions than answers following their exhaustive examination
“No way these were the remains of an 80-year-old, 6ft man”
of the bones. The one thing they know for certain is that it was not Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat known as The Old Fox – the last man executed at the Tower of London in 1747 for supporting the Jacobite rebellion.
The forensic team had travelled to Wardlaw Mausoleaum at Kirkhill Cemetery, near Inverness, to examine the remains of a headless body.
Official accounts have the clan chief being buried under a chapel floor in the tower, but the clan claimed his body was taken by his supporters and returned to Scotland in a lead casket.
The expert team carried out detailed investigations using modern techniques, including DNA testing.
Prof Black last night told an audience of more than 400 at a special event in Inverness that the headless body was actually a woman, aged around 25 to 35.
She said: “The remains were very feminine. There is no way these were the remains of an 80-year-old, 6ft man who suffered from gout and arthritis.”
The debate now is how the remains of a headless young woman came to lie in the casket.
Prof Black said: “There are some possibilities she might be another member of the Fraser family, and further DNA testing is being carried out. The head may have been taken as a trophy many years ago, perhaps by someone believing it was Lord Lovat.
“But if the remains are not a member of the family, then we are faced with more of a poser.
News
08 July, 2017
I REALLY LOVAT WHEN A CLAN COMES TOGETHER
News
08 July, 2017
I REALLY LOVAT WHEN A CLAN COMES TOGETHER
Clan Historian Sarah Fraser writes about the changing Fraser brand as the Outlander fame grows.
The Outlander Effect
News
03 June, 2014
Shimi Lovat Statue unveiled on Sword Beach
News
03 June, 2014
Shimi Lovat Statue unveiled on Sword Beach
Virginia Fraser writes up the unveiling of the statue to the war hero Shimi Lovat, the 24th Clan Chief, on Sword Beach in 2014.
Shimi statue – Telegraph 2014
News
13 February, 2000
Lovat Scouts write up in the Inverness Courier
News
13 February, 2000
Lovat Scouts write up in the Inverness Courier
News
August, 1997
Lovat inspects the troops of the 78th Fraser Highlanders in Beauly
News
August, 1997
Lovat inspects the troops of the 78th Fraser Highlanders in Beauly
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