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Hyndland Parish Church 

WWI Memorial

Researched and written by J. Johnston

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2nd Lieutenant J. Ewing Wallace

Royal Air Force

John Ewing Wallace was born in Canada in 1899. He was the son of the Reverend John Ewing Wallace and of Margaret Anderson (Brown) Wallace. John was educated at Glasgow High School and at the University of Edinburgh.

 

His family background tells us something about Scottish migration in the nineteenth century.John's father, also John, was born in New Zealand in 1866. He had his schooling at Glasgow High School and subsequently at Glasgow University. He was ordained to the ministry at Rossland B.C. Canada in 1895. In 1896 he was married to Margaret who was the daughter of an Edinburgh minister. After serving in two parishes in Nova Scotia John and his family came to Scotland in 1902. He was admitted and ordained to the Church of Scotland and served in two parishes.He died in 1913 aged46, while minister in Kirriemuir. Following this Margaret almost certainly moved to Elie and then to Edinburgh.

 

John Ewing Wallace (son and one of our thirty men) was a member of the O.T.C. in both Glasgow High School and Edinburgh University. He was a member of the Infantry from November 1916 – August 1917 when he became a cadet with the R.A.F. John was an Observer on DH9 D5666 of 107 Squadron, flown by William Henry Dore. They were both killed on 9th August 1918 in the air fight at Brise Bridge over Canal du Nord, shot down by Lieutenant Lothar von Richthoven. John is remembered at the Arras Flying Services Memorial, Pas de Calais, in Elie Parish Church and here in Hyndland.

Captain T.P. Wingate

2nd Kings Own Scottish Borderers

Thomas Paterson Wingate was a career soldier. He was the son of Paterson, a Glasgow shipbuilder and his wife Jessie. The family home was at 18 Westbourne Terrace (now Hyndland Road) and later at “Finglen”, Campsie Glen,Stirlingshire. Thomas was educated at Kelvinside Academy and Glasgow University. He graduated with a B. Sc in 1897.

 

He served with the K.O.S.B.   in conflicts in India and South Africa, gradually rising through the ranks. Thomas was posted to France in March 1915 and was killed on the second day of fighting at the battle of Hill 60 on 18th April 1915. The Commanding Officer of the 2nd K.O.S.B.  wrote,

 

   “  He was such a brilliant soldier and made a good comrade in every way”.

 

Thomas is commemorated at Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, West Vlaanduren, Belgium, at Kelvinside Academy and here in Hyndland Church.

​Lieutenant Cleweth T.L. Donaldson

Royal Flying Corps

Cleweth Thomas Lee Donaldson was born into one of the wealthiest families in the Glasgow of his day. His parents' marriage was interesting and unusual. The Donaldson brothers (one of whom, Archibald, was to be Cleweth's father) founded the Donaldson Shipping Line in 1884.They were typical of the city's ,“self-made”, men and their business was highly successful, including the importing and exporting of goods and the conveying of emigrants to Canada. Most of the family's men were prominent in business and municipal life in Victorian and Edwardian Glasgow but Archibald remained a private figure. By the late 1880s he was a wealthy middle aged bachelor and kept two houses, “Elmslie” in Dundonald Road and “Rocklands” in Largs.

 

Jane Gillibrand Lee, Cleweth's mother, was born in Springburn in 1858, the daughter of an English journeyman joiner who worked for a railway company. By 1891, aged 33, she was employed as a “certificated nurse”, to Archibald and lived in the Largs house. On the Census of that year she appears alongside the four other female domestic servants. In April 1892 Archibald and Jane were married in Aberdeen. In October 1893 Jane gave birth to twins Archibald and Marion. The little boy died aged only 17 months. Cleweth was born in Ashton Terrace in 1896. His father died when he was 11 years old. Jane was left as an extremely wealthy widow.

 

 Cleweth was a pupil of Kelvinside Academy and of Fettes College, Edinburgh. In March 1915, aged 18, he joined the Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry as a 2nd Lieutenant. His unit took part in the Battle of Loos in September – October 1915. Cleweth was selected to return to the U.K.in August 1916, in order to train for the Royal Flying Corps. This was a reconnaissance squadron, undertaking aerial photography above enemy lines and artillery observation. As such this was a particularly dangerous sphere of war, involving as it did flying and operating a camera.

 

 On 14th April 1917 Cleweth, aged 20,and his observer 2nd Lieutenant Carter were shot down and killed. They were flying a two seater BE2 – model biplane on a photo mission to Metz -en- Couture, in support of British forces around Arras. They came down inside British lines but both were dead. The death toll suffered by the RFC during this offensive was so high that it became known as“bloody April”.

 

 Cleweth is remembered at Kelvinside Academy, Fettes College, Largs War Memorial and here in Hyndland Church.

Artwork by Brian Lorimer

Introduction

 

At 8.15 p.m. on 20th December 1918 the Kirk Session of Hyndland Parish

Church met in the Vestry. It was just over a month since the Armistice had

taken place. The first matter to be discussed that evening was the creation of a War Memorial. A small committee had previously been formed to consider how best to remember those who had fallen in service.

 

The Congregation was invited to a meeting on 8th January 1919. There was already support for the Memorial to take the form of a stained glass window and some substantial subscriptions had been promised. This resulted in the 'Sacrifice and Victory' window by Douglas Strachan,which is situated above the chancel. In the bottom right hand corner of the fourth panel,which has the theme of Victory, khaki clad soldiers are depicted, set in a ruined landscape.

 

The window, tablet and reredos were dedicated in 1921.

​

The Memorial Tablet

​

Situated on the west side of the church, the Memorial Tablet holds thirty names.  Of these eleven were former pupils of Kelvinside Academy, three of Kelvinside Academy and Fettes and one of Kelvinside Academy and Charterhouse. Four were former pupils of Glasgow Academy, one of Glasgow Academy and Glasgow High

School and one of Glasgow Academy and Hillhead High School. Four attended Glasgow High School and the schools of five of the men were unknown at the time of writing. Four were graduates of Glasgow University.

​

The list of names contains two sets of brothers, the Fyfes and the Monteiths. The brother of Charles Reid married the sister of Alan Law. Three of the men named here were fathers of babies baptised in Hyndland Parish Church and one was himself baptised in the church.

 

It is clear that the young men here were the sons of wealthy families. Their fathers held prominent positions in Industry, Commerce, Shipping , Stockbroking, and in the Legal profession. For the most part their homes were in the large villas of Dowanhill and in what is now the Cleveden area. Their families were typical of the move westwards by the successful and aspirational Glasgow industrialists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Hyndland Church was supported by these families and hence the impressive War Memorial and handsome contributions towards it. Most of the young men went straight from school into family businesses or were engaged in some form of commerce or industry.

.

The stories behind the names are of course extremely interesting but as a former minister of Hyndland  the Very Reverend John C. Christie once said,

 

“Behind every name there is a tragedy”.

​

​

Frank Carruthers, a former pupil of Glasgow Academy, was the son of James

and Jessie Carruthers, of 15 Bowmont Gardens. He died aged 28 on 11th May

1915 and is named on the Le Touret Memorial.

 

Like many Europeans Frank had been working abroad, in Java, for some years before the war. Early film footage of Jakarta between 1910 and 1915 shows an apparently idyllic life style. Frank was enjoying some well earned leave when war broke out in 1914 and he immediately enlisted.

 

He kept a diary which starts from the time he left Queen Street Station on 2nd November 1914 and ends on 28th January 1915. Frank sent the diary notes home to be typed up and it is possible that later entries were never sent home. The diary gives a straight forward account of life for a Private in the early months of the war in France and Belgium. The solid reporting style makes many of his observations all the more moving, especially with regard to inadequate food, accommodation and the plight of

the Indian soldiers.

 

Within a few short months Frank became inured to life in the trenches and deals maturely with experiences he had never previously imagined. On 26th December 1914 he was asked by Captain Reid to be commissioned in one of the Highland Regiments. Frank at first refused but then decided to accept. He was however still a Private at the time of his death in May 1915 at Richebourg.

2nd Lieutenant Kenneth Biggar
​

17th Cameron Highlanders - 6th Battalion

Kenneth was the son of James Biggar and Martha Rawline Biggar and was born on 15th October 1893.

 

He was one of a large family and grew up at Chapelton Farm, Dalbettie, Dumfries and Galloway. On enlisting he described himself as an accountant.

 

He died in France at the Battle of Loos on 26th September 1915 aged 21. His body was never found.

 

His name is to be found on the Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais.

 

Kenneth's is the first name on our Memorial and at the time of writing his connection with Glasgow has not been established. It is possible that one of his many siblings had come to live in Glasgow and attended Hyndland Parish Church.

Private F. W. Carruthers

9th Highland Light Infantry

Frank Carruthers, a former pupil of Glasgow Academy, was the son of James

and Jessie Carruthers, of 15 Bowmont Gardens. He died aged 28 on 11th May

1915 and is named on the Le Touret Memorial.

 

Like many Europeans Frank had been working abroad, in Java, for some years before the war. Early film footage of Jakarta between 1910 and 1915 shows an apparently idyllic life style. Frank was enjoying some well earned leave when war broke out in 1914 and he immediately enlisted.

 

He kept a diary which starts from the time he left Queen Street Station on 2nd November 1914 and ends on 28th January 1915. Frank sent the diary notes home to be typed up and it is possible that later entries were never sent home. The diary gives a straight forward account of life for a Private in the early months of the war in France and Belgium. The solid reporting style makes many of his observations all the more moving, especially with regard to inadequate food, accommodation and the plight of

the Indian soldiers.

 

Within a few short months Frank became inured to life in the trenches and deals maturely with experiences he had never previously imagined. On 26th December 1914 he was asked by Captain Reid to be commissioned in one of the Highland Regiments. Frank at first refused but then decided to accept. He was however still a Private at the time of his death in May 1915 at Richebourg.

Captain R.S. Cree

8th The Cameronians

Robert Scott Cree was the husband of Zara Carvick Webster and the father of Thomas. His parents were Thomas Scott Cree and Jessie Blair Cree.

 

Both Robert and Zara grew up in the Montgomerie (now Cleveden) area. They were married in 1912 and thereafter lived at 20 Queensborough Gardens. Robert had attended Kelvinside Academy and qualified as an accountant.

 

The Crees and the Websters were typical of the large,dynamic and successful families of the time. Thomas Cree, a paper manufacturer, played a large part in business and civic affairs and was awarded the degree of LL D from Glasgow University. Zara's parents had grown up in Australia, were married in London and came to Scotland to take over a family business. As young people Robert and Zara must have moved in the same social circles and would seem to have made a very fitting marriage.

 

Robert died, on 14th November 1917 of wounds sustained in the 3rd Battle of Gaza (Burka). He is buried in the Deir El Belah War Cemetery, Israel/ Palestine, including Gaza.

 

Thomas was three years old at the time of Robert's death. In 1920 Zara and Thomas migrated to Australia. Thomas grew up to be a champion rower, representing Britain at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He had a notable Naval career in World War 2 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Robert would surely have been proud of his son.

Lieutenant Hugh B. Dickson

3rd Royal Highlanders

Hugh or Hugo Barclay Dickson was the son of John Robert Dickson and Margaret Thomson Barclay Dickson. He had three siblings and the family home was at 2 Westbourne Terrace.

 

He was a former pupil of both Glasgow High School and Glasgow Academy.

 

Hugh died serving with the Black Watch at the third Battle of Ypres on 12th October 1917 (usually known as Passchendaele).

 

His mother died three months later. They are both commemorated in Sighthill Cemetery, Glasgow.

2nd Lieutenant Alexander Duff

7th Cameronians

Alexander (Alister) Duff was born in Bridge of Weir and was the youngest child of James Duff from Perthshire and Mary Deans Duff from Cardross, Dunbartonshire. James was a wine and spirit merchant. Alister was a pupil of Glasgow High School and in 1911 the family had moved to Eglinton Drive (now Cleveden Gardens).

 

Alister was a Territorial with the 7th Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and first joined a theatre of war on 4th June 1915 at Gallipoli.

 

He was recorded as missing presumed dead on 28th June 1915. Alister's name

is one of the 21,000 names on the Helles Memorial at Gallipoli.

2nd Lieutenant J.W. Forrest

5th Cameronians

James Woodhall Forrest was the son of James Forrest, a prominent timber merchant and Jane Mason Forrest. The second child in a family of six, he was a pupil of Kelvinside Academy and of Fettes. The family resided at 1 Queensborough Gardens, but by 1905 had moved to 34 Kingsborough Gardens.

 

James lost his life on 11th August 1914 in an accident at training camp in

Glasgow at Woodside Public School.

Captain T. A. Fyfe.

5th Highland Light Infantry

Thomas Alexander Fyfe and his brother Gilbert were the sons of Sheriff Thomas Fyfe and Janet Black (Shanks) Fyfe. The family home was at 1 Kingsborough Gardens. Thomas was a former pupil of Kelvinside Academy.

 

As a member of the 1/5th City of Glasgow Batallion, Thomas sailed for Gallipoli on

26th May 1915. He was wounded at Dardanelles but returned to the conflict. By April 1918 the Batallion was arriving in France for service on the Western Front. Having come through most of the war Thomas was killed in action on 24th August 1918. He lies at St. Sever Cemetery, Rouen , Seine -Maritime.

2nd Lieutenant Gilbert Fyfe

9th Highland Light Infantry

Gilbert was the younger of the Fyfe brothers. He was a pupil of Kelvinside Academy where he was a member of the Officers' Training Corps and played in the first XV Rugby team.

 

Gilbert was eager to go to war but when he first applied for a commission, aged 18, he was refused on grounds of age. He started an engineering apprenticeship with the company of David Carlaw, Finneston Street. In the autumn of 1915, aged 19, he re-applied and was accepted for a commission with the HLI.

 

Gilbert took part in the Bois de Foureaux (High Wood) Battle where, on the night of 14th-15th July 1916 he organised Glasgow Highlanders and other troops. Private 4039 Frank Middleton wrote, “ He certainly had a fine hold on the situation”. In the attack on the following morning, “he had both legs shattered”. Gilbert died of his wounds on 16th July after only three months in France.

 

By Tuesday 18th July many families in Glasgow were receiving telegrams telling of death on the Somme. Sheriff Fyfe was relieved of his duties at a Munitions Tribunal that day, shortly after the court had opened having just received word that his son had been killed in action. Gilbert lies in Heilly Station Cemetery, Méricourt- L'Abbé, on the Somme.

Captain Norman Gardner

3rd West Riding Regiment

Norman was born on 27th July 1886 at 2 Kirklee Road. His father, John,died when Norman was six years old. The family moved to Camden Villa , East Montrose Street , Helensburgh.

 

Norman was originally a Private with the King's Own Scottish Borderers and moved on to become a Second Lieutenant and subsequently a Captain with the West Riding Regiment. He died on 2nd October 1918 and is buried in Joncourt East British Cemetery, Picardie.

Lieutenant Daniel Gillies

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

Daniel was a stockbroker by profession and was educated at Glasgow High School. He was the husband of Linda and the father of Linda Gerda and Lorna Grace, both of whom were baptised in Hyndland. Their family homes were in Highburgh Terrace and Crown Mansions (which later became North Gardner Street).

 

One of only two of the “thirty men” to serve at sea Daniel died at Gallipoli in April 1915. He served  on motor boat No. 71 of the Motor Boat Reserve. He is remembered at Hillfoot Cemetery, Bearsden and at the Baldernock War Memorial.

Lieutenant Donald F. Jackson

20th Hussars

Donald Fisher Jackson was the son of William, a marine engineer, and Tomina Jackson. Their Glasgow home was at 5 Montague Terrace and they also had a residence in Troon, a large villa named “Warrix”. Donald was a former pupil of Kelvinside Academy and was a Lieutenant in the Glasgow Yeomanry.

 

The 20th Hussars went to France in August 1914, the 29 officers and 519 men making up part of the, “contemptible little army”, as it was reputedly described by Emperor William the 2nd  on 19th August 1914.

 

The regiment was one of the first in action in 1914 and went on to serve on the Western Front all  the way through the war. For a time in the spring of 1918 they served on foot, later returning to horses. Donald was one of this company and was twice mentioned in dispatches for his brave conduct. His name appears on the War Memorial Plaques in Wellington Church, Kelvinside Academy, Inverary and of course Hyndland Parish Church. He died on 11th October 1918 aged 32 and is remembered in the Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension.

Lieutenant Thomas Jackson

5th Royal Scots Fusilier

Thomas was a partner in the well known Glasgow Accountancy firm of Messrs. Thomson, Jackson, Gourlay and Taylor. The business was based at 24 George Square and the family home was at, “Smithstone”, Kilwinning, Ayrshire.

 

Educated at Kelvinside Academy Thomas was a member of the Cadet Corps while at school and later served with the 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers. He clearly had a strong social conscience and was a director of the Glasgow Night Asylum for the Homeless. Thomas also served as a Commissioner for the Northern District Boy Scouts (Ayrshire).

 

When war broke out he was a Captain in the Ayrshire National Reserve and was commissioned in the 5th Royal Scots Fusiliers. In May 1915 he was sent to Gallipoli and was killed in action on 12th July 1915, aged35. Thomas is remembered on the Helles War Memorial, Turkey, including Gallipoli.

Lieutenant W.J. Johnstone M.C.

Fife and Forfar Yeomanry

William Jeffray was the son of William and Mary Johnstone, of 9 Winton Drive. Born in 1897 he and his brother James attended Kelvinside Academy. He went on to Fettes College and in both schools he was a member of the O.T.C. William began studying at Glasgow University in 1915 and joined the University Corps. He was enrolled in classes in French and Latin but within a few months he had volunteered for service overseas.

 

Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, William served abroad and was a Lieutenant when serving in Egypt. He died of wounds on 28th December 1915 aged 20 and is buried in Jerusalem War Cemetery. His heroism was recognised posthumously with the award of the Military Cross in February 1918.

 

William is remembered here in Hyndland, at Glasgow University, at Kelvinside Academy , at Fettes College and also on the War Memorial at Amisfield, a small village outside Dumfries.

Captain William T. Kedie

42nd Royal Highlanders

William was the son of Robert and Jeanie Kedie of 15 St. James Terrace (now Ruskin Terrace). As is the case with all of the “Thirty Men” he has an interesting family background, typical of industrious and successful Glasgow dynasties of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries.

 

William's father, Robert, grew up in Hawick. He was raised by and apprenticed to his Uncle William, a prominent local merchant. Robert came to Glasgow to finish his training at Stewart and Macdonald's Warehouse. He stayed there and gradually worked his way up to the very top.  Robert became a very successful clothing manufacturer. He had many stores and employed over two thousand

people. In 1877 he married Jeanie Forsyth, daughter of William Forsyth. They had two daughters Annie and Mabel and one son, William.

 

William was educated at Kelvinside Academy and went on to Sandhurst. He was a career soldier and served in the South African War. By 1913 he was a Captain in the 1st Battalion Black Watch. The Black Watch was involved from the very start of the conflict in France and as such William went there on 14th August 1914. He was wounded in January 1915 and while he at first refused treatment he was later invalided home.

 

In April 1915 William was again wounded at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. When fit for duty again, after being nursed in London, he was appointed to the Headquarters Staff of the 29th Division in the Dardanelles. He was thus in a supervisory role with regard to the Gallipoli  landings. William arrived there at the end of July and was killed on 21st August 1915. Interestingly he is commemorated on the  Le Touret

Memorial in France (according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) but other sources are clear that he was killed in action in Gallipoli. William was 33 and unmarried at the time of his death.

Midshipman C. G. Kennedy

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

Cecil Gordon Kennedy was a pupil of Glasgow High School. He was the son of Mr and Mrs Alexander Kennedy of Castlebank House, Anniesland. Alexander was the founder of the well known Castlebank Dyeworks Company, cleaners and dyers, which had branches all over Scotland.

 

Aged 19 Cecil was serving on HMS Narborough, an Admiralty M class destroyer, launched in Clydebank in March 1916. On 12th January 1918 HMS Narboroughand her sister ship HMS Opal were escorting the light cruiser HMS Boadicea on patrol against mine layers. A violent snow blizzard forced the two destroyers to return to base at Scapa Flow. Unable to see, a navigational error caused the two ships to sail into the cliffs at Hesta Rock, South Ronaldsay.

 

188 men died and the one survivor, William Sissons of the Opal, clung to the cliff edge

for 36 hours. Most were never found and are commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Hampshire. Cecil is of course one such.

Lieutenant Alan D. Law

4th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Alan was the second youngest son of William and Isabella Law of 29 Montgomerie (now Cleveden) Drive. Alan had three brothers and four sisters and was a pupil of Kelvinside Academy. Thomas Law and Company, of which Alan's father William was senior partner, was a hugely successful firm of ship owners and managers of the “Shire Line”, a fleet of some 30 vessels. The firm was the agent in Glasgow for the Queensland Government and William was the consul for the Republic of Uruguay.

 

Alan was thus a member of a typically rich and influential Glasgow shipping family. He was killed aged 20 on 3rd May 1917 and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. Eighteen months later the Kirk Session here in Hyndland was discussing the proposed War Memorial stained glass window. Alan's father William, a trustee of the church, had already given £250 (£10,000 would be the equivalent in 2015).

Lieutenant R.C. McLelland

9th Highland Light Infantry

Robert Carrick McLelland was the son of Robert Carrick  Donaldson McLelland, ship owner, and Jessie Baxter Lawrie McLelland of 6 Great Western Terrace. Carrick, as he was usually called, was educated at Kelvinside Academy and at Charterhouse School.

 

When war broke out Carrick was in the employment of T. L. Duff and Co. and joined the H.L.I. as a private in 1914, aged 26. He was soon commissioned as a Lieutenant. Carrick took part in a raid at Mad Point on 27- 28 June 1916. Under the leadership of Captain Frame and Lieutenants McLelland, Cooke and McNab a party of 150 men went out into No Man's Land with the aim of damaging German defences and dugouts and bringing back prisoners. Fierce fighting ensued and prisoners and equipment

were taken.

 

On 15th July 1916 Carrick was seriously wounded at High Wood on the Somme. As a result of his injuries he had a leg amputated and was sent to St. Thomas's Hospital in London. He died there, aged 28, on 17th August 1916, one of the huge number of losses on the Somme for the H.L.I. and the loss of their son for Robert and Jessie.

Lieutenant Corporal A. C. Mechan

5th Cameronian Highlanders

Arthur Clifford Mechan was a former pupil of both Glasgow Academy and Hillhead High School. At the time of the war he lived with his mother at 12 Victoria Crescent, his father, Dr Mechan, having passed away. Clifford, as he was known, was an only son. In the Hillhead High School War Memorial he is described as , “a good sport in the best sense of the term” and as“straightforward and reliable”.

 

Clifford had just completed his apprenticeship as an engineer when war broke out. He immediately enlisted. The battle at Loos in September 1915 was seen initially as a great success but there was a huge loss of life. Clifford was posted as missing, presumed killed, on 26th September 1915. He is memorialised on the Loos Memorial at Pas de  Calais, on the memorials of the two Glasgow Schools he attended and in Hyndland Church.

Lieutenant M. R. Monteith

Royal Engineers

Matthew Rankin Monteith was born on 12th June 1896. He was the second youngest of the seven children of Robert and Jane Monteith of “Greenbank” Dowanhill. Robert was a stockbroker and the family business had been moved from Edinburgh to Glasgow, following the rise of Glasgow as the centre of commerce.

 

He was killed on the Somme on 16th July 1916, aged 20. Matthew is named on the Wall of Remembrance at the Serre Road Cemetery where 7127 Commonwealth soldiers are buried. Most of them were killed in 1916 and 4944 are unidentified.

2nd Lieutenant P. R. Monteith

13th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Patrick Rankin Monteith was the third child of Robert and Jane Monteith and Matthew's elder brother. He was born in Glasgow in 1889.

 

In 1914 Patrick joined the Sportsman's Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. He was mentioned in the London Gazette as being appointed as a temporary 2/ Lieutenant.

 

His younger brother was killed on the Somme on 16th July 1916 and on 13th November 1916 Patrick also met his end on the Somme. He is buried in Étaples Cemetery, Pas de Calais. Their father Robert pre-deceased his sons and Jane returned to Edinburgh. Thus it is that Patrick and Matthew are commemorated in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.

Colonel F. L. Morrison C.B. D.S.O.V. D.

5th Highland Light Infantry

Frederick Lansdowne Morrison was a highly regarded man who had a distinguished career in both civilian and military life. Born in 1863, he was the son of James, Auctioneer and J.P. and his wife Jessie. He grew up in the west end at the family home, “Ashcraig”,which is now known as “Balmanno House”. He was a good student of Glasgow University  and graduated M.A. in 1883 and LLB in 1887.

 

Fred's son Ronald Harvey Morrison served in the war and was commissioned to the 5th H.L.I. He was awarded the Military Cross in April 1918. Unlike Fred Ronald came home from the war and continued his accountancy career. My research (unconfirmed) indicates that Fred also had a son Leslie Stuart Morrison who was baptised in Hyndland Church.

 

When war broke out Fred was 50 years old and married to Ada Helen. They lived at

“Ashcraig”. Fred was mobilised almost immediately war was declared and served in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine. He communicated with Professor Medley of Glasgow University and reported that 29 officers had landed at Helles on 2ndJuly 1915. Only 5 re-embarked when Cape Helles was evacuated six months later. Of the 1033 other ranks only 321 were there to be evacuated. By February 1916 Fred was in Egypt.

 

He died, aged 54, on 22nd December 1917 at Alexandria and is buried in the Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery.

Lieutenant A.S. Morrison

Royal Garrison Artillery

Arthur Stanley Morrison was the son of Alexander Fridge Morrison and Sarah Morrison of 5 Queensborough Gardens. Arthur was a former pupil of Glasgow Academy and went on to study at Glasgow University, as his father had before him. Arthur graduated with an M.A. and also a B.Sc.

 

He served with the Royal Garrison Artillery which involved working with large weapons, howitzer guns. These were the first weapons to be hauled by motor tractors as

opposed to horses.Some were so large they could only be used on railway tracks.

 

Arthur was killed on 23rd August 1918 at the third and final major offensive on the Somme. He was aged 28 and is buried in the Bac- Du- Sud British Cemetery, Bailleuval, Pas de Calais. This cemetery contains 688 Commonwealth burials and 55 German war graves.

2nd Lieutenant J. R. Prentice

4th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

John Robert Prentice was the son of John and Annie of “Ardlea”, Kelvinside. The house, part of a large double villa is now 11 Horselethill Road.

 

The Prentice family had originally come  from Greenock and had become wealthy as a result of sugar broking. John had one sister, Jessie, who later wrote under the name of Jessie Mc Alpine and had several books published.

 

A former pupil of Kelvinside Academy  John died of wounds sustained in conflict on 17th April 1918. He was twenty years old. He is buried in Longuenesse, St. Omer, Souvenir Cemetery, Pas de Calais.

2nd Lieutenant Charles T. Price

5th Highland Light Infantry

Charles was the son of Charles and Sybella of 57 Queensborough Gardens. He was born in Edinburgh and was a pupil of Glasgow Academy. Charles died on 30th November 1917, aged 20, and lies in Ramleh War Cemetery in Israel/Palestine (including Gaza).

2nd Lieutenant Charles D. Reid

9th Highland Light Infantry

Charles Douglas Reid was the son of James and Patricia Reid of 15 Montgomerie Crescent (now Cleveden Crescent). He was educated at Kelvinside Academy.

 

On 25th May 1916, a week before his 19th birthday, he landed in France as a Second Lieutenant in the Glasgow Highlanders.His battalion took part in the famous raid on enemy trenches on 27th June. Just two weeks later the battalion was  to be part of the Battle of the Somme.

 

There were heavy casualties on 15th July: 5 officers killed, 15 wounded and 1 missing. Of other ranks 87 were killed, 214 wounded and 99 were missing. Charles was the missing officer.His brother Alexander Reid (later Colonel Reid) wrote in his book, “Shoulder to Shoulder”, that Charles had been killed while “making a gallant attempt to move his platoon forward” on High Wood. The War Office subsequently accepted that he had been killed on 15th July. Charles is commemorated at Bouzincourt Communal Cemetery Extension, Kelvinside Academy War Memorial, Culter War Memorial, Craigton Cemetery and of course Hyndland Parish Church.

Lieutenant Alan M. Stevenson

Royal Air Force

Alan McDonald Stevenson was the son of John and Ellen McDonald Stevenson of 3 Windsor Terrace (now Kirklee Terrace). Alan was born in Cove, Dunbartonshire and was a pupil of Glasgow Academy. John and his brother Boyd established a hugely successful bakery business with large factories at Cranstonhill and Plantation. By 1885 they had expanded to London.

 

Alan died on 5th April 1918, aged 19. He was buried in Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. There is also a commemorative stone to the Stevenson family in the

Barbour Cemetery, Roseneath. Alan and his mother Ellen, a teacher, are named there.

Lieutenant A. A. Warren

8th Border Regiment

Archibald Alexander Warren was the son of Timothy and Mary Warren of 10 Westbourne Terrace (now 39 Hyndland Road). Born in Hamilton Archie was a

pupil at Kelvinside Academy.

 

From early in 1916 the 8th Border Regiment was preparing for the “Big Push” which would be the Somme battle. The battalion diary records that the 21st January had been “a quiet day”. Lieutenant Warren and Captain Hodgson were on patrol. They never returned and it was impossible to discover what had happened. Archie was reported missing, presumed killed. He was 19 years old. He had twice been mentioned in dispatches. Archie is remembered at the Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery,Sauchez, Pas de Calais.

Conclusion

 

These conclusions represent thoughts on the part of the writer; they are not strictly speaking conclusions based on the findings.

 

What can we possibly say or feel when confronted by the fact that so many,mainly young, people lost their lives in a grim conflict one hundred years ago?

 

Conflict comes in many forms and seems always to be with us. War does not go away, it just goes to sleep in a corner for a while. One certainty for this writer is that we should try never to forget.

 

For the generation of 1914-1918 every day must have been one of quiet mourning. As Wilfred Owen wrote,

 

                “And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds”

 

For our generation and those to come we can only try to heed these words,

     

  “Let those who come after see to it that their name be not forgotten”

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