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ARDLER
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dhubthaigh
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
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Location: Blairgowrie, Perthshire

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Surname SHEPHERD
Firstname William
Service number S/6309
Date of death 27/09/1915
Decoration
Place of birth Meigle Perthshire
Other 8th Bn.
SNWM roll THE BLACK WATCH (ROYAL HIGHLANDERS)
Rank Pte
Theatre of death F.& F.

Name: SHEPHERD, WILLIAM
Initials: W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment: Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)
Unit Text: 8th Bn.
Date of Death: 27/09/1915
Service No: S/6309
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 78 to 83.
Cemetery: LOOS MEMORIAL

THE ALYTH GUARDIAN: 15.11.15
Pvt. William Shepherd, 8th Black Watch (youngest son of Mr Robert Shepherd, signalman) has been killed in action.
The deceased, who was in his eighteenth year, was, prior to enlistment last autumn, an apprentice gardener at Inchyra, and went to France with his regiment in May.
He is the first of Ardler's heroes to make the supreme sacrifice.


Last edited by dhubthaigh on Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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dhubthaigh
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

WORLD WAR TWO

Surname DARGIE
Firstname John
Service number 1787344
Date of death 05/03/1943
Decoration
Place of birth Perth
Other
SNWM roll ROYAL ARTILLERY
Rank Gnr
Theatre of death Malaya

Name: DARGIE, JOHN
Initials: J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Gunner
Regiment/Service: Royal Artillery
Unit Text: 9 Coast Regt.
Age: 22
Date of Death: 05/03/1943
Service No: 1787344
Additional information: Son of William and Jane Dargie, of Ardler by Meigle, Perthshire.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 16.
Memorial: SINGAPORE MEMORIAL


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dhubthaigh
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
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Location: Blairgowrie, Perthshire

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Name: MAXWELL, HUGH HAMILTON
Initials: H H
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Lieutenant (Sp)
Regiment/Service: Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Age: 33
Date of Death: 13/01/1945
Additional information: Son of George and Isobel Mary Maxwell; husband of Jean G. Maxwell, of Dundee.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: I. K. 10.
Cemetery: CATANIA WAR CEMETERY, SICILY
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dhubthaigh
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BLAIRGOWRIE ADVERTISER: 25.01.1919

MEMORIAL SERVICE AT ARDLER

DEDICATION OF THE LOCAL CALVARY


Sunday was a quiet day in the quiet village of Ardler, twelve of whose sons have fallen in the war. A memorial service was conducted in the Parish Church by the Rev. Arch. Stuart, who has served two terms with the Y.M.C.A. in France, and thereafter the beautiful cross erected on the village green was dedicated to the glory of God and to the memory of the fallen soldiers whose names are inscribed thereon.
There was a very large congregation, which included a contingent of Coupar Angus Volunteers, under Captain Scott Ferguson, seats for whom were reserved in the front of the sacred edifice. On the Communion table were two lovely brass flower vases presented to the church by Mr and Mrs John Weir, Glasgow, in memory of their only son, John, who fell at Proville, on 30th September, 1918. An opening voluntary by Mrs Stuart, organist, played Chopin’s “Funeral March”. A few appropriate Scripture sentences, followed by a short prayer, were quoted by rev. Mr Stuart, and then Psalm xxiv., 7-10, was sung to the tune “St. George’s”, and her, as throughout the whole service, the singing was characterised by great heartiness. The Old Testament lesson was psalm xxiii., and the New Testament lesson Rev. xxi. 1-5; while the hymns were “When the day of toil is done”, “Now the labourer’s task is o’er”, and paraphrase xivi.
In his address Mr Stuart said - “We live in a new world today. We have been witnesses of the greatest cataclysm and have been delivered from the greatest catastrophe in history. What we have seen during the past 4½ years has bewildered our imagination and dazzled even the eyes of faith. The foundations of an entire continent have been blasted clean asunder; nations, like aeroplanes, have crashed; kingdoms have dissolved, Emperors and rulers have disappeared, and in the midst of the colossal earthquake there have emerged the three majestic figures of Freedom, Justice, and Honour, with garments rolled in blood, but triumphant, beckoning us to a new day of hope, social advancement, and moral progress. It is in the light of that flaming dawn that you and I are met here today to remind one another of the wonderful things that God Almighty hath done for us; so look back upon the long, long road of sorrow and tears and loss along which, thank God, we have come unitedly; to worship the God of our fathers, Who hath saved us; to think of the graves of the gallant dead, who sleep in peace, to commemorate their glorious deeds, to salute their holy memory, and to proclaim our undying gratitude to them.

They shall not grow old as we who remain grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn;
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them.



The share that our men had in delivering the world from death is one of the most glorious chapters in the whole history of the Scottish nation. In the few sentences that I have to utter today I can do no more than draw your attention to the whole noble place our British boys filled in the story of our nation, which has again so triumphantly advocated the principles that are imperishable and supreme. It must be left to others to tell the story, though no writer will be able to tell one-half of the trials, hardships, and endurance of our men; of the horror, terror, and brutality of war; of the shouting, clangour, and tumult; of the reverses and advances - the shouting of exaltation as the Army went forward, and the indescribable torment of our men as they felt the victory being torn from their hands and the cause of liberty being driven back, and the falling of thousands where only one now stood. Only God in heaven knows what the gallant dead endured. These men have absolutely, in their vicarious sacrifice, died that we might live, laying down their lives ungrudgingly that we might be delivered from the most frightful menace and peril that ever threatened to engulf this fair world. The sacrifice of these men, to whom we pay our tribute in this solemn hour, reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ. They died for us even as He died for the world, and in doing so I hold that they have drawn us closer and given us a clearer conception of the sacrifice Christ made. In this War greater things have happened than the things we set out to accomplish. No doubt our dreams and hopes have been realised in the absolute overthrow of the greatest curse that ever shook or shocked the heart of man. We have seen the walls of Jericho fall down before our very eyes; but greater things than that have taken place. The whole of the common life of man has become transfigured. Courage, faith, loyalty, honour, devotion to duty, following the gleam, answering the call, why, even to the laying down of life itself - all these things have sanctified our human life, sanctified everything. In saving Europe, in saving our own homes, and in laying down their lives for us these men did greater things than they ever knew. It was a far, far better thing than they had ever done, when, standing at the threshold of life, with all the dream and romance of youth before them, they turned their back on it all, answered the call of duty, marched to battle, and without a single grudge laid down their lives. And today theirs is a far, far better rest than they had ever dreamed of. Do you know that out yonder a great thing has taken place? Millions of men have been swept into a wonderful brotherhood, a brotherhood that will have its dangers and risks for us when they come back, and which will be required to be faced and met with courage and faith. I believe that the whole moral weight of the principles for which these men have fought so triumphantly, and which are supreme, have become intensely real to them. I have returned from the graves of those who laid down their lives to tell you that they sleep in peace, because that for which they set out has been accomplished. Today, in this memorial service, I bring back this message from the place where they sleep in peace -

To you, from failing hands we throw the torch;
Be yours to lift it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep.


Ah, no; never shall we break faith with them. Never shall we violate the graves of these men, or dishonour them again by going back to the old life of wordliness and selfishness. I think I can say in all sincerity that our hearts go out today in waves of great sympathy and in tides of great compassion to the mothers and wives, to the fathers and children, to the homes of the bereaved. Our sympathy and prayers are for the millions of homes that have paid the dreadful price in blood for the salvation of the world and for the redemption of mankind. Our gratitude and our tribute of undying honour and praise we yield to those who have gone from our midst and shall never return. They have received the “Well done” given to those who are faithful unto death. We live in the reflected glory of their glory. Let us march unitedly with the Christ at our head, following in the footsteps of these men, that some day, we, too, may reach the highest of all nobility that is bestowed by Almighty God on every man who, through his sacrifice, unlocks the gates and opens wide to us the view of the new heaven and the new earth.
After an intercessory prayer, the service was concluded with Paraphrase xvi. And the Benediction, the congregation remaining standing while Mrs Stuart played the “Dead March in Saul”.
The company, led by the Rev. Mr Stuart and the Volunteers, then proceeded to the local “Calvary”, where, the Dedication prayer having been offered, Mr Stewart said there was a beautiful appropriateness in this memorial, so chaste and noble, and gifted with such great gratitude to the memory of the fallen in the Great War; and, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, he consecrated and dedicated it to the glory of God and in memory of the fallen, among whom he proudly named the local boys:- Pte. William Shepherd, 8th B.W.; Pte. F. G. Robertson, 1/4th B.W.; L./Corpl. J. Honey, 9th Seaforths; Pte. R. Leslie, Coldstream Guards; Pte. Robert Kerr, 42nd B.W., Canadians; Pte. George Shepherd, Scots Guards; Pte. George Dargie, 8th Royal Scots; Sergt. James Dargie, 11th B.W.; Pte. Andrew Myles, 7th B.W.; Pte T. Kiddie 187th Batt. C.E.F.; Pte. D. Shepherd 3/6th B.W.; and L./Corpl. R. Shepherd, 3rd Gordons. Concluding, Mr Stuart said to these and to all who had fallen in the War that chaste, noble, and dignified cross would stand as a perpetual memorial in their midst. After the Benediction Pte. James Slidders, Coupar Angus, sounded “The Last Post”, Mr Stuart, who was in khaki, and the officers and men standing at the salute meantime.
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dhubthaigh
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe this to be the first 'public' memorial to be erected and dedicated in Perthshire, possibly the whole of Scotland?
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dhubthaigh
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Goodness knows where the brass flower vases donated by Mr & Mrs Weir in memory of their son have gone. One of the nearby churches perhaps - or is this another 'lost memorial' ?

Name: WEIR
Initials: J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Able Seaman
Regiment/Service: Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Unit Text: Hood Bn. R.N. Div.
Date of Death: 30/09/1918
Service No: R/6734
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: I. A. 25.
Cemetery: PROVILLE BRITISH CEMETERY
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Adam Brown
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 7312
Location: Edinburgh (From Sutherland)

PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dhubthaigh wrote:
I believe this to be the first 'public' memorial to be erected and dedicated in Perthshire, possibly the whole of Scotland?


Any community would be hard pressed to beat a January 1919 unveiling! I take it most of the discussion and the work had been done prior to November 1918.

Perhaps they had a spare cross available to use immediately from a local monumental mason?

Adam
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dhubthaigh
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
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Location: Blairgowrie, Perthshire

PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Adam Brown wrote:
dhubthaigh wrote:
I believe this to be the first 'public' memorial to be erected and dedicated in Perthshire, possibly the whole of Scotland?


Any community would be hard pressed to beat a January 1919 unveiling! I take it most of the discussion and the work had been done prior to November 1918.

Perhaps they had a spare cross available to use immediately from a local monumental mason?

Adam


I will try and find out. Is this my first entry for the 'To Do' list for Perthshire Confused
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dhubthaigh
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Location: Blairgowrie, Perthshire

PostPosted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


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dhubthaigh
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
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Location: Blairgowrie, Perthshire

PostPosted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I visited today I had hoped that when carving the name of Stephen Beattie onto the monument the names of the Great War fallen had been sharpened but alas no.
Although finances very much dictate, given this is probably the first public monument erected in Scotland, it may be something that serious thought should be given to.
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dalblair



Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Posts: 564
Location: coupar angus

PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:19 pm    Post subject: First Memorial in Scotland? Reply with quote

Blairgowrie Advertiser Sat 6th April 1918

A beautiful memorial cross in memory of local fallen soldiers has been erected in the village green.The design is early French Renaissance,and the monument consists of a shaft with carved capital,surmounted by a cross of graceful design,and resting on an octagonal pedestal.The base is 7ft square and the height is 18ft,and the whole is made of Camperdown stone,the sculptor being Mr Carnegie,Dundee.
The inscription is as follows:
"To the glory of God and in memory of the fallen in the Great War 1914"

It then lists the first 10 names-which indicates that
Andrew Myles
Robert Shepherd
JamesTDewar
were added afterwards-2 before the dedication in 1919.
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dhubthaigh
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hugh,

I already believed, given the dedication in Janaury 1919, that this was the first public Great War memorial in Scotland. However the article you have found suggests it was erected on the green in April, 1918. Months before the end of the war!
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Adam Brown
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The inscription from the newspaper also suggests that too. It now says 1914-1919 but in 1918 it only said 1914.

We've seen Rolls of Honour being updated as the war progressed but I think this is the first time I've seen a stone civic war memorial being erected during the war.

It's a shame the article doesn't mention when it was commissioned, who commissioned it and how it was paid for (subscription or donation)?

Hopefully earlier editions of the Blairgowrie Advertiser may fill in some gaps.

Adam
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dalblair



Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Posts: 564
Location: coupar angus

PostPosted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I`m searching the Blairgowrie Advertiser for Coupar Angus info so i`ll check 1917 and see what else there is.
Hugh
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dhubthaigh
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dhubthaigh wrote:
I believe this to be the first 'public' memorial to be erected and dedicated in Perthshire, possibly the whole of Scotland?


I am correcting myself here. Although now in Perthshire at the time of its war memorial being unveiled Ardler was in the county of Angus.
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