The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

Kenneth Morrison

While researching a man from the Scottish Borders, I found that he had been lost off Alexandria when the steamer "Kosseir" was torpedoed and sunk by UB 51 on 20 July 1918. He was John Burns Purves, Private 203267, a former King's Own Scottish Borderer, who was on his way to join the 1st Garrison Battalion of the Royal Scots on Cyprus.
What was puzzling was that he is named on the Doiran Memorial in Salonica.

The CWGC database shows 13 men from the battalion were lost on that day (John Argue is listed as 1st Battalion but his service record confirms that he was with the 1st Garrison and was lost on the "Kosseir")

James Thomson, Private (45214) from Selkirk was also lost and is named on the Jerusalem Memorial.

Two are named on the Doiran Memorial (Purves and Argue). Three on the Chatby Memorial in Alexandria, while the rest are named on the Jerusalem Memorial.

Any ideas of why their names would be allocated to different memorials?
_________________
Ken