The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

john burnett · Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 790 Location: Fife

Thanks to Caroline Gerard for the following.
"The attached photograph is of the stained-glass window in Belford Hostel, formerly Belford Church (at the foot of Douglas Gardens, Edinburgh).

There are partitions up to create dormitories, and they were about to put up some plastic sheeting to prevent downwards draughts, hence the white cords, etc. Someday I’ll go back in and get better photographs.
The names are

A H Adamson, Lt Seaforth

Thomas Brewer, Pte Royal Scots

E H Best, Sgt RHA

R Christison, RSM, Cameron

Lewis Corbett, Gunner FRGD

Wilfred Dickson, Pte RS

George Fraser, Pte RSF

Andrew M Glen, Pte RS

William Gordon, Cpl RS

Ronald Grant, Lt RE

Henry Gray, Sgt, RGA

George Honeyman, Pte HLI

Adam Irvine, Pte Seaforth

Charles Jack, Pte Cameron

William Jack, Pte Rs

Peter Linn, Lt RS

George Lumsden, Pte RSF

Adam McDonald, L/Cpl RS

James McDonald, Pte KOSB

Joseph McNeill, Sgt SR

George McKenzie, L/Cpl SR

John Merrilees, Lt RS

George Miller, Pte RAMC

James Nicholson, Pte RSF

William S Noble, Lt RS

William Sadler, Lt RFC

James Smith, Pte HLI

William Vannan, Pte RAM

Adam Brown · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:36 am Post subject:

I looked up one of the names to check if this was a First World War memorial.

ADAMSON, ALEXANDER HUTTON
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Regiment/Service: Seaforth Highlanders
Unit Text: 7th Bn.
Age: 27
Date of Death: 09/04/1917
Additional information: Son of Alexander Adamson, of 28, St. Bernard's Crescent, Edinburgh.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: K. 16.
Cemetery: STE. CATHERINE BRITISH CEMETERY

It is, so that means this is actually the St Cuthbert's United Free Church War Memorial.

St Cuthbert's UF became Belford Church in 1929. In 1970 it merged with Palmerston Place Church and this church was sold. I wouldn't be surprised if Palmerston Place Church has another memorial to these men.

Adam

Caroline · Joined: 04 Aug 2008 Posts: 17

Belford Church was built around 1889/ 1890 (designed by Sydney Mitchell) and was originally the Dean Free Church. The congregation moved there from the previous site farther east along Belford Road (an 1840s David Cousin building), in the gap site between Drumsheugh Baths and the Edinburgh Society of Musicians. The first building burnt down later, maybe 1950s.

Dean Free merged with St Cuthbert's Free (of Spittal Street) and some memorials were moved. It may be that the window wasn't designed and installed until 1929 or so. What I can say with certainty is that most of the fallen weren't of Dean Village. I researched them (as far as I could) a few years ago.

One who was of the Village was Andrew (Given) Irvine, who is commemorated also in Dean Cemetery, on a family stone.

There was the Great Reunion in 1929, when some Free Kirk congregations went back into the Church of Scotland (and the CofS got its mitts on the Assembly Hall on Mound Place, which had had it green-eyed for ages!), hence some Free Kirk congregations merging.

According to one of my neighbours, who's an elder at Palmerston Place Church, there is a Roll of Honour there, and he's going to arrange to let me see it sometime. I'm sure he said there wasn't a memorial as such. But I'll find out!

Caroline