The Scottish War Memorials Project

David McNay

Law war memorial lists a Sergeant James G Fraser, 2nd Black Watch among its Second World War dead.

There is no match to this on the CWGC or SNWM. I have checked the Army Roll of Honour and found nothing there either.

Any suggestions as to my next step? The local papers are on my list of sources to check, but Law is in the unfortunate position of being in between Lanark and Wishaw, and it's not clear which of those two local papers the casualties for Law are in. It's also made harder by the fact that Law is usually "lumped in" with Carluke. Second World War casualties are also poorly rcorded when compared with the Great War.

Kenneth Morrison · Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:56 pm Post subject:

Is the G of the second name possibly a C ?
James Clerk Reid Fraser Sgt. (2752109) 1st Black Watch died 16/7/1941 (as a POW?) Born India.
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Ken

Kenneth Morrison · Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 1:06 pm Post subject:

Just looked at photo. He was a Private not a Sergeant. Embarassed

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Ken

kinnethmont · Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 562 Location: Aberdeenshire

David

Pte Fraser is a bit of a mystery. There is no one listed to suit in the BW ( inc. 2nd BW ) Roll. There is no sign of him as a service death or died locally to 1953. I suspect he may have been medically discharged or died elsewhere, possibly in England.
It could well be be that the memorial detail is wrong.

It looks like a search of the papers you mention might be the only way to get a bit more detail. If he was in 2BW as a Regular in 1939/40 the papers may well list those currently on active service by district. Some did this. An appeal for NOK or a visit to Perth might shed some light.

A non comm for WW2 is unusual, but not impossible.

Have you any idea when the WW2 panel was added?
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Jim

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

www.kinnethmont.co.uk

Adam Brown · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 8:56 am Post subject:

The Loth war memorial lists a Private R A Goldie Seaforth Highlanders. I have not found a Seaforth with that surname. I did find a Ralph Abercrombie Goldie who died on 10th June 1940 in the hospital in Golspie. He is listed as a shepherd on his death certificate and there is no mention of military service or the death being from war service. I have not been able to find another RA Goldie so I have to assume until I find out otherwise that this is the man listed on the memorial but he is not a non-com because he does not meet the criteria for commemoration. He may be listed on the memorial because of voluntary war work and they have given him his former rank and regiment from a unit he had served in at some point before his death.

Perhaps Sgt Fraser is in a similar situation - he wasn't a serving soldier but died whilst doing voluntary or civilian war work such as Police ,ARP or NFS and is listed for that but with his military rank and unit? Was he a sergeant in the Black Watch in the First World War maybe? (On the Clyne memorial a man who was a Sergeant in the Boer War but a private in the First World War is listed as Sergeant).

Adam
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Scottish Monuments & Memorials

David McNay · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:00 am Post subject:

I think local papers are the way forward. I will investigate further.

I think it unlikely that this is an error with the memorial as the rest of the WW2 names are totally accurate.