The Scottish War Memorials Project

apanderson · Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:39 pm Post subject:

The Scotsman, Tuesday 21st June 1921, Page 7

"Blairgowrie and Rattray

The Blairgowrie and Rattray War Memorial, commemorating 175 men of the two parishes was unveiled in the Wellmeadow, Blairgowrie, on Sunday afternoon by Mrs W. C. MacPherson of Blairgowrie. It is an impressive column, 35 feet in height, the central featutre being a bronze life-size figure of a soldier in a mourning attitude. A square pedestal bears panels on which the names if the fallen are inscribed, and the capital, on which are carved regimental badges, is crowned by a pelican, the emblem of self-sacrifice. the Duke of Atholl presided, and in the course of an address he said this was not the time to talk of "short time" and half-efforts, but rather for every one to work cheerfully and with all his might in the hope of setting up a really glorious future."

David McNay · Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:01 pm Post subject:

I visited Blairgowrie last week and was blown away by this memorial. Absolutely stunning, now in my top ten.

Here's some photos I took. I don't think it's possible to take a bad photograph of this memorial.

First of all, proof that even people who've researched a memorial to death can miss something. Meeting Mark, I mentioned I'd photographed this, and he said he'd never noticed it!

Carrick's signature on the right=hand side of the base of the statue:

And the rest of my photos:

dhubthaigh · Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:42 pm Post subject:

Fantastic photos - Carrick's signature a peach

john burnett · Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 483 Location: Fife

Old wounds open over Blairgowrie casualties of war

Aug 27 2009 Blairgowrie Advertiser

A NEW book entitled Japan’s Gestapo – Murder, Mayhem and Torture in Wartime Asia, released to coincide with the 70th anniversary of WWII, has hit a raw nerve with the relative of a Blairgowrie-born casualty of war.

Heather Johnston, who lives in Colchester, says her uncle – William Forbes Petrie Broadie – was one such victim of the attrocities undertaken by the Japanese soldiers in the Far East during the war.

She said: “My uncle was born at 67 George Street, Blairgowrie, on January 25, 1914. He had three brothers and one sister: Alistair, who lived in Rattray and was father of Ali jun., Eric, Effie, and the late Don; George, my father, who moved to England in 1930; Bob, who also moved to England; and Nan, wife of Jim Wallace, Rattray.

“Having previously been a postman, William joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve on April 18, 1940, but became a Prisoner of War when Singapore fell to the Japanese on February 15, 1942.

“I do not dare imagine what horrors he witnessed and personally suffered. In early February 1944, my widowed grandmother was notified by telegram that William had “died while a Prisoner of War in Japanese hands” on November 29, 1943.

“His service papers state: Killed while POW through sinking of Japanese transport.

“My uncle was one of 640 sick men, including 422 British and 127 Dutch slave labour POWs, being transported on a Japanese ship – the Suez Maru – when it was torpedoed by an American submarine, USS Bonefish.

“This was a regular occurence because the Japanese did not fly an International Red Cross flag when carrying POWs but did fly it when transporting cargo, ammunition supplies etc.

“It is recorded that 90 per cent of POW deaths at sea was the result of friendly fire.

“Ships such as the Suez Maru were infamously named the Hell Ships.

“Japan had not signed up to the 1929 Geneva Convention but they had promised to adhere to its rules: in reality, this promise proved worthless.

“My research shows that the real truth was not discovered until 1949, when a Japanese lieutenant, who had been on board the Suez Maru, wrote to the Far East Command to unburden his conscience.

“When the Suez Maru sank, many POWs drowned in the holds that imprisoned them but between 200 and 250 men remained alive, floating in the sea.

“The captain of the ship escorting the Suez Maru ordered the rescue of Japanese crew and Japanese patients who had also been aboard the Suez Maru.

“What happened next was based on an order from the Emperor of Japan, that ‘under no circumstances shall any Allied survivor fall into enemy hands.

“A machine gun was readied and 12 men armed with rifles were deployed. The ship began circling the POWs and the order was given to fire at them. The official report states that none survived.

“Later in 1949, the perpetrators of this war crime were in custody but our Secretary of State for War (Manny Shinwell) made the decision not to prosecute them.

“The families of the Suez Maru victims were never informed of the true nature of the incident that resulted in the deaths of their loved ones.

“The name of my Uncle Willie is etched upon the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore, which commemorates more than 24,000 Commonwealth land and air force casualties who have no known grave.

“He is also commemorated on the Blairgowrie and Rattray War Memorial; Bendochy Kirk War Memorial (the family lived in the parish at one time); and is remembered in Mark Duffy’s book, Blairgowrie and Rattray War Memorial – Behind The Names.

“I am glad my grandparents and William’s siblings did not live long enough to know the truth: I think it would have been too hard for them to bear.

“It is certainly difficult enough for my cousins, sisters, and myself to live with this knowledge today.”

Heather said that sharing her grief at the fate of her uncle had helped her cope when she learned of the circumstances of his death.