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BLAIRGOWRIE & RATTRAY
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apanderson
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Joined: 21 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: Stirlingshire

PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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."
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David McNay
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
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Location: Lanarkshire, Scotland

PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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:




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dhubthaigh
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 5071
Location: Blairgowrie, Perthshire

PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fantastic photos - Carrick's signature a peach
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john burnett



Joined: 29 Jan 2007
Posts: 790
Location: Fife

PostPosted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:55 am    Post subject: blairgowrie Reply with quote

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.
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Tonym



Joined: 18 Jan 2007
Posts: 224
Location: East Sussex

PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sister Mary O’Neill Dowall was on duty on 8 October 1940 at Saint Matthew's Hospital, Shoreditch, London when it received a direct hit from a high explosive bomb, which killed many patients and some members of staff. Sister Dowall’s body was recovered from the fallen masonry and transferred to the A.R.P Mortuary at 66 Buttesland Street, Shoreditch at 3 pm. The bomb destroyed part of the old south ward block. The surviving patients were evacuated on 10 and 11 October. The Hospital remained closed until November 1942.

The above information has been delayed due to my unsuccessful attempt to find her grave. The official Mortuary Acceptance Report has a brief note scrawled across the burial section =Buried by Relatives; that suggests to me she may be buried in Scotland. Any suggestions. welcome.

Tony
_________________
Pte. W. BROWN, Middlesex Regiment, K.I.A Battle of The Somme.
Sgt. J. V. MURPHY, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, D.O.W Monte Cassino, Italy.
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Jo



Joined: 18 Dec 2010
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 10:45 am    Post subject: James Stewart - RAF Reply with quote

I believe that the James Stewart on the Blairgowrie War Memorial (panel 5) is my great uncle. He ran an ironmonger's business in Blairgowrie and was in the RAF. All I know about him is that he was reported missing around the same time that his father died (5 Feb 1941). Any further information on James would be heartily appreciated. Many thanks. Jo
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kinnethmont



Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 1649
Location: Aberdeenshire

PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 8:24 pm    Post subject: Sgt James Stewart Reply with quote

Name: STEWART, JAMES
Initials: J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Sergeant
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Unit Text: 149 Sqdn.
Date of Death: 21/02/1941
Service No: 945565
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 52.
Memorial: RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL

Shows as born Blairgowrie, seved in Bomber Command.
Airborne at 18.25 from Mildenhall that night in Welllington R-1045 on operation to Wilhelmshaven. Aircraft lost without trace, all crew commemorated at Runnymede
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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
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David McNay
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Location: Lanarkshire, Scotland

PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mark Duffy's book on the Blairgowrie and Rattray memorial has more information on James Stewart. It confirms he served his apprenticeship as an ironmonger, so I believe it is your man.

Mark is a member of this forum so I will leave it up to him to reproduce the material from his book should he wish to do so.
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Jo



Joined: 18 Dec 2010
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, David, I've ordered a copy of Mark's book online - his hard work deserves recompense by those of us who benefit from it. Thanks for confirming that James did indeed have an ironmonger's business - I will investigate further at NAS/AK Bell Library when next in Perth. Jo Smile
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Jo



Joined: 18 Dec 2010
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, and Jim - thanks for the further info, I'll see if JS's RAF records survived and are held at National Archives in London. Aren't forums brilliant... I might be back later with some 1920's Cavalry uniform photos requiring ID. Thank you Smile Jo
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kinnethmont



Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 1649
Location: Aberdeenshire

PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jo

The service records will not not be at the National Archive, they are still with the RAF and only available to the immediate NOK. There is a cost.

I expect Mark will be along before too long.
_________________
Jim

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

www.kinnethmont.co.uk
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Jo



Joined: 18 Dec 2010
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Jim

Thanks for the reminder - I have the address to write to for RAF records somewhere. From memory, I think quite a number of the records have not survived. My aunt would probably be the nearest surviving NOK and would apply on behalf of the family. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for your help, both!

Jo
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DelBoy



Joined: 12 Jul 2007
Posts: 4858
Location: The County of Angus

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A wee bit about the choice of the memorial.



Derek.
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DelBoy



Joined: 12 Jul 2007
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Location: The County of Angus

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:08 pm    Post subject: S/Smith. Thomas Welsh Reply with quote

dhubthaigh wrote:
WW1
1ST DRAGOON GUARDS
Welsh, Thomas, Shoeing Smith


(Glasgow Herald 12th Dec 1914)
"Mr James Welsh, Blairgowrie, has received the sad news of the death of his fifth son. Shoeing Smith Thomas Smith, of the 1st Royal Dragoons, which took place at the headquarters on the continent of the Cavalry Division of the British Expeditionary Force. The circumstances are not mentioned, but the official notification from the authorities indicates that Welsh's death had been a particularly distressing and painful one.
He was 28 years of age, and joined the Scots Greys about 8 years ago. After three years he was transferred to the 1st Royal Dragoons, with whom he was in India for two years and in South Africa for two years. On his expiry of his service with the colours early this year he joined the Rhodesian Mounted Police. When the present war broke out he returned to this county and rejoined his former regiment. He went to France only three weeks ago. A brother Private Douglas Welsh, of the Black Watch was home wounded, and only recently returned to the firing line.
"

According to the war return he was "Buried in Ypres" after being "Burnt to death by fire".

CWGC
Name: WELSH, THOMAS
Rank: Shoeing Smith
Service No: 280
Date of Death: 05/11/1914
Age: 28
Regiment/Service: 1st (Royal) Dragoons
Panel Reference: Panel 5.
Memorial: YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
Additional Information: Son of James and G. Welsh, of Hope Park Lodge, Rattray, Blairgowrie, Perthshire.

SNWM
Surname: WELSH
Firstname: Thomas
Service Number: 280
Date Death: 05/11/1914
Place of birth: Pitlandie Perth
Other: - 06-11-14. 1st Dragoons (Royals).
SNWM roll: COMMANDS AND STAFF; CAVALRY (EXCLUDING GREYS AND SCOTTISH YEOMANRY)
Rank: S/Smith
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DelBoy



Joined: 12 Jul 2007
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Location: The County of Angus

PostPosted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 4:22 pm    Post subject: Pte. Henry Lewis Reply with quote

WW1
ROYAL FUSILIERS
Lewis, Henry, Pte.

(Glasgow Herald 23rd March 1915)
"Yesterday Staff-Sergeant John Lewes, Coralbank Terrace, Rattray, Blairgowrie, of the Army Service Corps, received intimation of the death of his eldest son, Private Henry Lewes, 3rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers, in action in Flanders. On leaving school Henry was for some time a naval seaman. He afterwards enlisted in the Royal Scots, and transferred to the Royal Fusiliers. He had been about a month in the trenches, was wounded on Sunday week and taken to hospital, where he died last Tuesday."

(Glasgow Herald 30th March 1915)
"Staff-Sergeant John Lewes, Coralbank Terrace, Rattray, Blairgowrie, of the Army Service Corps, has had a letter from a chaplain at the front intimating the death of his eldest son, Private Henry Lewes, of the 3rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers, who was wounded on 14th inst. and died in hospital 2 days later. Henry, who was only 18 and a half years old and a native of Blairgowrie, was buried in the churchyard of a village near Ypres, and a small wooden cross, with his name burned onto it, marks the grave. He was a naval seaman, but before going his last voyage to India he joined the Royal Scots Militia in Edinburgh, and on being called home at the outbreak of the war he transferred to the Royal Fusiliers."

CWGC
LEWIS, H
Rank: Private
Service No: 6758
Date of Death: 16/03/1915
Regiment/Service: Royal Fusiliers 3rd Bn.
Grave Reference: II. C. 18.
Cemetery: LOKER CHURCHYARD

SNWM
Surname: LEWIS
Firstname: Henry
Service Number: 96758 (6758)
Date Death: 16/03/1915
Place of birth: Blairgowrie
Other: 3rd Bn.
SNWM roll: SCOTTISH CASUALTIES EXTRACTED FROM ENGLISH REGIMENTS
Rank: Pte
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