The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

David McNay · Last edited by David McNay on Sat Jul 01, 2017 7:14 am; edited 3 times in total

Location - Braidwood Hall, 51 Braidwood Road, Braidwood, ML8 5NU

This building was originally named Braidwood Institute and was built in 1925.

Attending my daughters sports day at her nursery, I happened to glance up at the wall, and noticed this:

IMG_2039 by Scottish Military Research Group, on Flickr

Doesn't appear to be listed on UKNIWM.

Two closeups of the memorial:

IMG_2040 by Scottish Military Research Group, on Flickr

IMG_2041 by Scottish Military Research Group, on Flickr

Adam Brown

David McNay · Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:13 pm Post subject:

Nope. Resigned my commission with the Boys Brigade long ago....

You didn't think I was going to let my daughters race to victory go unrecorded did you?

Adam Brown · Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 7:38 pm Post subject:

Where is this memorial?

Cheers

Adam

David McNay · Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 7:56 pm Post subject:

Location now added to my original post.

david baxter · Joined: 12 Nov 2013 Posts: 2

I came across this website recently and thought I'd fill in a bit of information relating to two of the men on the above plaque.

Ben Milligan and Eddy Paterson named at the bottom of the plaque were step brothers.

Ben died on HMS Trinidad, a Fiji class destroyer. She was hit by one of her own torpedoes on 29 March 1942, while in battle with the German destroyers Z 24, Z 25 and Z 26, sinking Z 26. She received temporary repairs in Murmansk, and sailed for home on 13 May 1942. She was scuttled in the Arctic Ocean north of North Cape in position 73º37'N, 23º27'E after being hit by German Ju-88 bombers on 15 May 1942. I believe that it was in this attack that Ben died. Eye witness reports suggest that a bomb hit an area of the ship where the Royal Marines were located.

Eddy died on (in?) the submarine HMS Salmon. On 4th July 1940 the Salmon set off (possibly from Greenock) to patrol off Skudesnes on the south west coast of Norway. She was sent signals on 9th, 11th and 12th July, the final one ordering a return to harbour. None of these signals were acknowledged. Later it became known that one of the signals routed her across a minefield which at the time was unknown to the Admiralty. There is also a possibility that she was attacked by aircraft, but mining is the most likely somewhere in position 57º20'N, 05º00'E. Declared overdue on 16 July 1940. On the 4th December 1939 HMS Salmon torpedoed and sank German U-boat U-36 in the North Sea south-west of Kristiansand, Norway in position 57°00'N, 02°47'E.

I got all of the above on the internet while researching my family tree. If memory serves me right, I'm sure I read that the sinking of U-36 was the first such sinking - sub to sub by torpedo - of the war.

Kenneth Morrison · Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:49 am Post subject:

Hi David and welcome.
Here are the entries on the CWGC Register - without your information we would have never known that they were connected.

MILLIGAN, BENJAMIN.
Rank:Marine
Service No:PLY/X 101460
Date of Death:14/05/1942
Age:20
Regiment/Service:Royal Marines
H.M.S. Trinidad.
Panel ReferencePanel 74, Column 3.
MemorialPLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL
Additional Information:
Son of John C. and Elizabeth Milligan, of Braidwood, Lanarkshire.

PATERSON, EDWARD.
Rank:Able Seaman
Service No:D/S 106628
Date of Death:14/07/1940
Regiment/Service:Royal Navy
H.M. Submarine Salmon
Panel ReferencePanel 38, Column 1.
MemorialPLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL
Additional Information:
_________________
Ken

Kenneth Morrison · Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:03 pm Post subject:

BROWN, ANDREW.
Rank:Lance Corporal
Service No:2377997
Date of Death:07/10/1944
Age:23
Regiment/Service:Royal Corps of Signals
75 H.A.A. Regt., R.A., Sig. Sec.
Grave ReferenceV. A. 12.
CemeteryFAENZA WAR CEMETERY (Italy)
Additional Information:
Son of John and Catherine Harkness Brown, of Carluke, Lanarkshire.

BROWN, GEORGE MARTIN.
Rank:Gunner
Service No:325663
Date of Death:06/04/1943
Age:23
Regiment/Service:Royal Artillery
155 (The Lanarkshire Yeomanry) Field Regt.
Grave ReferenceV. A. 7.
CemeterySAI WAN WAR CEMETERY (HongKong Island)
Additional Information:

Kenneth Morrison · Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:16 pm Post subject:

BROWNLEE, DAVID. [Note the spelling]
Rank:Private
Service No:2993148
Date of Death:13/05/1945
Age:24
Regiment/Service:Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
7th Bn.
Grave ReferenceSec. C. Grave 109.
CemeteryCARLUKE (WILTON) CEMETERY
http://scottishwargraves.phpbbweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=118
Additional Information:
Son of David and Jeanie Brownlee, of Carluke.

BURNS, JAMES.
Rank:Corporal
Service No:2939106
Date of Death:04/05/1944
Age:23
Regiment/Service:Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
1st Bn.
Grave Reference5. J. 14.
CemeteryKOHIMA WAR CEMETERY
Additional Information:
Son of Mary Burns, of Braidwood, Lanarkshire.

Kenneth Morrison · Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:20 pm Post subject:

FIELD, JAMES.
Rank:Signalman
Service No:2369171
Date of Death:11/09/1945
Age:23
Regiment/Service:Royal Corps of Signals
17 L. of C. Sigs.
Grave ReferenceX. 32. 7.
CemeteryBRUSSELS TOWN CEMETERY
Additional Information:
Son of Andrew and Jean Field, of Braidwood, Lanarkshire.
_________________
Ken

A.N.Other · Joined: 29 Aug 2012 Posts: 46

HMS Trinidad was a "Colony" class Cruiser,there were eleven in the class.
They were :- Bermuda,Ceylon,Fiji(sunk air,22/05/1941),Gambia,Jamaica,
Kenya,Mauritius,Newfoundland,Nigeria,Trinidad & Uganda.The Trinidad was
armed with 4 X 3 6inch guns,4 x 2 4 inch AA guns,16 smaller & 3 aircraft,
8,525 tons,speed 33 knots,complement of 730.
HMS Trinidad was launched at Devonport Dockyard on 14/10/1939 by
Countess Fortescue,finally commissioning at Devonport on 03/10/1941
under the command of Capt.L.S.Saunders,DSO.
Their torpedo which hit the ship on 29/03/1942 exploded on the port side
in the Royal Marines Barracks. After temporary repairs at Murmansk she
set sail at 1100 hours on 13/05/1942 for repairs and refit in Philadelphia,
USA. On the 14th the ship was attacked by German aircraft & struck by
4 X 500 lbs at 10.45 p.m. two of which exploded under "B" turret,manned
by Royal Marines. Eventually the order was given to abandon ship & the
Coup de Grace was given by the Destroyer HMS Matchless which fired three torpedoes into her.
For more details concerning HMS Trinidad see the book "The Ship that
torpedoed herself" by Frank Pearce,1975, ISBN 0 904593 02 9