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William Adams, Boy Scouts

 
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Kenneth Morrison



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 7749
Location: Rockcliffe Dalbeattie

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:55 pm    Post subject: William Adams, Boy Scouts Reply with quote

On the Cathcart Old Parish Church WW1 Memorial in Glasgow there is
WILLIAM ADAMS _ BOY SCOUTS
http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=6776
I can't seem to find him anywhere. Help please.
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Kenneth Morrison



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 7749
Location: Rockcliffe Dalbeattie

PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

An update.
The only teenager named William Adams to die in the Glasgow area in the war years was 13 year old William Adams who died on 21 July 1916 at 510 Clarkston Road, Muirend in the parish of Cathcart.
He died of Ptomaine poisoning.
His father was John Thomson Adams, a Spirit Merchant serving as a Private in the 1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders.
This has to be the lad on the memorial but why would he have been remembered in this way?
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mhomac



Joined: 15 May 2010
Posts: 779
Location: South Lanarkshire

PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am making enquiries about William Adams with the Scout Association and will post any information that I receive.

Morag.
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columba



Joined: 19 Feb 2014
Posts: 404

PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few musings: the Cathcart WM gives regiments etc so the fact they have Boy Scouts for William would suggest that was why he was mentioned; many Scouts did war service after school, at weekends and during the holidays and there was a King's War Service Medal for Scouts (in Stirling they worked at the Ordnance Depot at Forthside); perhaps William did war work in his leisure time and it was felt he should be honoured for that although the cause of death was not war-related; also, we tend to think of 13 year olds as wee laddies but 100 years ago many left school at 14 (or earlier!) and held down jobs.
As I say these are just a few musings; I'm sure Morag will come up with something more tangible! The local press might also help (that's where I found out about the scouts working at the ordnance depot)
Good luck!
Sandra
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Kenneth Morrison



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 7749
Location: Rockcliffe Dalbeattie

PostPosted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sandra - thank you for that background detail.
I could only find some general stuff on Boy Scouts during WW1 and I had no idea that they had such an active role.
Morag - I look forward to hearing what you find. Cheers.
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mhomac



Joined: 15 May 2010
Posts: 779
Location: South Lanarkshire

PostPosted: Wed Oct 01, 2014 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ken, had a reply from London that they are short staffed and my enquiry might take some time! I await with bated breath.

On another topic, the Girl Guides were heavily involved during WW2 and there is a great book by Janie Hampton entitled" How the Girl Guides won the War"

Gives a good insight into social history, anecdotes and surprising archives. Perhaps the Scouts did many of these things too.

Morag
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Merseman



Joined: 07 Aug 2013
Posts: 339
Location: Duns, Berwickshire

PostPosted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Coldstream Parish Church here in Berwickshire has a memorial for a Sea Scout boy called William Tait who died May 1915: "from illness contracted while performing his duty as a sea scout". Maybe he caught a chill or such like. In Binnie's seminal book on Berwickshire churches, he adds that Tait took ill at Burnmouth (which is a small fishing village sat between Berwick and Eyemouth and quite a way from Coldstream) and was 17 at the time.

I have also seen Scouts mentioned on Rolls of Honour in the county, from time to time. For example one of the rolls in Lauder Parish Church has the full list of 116 men serving in the forces but an appended list for "4 Scouts on Coast Defence". No doubt practice would have varied wildly from place to place as to whether such lads made it onto memorials and rolls or not.

I would postulate that in a rural area like ours their main activies could be a combination of 'carrying messages', 'keeping watch' (for example along the coast) and so forth, and assisting with agricultural work, although that is simply an assumption on my part.


Of course there's also a number of Scout Unit memorials on here... Mainly to former Scouts - a sort of "FP's" approach but for scouting - and leaders.


Kenny
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Kenneth Morrison



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 7749
Location: Rockcliffe Dalbeattie

PostPosted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Kenny.
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mhomac



Joined: 15 May 2010
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Location: South Lanarkshire

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have just spoken to the archive assistant, Claire, who has searched their Scout Roll of Honour and can find no trace of William. There were approx 10,000 casualties and they only have details of approx. 500 you can see the difficulty in finding any information. She will try to investigate through other sources and keep in touch with me.
Morag.
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