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Balmaghie
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craobhan



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 19
Location: Kirkcudbrightshire

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:41 pm    Post subject: Balmaghie Reply with quote

Balmaghie War Memorial is a tablet on the front wall of the church. There are no WWII names.
I will ask my aunt if there are any anywhere else that I may have missed.

The memorial was unveiled on Sunday 13th June, 1920 by Professor H.M.B. Reid, a former minister of the parish. The tablet is made from Cullaloe stone and was designed by Mr. Alex Carrick A.R.S.A. Advice was sought from Mr. E.A. Hornel, Broughton House, Kirkcudbright.

The description of the ceremony in the Dumfries and Galloway Standard of 16th June, 1921 says the tablet lists “the names of the 20 men from the parish who made the supreme sacrifice.” There are in fact 19 men and 1 woman listed.

From Castle Douglas, take the A713 to Ayr. After about 2 miles turn left on to the B795 to Laurieston. Once over Glenlochar bridge, turn right at the old school and follow the single track road till you reach the church. It is on the right and there is plenty of parking.

The lettering on the memorial tablet is not easy to see and doesn't photograph easily. Below is a transcription on the lettering. There are now larger and higher resolution photos further down this topic added by spoons.

Pte. T. Carson KOSB
Cpl. N.P.C. Carter Ayrshire Yeo
Pte. J. Connelly R.W. Surreys
Pte. G.F. Ireland MGC
Pte. J. Ireland N.Z. Infy
Pte. A Irving Scots Gds
Rfln. J. Irving KRR
Pte. H. Mackenzie KOYLI
Pte. W. McCormick MGC
Pte. J. M’Ivor Hampshire Rgt
Cnr. J.C. McLuskie RGA
Pte. J. M’Master Kings Liverpl
Probr. Nurse Marion McQueen
Pte. J. Nelson A&S Highlrs
Pte. J. O’Neill RSF
Pte. W. Smith Camerons
Sgt. J. Varney Scot Rifles
Lt. R Walmesley Yorkshire Rgt
Trpr. W.P. Watson Ayrshire Yeo
Pte. J.I. Wilson Kings Liverpl

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1914 THEIR NAMES LIVETH FOR EVERMORE


Last edited by craobhan on Tue Jul 03, 2007 3:48 pm; edited 11 times in total
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spoons



Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 4991
Location: St John's Town of Dalry

PostPosted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So we have all been there - beautiful scenery and if you walk around the back of the church you might be lucky enough to see a red kite flying over Lock Ken like I did.

This type of carving is a real b**** to photograph so I have posted mine as well so you get plenty of choice.

UKNIWM Ref: 44354

OS Map Ref: NX 723 663











Last edited by spoons on Fri Jul 14, 2017 3:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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jamiemcginlay



Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 930
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,
Can anyone confirm the details of Alex Carrick's involvement in the design of this memorial. It certainly looks like his work, especially the lettering, but there is no mention of this memorial in his business papers which are fairly comprehensive.
If it is a Carrick memorial I would like to include it in the Carrick website.
Cheers.
Jim
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spoons



Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 4991
Location: St John's Town of Dalry

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A bit of a puzzle to be solved here - there were originally two parishes (Balmaghie and Lauriston) and they merged sometime after WW2. This is Balmaghie WW1 and there is a roll of honour inside the church, but no WW2 memorial - the minister was not aware of one so perhaps no-one died. For Lauriston there is a WW2 Roll of Honour inside Balmaghie church but I have yet to find the WW1 memorial - not in Balmaghie church or visible in Lauriston village but I think there is a village hall - I will investigate that.

Craobhan's pictures seem to be no longer available so here is my picture of the church.

(edit - picture removed, see above)


Last edited by spoons on Fri Jul 14, 2017 3:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
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craobhan



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 19
Location: Kirkcudbrightshire

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 3:44 pm    Post subject: Missing photos etc. Reply with quote

Lord knows what has happened to the links to the pictures in the Photobox album. The album is still there in its entirety. This is not the first time links have broken to to my Photobox albums but I can't remember if it was the Balmaghie ones that got the gremlins before or not.

The other photos in the post are at a higher resoution than mine so I'll try to take the links out to save confusion.

My aunt has not been able to establish anything further about the commissioning of the tablet from Mr Carrick. It seems that a lot of the old church papers are missing and nobody knows where they might be.

E.A. Hornel was asked for his advice about a lot of the war memorials in the area. If anyone has the time and energy to sift through old papers, it might be a good idea to contact the archivist at Broughton House in Kirkcudbright to see if there are any letters extant between him and Mr Carrick.

My aunt has also been asking around to see if anyone can remember of any WW2 service deaths in the parish but has had no luck so far. I will ask her if she knows anything about a Laurieston WW1 roll of honour.

Interesting that the UK war memorials database has the Balmaghie church memorial listed as Bridgestone. I presume they got that from the OS map. Bridgestone is only the farm further up on the same side of the road and nothing to do with the name of the church.
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spoons



Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 4991
Location: St John's Town of Dalry

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for the info - I would be especially interested to know if there are any memorials in the hall in Lauriston - there are none listed but from experience over half the village halls in the Stewartry have unlisted memorials but it's usually difficult to get access.

\Paul
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craobhan



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 19
Location: Kirkcudbrightshire

PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:57 pm    Post subject: The Laurieston parish puzzle Reply with quote

There actually isn't a puzzle to be solved here. Laurieston is not and never was a separate Church of Scotland parish. The parish is Balmaghie. There are 3 main settlements; Laurieston, Glenlochar and Bridge of Dee.

The present church at Balmaghie dates from 1794 but there has been a place of worship known on the site since the 11th century. All that remains of the old building is a part of a gable end standing in the graveyard. One side has a lavish sandstone memorial attached in memory of a previous minister.

Until 1845, Balmaghie Church was the only place of worship in the parish. Following the Disruption in 1843, a United Free church was built in Laurieston. People adhering to the Established Church walked from Laurieston along the Kirk Road down to Balmaghie for worship and those who chose the United Free, walked the same road in reverse. Relations between the two congregations were always good.

In 1929 the United Free Churches in Scotland joined up again with the Church of Scotland. In Balmaghie parish, Rev. Mowat continued as minister at Balmaghie and Rev. Dickie continued to serve at Laurieston.

Rev. Mowat retired in 1949 and both churches were joined under the charge of Rev. Dickie. Both churches were still used for worship till 1964 when Laurieston church closed. The building and its hall were coverted into houses. The communion furniture is now in the nave at Balmaghie.

There is also public worship at the Mission Hall in Bridge of Dee which was built in 1897 from public subscription. It still has a monthly service today.

The following description of Balmaghie comes from 'The New Statistical Account', Blackwood, 1845
"The church, which was built in 1794, and is in a good state of repair, is situated upon the Dee, and consquently at one side of the parish. It is seated for nearly four hundred persons...
There are about 112 individuals professing to adhere to the Church of Rome, and 22 Episcopalians. There are 11 persons connected with the Reformed Synod, and three families with the United Associate Synod." (Rev. Alex. Gibson, Minister)

The Roman Catholic congregation referred to would have worshipped in the chapel in the field on the right hand side of the road to Laurieston, not far up from Glenlochar village. There is a graveyard there and it is still consecrated ground. The path in used to be kept cut down by the community but as the land is now in private hands, it has not been mowed for some time.
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craobhan



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 19
Location: Kirkcudbrightshire

PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:06 pm    Post subject: Carrick's design for the WW1 tablet Reply with quote

There is a copy of the parish kirk session records held at the Scottish National Archive in Edinburgh. There could well be some correspondence or discussion relevant to the commissioning of the memorial. Here is the reference for the document.


RefNo Title Date
CH2 Records of Church of Scotland synods, presbyteries and kirk sessions 1569-1998

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CountryCode GB
RepCode 234
RefNo CH2/27
Repository National Archives of Scotland
Title Balmaghie Kirk Session
Date 1670-1977
AccessStatus Open
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craobhan



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 19
Location: Kirkcudbrightshire

PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:07 pm    Post subject: WW2 memorials for the parish Reply with quote

Please see the post in the congregation memorials section
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craobhan



Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Posts: 19
Location: Kirkcudbrightshire

PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:13 pm    Post subject: WW2 deaths Reply with quote

Am still working on this one. Have found out some people I can talk to.
The best bet is an elderly lady who has lived in Laurieston all her life and who had two brothers (now deceased) who fought and returned from the war. At the moment she is hospitalised but I hope to make arrangements to see her in the near future.
There is also a friend of my family whose uncle married a soldier's widow but it is not clear whether the man or his parents had been living in the parish at the time of his death.
This one will have to wait till I'm next up at Register House to check dates and certificates.
Will get there in the end... Smile
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spoons



Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 4991
Location: St John's Town of Dalry

PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the explanation, I had not thought that it could have always been a single parish given that there were 2 churches with Church of Scotland ministers. Checking a few names on this memorial (the one outside the church) I can see that there are individuals from Bridge of Dee and Lauriston so it all becomes clear - quite possibly there is no 'missing' Lauriston memorial. Grateful for your efforts.

\Paul
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David McNay
Administrator


Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 11425
Location: Lanarkshire, Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Does anyone have any information on Marion McQueen?

Her names appears on this memorial with what appears to be the rank of Probationer Nurse. I can't seem to find her listed on the CWGC.

Does anyone know anything more? I'm assuming that the probationer part (if that is correct) might mean she never saw "active" service?
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spoons



Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 4991
Location: St John's Town of Dalry

PostPosted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

UKNIWM have now changed the name of this memorial to Balmaghie Parish WW1 (formerly Bridgestone) so I have changed the name here to reflect that.

The memorial is on the wall of Balmaghie Parish Church. It is not in a town or village. Bridgestone happens to be the name of the nearest farm.

\Paul
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Kenneth Morrison



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

PostPosted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

David McNay wrote:
Does anyone have any information on Marion McQueen?

Her names appears on this memorial with what appears to be the rank of Probationer Nurse. I can't seem to find her listed on the CWGC.

Does anyone know anything more? I'm assuming that the probationer part (if that is correct) might mean she never saw "active" service?



I think this is Marion McQueen, born 1893 at Gerranton Farm, Crossmichael. Her father, Charles, was a Ploughman and from previous searches these guys moved around a lot.
The family were in Rerrick Parish in 1901 and the Stewarty RoH lists her as from Laurieston, Balmaghie Parish but has no details.
The only death I can find is in the December Q 1918 at Blofield, Norfolk and the age is right at 25. Still trying to find a newsreport or family grave.
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Stewartry



Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 274
Location: nr Nottingham

PostPosted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser, Friday, 1 Nov 1918, p5E:

FUNERAL INTIMATIONS.
THE FUNERAL OF MAY McQUEEN, daughter of Mrs McQueen, late of Willowbank, Laurieston, will take place at Balmaghie Churchyard TO-DAY (FRIDAY) at One o'clock.


Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser, Friday, 8 Nov 1918, p5D:

DEATHS.
M'Queen.—On the 26th ultimo, at Norfolk War Hospital, Norwich, Nurse Marion M'Queen (May), aged 25 years, younger and last surviving daughter of Mrs McQueen, Laurieston.—Interred in Balmaghie Churchyard.

Stuart
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