John Binn? - Behind the name

For the last few days we have been giving you some information on a few servicemen listed on Scottish war memorials. Today's name is slightly different because there are no details to give. There is a mystery though.

At St. Madoes in Perthshire there is one name listed which can't be identified.

Trooper John Binn, Royal Scots Greys is the second man listed on the red sandstone Celtic Cross in the village; despite the best efforts of Derek Robertson of Arbroath, and Mark Duffy of Blairgowrie, they can't identify him.

They have tried the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Scottish National War Memorial databases but to no avail. This could possibly mean one of two things.

1. He was a non-commemoration, or
2. He used an alias

The House of the Binns was the home of Tam Dayell who raised the Scots Greys in 1681 and there is a Binn Farm near St Madoes, so either of them could perhaps account for use of Binn if it is an alias.

He's not listed on the Royals Scots Greys memorial in Edinburgh either so maybe he died after the war and that is why his not commemorated?

Hopefully at St Madoes today, or on Sunday when they have their Remembrance Day service there will be someone there who knows who Trooper John Binn was.

Midlothian Fallen - Behind the names

We have been running a short series of behind the names on the Blog, but Ken Bogle of Midlothian Libraries has delved into a few of the names on some Midlothian war memorials and today we are using the article he contributed to yesterday’s Edinburgh Evening News

A roll call of local heroes

Published on Wednesday 9 November 2011 13:46

MORNING had dawned over France, the skies were bright and clear, the air crisp and fresh. A perfect day, perhaps, if not for the bloody nightmare of war.

Young 2nd Lt Ian Gilmour Cameron from Loanhead had slipped into the front seat of the small, single engine two-seater biplane. It was just after 8am, the Battle of the Somme was nearing its conclusion but today, November 9, 1916 – precisely 95 years ago – the teenager’s mission for the Royal Flying Corps was to soar into the skies over northern France, bombs loaded on board to pound the Germans below.

Higher the little plane soared. Lt Cameron – just 19-years-old, the handsome son of a well-respected doctor, a strapping rugby player, winning shot putter and enthusiastic Sandhurst officer – leaned over the open cockpit of the BE2c Royal Flying Corps aircraft number 2506, eyes peeled for signs of the enemy.

Whether he and the pilot sitting behind him were aware they had company, only they ever knew.

What is certain is that Manfred Von Richthofen, the Red Baron, Germany’s “ace of aces” did not go on to earn his reputation for being deadly accurate without good cause – with typical stealth and fatal precision, he’d fly his distinctive red biplane, adorned with its black Iron Cross, above and behind his unsuspecting prey, often with the sun behind him, sneaking up until close enough to blast them from the skies.

By the end of his war, the results of the fighter ace’s prowess in the skies over France would lie shattered on the ground below in the shape of 80 planes downed by his steely eye and rapid reflexes. Among the debris, the corpses of brave allied airmen, their bodies later committed to lie forever on foreign soil.

And on this crisp November morning in the blue skies of northern France, 1916, it would be 2nd Lt Cameron’s turn.

His plane went hurtling down around 10.30am, according to the few records that remain of the fateful incident.

Lt Cameron, pictured not long before he left for France dressed in spats, a jaunty top hat and with a cheeky lopsided grin, who’d won a rugby blue and was school shot put champion, had been shot down.

With his fellow officer’s lifeless body slumped behind him and no doubt pursued by the Red Baron himself, pilot Cameron somehow battled to land the biplane. It’s thought he survived but only to end up caught by his German foes and taken prisoner.

For the Red Baron, flying proud in his distinctive Albatros D11 491/16, it was just another scalp, his eighth in what would be a long and bloody career.

Later, he’d order a silversmith in Berlin to make a cup engraved with the date and details of his Scottish victim and pin the plane’s number – 2506 – alongside other war trophies on the walls of his bedroom in his parent’s home in East Prussia, a ghoulish shrine to his killing prowess.

As for 2nd Lt Cameron, his parents, the widely respected Dr James Cameron and wife Mary, received the dreadful news at their home in Hawthorn Gardens, Loanhead.

Today, his remains lie in a Commonwealth War Grave at Achiet-le-Grand cemetery in the Pas de Calais, a final resting place for 1526 fellow fighting men.

Closer to home, his name is one of 91 inscribed in stone at the entrance to Loanhead Memorial Park. Highly visible, the memorial graces the park’s gateway as a constant reminder to visitors of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

But while the memorial bearing the name of the Red Baron’s victim is strikingly obvious, until now only a few to pass under it could surely know who Ian G Cameron really was. Or, indeed, any of the no doubt equally moving and tragic stories behind the names of the fallen etched into stone, copper and in stained glass war memorials scattered around Midlothian.

However, as the clock ticks down to the poignant centenary in 2014, marking the start of the “war to end all wars”, Midlothian Council has embarked on an ambitious challenge to track down as many of the war memorials within its modern boundaries as possible and bring them vividly to life by unmasking the people and the stories behind the names.

Already, researchers from the council’s Local Studies office have unearthed fascinating and long-lost details – some thrilling and dramatic, like the Red Baron’s encounter with Ian Cameron, others deeply moving in their simplicity, such as the brief but poignant story behind Andrew Watson of the Royal Scots, whose name also takes its place on Loanhead park’s memorial. “He was just an ordinary young man of his time,” says Ken Bogle, Midlothian’s local studies officer and archivist. “He worked in the local paper mill and was a committed Christian, who sang in his church choir and taught Sunday school.

“He joined the Royal Scots and went to Gallipoli in 1915 where he lasted less than two weeks. His body was never found. Like thousands of others, he never stood a chance.”

The briefest of details of Andrew’s fate emerged in a postcard found by a collector in Stirlingshire and forwarded to Ken to help with his research.

That, and the picture of the young man, posing in his Sunday best, a flower in his buttonhole, his dark hair carefully parted and a solemn look on his face – perhaps etched with concern for the hell that lay before him – help paint a vivid picture of the real people whose lives were sacrificed in the name of freedom.

As does the heartrending story behind two names that appear one after the other on Dalkeith’s war memorial.

George and Mary Allan of the town’s High Street sent three of their sons to war.

Robert was severely wounded in action. As for Tom and Willie, news of Willie’s death arrived in the morning post and the same evening came the telegram informing the grieving parents that Tom, too, was dead.

Likewise, the striking stained glass window that serves as a war memorial within Crichton Parish Church holds a similar story of family anguish. Brothers Charlie, John and Willie Flynn, who lived at Crichton Mains farm, were all killed.

Imagine, too, the heartbreak for the parents of Royal Scots privates David and George, and Corporal Tom Webster, brothers named together on the Glencorse war memorial.

“Stories like that are very moving to read,” says Ken. “To lose three sons would be terrible but, of course, not unique. It happened across the country.”

So far, the team has drawn up names from around 60 memorials located in the district, including one from Penicuik Co-operative Society, which was rescued from a skip and efforts made through researching historical documents, old newspapers and records to piece together at least a little background to the person behind each name.

The aim, explains Ken, is to ultimately create a Midlothian Roll of Honour.

And with some memorials now long forgotten, lost or hidden from public view in private buildings, it is hoped the public can provide vital information to help track them down and make the roll as comprehensive as possible.

One memorial known to have existed but now lost once honoured the dead at Bonnyrigg Town Hall. Another, long gone, used to grace the entrance of Dalkeith High School – no doubt listing the names of former pupils and staff who gave their lives on the field of battle.

“We’d like to find out more about the people named on the memorials, who they were, where they lived, how they died,” says Ken.

“Did they play football for a local team, what schools they went to? Maybe a photograph – we know people have stuff in the attic, it might be what we need.”

The question for some – even in this most poignant of weeks when the nation pauses to honour those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom – might be “why?”

“Of course, there is no one left alive from the First World War but it’s not really consigned to history, it’s still very much alive and very poignant,” says Ken.

“It’s the sheer scale of sacrifice and the fact that so many people were affected.

“Every family has some story or connection with the First World War, so everyone is involved in some way. It had such a huge impact.”

* Anyone with information about lost memorials should contact the Local Studies team on 0131-271 3976.

Alexander Campbell - Behind the name

If you've seen the film The Heroes of Telemark with Kirk Douglas, about the attack on the Vemork Norsk Hydro Heavy Water Plant; you'll perhaps remember that in one scene an aircraft full of British troops crashes into a Norwegian hillside. The film is based on fact and two Horsa gliders full of Airborne Royal Engineers, and one Halifax bomber tug, did crash in Norway on the night of 19-20th November 1942.

The aircraft had flown from RAF Wick as part of Operation 'Freshman' and a memorial cairn commemorates all the soldiers and airmen who died on that mission.

There were a few Scotsmen on the raid and one is listed on the Grangemouth War Memorial.

The Alexander Campbell listed on the memorial in Zetland Park is this man:

CAMPBELL, ALEXANDER
Initials: A
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Lance Corporal
Regiment/Service: Royal Engineers
Unit Text: 261 (Airborne) Field Park Coy.
Age: 24
Date of Death: between 19/11/1942 and 20/11/1942
Service No: 1923037
Additional information: Son of Alexander and Catherine E. Campbell, of Grangemouth, Stirlingshire.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Z. 2.
Cemetery: STAVANGER (EIGANES) CHURCHYARD

And this is what the Commonwealth War Graves Commission say about Eigans Churchyard in Stavanger

In November 1942, an attempt was made to destroy the hydroelectric power station at Vermork, in Telemark, where heavy water was produced for German atomic research. Two gliders and an aircraft engaged in the raid crashed in southern Norway. All those aboard, Royal Engineers of the 1st Airborne Division and members of the Commonwealth air forces, were either killed in the crash or died later, at the hands of their German captors. The heavy water plant was eventually destroyed by a party of six Norwegians dropped by parachute in 1943. Stavanger (Eiganes) Churchyard contains the graves of 25 servicemen who died in the raid.

Lance Corporal Campbell was one of those who "died later at the hands of their German captors". He and thirteen others had been captured and taken to Slettebø Camp, Egersund where they were all interrogated and executed. One month before on 18th October 1942, Hitler had issued his Commando Order which stated that all Allied commandos encountered by German forces in Europe and Africa should be killed immediately even if they had surrendered. Alexander Campbell was a victim of that order.

At the time the Commando-trained Engineers were buried in unmarked graves at Slettebø by the Germans but after the liberation of Norway in 1945 the bodies were exhumed and reburied in Eignes Churchyard in Stavanger.

Clement Agnew - Behind the name

The first name on the 1939-1945 names on the Armadale War Memorial is Clement Agnew. There is no rank or unit on the memorial but he is easy to find on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database. He was a tragically young sixteen years old when he died. Surprisingly the boy from deepest West Lothian was a volunteer in the Royal Navy.

AGNEW, CLEMENT WILLIAM
Initials: C W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Boy 1st Class
Regiment/Service: Royal Navy
Unit Text: H.M.S. Royal Oak
Age: 16
Date of Death: 14/10/1939
Service No: P/JX 159143
Additional information: Son of Clement and Susan Agnew, of Armadale, West Lothian.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 34, Column 1.
Memorial: PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL

Boy Agnew was lost on the 'Royal Oak' when it was torpedoed in Scapa Flow by U-9. 833 other sailors were lost that night many of them teenage ratings like Clement Agnew. The tragedy was that the 'Royal Oak' had returned to Scapa Flow from the North Atlantic after a patrol which showed she was too old for active service. When she was sunk she was actually of little threat to the German Navy.

Her loss was a bitter blow to Britain and a propaganda coup for Germany. It also brought home the war to a small Lothians town.

David Ramsay - Behind the Name

Kirriemuir Parish Church's Second World War memorial lists their war dead by unit and name but there is no other information. One of the names listed is D. Ramsay of the Black Watch.

RAMSAY, DAVID ANDERSON GOVE
Rank: Lance Corporal
Regiment/Service: Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Age: 24
Date of Death: 04/08/1944
Service No: 2755969
Additional information: Son of Isabella Anderson Dickson, of Kirriemuir, Angus.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: 13. H. 24.
Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY

In August 1944 2nd Battalion Black Watch was part of 14th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Indian Infantry Division also known as Special Force or more commonly The Chindits.

Orde Wingate's formation was conceived as an airborne large-scale raiding force which would be sent behind Japanese lines in force to disrupt communications and supply lines.

The life expectancy for a Chindit was not great. When in the field they suffered a lack of nearly all supplies and had very little respite from the Japanese, the jungle and the weather.

By the time Lance Corporal Ramsay died Orde Wingate was already dead. The man who had conceived of and led the Chindits was gone. Control of them then passed to the American commander of the Chinese forces in the area, General Stilwell. Stillwell had no real idea of what the Chindits were or were not capable of, and threw the lightly armed raiders into costly attacks on well defended Japanese-held towns.

The Chindits suffered horrendous casualties in the late summer of 1944 and were soon withdrawn for battle. Unfortunately it was too late for David Ramsay of Kirriemuir.

I'll be honest and admit that I don't have a great knowledge of the Chindits. My interest has always been centred more on the Western Europe campaign, and the Far East campaigns have always been a little bit of a mystery to me. A new book published recently may help to shed some light on that campaign.

"War in the Wilderness: The Chindits in Burma 1943-1944" by Tony Redding is an incredibly comprehensive account of the Chindit campaigns, drawing on interview of fifty veterans of the campaign. It is a remarkably detailed book, well illustrated and offering a new insight into a campaign which I, and possibly many others, possessed only scant knowledge of.

For those wishing to know more about this fascinating campaign, this book would be a valuable starting point.

Author Tony Redding and Chindit veteran John Hutchings were interviewed for BBC Radio 4's Today programme - you can hear that interview here.

Flight Engineer John Kinnear - Behind the name

In the Fife town of Newport-on-Tay the war memorial sits at the side of the Firth. The Second World War names are on two bronze panels flanking the mercat cross memorial erected after the First World War. The names are listed but there are no ranks or units to give any clues as to how they died.

One of the names is John Kinnear. A search on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database comes up with this man:

KINNEAR, JOHN
Initials: J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Sergeant (Flt. Engr.)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force
Unit Text: 617 Sqdn.
Age: 21
Date of Death: 17/05/1943
Service No: 635123
Additional information: Son of William and Helen Kinnear, of East Newport, Fife.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: 21. D. 14.
Cemetery: REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY

Note his squadron and date of death. Flight Sergeant Kinnear was a Dambuster. He was lost when his Lancaster AJ-B 'Baker' flew into a pylon before reaching the target.

Nothing at the Fife memorial indicates that one of the men listed had been picked as the cream of the RAF to fly on one of the most difficult and daring air raids in history.

Sadly he was one of the fifty three men lost that night. Was his death worth it? The debate still continues to this day but nearly seventy years later he is still remembered in Newport.

Seaman James Anderson - Behind the Name

We have not posted a ‘Behind the name’ post for a while so in the week leading up to Remembrance Day we are going to pick a few names from Scottish war memorials to highlight. If you happen to be standing in front of one of these names next Friday (11th) or Sunday (13th) then you will know a little bit more about why that person is commemorated.

The small village of Thrumster in Caithness on the Pentland Firth has an obelisk for a war memorial. After the First World War it was erected as an estate memorial but by the time it had come to add the Second World War names it was for the community.

The first name on the list of Second World War names is the only sailor listed. He is Seaman J Anderson R.N.V.R.

He is this man.

ANDERSON, JAMES
Initials: J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Seaman
Regiment/Service: Royal Naval Reserve
Unit Text: H.M.S. Jervis Bay
Age: 27
Date of Death: 05/11/1940
Service No: C/X 10533
Additional information: Son of Donald Anderson and Martha Foster Anderson (nee McKellar); husband of Ellen Anderson, of Thrumster, Caithness-shire.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: 40, 1.
Memorial: CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL

The ship he served and died on, on this day in November 1940 was the 'Jervis Bay'. We covered it as an 'On this Day' last year.

Seaman Anderson's ship was pulverised by the German battleship 'Admiral Scheer' to allow the convoy it was protecting to scatter and escape from the Germans. It was a costly act of self-sacrifice which earned the Captain of the 'Jervis Bay' a Victoria Cross but saved many valuable merchant ships and seamen.

Alexander Brook - The Story Behind The Name

Of all the names listed on the Bank of Scotland war memorial, Alexander Brook is noteworthy for two reasons. Firstly, he is (so far as we can tell) the oldest casualty of the bank for the First World War, and as a Lieutenant-Colonel, he is also the highest ranking.

Alexander Brook was born on the 12th of June 1865, the only son of John Brook, a master grocer and Annie Leckie, of Primrose Bank, Haddington. He attended the Knox Institute in Haddington, before attending Edinburgh University as a Student of Arts between 1883 and 1887, gaining an M.A. He was appointed Writer to the Signet in 1891.

Shortly before the outbreak of War he was appointed County Clerk and Treasurer to the County of East Lothian. He was also a member of Haddington Town Council.

He served as joint agent at the Haddington branch of the Bank of Scotland from 1895 until his death in 1915. At the time bank agents usually had no formal training and were normally "upstanding" members of the community, such as lawyers, and it was while working as a solicitor that Brook was joint agent.

Brook had joined the 8th Battalion of the Royal Scots in 1886, and had been awarded the Volunteer Decoration for his services, and on the outbreak of war he was mobilised as a Major. He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in November 1914 and was Mentioned in Despatches.

At the time of his death his battalion had taken part in three days of fighting, and he and a Major Gemmill were in a trench studying a map when a shell burst beside them. Major Gemmill was deafened and buried by the shell, and on clearing himself found the Colonel Brook had suffered a head wound from shrapnel.

Four men were detailed to carry Colonel Brook to an aid post, and in the process two of these men were themselves wounded. It was to no avail as Colonel Brook died shortly afterwards on the 19th of May 1915. He was buried the following day, 100 men from the battalion attending the service.

Colonel Alexander Brook is buried in Section II, Row H, Grave 12 of Bethune Town Cemetery. He is commemorated on the Bank of Scotland memorial in The Mound, the civic memorial at Haddington as well as at Edinburgh University.

Robert Gordon Millar - The Story Behind the Name

If you were to happen to be looking at the names on the war memorial at Arbroath, you would be forgiven for not noticing the name of Miller, 2/Lieut Robert G. It's one name amongst many, and there is nothing in particular to make it stand out.

However, while we have been collating memorials for the Scottish war Memorials Project, we have encountered several individuals who were not specific to one particular town or loaction, and Robert G Miller is one of these men. He is a perfect example of how a combination of employment, education, and upbringing can influence how you can be commemorated across the length and breadth of the country.

Robert Gordon Miller (or Millar) was born on the 28th September 1883. A native of Arbroath, he attended the High School there before going on to St Andrews University, receiving an M.A. in 1913. He was assistant minister at Paisley Abbey and afterwards became minister of St. Mary's Parish Church, Dumfries.

When war broke out he enlisted, not as a chaplain like many other members of the clergy, but as a combatant. He was part of the 4th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, but was attached to their 11th Battalion. He was wounded in April 1917, and succumbed to his wounds in May. He is buried in Etaples Military Cemetery.

Millers occupation as a minister goes some way to explaining the number of commemorations on which he appears. As a native of Arbroath, he naturally appears on the town's memorial, and as a former pupil of the High School he is also commemorated there.

Arbroath High School memorial. Robert G Miller is the first name on the right-hand column.

As he attended St Andrews University he is commemorated on their memorial. The University also published a Roll of Honour - Miller is featured in it and the photograph of him at the top of this article originates from there.

The remaining memorials we have located to him all date from his time in the ministry - the memorial to Ministers, Probationers and Divinity Students which is located in St Giles' in Edinburgh lists him as an ordained minister serving as a combatant.

The memorial to Ministers, Probationers and Divinity Students

His time as assistant minister at Paisley Abbey may mean he is commemorated there - the main Paisley civic memorial lists no names and we do not at the moment have a list of the names on the Roll of Honour for Paisley. Nor do we have a memorial in Paisley Abbey - until we do, we can only assume he may be mentioned there.

There are two final memorials, and these result in three commemorations to Miller. How is that possible?

The two memorials in question are both located in St Mary's Church in Dumfries. The first is a plaque solely commemorating Miller.

The final memorial is to the congregation of the church, and this is where the extra commemoration comes in: Miller is listed among the fallen of the congregation, but is singled out for special mention at the top of the memorial.

Why that was done we shall probably never know, but what is clear is that Robert Gordon Miller was clearly well thought of, both by the town of his birth and the town where he led a congregation. The number of commemorations certainly indicates that.

However, while Miller is certainly unusual in the number of commemorations, his is by no means the largest number to a single person in Scotland. That, though, will have to be a story for another time...

Gordon Boyd Walker: The Story Behind the Name

Today we feature a name that isn't part of anyones research as far as we are aware, but instead highlights how one man honoured the memory of his best friend.

A recent new member of the Scottish War Memorials Project posted that he was looking for information on a Second World War casualty. He had been told that this man Gordon Walker had been the best friend of his father, and after Walkers death his father had named his son after him, to honour his memory.

Gordon, the SWMP member in question, had heard this story, and had met Walkers sister, but apart from that didn't know very much.

At this point the intrepid SWMP members used their considerable detective skills to find out more about Walker in order that Gordon could learn more about the man he was named after.

Gordon Boyd Walker was born on the 19th of May 1923, and was the younger son of Ernest and Margaret Walker, of "Dunolly", Kilmarnock Road, Newton Mearns.

Together with his brother Ian, he joined the High School of Glasgow in 1935. As he was fond of animals, he went on to the Royal Veterinary College in Glasgow, before leaving in 1940.

In September 1941 he joined the Royal Air Force, and underwent training in both Canada and the United States.

1943 would prove to be a tragic one for the Walker family. Ian, the eldest son, was killed on the 27th March when HMS Dasher sank after exploding in the Clyde.

Ten days later, Gordon Boyd Walker was on board Lancaster ED662, which was taking part in a Bullseye exercise in Suffolk. The bomber suffered a total engine failure and hit the ground at Kennyhill, 1 mile North of Mildenhall Airfield. There were no survivors.

The two brothers are buried together in Mearns cemetery.

Angus MacKenzie: The Story Behind the Name

Directly above Robert George Mavor on the British Linen Bank memorial is the name of Angus Mackenzie. Unlike Mavor, Angus Mackenzie didn't win any awards, and his death didn't (so far as we know) result in letters of fulsome praise to his family, but his story is no less valid than that of Mavor's, and it deserves to be told just as much as his.

Angus Mackenzie was born on the 7th July 1896, the son of John and Marion Mackenzie, of 25 Dalnair Street, Glasgow. He was educated at Woodside Higher Grade School and later the Glasgow High School.

After leaving school at Christmas 1912 he joined the Hillhead branch of the British Linen Bank.

In about 1913 he joined the Territorial Army, enlisting in the 5th Scottish Rifles, and on the outbreak of war he served a year of home service before volunteering to serve abroad in early 1916.

On the 20th July 1916, Mackenzie together with the rest of the 5th Scottish Rifles were involved in the battle for High Wood.

High Wood was the last of the major woods taken by the British forces during the Somme offensive of 1916. The first assault was on the 14th July, and after several assaults it was finally successfully taken in September. The attack of the 20th July was undertaken by several battalions, including the 1st Cameronians, 5th Scottish Rifles and the 20th Royal Fusiliers.

The attack was unsuccessful. Few men reached the wood itself, and those that did were cut down by German machine gun emplacements within the wood.

The 5th Scottish Rifles suffered 25 Officers and men killed, 165 wounded, and 217 missing, the majority of whom were never found.

Angus Mackenzie was initially reported wounded and missing at High Wood. It was not until June 1917 that he was officially declared to have died on the 20th July 1916.

The body of Angus Mackenzie was eventually found and identified, and he lies in Section XI, Row A, Grave 34 of Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval. He is commemorated on the British Linen Bank war memorial in Edinburgh.

The Story Behind the Name: Robert Mavor

Whenever you look at a war memorial, it is important to remember that the men and women commemorate are more than just a name on a plaque. This new regular feature will pick selected names on memorials and tell you a little about their lives.

My research into the Bank of Scotland memorials has also meant researching some of the banks which were incorporated into the Bank of Scotland, later HBOS and now the Lloyds Banking Group.

One such bank is the British Linen Bank. Their memorial can be seen in the Bank of Scotland branch in St Andrews Square in Edinburgh, and one of the names on that memorial is Robert George Mavor, MC.

The British Linen Bank First World War memorial in Edinburgh.

Robert George Innis Mavor was born in September 1891, the youngest son of John and Margaret Mathieson Mavor. He was educated at George Heriot’s School from 1903 to 1907, and served his apprenticeship with the Linen Bank in the Newington branch before being appointed permanently in the Head Office. He was a member of the Institute of Bankers.

He was released for military service by the bank on the 21st October 1915, and was commissioned into the 7th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as a Second Lieutenant.

He arrived in France in October 1916, and in April 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at Vimy Ridge. The citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He took command of the company during the advance at a time when it was held up by machine gun fire. He reorganized the company and handled it with great skill. His fine example and skill enabled the company to gain its final objective.

The Captain of the company concerned wrote to Mavors’ parents, giving them a little more detail about the events leading to his award:

“I was hit in the knee, and unable to move. Things looked black; but your son, on finding I was hit, took command, reorganized the company, and led them forward, clearing out the enemy and taking our objective, for which splendid work he was recommended by the Colonel. It was magnificently done, and he deserves great credit , especially as he was slightly wounded at the time.”

Despite being wounded he was able to continue his duties, but he would not live to see the award of the Military Cross as he was killed in action at Roeux on the 23rd April 1917.

His Colonel wrote to his parents:

“It is with the greatest regret that I have to tell you that your son was killed on the 23rd, while gallantly leading his men in the attack. He was one of the most capable young officers I had, and had already done splendidly in the Vimy Ridge. His name would have been sent in for special mention.”

A fellow officer wrote:

“He went with B Company to attack Roeux on the 23rd, but unfortunately was killed by machine-gun fire in the woods before reaching the village. His men tell me he was slightly wounded, but refused to give up, like the true and faithful soldier he has always shown himself, until he was mortally hit. He is the greatest loss to the battalion as he was loved by everyone, and his work at all times was beyond praise.”

Another officer wrote:

“I knew your son well, and the longer he was with me the more I appreciated his sterling qualities. Always cheerful and willing, his men loved him and would go anywhere with him; an officer can have no finer tribute paid him…in his death the battalion have lost one of their very best officers, and the company, both officers and men, a bright and unselfish companion.”

Robert Mavor is buried in Section I, Row A, Grave 11/16 of Level Crossing Cemetery, Fampoux. As well as being commemorated on the British Linen Bank war memorial in Edinburgh, he is also listed on the memorial at George Heriot's School.