Portsoy remembers Gordon Robertson

On 26th October we reflect on the sacrifice of Gordon Robertson, Pte 266124, 2nd Bn Gordon Highlanders.  Gordon was the son of William & Margaret Robertson, who lived at 6, Chapel Street in Portsoy.  He was 21 years of age when he was killed in action.

Gordon is commemorated on Panel 135-6 at the Tyne Cot Memorial near Ypres in Belgium.

Thomas Jamieson, war casualty

Today we remember Thomas Jamieson, Gunner 121782, Royal Garrison Artillery, who was killed in action on 16th October 1917.  Thomas, a native of Shetland, was 27 years of age when he lost his life.  His parents, Thomas and Robina, lived at Easterscora, Delting, Shetland.

Thomas' grave is marked by a cross at The Huts cemetery, near Ypres in Belgium.

Remembering Alexander Wood

On 26th September we reflect on the sacrifice of Alexander Wood, Pte 242029, 1st Bn Gordon Highlanders.  Alexander and his comrades were fighting in the battle of Passchendaele when he was killed in action.  His parents, William & Elizabeth Wood, lived at 3 Wood Street in Portsoy.  Alexander also left a widow, Isabella, who lived at 67 College Bounds in Fraserburgh.

Along with some 35,000 men, Alexander is commemorated at the Tyne Cot memorial near Zonnebeke in Belgium.

Portsoy remembers Alexander West

Alexander George West was born in Portsoy to Henry & Margaret West, who subsequently settled at Dennistoun in Glasgow.  He served as S/17551 with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and was 19 years of age when he fell in action on 29th August 1917.

Alexander is commemorated by a gravestone in the Aeroplane Cemetery which is situated in the Ypres area of West-Vlaanderen in Belgium.

In memory of John Badenoch

Today, 11th July, marks the centenary of the death of John Badenoch, Pte 38906, Royal Army Medical Corps.  Having graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1900, he returned as a Divinity student in 1914 before enlisting for war service.  An entry in the University of Aberdeen Roll of Honour provides further biographical details.  John was one of the youngest children born to James Badenoch and his wife Mary Sutherland, whose home was at Tower House, Cullen Street in Portsoy.  

John was posted to the 33rd British General Hospital in Mesopotamia in November 1916.  His army service papers record medical treatment for dysentery and sandfly fever in the following months, before he eventually succumbed to heatstroke.  He was buried in Basra War Cemetery where a gravestone is dedicated to his memory.  He is also commemorated on the obelisk which marks the family grave in Portsoy.  

Sinclair McIntyre: Portsoy war casualty

A century after his death on 29th June 1917 we reflect on the sacrifice of young Sinclair McIntyre, Pte S/40312, 9th Battalion Gordon Highlanders.  Sinclair, aged 21 when he fell in action, was the son of John McIntyre and his wife Eliza Anderson, who ran a shop at 13 Seafield Street in Portsoy.  Eliza's father, Alexander Anderson, was renowned as a photographer and produced some of the earliest postcards of Portsoy.

Sinclair's grave lies at Zillebeke, near Ypres in Belgium.  A headstone bearing the sign of a cross is dedicated to him in the Perth Cemetery (China Wall).

Remembering the fallen of Portsoy: Freddie McLean

Today, 14th June, marks the anniversary of the death of Lieutenant Frederick William McLean, who served in the Royal Flying Corps.  Freddie was born in 1894 to William McLean, schoolmaster, and his wife Elizabeth, who lived at Seaview House in Portsoy.

On leaving school, Freddie took up employment as an engineer at the Great North of Scotland Railway works in Inverurie.  He enlisted for war service in January 1915  and passed through cadet school as an officer in September 1916, at which point he joined the Royal Flying Corps. After further training, he was made a Flying Officer in April 1917.

Freddie had been on active service in France for just under a month when his plane crashed on June 13^th 1917. He received mortal injuries and died on the evening of June 14^th 1917.

Freddie is commemorated by a gravestone at Avesnes-le-Compte Communal Cemetery Extension, Pas de Calais, France.