In this armistice week it is appropriate to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Agnes Wilkie Clark my great aunt and a grandaughter of Colin Sievwright lost her husband Alfred Allan Walker aged 33 on 14 November 1914 in France. He had served only 45 days. I found his service record online. It was, not surprisingly, rather short. He was a corporal in the Gordon Highlanders, had grey eyes and black hair. He was a marine engineer.
Their only son William Sievwright Walker who was 11 when his father died, also died as a result of "enemy action" on 9 November 1940. He was second engineer on the MV Shelbrit 2 when it was bombed. The ship survived. I think it must have happened in harbour at Portslade, Sussex. He was 37.
My great uncle Richard Ewart Shearer died of pneumonia in Ayr Military Hospital in 1917 while serving as an apprentice engine fitter with the Royal Flying Corps. He was only 19. He is remembered on war memorials in Ayr, Hightae and Lockerbie. I do wonder though, why they were working on planes in Ayr. It's not exactly convenient for crossing the Channel.
