The fallen

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
 In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
 In Flanders fields.

The author of this moving poem is  John McCrae who is a very distant relative of my husband (a McCrae married into the Wilsons.)

I looked through my extended tree to find those who fell in WW1. A lot of our ancestors were miners and stayed at home to keep the home fires burning so there are maybe not as many as in others' trees.

Aaron Dickens of Kirkintilloch died 7 Nov 1918 in France & Flanders. He was a private in the Highland Light Infantry.  A particulary sad case - just before the Armistice and only 21.

Alexander Shaw of Aberdeenshire a private in the Gordon Highlanders died of wounds on 26 Dec 1915 in France or Flanders aged 26.

William Rollie of Ayrshire died 27 Feb 1916 in France or Flanders. Only 18.

Tom Holmes of Featherstone, Yorkshire died 12 Apr 1917 in France or Flanders age 41.
Left a wife and 6 children.

Murdoch Ferguson of Skye died 5 Aug 1917 in France or Flanders aged 50. He was a corporal in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and formerly in  the Lovat Scouts.

James Cook of Blackburn died 26 Sep 1917 in France or Flanders age 27.

William Mathieson of Ayrshire died 21 Mar 1918 in France or Flanders age 26.

Corporal Abraham Yates from Auchinleck, Royal Scots fell 19 Apr 1918 in France or Flanders aged 29.

Alfred Allan Walker of Aberdeen was killed in action on 14 Nov 1914 in France having served only 45 days. He was a corporal in the Gordon Highlanders and my great aunt Aggie's husband.  Their only son William Sievwright Walker died in the Second World War.

Richard Ewart Shearer my grandfather's younger brother was an engine fitter in the Royal Flying Corps and died of pneumonia in the military hospital in Ayr aged 19 on February 17th 1917.

Gone but not forgotten.

Fun with the McFunns

Readers of this blog will know how I get caught up with names.

I like unusual names and I especially like unusual first names especially female ones.

The one that started me off on this route was a witness to the marriage of Agnes McMeekin and John Ross in Cumnock in 1864 - Hamilton Stillie.  I had seen Stillie before. Elizabeth Stillie was the first wife of husband's grandfather so I needed to find out more.

It turned out that these 2 Stillies were cousins.

But why was he called Hamilton? Often it would be his mother's maiden name. But not in this case. His parents were Daniel Stillie and Jean Adamson.  There were 3 other Hamilton Stillies in the extended family, so it must be important.

His grandparents were James Stillie and Jane McFunn, sometimes McPhun(n) born about 1780. Only Jane survived to the first census in 1841 in Cumnock and it gave her as born in Ayrshire.

Surname		First name(s)		Sex		Age		Occupation		Where Born		Remarks
		STYLIE		Jane		F		50				Ayrshire
		STYLIE		Daniel		M		20		Ag. Lab.		Ayrshire
		STYLIE		Ann		F		25				Ayrshire
		STYLIE		Andw		M		15		Ag. Lab.		Ayrshire
		STEEL		Janet		F		10				Ayrshire

I left it at that for a long time but today I had another look for McFunns in Ayrshire. I did a very wide search in familysearch.org with McFunn and Ayrshire
and one jumped out at me. A Catherine McPhunn married to John Walker had a child Hamilton Walker in Galston in Ayrshire. In fact they had 2 daughters named Hamilton in 1812 and 1814. Did the Hamilton name come from the McPhunn/McFunn line?

Had another look for possible parents of Jane McFunn est DOB 1780 (as first child b 1801) and found one in Glasgow to Archibald McFunn and Hamilton Leslie. They also had a Catherine.

Looking at James Stillie's and Jane McFunn's children names
first daughter was Hamilton ( named after her mother, traditional Scottish naming pattern)
and second son was Archibald (named after Jane's father) - a perfect fit. Now I'm convinced. It doesn't tie in with 1841 census saying she was born in Ayrshire but that's not 100% reliable.

So the first Hamilton Stillie in 1801 was a girl named after her grandmother, but the other four in subsequent generations were boys.

Now to work out where Hamilton Leslie got her name from. I may be some time…


Update here

Lest we forget

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.