1st fraserburgh boys' brigade: world war one 1914-19

7/23/2019 1st Fraserburgh Boys' Brigade: World War One 1914-19

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Michael A. W. Strachan

1st Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade:

World War One 1914-19



Introduction

As the Boys’ Brigade nationally commemorates the 100th anniversary ofthe First World War, this booklet has been produced to show the

contribution of the Fraserburgh BB men during the conflict.

This may seem an odd exercise considering that there was no active BB

Company in the town during the war years. This booklet will, though, look

at the war experience of the officers who led Fraserburgh BB Companies

before 1914, and after 1919.

It will focus on the officers of the 1st Fraserburgh Company set up in

connection with the South Church which operated 1907-14, and on the

officers who returned from the trenches to set up the new 1st Fraserburgh

in 1921 in connection with the Old Parish Church.

The Boys’ Brigade nationally made a significant contribution to the war as

Old Boys and Officers, who were all BB trained, signed up to serve King

and Country.

In 1921 while addressing the first parade of the newly formed 1st

Fraserburgh, Sheriff A. J. Louttit Laing, Honorary President of the

Aberdeen Battalion, told that an estimated 400,000 Old Boys and Officers

had served, and 50,000 died during the Great War.

This statistic, he said, should make them proud to wear the uniform: “Didever they see a Gordon or a Seaforth not proud to wear his uniform? They

belonged to a great army too. Their uniform worn by those 400,000”.

One hundred years on we remember the sacrifice of those ordinary men

called upon to undertake extraordinary acts of selflessness and bravery –

among them the men of the Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade.



Rev William D. T. Black (1881-1917)

The Rev Black arrived in Fraserburgh in1907 to take the charge of South U. F.

Church. He was instrumental in setting

up the 1st Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade in

1907, serving as Chaplain until he left

the Parish in 1913 when he moved to

Rutherglen, setting up a new Company

there in 1914 (195th Glasgow).

On the outbreak of war in 1914 the Rev Black led by example in

Rutherglen, signing up for the army starting at the lowest rank – Private.

He served as an ordinary soldier at the front until early 1917 when he was

appointed as the Chaplain the 7th Cameron Highlanders.

Being a Chaplain, or Padre, did not take the reverend out of harm’s way as

he would provide assistance to the wounded and dying on the battlefield.

On 22nd August 1917 his Battalion advanced their positions during the

Battle of Langemarck, part of the Third Battle of Ypres. The Battalion

suffered heavy losses due to shelling and machine gun fire. The Rev Black

attended to the dying with a fellow Chaplain, who gave the following

account:

"A few hours later he [Black] came in again, then declared his intention ofproceeding up the line. We were going together along a track that was

from time to time heavily shelled, when a shell bust close to us. A

fragment of the shell pierced his heart killing him instantly”.

Rev W. D. T Black was only 36 years old at the time of his death, leaving

behind a widow and two young sons.



He is buried at Brandhock New Military Cemetery No 3, Belgium.

An Extract from Rev Black’s final letter home:

“It is not during the heat of the battle that men are most

surely influenced towards religion. War, as it is waged to-day,

is a stupefying business. It is a thing of almost incredible

strain and un-imaginable horror, which so stun men and

weigh them down with weariness that thinking is impossible.

Feeling itself is killed, and nothing is left but the stubborndetermination to “carry on.” It is only after the strain is

relieved that men begin to feel again, to think clearly, and to

be influenced by what they have passed through. The great

opportunity of the Church to win those men for Christ will

come, not to-day, when they are burdened and beaten down

by a weight that presses constantly on heart and brain, but

afterwards, when they have time to think quietly of all that

happened to them and in them. Probably that explains why

the expectations of “Revival at the Front” has been

disappointed, for it must be confessed that the men as a

whole, though they may be influenced more or less

consciously by religion, are not religious, as the word is

commonly understood. As “natural men,” to use Paul’s

phrase, they are splendid, full of unquenchable cheerfulness

and steady courage in the face of danger, and quick in self-

sacrifice. They make one proud of our often maligned human

nature. That is why one longs intensely to win those men for

Jesus Christ. “



John Francis Macgregor (1880-1938)

In civilian life Mr Macgregor was abasket-maker to trade, but was also

a keen Volunteer, better known as a

Territorial. Serving as a Lieutenant

with the Volunteers made him an

able Captain of the 1st Fraserburgh

Company of 1907. He was of the old-

school who taught his boys rifle and

bayonette exercises!

Being a Volunteer Macgregor was

served his call up papers on the

outbreak of war, and after further training found himself in the trenches

with the 5th Gordons by May 1915. He was given the rank of Staff-

Sergeant.

After his first spell in the trenches, he wrote that even when at rest the

guns could still be heard: “we are rudely awakened by the rattle of the

guns, and we know in very short time we will once again be in the thick of

the fighting”.

It did not take long for the reality of war to set in as during his second

spell in the trenches his unit suffered casualties: 5 killed, and 13 wounded

in 4 days. On 7

th

June 1915 he wrote:

“We were in the trenches for four days, and during all that time we were

under a severe fire from the enemy, whose trenches were in some places

only 70 yards from ours… It’s a bit disheartening, you know, to be cooped

up in trenches and see your friends falling and you’re unable to do

anything.”



That would be Macgregor’s reality for the next 3 years.

Personal tragedy struck in July 1916 when his brother Joseph, also withthe 5th Gordons, was mortally wounded alongside him during the allied

failed attack of High Wood, Somme. Despite being “riddled with bullets”

Joseph survived until 19th September when he succumbed to his wounds.

John F. Macgregor earned his Commission in 1918 being promoted to the

rank of Lieutenant, serving briefly as an Acting Captain with the 5th

Gordons.

Despite being in the thick of the fighting for 3 years, Macgregor survived

the war unscathed. In peace he returned to his trade and to the Boys’

Brigade becoming the first Captain of the 3rd Fraserburgh Company, in

connection with the South Church, in 1925.



William Stephen (1881-1916)

Before the War William Stephen, agraduate of the University of Aberdeen,

was employed as a teacher before joining

the family business.

He was described as a prominent citizen

being involved in many civic committees

and Christian organisations, including as a

Lieutenant with the 1st Fraserburgh Boys’

Brigade.

He was also a leading Volunteer, and

despite resigning his Commission as a

Captain with the Gordons in 1908, on the outbreak of war his Commission

was reinstated in October 1914, serving as Captain of the 5 th Gordons.

After his training in Bedford he was offered a role at home as a musketry

instructor. Although these duties would have kept him away from the

trenches, he turned it down and proceeded to France to join his Battalion.

Interestingly in May 1915, while on official leave, he acted as the

Inspecting Officer at the Annual Demonstration of the 13th Aberdeen BB

at the invitation of Captain James Wilson.

On 30th July 1916 his Battalion went on the offensive at the Battle of

Delville Wood. The unit were charged with advancing to take the German

trenches. Stephen was intended to be in command, but Captain Robert

Lyon arrived back just in time to take the charge.

This may have been fortunate for Captain Stephen as under heavy fire the

attack failed, Captain Lyon falling at the front of his unit tangled in barbed



wire. After heavy losses Stephen, now in Command, was forced to call off

the attack. The fact that Captain Stephen was intended to be the

commanding officer led to erroneous reports that he had been a casualty.As the Battle of the Somme raged on, Captain Stephen remained with his

unit.

On the 13th November 1916 he led his men into no man’s land again with

the aim of breaking the enemy line, and taking the village of Beaumont-

Hamel with other heavy fortifications. This was known as the Battle of

Ancre – the last big push of the Battle of the Somme.

It would, though, be

Captain Stephen’s last

battle. He was first

reported missing on the

13th November by special

telegram to his mother.

Then the sad news

followed that he had been

killed at the head of his

unit. He had been struck

by a hand grenade whilst

entering an enemy trench.

Captain William Stephen

died aged only 35 years,and is buried at Y Ravine

Cemetery, Beaumont-

Hamel.



John Tait May (1881-1918)

John came from a seafaring familybut his own career started off in the

War Office as clerk. Latterly he

resigned this position to join his

father’s business as a ship-chandler.

His family was active in the affairs of

the South UF Church, with Tait

himself serving as a church deaconand Sunday school teacher. In

addition to this he served as a leader in both the South Church Boys’

Brigade, and also as a Scout Leader.

Despite his clerical work at the War Office, John had no practical

experience with, or interest in joining, the army. With the outbreak of war

John volunteered his service with the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR), being

officially enrolled as a deckhand in April 1915.

Although removed from the obvious dangers of the trenches, service at

sea was as treacherous and vital to the war effort. With Britain being an

island nation, shipping routes had to be protected. The strategy of the

German naval forces was to cause as much disruption as possible. This

was achieved with patrolling U-Boats, and by peppering the oceans with

sea mines.

As part of the RNR John would be involved in both minesweeping, and on

patrol with the drifters.

Over the course of the war he served on no less than 7 trawlers, attaining

the rank of Leading Deckhand in October 1917.



On the 25th March 1918 he changed crew onto the Drifter HMT “Border

Lads”. The drifter left port on the same day tasked with protecting a naval

convoy. The convoy was about 2 miles off the mouth of the River Tynewhen it was attacked by UB78 – a German U-Boat.

“Border Land” suffered a large explosion, broke up and quickly sunk. It is

believed the trawler had been hit by a torpedo intended for larger ships in

the convoy. John Tait May, along with three other crew, were killed in the

explosion. All other crew were rescued.

John was only 35 years old at the time of his death, leaving behind a

widow and 6 young children, the eldest of whom was 9 years of age. As

he had no known grave, the family treasured the “death penny” (below)

issued to commemorate his life and sacrifice.

His death meant that of the original six officers of the 1907 1st

Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade, three had been killed in the conflict.



Rev. W. Neil Sutherland (1888-1946)

At the outbreak of war in 1914 the RevSutherland had just completed his

studies in divinity and was serving as an

assistant at St. Giles Cathedral,

Edinburgh.

With the outbreak of war he signed up

and was commissioned into the army

officer class, and found himself in

France by March 1915. He served not as

a chaplain, but as a Major – commander

of 377 Battery, Royal Field Artillery (the ‘Scots Battery’).

His qualities as a soldier were recorded some years later by William Carr,

a soldier under Major Sutherland’s command: “The Major was an

exceptional commanding officer, full of energy and enthusiasm, able to

get the maximum amount of respect and cooperation from subalterns

and men with the minimum amount of formality. He had a delightful

sense of humour as you will learn from my [Carr’s] story”.

Sutherland and his unit were in the thick of the fighting during the Battle

of Cambrai in November 1917 – often referred to as the ‘first tank battle’

which saw allied forces breach the ‘impenetrable’ Hindenburg line. This

should have been one of the decisive battles of the war, but most of theallied gains were lost soon after due to a surprise German

counteroffensive. It was during this counteroffensive that Major

Sutherland was wounded.

His unit had been congratulated on holding back the German offensive,

one of the few to have success in slowing German advances. For this



achievement, and his personal

bravery, he was awarded the

Military Cross, his citation reading:

“Running out his guns from the pits

he fought them [the Germans] for

about two hours at a range of 200

yards, and continued firing after our

infantry had retired behind his

battery positions. When hostile fire

made it impossible to fire the guns

he withdrew under orders, and was

wounded whilst doing so”.

After a period of recovery, Sutherland returned to his war duties being

appointed as a Temporary Lieutenant Colonel.

He returned to the 377 Battery in April 1918. Sutherland would remain

with the 377 for the rest of the war. Carr was with Sutherland when he

received news that the war was over: “At 11 o’clock Suthey answered the

telephone. He turned to us and said: “The war is over. Mount your

horses.” “Mount your horses”? What an extraordinary command!”

Upon demobilisation Major Sutherland returned to the manse, his first

appointment being to Fraserburgh Old in 1919. It was Sutherland’s drive

for a church youth that led to the purchase of the Penny Schoolie in 1920,and the formation of the 1st Fraserburgh Company in 1921.

Rev Sutherland served as Company Chaplain from 1921 to 1926 when he

was called to Dalmeny Kirk.



Lewis S. Thomson (1885-1966)

Lewis Thomson was the son ofa prominent Fraserburgh Fish

curer, Lewis Thomson Snr. In

1911 he married Jessie Wilson

who was a daughter of Captain

James Wilson of the 13th

Aberdeen Boys’ Brigade.

At the outbreak of war in 1914

it is believed Thomson was

working for his father’s

Company in Fraserburgh and Aberdeen. It seems that in the early stages

of the war he was exempt from army service, despite the fact he was

attested in December 1915, possible due to the nature of his

employment.

In 1917 his exemption from military service appears to have expired, with

two sources suggesting different accounts. According to his grandson

Lewis Thomson served with the Royal Garrison Artillery at the Battle of

Vimy Ridge (Arras) in April 1917. His official papers, however, show he

was not enlisted with the unit until July 1917.

The Royal Garrison Artillery was responsible for manning the big guns at

the front, their main tasks being to locate the enemy lines at strategicpoints before shelling the area. In theory shelling would obliterate the

enemy line making the advance easier. In reality, it rarely went to plan.

Gunner Thomson served with the Artillery for the remainder of the war,

and would have taken part in the great advance which broke through in

April 1918.



He survived the war without wound, but was invalided due to illness only

3 days after the armistice was signed on 11th November 1918. He was

struck down by the deadly influenza pandemic which was to claim in theregion of 30 million lives in Europe. Influenza, also known as Spanish Flu,

claimed more lives than the war. He was released from hospital in January

1919, and promptly demobilised to the reserve force allowing him to

return home.

Upon his return home he returned to the family business. When his

father-in-law, James Wilson – a big BB personality in Aberdeen, retired to

Fraserburgh in 1920 Thomson was persuaded to become the first Captain

of the 1st Fraserburgh Company.

He served in this post until 1924, when he took over the family business.

His wife Jessie served as Company pianist until 1934 when the family

moved their business to North Shields.



Harold J. Milne (1889-1963)

Milne was the son of aprominent local solicitor, James

Milne. At the outbreak of war in

1914 he was studying law at

Aberdeen University with a

view to joining the family firm

until war interrupted.

Upon graduating Milne enrolled

with the Inns of Court Officer

Training Corps in February

1916. After serving with various

regiments, he was awarded his

Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant

with the 6th Gordons in

December 1916.

His first major offensive took place in April 1917 at the Battle of Arras. The

aim of this British offensive was to break the German line, and take the

city of Arras. Although some gains were made during the offensive, no

real breakthrough was made at a cost of 160,000 allied casualties.

Among those casualties was 2nd Lt Milne who was extremely lucky to

escape with his life. While making the advance with his company atRoclincourt, north of Arras, Milne suffered a gunshot wound to the face,

just beside his left eye. At first this was described as “extremely painful,

but not serious”. Later the injury was reported as a “severe wound” with

the real possibility of losing the eye.



After a long period of recovery Milne was back with the 6th Gordons in

France, advanced to the rank of Lieutenant in June 1918. The allies

fortunes in the war were though, about to change.

Lt Milne was present at the Second Battle of Marne when the Germans

launched their last great offensive. A successful allied counter-offensive,

with the use of hundreds of tanks, defeated the Germans at Marne and

led to the “great advance” of the allies. The armistice was signed 100 days

later.

Milne was active in the advance during the desperate last weeks of the

war, and was awarded the Military Cross in October 1918 for gallant

conduct his citation stating:

“ Acting Captain H. J. Milne, Gordons, conducted the advance of his

company to a position in front with great gallantry and skill. Again moving

forward, he showed complete indifference to danger while taking up

positions in a heavily shelled wood. By his personal example he inspired all

ranks under him”.

On return to civilian life, Milne was an active organiser of the Ex-

Serviceman Association, and a life-long member of the Royal British

Legion, including a lengthy spell on the National Executive.

He was a keen supporter of the Boys’ Brigade serving as Captain of the 1st

Fraserburgh Company from 1924-40. He left this post to once againanswer the call of King and Country, serving again with the Gordons

during WW2 until it was realised he was over 50 years of age.

He served the Town Council of Fraserburgh for many years, being elected

Provost 1950-56. He was held in such high regard by the people of

Fraserburgh that he became the first person to be awarded the Freedom

of the Burgh in 1956.



Robert Bruce (1894-1953)

When war was declared in 1914 Bruce was a 20 year old clerk with theFraserburgh Burgh Treasurer’s Office. With the records available, it is

extremely likely that he was also a member of the 1907 1st Fraserburgh

BB.

It is presumed that Bruce must have been at least a reservist before the

war as he was enlisted to serve with the crack 29th Division. He served

with the unit as part of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) contingent.

The unit set off for Alexandria, Egypt, and on 24th April 1915. On arrival

Bruce, with 2000 other men, was posted on board the “River Clyde”

bound for the Gallipoli Peninsula.

It was perhaps his bad luck he ended up on that particular ship, as its sole

purpose was to divert the enemy’s attention away from the landing of

18,000 allied soldiers at other points on the peninsula. Bruce described

the ship as the “modern Horse of Troy”.

The River Clyde was to be run aground, and specially constructed doors

would be opened to allow the men to stage a landing. Bruce gave his own

account of the landing in the “People’s Journal”:

“When the enemy saw us coming they commenced a fusillade with

machine guns and rifles from the forts and crevices in the rock face”.

Bruce recalled the landing took place on Sunday morning, prompting the

men inside the ship to sing the hymns “Onward Christian Soldiers” and

“Nearer thy God to Thee”.

“At length we heard the River Clyde’s bottom crunching on the beach,

and presently she was fast among the rocks”. Then the constructed doors



opened, and the shooting intensified: “full of snipers picking off our

gallant lads as fast as they emerged from the shelter of the ship…the

place was a perfect death trap, barbed wire being concealed at thewater’s edge, and few men got a hold of the beach and kept it”.

Although most of the men of the 29th were seasoned soldiers, for the

reservist like Bruce this would be their first taste of warfare. He recorded

his reaction at the time:

“None of us had ever seen a shot fired in anger, and it was not surprising

that the “kick off” found us in such a dazed condition that we stood as if

glued to the spot staring into each other’s faces unable to utter as

syllable”.

“Bullets pattered on deck overhead like hailstones, and a shell from the

Asiatic side penetrated the hull of the River Clyde, scattering wreckage

and mangled remains all round us. It was a terrible experience”.

Of the 2000 men on the vessel, 700 were killed or wounded.

Although a terrible experience the allied landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula

was a success. The success of the campaign did not, though, go much

further as Bruce recorded, “After this it was trench fighting, and pretty

much a deadlock”.

Bruce served in Gallipoli until September 1915 when he fell ill withtyphoid fever and was returned home on sick leave. He did return to

service, but no record of his further service can be found at the time of

writing.

In peace time Bruce returned to the Treasurer’s office. He served as

Secretary and Treasurer of the 1st Fraserburgh BB from 1921-24 before

moving on to Aberdeen for promotion.



Malcolm M. Burns (1890-1960)

In 1914 Malcolm Burns was a clerkand cashier for the firm W. A.

Bennet of Fraserburgh.

He was a keen sportsman and was

a reservist with the 5th Gordon

Highlander Territorial Force. When

war was declared he was called up,

and attested on 22nd September

1914.

After further training he was posted with the 1st Highland Field

Ambulance Corps, RAMC, part of the 29th Division. Again, like, Robert

Bruce, Burns found himself on board the “River Clyde” during the landings

at Cape Helles, Gallipoli.

Following the landing, months of trench fighting ensued against the

‘Turks’ with many casualties for little, if any, gains. Burns served until

September 1915 when he was ‘slightly wounded’ and then fell with

enteric (typhoid) fever due to the unsanitary conditions in the trenches.

It was at the same time that news was received that his brother, Sergeant

William Burns, had been killed in action in France.

After spending two months in hospital in Alexandria, Burns was

transported home to continue his treatment at Fraserburgh’s Thomas

Walker Hospital. He was released from hospital in January 1916.

Burns did not return to the unit as the 29th Division was retreating to

Egypt, marking the end of the failed Gallipoli campaign.



His service record shows that he was discharged under the King’s

Regulation as being “permanently unfit” for service in July 1916. Oddly,

however, he was promptly transferred to the Gordon Highlanders andthen again to the Machine Gun Corps by September 1916 seeing action at

the later battles of Somme.

In June 1917 he earned his Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 4th

Gordon Highlanders.

In September 1918 Burns was removed from the conflict in France, and

posted to the East to serve as part of the North West Frontier Force.

Tensions were high in Afghanistan as the Turks and Germans had sought

to persuade tribal leaders to break away from the British Empire.

During his posting Burns was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and was

demobilised in March 1919, before the Third Anglo-Afghan War broke out

in early May.

Upon returning to Fraserburgh Malcolm Burns set up business as a

shipbroker. He also became one of the more active officers of the 1st

Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade from 1921. Both his business and his

involvement with the BB continued until he emigrated to Australia in

1927. He latterly lived in Stornoway.



Thomas S. Ingram (1888-1975)

It is clear from Tom Ingram’s army number,and from his regiment, that he was a

reservist from about May 1909, which

means it is likely that he was a former

member of the Volunteer Brigades.

Ingram, like a number of the men in this

booklet, was originally attached to 1st/5th

Gordon Highlanders. He was called up, and serving in France by December

1915.

He fought with his unit at the attack of High Wood in July 1916, part of

the Battle of the Somme, being wounded in the process. The nature of his

wound is unknown.

His service continued for the duration of the war with the 51st Highland

Division being transferred to the Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) as a

Corporal, and after being wounded a second time, being transferred to

the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Driver.

Although unaware of the nature of his wounds, it is known that on one of

those two occasions Corporal Ingram was hit in a gas attack, which would

likely have removed him from the front for 6-8 weeks or longer.

Ingram was demobilised from the services in January 1919, but remained

with the Territorial Forces until 1923. He returned home to resume his

employment as a machinist with the CPT.

He joined the 1st Fraserburgh BB as a Lieutenant in 1924, serving as an

effective drill instructor. He served as Company Captain during the Second

World War.



James Barclay (1895-1975)

Like Tom Ingram, not much isknown about Jim Barclay’s war

due to the absence of official

records, likely destroyed in WW2.

He would have arrived in France

from Bedford along with John F.

Macgregor as part of the 1st/5th

Gordons in May 1915. The unit were fast in the thick of the fighting during

the Battle of Festubert.

Before the war he was a compositor with the Fraserburgh Herald, and on

the 15th June 1915 he wrote to the Herald: “We were in [the trenches]

four days and had 17 casualties in our company alone. Six were killed

outright and 11 wounded; something like 35 altogether to the battalion so

you see we certainly had the worst of it ”.

In the next year he was promoted to the rank of Corporal, but would be

severely wounded on 31st July 1916 – during the attack on High Wood.

During the ‘murderous assault’ Corporal Barclay was shot in the left arm,

whist exploding shells caused shrapnel wounds to both his legs.

He spent the next 6 months in hospital, before returning home in

February 1917 “to get bucked up by his native air”. What he did for therest of the war is unknown to the author. He was officially demobilised in

April 1919.

He was enrolled with the 1st Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade as a Lieutenant in

1924, serving up until the outbreak of WW2. During the second war he

enlisted with the Home Guard.



Alexander Barclay (1895-1958)

In August 1914 Alex Barclay wasworking as a hairdresser under James

Bain, Fraserburgh.

He was attested and with the local

volunteers was bound for France in May

1915, serving in the same early

skirmishes as J. F. Macgregor and James

Barclay.

He was active in the British offensive at the Somme in July 1916, again on

the attack at High Wood. He too was wounded in the attack, although the

seriousness of his injuries are unknown.

It may well have been noted that Pte Alex Barclay is the third soldier in

this booklet to have been wounded at High Wood. It is estimated that in

July 1916 British forces at High Wood sustained in the region of 6,500

casualties – this being just one front in the larger Battle of the Somme.

The attacks at High Wood would continue until September 1916.

In 1917 his unit was active at most of the big battles including the Arras

Offensive in April, the Third Battle of Ypres, and was briefly involved at

the Cambrai to stem the surprise German counter offensive.

While Pte Barclay survived 1917 without wound, the 5th Gordons – along

with the 51st Division – had been decimated. In January 1918 the unit was

reorganised as a support to the 183rd Brigade.

In March 1918 the German Spring Offensive came – the German’s last

desperate push of the war. With his unit Barclay served at the 1st Battle of

Bapaume, where for the second time he was wounded. He received a



wound to his right arm. The injuries

must have been minor in nature as

he appears to have remained withthe unit.

In July 1918 he was awarded the

Military Medal for gallantry in battle.

This was the lower ranks (NCOs)

equivalent to the Military Cross

(NCOs were ineligible to be awarded

the MC until 1993). In August his

father received intimation that

Barclay was again in hospital with a

wound to his jaw and right arm.

Barclay was disembodied in February 1919, returning to his previous

trade as a hairdresser. He later opened up his own business as a master

hairdresser.

Alex Barclay was a Lieutenant of the 1st Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade in its

very early years up to about 1926. His main civilian interest was in the Ex-

serviceman’s Association and later the Royal British Legion, being branch

Chairman at the time of his death.

During WW2 he served as a Lieutenant with the Home Guard and

suffered severe spinal injuries after being involved in a car accident whilston duty.



Jack Wilson (1887-1975)

Of all the men written of in thisbooklet, Jack Wilson is the first who

was known to be a BB Old Boy. He

served with the 13th Aberdeen

which was captained by his father,

James Wilson.

When war broke out in 1914,

Wilson was living in South Africa

having emigrated there some years previously as an engineer. Even being

based on the Southern part of the African continent did not make him

exempt from war services!

South Africa had a border with German South-West Africa, and there was

unease at removing able men to Europe leaving South Africa vulnerable.

The war in Africa would come with a Boer Revolt. Jack Wilson signed up

with Imperial Light Infantry in 1914 in the defence of the colony.

He played a part in quelling the Boer Revolt of 1914 which had allegedly

been plotted by the German colonists. It had only been 13 years since the

last failed Boer rebellion. The Revolt was fairly short lived.

When it was clear the Boer’s had failed, the British Government then

turned its attention to German South-West Africa. Prime Minister Bothaof South Africa was asked to invade the neighbouring colony, which

initially failed. Trooper Jack Wilson was involved in the campaign, and was

present at many battles.

It was reported on one occasion that Wilson’s horse had been shot from

beneath him during a charge. He did, though, survive the campaign

unscathed. The South African forces repelled the German counter-



offensive and successfully invaded German South-West Africa by July

1915.

With hostilities over in South Africa, Jack Wilson then volunteered for

service in France. He was attested and joined the 4th South African

Infantry (Scots Regiment) in November 1915. After training, and a brief

stop home, Pte Wilson was in France in July 1916 – just in time for the

Somme.

The unit suffered heavy losses trying to capture Trones Wood, and also at

the failed attempt to take Delville Wood in July where Captain Stephen

was active. In October the unit was in High Wood, the site where no less

than three men listed in this book were wounded in April 1916.

In April 1917 the unit played their part in the Battle of Arras, a British

offensive which made significant gains (only to be lost soon after). This

battle would end Wilson’s war: he received a gunshot wound causing a

compound fracture to his left humorous.

The wound left him with no control over his left arm, causing him to be

discharged “being permanently medically unfit for further military

service”. He would remain in hospital for nearly a year, only being

discharged on 12th April 1918.

After the war, Wilson entered business with his father’s fish curing firm.

When that relocated to Fraserburgh in May 1920, he helped instruct thenew 1st Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade remaining with the Company until his

marriage in 1929.



Duncan M. Wilson (1898-1972)

Duncan Wilson was the younger brother of Jack. Like his elder brother hetoo was an Old Boy of his father’s BB Company, the 13th Aberdeen.

Being the youngest of the men in this booklet, he was not eligible for

service in the army until his 18th birthday in January 1916. After officer

training he earned his Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Gordons in

March 1917.

He arrived in his first ‘theatre’ of war in November 1917 being posted to

Mesopotamia, a region covering today’s Iraq and Syria, to fight the forces

of the Germans and the Ottoman Empire (Turks). He would serve with the

Dorset Regiment, part of the 15th Indian Division.

When he arrived in Iraq in November 1917 he joined his unit at the city of

Ramadi, recently captured from the Ottoman forces. He remained

stationed there for a number of months, facing skirmished along the

Euphrates River. The main trauma for British forces would be coping with

the great heat in dessert conditions.

Lieut Wilson’s unit advance in March 1918 to occupy Hit, north-west of

Ramadi. This was a bloodless battle, the post being taken without a shot

being fired. Towards the end of March his unit took part in the Action of

Khan Baghdadi. The fighting lasted only one day, the Ottoman forces

quickly crumbling with surrender.

Wilson remained in Mesopotamia until the Armistice with the Turks was

signed in October 1918.

When he returned to Fraserburgh, he joined the family business. He was

the PT instructor of the 1st Fraserburgh between 1921-24.



Conclusion

As can be seen from this short booklet the BB men of Fraserburgh playedtheir role, and made sacrifices, during the First World War. Their services

were varied, and their postings – spanning three continents and the seas

– justify its status as a World War.

It must be admitted that this booklet is not ‘definitive’ as many of the

most useful war records were destroyed in a German bombing raid in

WW2. This written narrative was composed only from the snippets of

information available, so much of the real story is lost.

This booklet can only give a limited insight into the real contribution of

the Fraserburgh BB.

There were many Fraserburgh BB Old Boys fighting in the war. Let us

never forget that we have no records of perhaps over 200 boys who were

members of two Fraserburgh Companies founded in 1902 and 1907.

These boys-come-men would all have been of age for conscription, and

given the number of Brochers who fell, it is extremely likely that many

forgotten Fraserburgh Old Boys were in that number.

The service of some BB officers has also been omitted due to lack of

information or, sadly, lack of space in this intentionally short booklet. For

example, James R. Miller, who tried in vain to be exempted from War

Service to conduct his furnishings business: he was forced to join the RAFin 1917/18 when it was pointed out that there was no need for soft

furnishings in the trenches!

Also the older generation: Alexander S. Sinclair, Captain of the 1902

Company, who served as a recruiter for the Gordons. Also James Wilson

(1861-1935) – founder of the post-war Fraserburgh BB – who volunteered

“turning out army rations”.



Of Wilson, on a visit to Fraserburgh in 1916, his BB credentials were noted

in the Fraserburgh Herald: “in Aberdeen he is one of the leading spirits inthe Boys’ Brigade movement. Hundreds of lads who have passed through

Mr Wilson’s ‘crack’ company are to-day fighting under the Union Jack ”.

This is what Sheriff Laing meant when he addressed the new 1st

Fraserburgh in 1921, calling the war the BB’s “vindication”. Previously

criticised for alleged militarism, BB training was the only ‘training’ many

conscripts had undertaken. Ironically though, no boy of Wilson’s was ever

instructed with a rifle or bayonette.

His company was based on physical fitness, discipline and Christian faith,

yet this training he provided prepared his boys – including three of his

own sons – for military service. This was replicated throughout the nation

– including in Fraserburgh.

So I end this booklet echoing the words of Sheriff Laing in 1921: no boy or

officer should ever be ashamed to wear their uniforms, particularly on

Armistice, as that uniform bears the badge worn by the 400,000 men who

served, and 50,000 who were killed during WW1.

“All gave some, some gave all”

Michael A. W. Strachan

President

Buchan Battalion, Boys’ Brigade

1st fraserburgh boys' brigade: world war one 1914-19

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