Remembering those who fell. A Stranraer Boy s story of his part in World War 1. Contents 1. A brief introduction to the author - James Kerr. 2. The Great War 3. Why 4. William Monteith 5. Documents summary. 6. Document 4 is transcribed from the actual War Diary and details the day of William Monteith s death.) 7. Copies of original documents For My Nana Agnes Kerr (Nee Agnes Bryden Monteith)
1. James Kerr- a brief introduction. I was born on 21st of April 1960 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. My parents were both born and bred in Stranraer, Galloway, my father a Kerr, my mother a Nish. They married in Stranraer in1956 and after having their first child in 1957, my brother, they moved to Kilmarnock around 1959. My father was a railway employee since he was 14 and sensing the limited employment opportunities in a small remote town, he moved closer to Glasgow to a bustling industrial town which was thriving. In 1986 I married Maureen and shortly afterwards did some research on my Family Tree, which required a visit to the National Records of Scotland office in Edinburgh. It was time consuming but very interesting looking through birth, death and marriage certificates as well as Census and Local Parish records. Technology at that time stretched to micro fichè for some information but mostly, paper documents were retrieved. I focussed on immediate family and traced back my Paternal lineage to a a great, great, great grandfather Alexander, being born around 1800 in Roxburghshire. It was interesting of course and clear that my family although originating from the borders where Kerr is a common name, my roots were essentially in the Stranraer area. I drew up a Family Tree and did nothing for many years. In 2014 I decided to review my family tree. My own children were getting married and having their own children and my parents were getting to an age where they wouldn t be around for long. Of course there has been a revolution in IT and it was much easier to access information and there are some fantastic programmes specifically for family trees. 2014 was also the centenary of the start of what is called the Great War. There were and still are, numerous TV documentaries about World War 1 and to be honest I find them fascinating. What interested me most was that my grandparents generation lived through it. The film footage is almost surreal, from another age which as I get older is fading from most people s memory. Lest We Forget is a slogan often used. There are many books on the subject and I read numerous accounts by ordinary soldiers both British and German, officers, generals. I was struck by not only what horrors these young men went through but how many boys were shot by their own comrades for cowardice. Their bravery and pride in representing their town s and villages was humbling. Even when not fighting in the Line, how hard their daily life was, far removed from today s attitudes and expectations. WW1 affected every family across Britain and I was always aware as a boy of memorials in even the smallest towns and villages across Scotland. For me it was an obvious step to find out if any of my family, most likely my grandfather s generation, had served in the Great War. This was an appropriate time to update my own family tree, mostly additions of marriages, grandchildren and deaths but I also had an opportunity to research an ancestor who died in the Great War. His story touched me with sadness to such an extent, that I intend to visit France in 2018 and visit his grave.
2. Families and The Great War As I grew up I don t recall much discussion about either of the World Wars. A common trait amongst most of that generation, was that if they served, they never spoke much of what they did. Understandable, considering what horrors they must have witnessed. I never knew my maternal grandfather, he died before I was born and I was around 13 when my other granda' died. My mother knew that her Father (George Nish) had served in the army during the war, indeed there was a picture of him in uniform printed in the local Free Press recently. However she knew little of what he did, as he said very little about his experience. She knew that he had suffered from being gassed but again it was a subject rarely talked about. Gas attacks were atrocious weapons and many soldiers from both sides of the conflict died or suffered for many years afterwards. My father knew that his Dad (my paternal grandfather James Kerr) never fought in the war. He worked on the railway which I believe was a protected occupation. However if the war had continued beyond 1918 then because of the huge losses, a wider conscription would have likely sent him to the war. My father also knew his mother (my paternal grandmother Agnes Kerr nee Monteith) had lost her brother William Monteith but it was never spoken about when he (my Dad) was growing up. I knew from my first research that my Nana had 2 sisters and 4 brothers. Being born in 1901, she would have been 17 when she learned that her elder brother had been killed. No wonder they never spoke of it, it must have been heartbreaking for a young girl. During further research I discovered that my Nana s own grandmother died 2 days after the news of his death was received. It must surely have been the shock of that knowledge. How tragic! As a further aside aside her younger brother Mathew Monteith was also a soldier but in World War 2 and although he survived that war, it illustrates how emotionally difficult her life was. I still rememberer my Nana. I was 16 when she died so I was mature enough to know her as a person and almost the same age when she learned of her brother s death in France. Like millions of families across the world their generation suffered pain and worry that few of us in the 21st Century are likely to encounter.
3. Why. I needed to find out more information about William Monteith. Like thousands of other stories throughout this War they are mostly of sadness and sacrifice. William Monteith s is poignant and personal to me. I felt sadness not only for my own Nana but the thought that perhaps there is no other descendant of his siblings who would know his name and what he gave. How painful it must have been to carry such pain through your whole life. Growing up as a wee boy your grandparents are kind, happy, loving people. You only recall them as old and infirm but they must have hidden sadness and pain for most of their lives. The Great War s end is reaching a century old and there are reels of film footage being shown to show in graphic detail, how much horror these young men went through and the silent suffering their families at home endured. Researching the War forces you to look at your own life and that of your children and ask, could I have done that, would I have coped as a young man or as a father losing a son. It was clearly a different era with different values and it s important not to judge people and events in the early 20th Century through 21st century eyes. Today I can t imagine citizens of this country or the world for that matter, having the same motivation to serve our country to such personal sacrifice as they did then. Thankfully we appear to have the freedom and education to challenge our leaders, unlike our ancestors who lived in a class system still present in 1914-18. I really want to mark the centenary of a young man s sacrifice. I have no idea if anyone else knows of him, if any distant strand of my family or his remember him. I don t share his name but I share some of his blood, his DNA. I am mindful of straying into grounds of nostalgia or being over sentimental but his life and death, moved me. I can pay respect to his memory by the mere fact of writing it down and visiting his grave in France on the centenary of his death. A few words to say You are remembered William Monteith. It would be a tragedy if not one soul remembered him 100 years after he gave his life. It s not my intention to embellish his memory as some sort of hero. It will never be known what his final actions were that week, that day that hour. Did he run away, did he cower in fear, was he in the thick of it. That s really not important. What is important, to me anyway, is that he went, he served, he sacrificed and this is a small humble gesture to acknowledge it after 4 generations. He deserves that much.
4. William Monteith 13/12/1897-1/10/1918 William Monteith was my Great Uncle. He was born on 13th December 1897 to William and Annabella Monteith (Garrett) of St John Street, Stranraer, Wigtownshire, Scotland. He had 3 brothers, James, John and Matthew and 3 sisters Annabella, Martha and my Grandmother Agnes. At some point before or during World War 1, he joined the local territorial regiment of the Royal Scots Fusileers, which drew it s strength from Glasgow, Ayrshire and Wigtownshire. William was in B Company, 1-5th Battalion RSF which was part of the 155th Infantry Brigade of the 52nd Division of the British Army. War Office Records show that in April 1918 his regiment was in Palestine and received orders for France. They sailed from Alexandria disembarking at Marseille. The records show a relatively quiet time between April and September, training and being in the line. During September and October, along with other Scottish Regiments 4th RSF and 5th KOSB s they took part in an offensive to take Canal Du Nord and Cambrai in northern France, supporting the Canadian army. In late September William s B Company were mentioned as counter-attacking and holding a post. On the 1st October 1918, the War Diary describes what looks like a Battalion strength attack on a suburb of Cambrai, Foburg De Paris. The attack commenced at 17:20 and was unsuccessful due to heavy machine gun and shell fire. There were heavy casualties. It is likely William Monteith was killed during this attack. He was 20 years old! The end of the war was only 6 weeks from ending. He is buried in Proville Cemetery France. I have no idea if there are any relatives or descendants of his siblings who might remember what sacrifice he made. It would be a tragedy, that on the centenary of his death, which was days away from the Armistice, that no one would remember him. This is a small gesture to mark his life. For for my Grandmother - Agnes Kerr (Agnes Bryden Monteith). A son, a brother who came from a small town in a quiet part of Scotland and gave the ultimate sacrifice. James Kerr.
5. Documents Summary All the documents are attached at the end of this file and a short explanation of what information is contained in each. Document 1 Catalogue Reference:WO/372/14 This is a War Office document from the National Archives available on-line. It allows a search of all the William Monteith s who served in WW1 and returned 6. Using one of the genealogy web sites it was fairly easy to track down to William Monteith of Royal Scottish Fusileers, Serial Number 830240990 Document 2 doc2147629.jpeg Imperial War Graves Commission document. Using his name and serial number the document shows the War Grave is in Proville Cemetery. Grave location 1C5. This document also shows another 3 RSF soldiers killed on 1st October along with William Monteith were R.Park, GG Lawson, R Finlay and another 5 KOSB s on 2nd or 3rd Oct. Document 3 MONTEITH_WILLIAM.pdf Is a certificate from the Imperial War Graves Commission specifically for William Monteith rather than on a list. What is sad is his age and date of death. Only around 6 weeks short of armistice day. 20 Years Old 1st October 2018
6. War Office Transcription This is a transcription of Document 4. The actual document is at the end of the document but transcribed here as the CO s handwriting is difficult to read. WO 95_2896_4.pdf This is a War Office document and is the actual War Diary completed daily by the commanding officer (CO) in the field. This particular document is for the period April 1918 to April 1919. The document is in the actual handwriting the CO on duty and shows a small daily report of what operations the battalion carried out and a monthly summary in terms of numbers of casualties, those on leave, in hospital etc. Sadly it only gives names of Officers who were killed or sent to hospital. The other casualties either wounded or killed, are described only as Other Ranks (OR). The early diary entries record: 52nd Division, 155th Infantry Brigade 1-5th Battalion Royal Scots Fusileers April 1918 - April 1919 Battalion disembarked Marseilles 17.4.18 From Egypt Strength 31 Officers, 865 Other Ranks September/October 2018 William Monteith was listed as B Coy. and there are some mentions of B Coy towards the end of September. Other research documents that 1/5th RSF were in support along with 4t RSF and KOSB as part of a Canadian advance to take Canal Du Nord and the town of Cambrai, which was held by The German army for most of the early war. We know from other documentation that William died on 1st October and he was part of B Company. The diary records those days quite clearly and transcribed the handwritten notes as follows: 26th (Sep) Our platoon B Coy counter attacked and held post North of MOEUVRES 27-30th (Sep) Attack on CANAL DU NORD by 63rd Div. 156th Inf Bdes (Infantry Brigades) and 157th Bde. Battalion remained in position until CANAL had been taken, then moved to Concentration arena afterwards to Reserve Area at TADPOLE COPSE Remained in Reserve Area. Moved to area East of GRAINCOURT
1st (Oct) Remained in rest billets behind CANTAIGNE until about 1500 when Battalion moved up to position to attack FOBURG DE PARIS (southern suburb of CAMBRAI) Attack commenced at 17-20 but was not successful owing to very heavy machine gun & shell fire. Battalion suffered heavy casualties. Battalion moved through 63rd Division to this attack with the 4th RS Fus on our right and 4th KOSB in reserve. A line was held just in front of line held by 63rd Div. 63rd Div withdrew during the night. 2nd/3rd (Oct) Held the line taken up on the evening of the 1st. Men were magnificent under very trying circumstances. 4th (Oct) Battalion was relieved at dark by the 7th HLI. (157th Btl) 5th (Oct) On being relieved Battalion moved to Div. Reserve area behind CANTAIGNE. End of Month Report October Effective strength 32 officers 657 OR (Other Ranks) Sick to hospital 1 officer 30 OR Wounded to hospital 11 officers 146 OR (3 Officers subsequently died of wounds. All dated 1/10/18) Killed in Action 0 Officers 15 OR I can be relatively sure that during this attack on 1st October it was likely William was killed and it notes was not successful due to heavy machine gun & shell fire. This identifies his death during an attack on a suburb south of Cambrai called Foburg de Paris. Maps of that time confirm these areas south of Cambrai as well as Proville a War Graves Site.
7. Actual Documents. Document 1 Catalogue Reference:WO/372/14 National Archive.
Document 2 doc2147629.jpeg
Document 3 MONTEITH_WILLIAM.PDF In Memory of Private William Monteith 240990, "B" Coy. 1st/5th Bn., Royal Scots Fusiliers who died on 01 October 1918 Age 20 Son of Mr. and Mrs. William Monteith, of 12, North Strand St., Stranraer, Wigtownshire. Remembered with Honour Proville British Cemetery
Document 4 September and October Diary