William Henry Robinson was born on 19th May 1896 at 55 Cedar Street, Glasgow (between Garscube Road and St Georges Road)
Cedar Street is close to the junction of St George’s Road and Garscube Road (small circle in orange) and is the home of several high-rise blocks of flats.
His parents were Alexander James Robinson and Annie McLennan, who had married in 1893. William was the second of three children, having an older brother, Alexander, and a younger sister, Isabella.
William’s father worked as a butcher and sometime between 1901 (when the Census shows the family still at 55 Cedar Street) and 1911 they moved to Bearsden – Alexander gave his occupation in the Census as “flesher (salesman)” and his eldest son as “flesher assistant”. At this time they lived in a flat at 8 Douglas Place but soon after this they moved to a flat at 23 Douglas Place.
(The numbering of Douglas Place is very confusing – number 2 is now in New Kirtk Road and is occupied by McGowans the jewellers, and The Bookmonger; number 4 is Christie’s the Butchers and Number 40; Number 6 is Vanity Fair; and Number 8 is round the corner in what we now call Douglas Place. Number 1 is on Roman Road and is currently unoccupied, just across the lane from Grace & Favour; number 23 is just round the corner in modern Douglas Place from Bulbir’s (the Post Office). So numbers 8 and 23 were next to each other.)
By 1916 Alexander ran his own butcher’s shop because he applied for exemption from military service for one of his staff (Milngavie and Bearsden Herald, 4th July):
His shop at this time was probably at 1 Douglas Park Terrace, an address we do not use today but it will be a familiar sight on Milngavie Road:
The shops at Hillfoot on the railway bridge – Happy House now occupies number 1.
Of William we know very little, except that he was in the Bearsden Boys’ Brigade, a prominent member held in high esteem.
He enlisted in the army in September 1916, joining the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He arrived in France in January 1917 after only four months of training and was sent to the 8th Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders, as a private soldier. This photo of him must be from about this time:
On 23rd April 1917 this battalion was part of an attack by 15th (Scottish) Division. Starting from the village of Wancourt, they were to capture a village to the east called Guemappe.
This map is from the battalion’s war diary – Wancourt is the village on the left where the Seaforth Highlanders assembled in cellars the night before. They then attacked from left to right to take Guemappe.
This is the modern view from Guemappe back to Wancourt, the houses being visible between the trees on the horizon. The above photo is from the red circle in the Google Earth view below:
Each battalion had four companies and as was usual, one company was held in reserve – this was William’s company. After about two hours, reinforcements were called for and they moved up but over open ground and under shell and rifle fire. There were many casualties, including William. It was three days before the area was safe enough to recover his body.
On 5th May, William’s brother, Alexander, who was a piper in another battalion was near the camp of the 8th Seaforths and visited hoping to see William, only to be told he was dead.
William was buried at Guemappe British Cemetery, Wancourt:
William was buried alongside other men from his battalion. When the grave was given a headstone after the end of the war, his father chose the words “Till He Comes” to appear alongside his name, rank and unit.
In the Google Earth view earlier, the cemetery is visible at the bottom of the photo.
Postscript
Alexander’s business did well and the family was able to move to a house called Torrs on West Chapelton Crescent (which is now number 39).
In 1920 he had shops at 1 Douglas Park Terrace and at Melville Place, in the property that is now the Station Barber. After this date only the Melville Place address is listed.
Maybe business was too good as he seems to have become careless (Dundee Evening Telegraph 11th February 1932):
Alexander died in 1937 (Milngavie and Bearsden Herald, 2nd October):
His son, Alexander kept the business going until at least 1958 as Alexander Robinson and Son.