William Dishington was born on 3rd July 1888 at 27 Lacrosse Terrace in Partick.
The flat overlooks the Kelvin, Great Western Road cutting across the bottom-left of the view.
His father was also named William (1855-1930) and his mother was Margaret Millar, or Maggie according to the 1891 Census (1860-1939).
William was the first of their four children (Jessie (1890-1970), Andrew (1893-1963) and Isaac (1899-1985)) and they had recently moved from Arlington Street to Lacrosse Terrace, presumably when they found the baby was due.
William (father) was manager of Craighall Milling Co, a flour mill in Port Dundas. Google’s AI says this was part of a sawmill complex but this isn’t correct: the 1894 map below shows it occupied the central part of the main building at Speirs Wharf (still standing):
I have no photo from that far back, this one dates from the mid-20th Century:
The business was located in the south building of Speirs Wharf, constructed in 1851 as the Glasgow Grain Mills and Stores.
By the time his sister was born in 1890, William’s family had moved to Bearsden, to a villa called Rosemount (now 2-4 Chapelton Avenue):
In the 1891 Census they have two servants, a nurse and a cook, as well as a visit from Maggie’s brother:
Note Rosemount was split into two homes.
By 1901 the family of four children was complete:
William is recorded as a scholar; he attended Glasgow Academy.
We have the briefest glimpses of William’s pastimes. There are several reports of someone of this name playing rugby for Bearsden around this time – as he would have been around 20 years of age and there are no Dishingtons in Bearsden, it seems plausible it was him.
On 21st April 1906 and aged 17, he sailed from Glasgow on the Anchor Line ship Caledonia (1167 passengers) to New York. He was a student, and his fare had been paid by his father.
The Caledonia was built at Henderson’s yard in Glasgow.
Accompanying him was Isaac Dishington Scott, aged 29, a manager in a flour mill, presumably the same one. He was William’s first cousin. They disembarked in New York on 30th April, and crossed the border into Canada at border crossing at St Albans, Vermont on 15th May; at this time they had $40 in cash. I wonder if Isaac was on a work trip and took his young cousin for the experience?
Here is the 1911 Census where William was a salesman in the flour business:
William’s father seems to have had a strong and active interest in agricultural matters – I wonder this was as a result of visiting farms providing crops for his mill? In 1907 he presented prizes at the New Kilpatrick Ploughing Society and in 1908 he attended the Farmers’ Dance, the Coachmen and Gardeners’ Dance, and the Ploughmen’s Dance. Here’s another example:
He also seems to have been breeding horses locally:
All this might explain why, when the First World War broke out, the younger William enlisted as a private in the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC). The petrol engine was a relatively new invention and lorries and tractors to supply the troops and tow artillery pieces were very rare in the early years especially. Therefore everything had to be towed by horses, who required care from men of the AVC. Many of its members would serve as part of another unit like an infantry battalion or an artillery battery, responsible for the welfare of the horses.
We don’t know the full history of his military service but in 1918 he was an acting sergeant in the 2nd/1st (Lowland) Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. It would have had six 60-pounder guns which were huge guns (photo dated 1918 but of an unknown battery):
Thanks to Ron Clifton from The Great War Forum, I can show you the 232 men it took to service, command fire those six guns:
1 Major, 1 Captain, 4 Subalterns, BSM, BQMS, 8 Serjeants, Farrier-Serjeant, 3 Shoeing-smiths (incl one cpl), 2 Saddlers, 1 Wheeler, 1 Staff-Sjt Fitter, 1 Smith, 7 Corporals, 8 Bombardiers, 110 Gunners, 71 Drivers, 7 Batmen.
Attached: Serjeant AVC, 3 Drivers ASC.
A brief history of this battery can be found on Wikipedia (link). In October 1918 the British and French were steadily pushing the Germans back and, as we now know, the end of the war was only weeks away. The Battery was part of the artillery support for the British IX Corps (4th Army) attack in the Busigny area on 23rd October 1918. The attack was one element of the Battle of the Selle.
What happened to the Battery this month is unclear – a war diary was maintained at Brigade level (commanding several batteries) but the diary for October 1918 was lost when the lorry carrying the brigade’s papers was hit by artillery fire:
Therefore, the circumstances are unclear but William suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to the 20th Casualty Clearing Station where he died on 26th October. I cannot find a record of any other death among members of the battery so it does not seem to have been directly part of a battle with German infantry firing at the gunners.
He was buried at Premont CWGC Cemetery, which was originally established as the cemetery where the dead from for four CCSs were buried. On his headstone are the words “Till the Day Dawns”, chosen by his mother.
His name is commemorated at Bearsden South UF Church and at Glasgow Academy:
