Blythe, Thomas
Thomas was born at 4.15 in the morning on 14th October 1914 at 11 Danes Drive, in the Scotstoun area of Glasgow. His father, Bruce Crawford Blythe was an engineer, who had married his mother, Anne Monteith Blythe just over ten years earlier. Anne’s father was Thomas Archibald, thus the name was ‘inherited’. Thomas was…
Read MoreSalmond, Peter
Sadly, I can find very little about this man. He was born on 19th October 1914 in Inverkeithing at 5 Bannerman Avenue. His parents were Thomas Millar Salmond and Mary Louise nee Phillips He had one elder brother, Charles Millar Salmond, born in Sliema, Malta six years earlier His father gave his occupation as civil engineer…
Read MoreAitken, Kenneth
Kenneth Aitken was born on 6th March 1905 (at 8.30am) at 21 Falkland Mansions (now Falkland Street) in Hyndland. He was the second son of Hugh Wallace Aitken and of Jessie Eva Aitken (nee Robertson) and had three brothers: Wallace (born 1904), Malcolm (born 26 September 1907 was Captain in the HLI), and Douglas (born…
Read MoreMosen, Frederick
Sadly, I cannot find portraits for all the people listed on the war memorial, but this book was written by a crew member who survived the incident where Hugh was killed. I have referred to him as Hugh because I have found several newspaper clippings where he is referred to by that name and in…
Read MorePage, Michael
Many people have helped me with this profile. Taking Michael’s life chronologically, thanks to Kirsty Farrow at St Thomas’s Church, Southborough; to Sarah Earl of Hilden Oaks Preparatory School and Nursery; to Marlborough College but especially Grainne Lenehan; and to Tonbridge School, especially Beverley Matthews. Thanks for permission to use photos to Mark Hickman of the…
Read MorePlane crashes: Peter McDonald, Colin Guttridge, Robert Smith
Peter Gordon McDonald Peter Gordon McDonald was born on 26th November 1924 at 1065 Maryhill Road. Maryhill Road runs from top left to bottom right, red circle shows 1065. His father, Peter, was a glazier and had married Margaret Murdoch Breckenridge in Kilmarnock in 1915. His link to Bearsden is not certain but Mrs Margaret M…
Read MoreSmith, Robert Forsyth
Robert Forsyth Smith was born on 25th October 1922 at 5 Doune Terrace. This is now 183 Wilton Street in Kelvinside. His parents were Robert and Jessie Mina Brook – they had been married in 1906 in the Gorbals district. Robert senior’s job was manager of a factory making “aerated water”. By 1935, Robert’s parents…
Read MorePonsford, James
James Cecil Spencer Ponsford was born on 19th October 1900 at Newlands, near Cape Town, South Africa: He was the son of Spencer Gooch Ponsford and Lilian Constance Thompson, who had married in 1898 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. Spencer was a company secretary. The social standing of the family was such that he was baptised in…
Read MoreHastie, Campbell
Campbell Bannerman Hastie was born on 15th June 1922 at 76 Port Dundas Road: This was extremely difficult to find on a map, but eventually this 1929 fire insurance map showed it as a small property, seemingly a part of a factory. Buchanan Street Railway Station would have been immediately to the south of this,…
Read MoreMacNaughtan, Duncan
Duncan MacNaughtan was born on 4th March 1920 at Hillside, Bearsden. He had a twin, Alan, who was younger by 15 minutes. Their father, Alan George MacNaughtan, was an architect and had married Mary Henrietta Jebb in 1918. Comparing the house name ‘Hillside’ to the 1920 and 1940 Valuation Rolls confirms that this is 8…
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