Three Birds with One Stone in Military Genealogy

I have always had a keen interest in Military History.  This began as a young boy listening to the exploits of my ancestors who fought for the British Army between the 18th and 20th centuries.  One particular problem plagued my grandfather for years though, and he only had brief details of his own father's service during the First World War.

Private S/1619 John McLeish
8th Battalion Gordon Highlanders

John McLeish, my great-grandfather, joined the Gordon Highlanders 10 days after the outbreak of the First World War, at a recruiting station in Glasgow.  My grandfather knew that he had been wounded during an action and returned home by 1916, when he married my great-grandmother.  He also knew that his father had received some medals (though he did not know which).  This was the limit of his knowledge and he was not able to tell me what action my great-grandfather was wounded in, or the exact battalion in which he served.

As many of you Military Genealogists will know, it is far easier to trace a man in combat if his battalion and service number are known!  With the scant details provided, I set about trying to determine more about the enigmatic years of my great-grandfather's life from 1914-1916.

I began by searching for his service or pension records, but as is usually the case, they had not survived.  During the Second World War, a Luftwaffe raid destroyed the building in which these records were kept.  They have therefore been lost forever.  A great pity!! 

I then moved on to his medal card, which I happily traced.  My joy was short-lived however, as the information provided merely confirmed what we already knew about him.  It showed that he had indeed served in the Gordon Highlanders and that he was awarded the 1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.  As he had indeed been wounded in action, he was also awarded the Silver War Badge, which ensured that he was not a victim of the white-feather brigade, which sought to embarrass and harass any male of fighting age who roamed the streets during the War.  A small note included on the Medal Card however, stated that he was discharged from the Army on 28 January 1916.  This narrowed the field in terms of the actions he could have taken part in, but crucially, this vital information was not present.  The source did not reveal which Battalion he had fought in either.  So, we were very much back to square one.

This is where the trail ended and remained so for over five years, until a fateful trip to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow changed everything!

It was during an orientation visit to the Mitchell that I discovered a source which detailed soldiers who had been killed or wounded in combat, and who also had a Glasgow connection.  This was the Evening Times Newspaper entries submitted by the family of serving soldiers.  Casually glancing down the list, I was amazed to find an entry on 16 October 1915 for a John McLeish, who also served in the Gordon Highlanders!  I rushed to secure the microfilm reel and set-about trawling through the records.  I eventually reached my goal and was ecstatic to see that I had found my great-grandfather!

The record detailed the following:

Mrs J McLeish, 7 Delburn Street, Parkhead, has been officially informed that her son, Private J McLeish, 8 Gordon Highlanders sustained a severe gunshot wound in the right arm in France on 22 September.  Private McLeish enlisted at the outbreak of the war, prior to which he was employed in Springfield Steel Company, Parkhead.  His father is serving with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, while another brother is at present in France with the 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles.

This was more information than I could possibly hope for!  Not only did this source, consisting of just five lines of text, reveal which Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders my great-grandfather had served with, it also stated that his father and brother were also serving their country in two other proud Scottish Regiments!

I happily revealed the details to my grandfather, who was extremely pleased that the mystery had finally been solved.

From that point onwards I was able (with the help of the War Diaries of the 8th Gordon Highlanders) to discover that my great-grandfather had been wounded, along with many of his comrades, during their brave charge towards the Hohenzollern Redoubt, during the Battle of Loos.  I have since looked into the precise details of this action and learnt a great deal about the horrific experiences that my great-grandfather would have faced during this dramatic battle in September 1915.

So, much of the vital information about my great-grandfather's military service was not found in a military source, but a civilian one!  Of course, I do have one other person to thank...my great great-grandmother, Isabella, who proudly shared the news of her son's wounds with the Glasgow newspaper. 

It just goes to prove that even though one may think that their genealogy trail is at an end...a chance encounter with another source, many years on, can change everything.  So...DON'T GIVE UP!!