This year my brother sent me some images of my family from my mothers side...
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| Centre right Tommy Wardrope ... My Great Grandfather. |
The oldest picture is of my Great Grandfather who was a long serving soldier in The Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders... Some 30 years under the colours as my dear old mother would say...I am told that our family history with the Argyle's goes back further than this but I have yet to find any hard evidence...
It appears that my Grandmother was actually born in Stirling Castle...
At the start of The Great War my Great Grandfather caught pleurisy and was not allowed to go to France... Apparently he was livid...
Instead he was forced to stay at home and train others...
He rose to the rank of Colour Sergeant
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| Far left... Edward Wardrope... My Great Uncle. |
My Great Uncle Ted... Also an Argyle and Sutherland Highlander...
I am told rose to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant at Stirling Castle..
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| Frederick Wardrope... My Grand Uncle |
Grand Uncle Fred... My Grandmothers youngest brother...
I know very little about this man... My grandmother talked very little about her siblings and with my mothers increasing age and diminishing mental capacity I am not sure what I will be able to find out...
There are many websites that can give you the raw data.. Births...Marriages... Deaths... but sadly they do not preserve the stories and anecdotes...
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| My Grandfather. |
My Grandfather... Peter Robertson... Royal Scots Fusiliers.
Sadly My Grandfather Died when I was eight years old...
He of course survived the Great War... He went on to work down the coal mines but after an injury started to drive buses for Wallace Arnold( A British tour company) in the 1930's and served in the Home Guard in WW2...
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| Robert Wardrope... Handsome devil. |
Bobby Wardrope... My mothers Cousin... so my Cousin... Once? Twice? Removed???
A tall and very handsome man... Clearly I missed out on this genetic line...
I remember him as a very debonair gentleman and career soldier... My mother used to go all a flutter at the mention of his name... He I am told was married four times... the old devil.
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| Uncle Ian. |
My Uncle Ian... My mothers older brother...
Sergeant RAF... He flew Hurricanes toward the end of WW2...
He trained in Canada and eventually emigrated there in the 1950's...
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| Dad. |
My Dad...
Royal Army Medical Corps...
I think he was really glad that none of us followed the family traditions of joining the army, going down the pit or working for Carron Ironworks (the company that manufactured Carronades in the Napoleonic Wars)...
A slightly poignant post... I know...
They all survived...
Lest we forget...
All the best Aly
