Yet more family history… Colour Sergeant Thomas Wardrope 1865-1938.

Greetings…

Since my last post I have managed to get hold of a scan of my Great Grandfather’s obituary…

I have edited the contrast on it to make it a bit more readable…

The comment about him regretting not being able to serve during WW1 always makes me smile… According to my Mother … He was livid! 

Colour Sergeant Thomas Wardrope…

Thomas’s Obituary…

All the best.  Aly

More family history…

Greetings…

This piece of history considers family members of my Great Aunt (My Grandmothers sister)…

My Great Uncle by marriage Alexander MacLennan.

The son of a soldier he joined The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the 1890’s, with whom he served in India and the North West Frontier.

He then re-enlisted serving again in India and South Africa.

My Great Grandfather was also serving in the Argylls at this time… So maybe this is when the connection to my Great Aunt came about.

At the outbreak of WW1 he re-enlisted in the Argylls once more seeing service in France.

He had reached the rank of Company Sergeant Major and had a DCM by the time he lost his life during the battle of Amiens in 1918.

As far as I can work out his battalion would have been part of 32nd Division and fought as part of Curries Canadian Corps.

There is a lot more research to do into this, it would be interesting to find out more about his and my Great Grandfathers earlier foreign service.

I had pretty much decided to put this to bed for a while when I came across this through a search on the Imperial War Museum website…

It’s not very clear in the photo… The top of the grave has an inscription to Alexander MacLennan’s parents but towards the base there are these additional inscriptions…

It shows that Alexander’s brother was… by his rank… also a professional soldier but in the Cameron Highlanders…

It appears he lost his life during the fighting around Le Cateau in 1914.

I do not hold to the ill informed Lions lead by Donkeys, Horrors of the Trenches narrative of the war that is often bandied about…

But finding out that the deaths of two members of my extended family bookend WW1 goes to show how much of an affect any war can have on one family.

All the best.  Aly

A bit more family history…

Greetings…

A while back I posted about a souvenir book that my mother was given at the end of World War Two…

https://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2021/04/an-old-book-and-bit-of-family-history.html

When I said that my grandmother and mother had worked in the cafeteria/tearoom of Falkirk Ice Rink I had assumed that it was quite a small venue…

How wrong could I have been…

https://falkirklocalhistory.club/around-the-area/recreation/falkirk-ice-rink/the-second-world-war/

It would appear that it was quite a ‘hip’ place…

And the Polish troops were actually stationed very close to the venue…

The  Ice Rink closed in 1977 so sadly I won’t be able to make a visit next time I travel ‘up  north’

I have also found out that it was indeed  HQ 1st Polish Corp that was stationed in the area…

I shall continue digging into this… 

All the best.  Aly

A Bit More Family History...

 Greetings...

Way back in 2020 I posted about my Great Great Grandfather... Edward Bolton...

http://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2020/02/a-little-bit-of-family-history-my-great.html

Since then I have found out a little more about him...

Once more with the help of the lovely Trish we found him in the 1851 census in the town of Cumbernauld in Dunbartonshire... he is listed here as a coal miner... aged 18.

He may well have joined the army soon after this...

I get the feeling that most of my ancestors who joined the military did so because it was safer than working down a Mine or in a Foundry...

This is a photo of  ‘I’ Troop Royal Horse Artillery ... Edward Bolton’s Troop... 

My Great Great Grandfather could be one of the men in this image... I think I may have said Gosh! when I found this...

One of the first actions he could have been at was at the Bulganak River crossing on the 19th of September 1854...

He would have been one of these dashing figures on the right of the painting...

His next adventure would have been at the Battle of the Alma...

Edward would have been with the Light Brigade in the bottom left of this map...

In December 2019 I posted about my friend Aidan’s Great Great Great Grandfather William Stone who served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the Crimean War...

http://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-family-history-my-friend-aidans-great.html

We always wondered if they ever came close to each other...

Okay they didn’t shake hands... but... you know... there was a battle going on.

All well and good Edward would have carried on and been with his troop at Balaclava...

Edward would have been with his comrades in the North Valley near the 4th Redoubt...where he would have witnessed the Charge of the Light Brigade at much closer quarters that most of us would like to have been.

Well... This is all quite incredible...

When I started my interest in the Crimean War I never thought that I would find out that I would have had a family member who had been there...

I do hope we can find out more...

Many thanks again to Trish and Linda for their help with this.

All the best    Aly

A Little Bit of Family History... My Great Great Grandfather

Greetings...


Things are still a bit slow on the toy painting front so, I thought that I would share a little bit of my family history with you...


When I was visiting Edinburgh I found out a bit more about my family's military heritage...


I remember my Grandmother saying that she had been bounced on the knee of a Crimean War veteran...
As she was actually born in the Sergeants Quarters at Stirling Castle ,I have always assumed that she was referring to a member of The Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders...


Apparently not... She was talking about her Grandfather... My Great Great Grandfather...


Edward Bolton... Gunner Royal Horse Artillery.

I am hoping to find out a bit more about J Troop... It would be quite fun to try and recreate an action Edward Bolton took part in on the tabletop...


Many thanks to my friends and family (Trish and Linda) for finding this for me...


All the best   Aly

A Family History... My friend Aidans Great Great Great Grandfather

Greetings...


The other week my friend and colleague Aidan came over to me and said "Aly I have just found out something about my Great Great Great Grandfather... And you are going to love it"


He wasn't wrong...


Aidan has allowed me to post this article about his ancestor...
It makes fascinating reading...

Apart from being a wonderful snapshot of  Aidan's family history... It also shows how close we are to the past...


Aidan...
His Parents...
His Grandparents...
His Great Grandparents...
His Great Great Grandparents...
His Great Great Great Grandparents...


Five degrees of separation from the Crimean War... (And no Kevin Bacon).


This has encouraged me to look further into my families past... My Great Grandfather was in the Argyles at the turn of the 20th Century... If his Father or Grandfather served it the ranks... Who knows where that will lead...
It will be interesting to find out one way or another...


Many thanks to Aidan for letting me share this piece of his family history...


All the best   Aly

Remembrance Day...

Last year I posted some pictures of family members from my fathers side...
This year my brother sent me some images of my family from my mothers side...

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

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..

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...

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...

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.

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...

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