Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Glasgow (Craigton) Cemetery | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.123 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 13C GQS | |
| 4. Memorial: | Liverpool Masonic Hall War Memorial | Col.2. Hope St. | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Education & Career :
Former Heart of Midlothian Football Club player.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 16/Royal Scots |
16th (Service) Battalion (2nd Edinburgh) Formed at Edinburgh in December 1914 by Lt-Col. G.McCrae, MP. June 1915 : moved to Ripon and attached to 101st Brigade, 34th Division. Moved to Sutton Veny September 1915. Landed at Le Havre 8 January 1916. 16 May 1918 : reduced to cadre strength after suffering heavy casualties. 17 May 1918 : attached to 39th Division. 14 August 1918 : disbanded in France. |
| Action : Natural Causes |
Natural causes is attributed those deaths due to causes that were not directly associated with the war. Included in this are wartime deaths resulting from, for example, theSpanish Influenza pandemic and its associated pneumonia problems and other attributions such as age and exhaustion. It also groups those who through Post Traumatic Stress committed suicide as a result of their experiences.
Detail :
"The former Airdrie, Morton and Liverpool player had been Hearts top league scorer in 1914-15 season, with a then record 28 goals. Tom volunteered in 1914 and picked up an illness on the Western Front from which he eventually died in the Army hospital in Stobhill, Glasgow.
Without such exemplary men such as Gracie and Speedie Hearts died will to finish 5th in the League in 1915-16. While the Scottish Cup was suspended during the War, the League continued with the players earning a maximum of £1 per week.
Hearts team was made up from guests, soldiers, youngsters and vital War workers. An example of the problems facing the clubs occurred in April 1916 when, for the only time, Hearts could not fulfill a League Fixture due to midweek travel problems and not being able to raise a side "worthy of the club" [londonhearts.com - London Hearts Supporters Club]
McCraes Battalion "Gracie however faced a far more serious problem - in March 1915 he was diagnosed with leukemia, a prognosis he had shared only with manager McCartney. Despite his illness and against medical recommendation he decided to continue to play with Hearts and train with his battalion, and indeed scored 4 times during that month. He was still with the battalion when they were sent south to Ripon in June for further training but within weeks he had succumbed to fatigue and was committed to hospital in Leeds for treatment, before being transferred back to Scotland. Gracie died on 23 October 1915 in Stobhill Hospital in his hometown Glasgow and was buried at Craigton Cemetery. His death concluded a dark year for the Gracie family, who had also lost Tom's brother John and brother-in-law Tommy during 1915's hostilities."
See also: Wikipedia.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Derby No. 724 E.C. | West Lancashire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
3rd March 1913 | 23rd April 1913 | 28th May 1913 |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley