Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Loos Memorial | Panel 115 to 119. Loos | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.129 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 35C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Early Life :
See also: Susan's Family Site."Born in 1873, he was a traveller like most of his family. For 15 years he served in the Malabar Volunteer Rifles based in Nilgiri, Travancore, India. He started as a 2nd lieutenant and rose to Captain. In 1912 he resigned due to pressure of business and went back to Scotland to get married! Looking in the British Army Lists I found out that he joined the regiment in 1897 when he was 24! He got his captaincy on 24th December 1902. He also passed an exam in Drill! His record said that he was stationed in Calicutt and later in Cochin.
He married Esther Corse Scott on 19th March 1912 (His father's name is given incorrectly as Alister on the entry, it should have been Alexander) and was over in Scotland on holiday when he volunteered for the 8th Battalion Gordon Highlanders (his father's old regiment) on 01/09/1914. He died on the Somme on 25/09/1916. His body was never found."
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 8/Gordon Highlanders |
8th (Service) Battalion Formed at Aberdeen in August 1914 as part of K1 and attached to 26th Brigade in 9th (Scottish) Division. Moved to Aldershot and in February 1915 went to Bordon. Landed at Boulogne on 10 May 1915. 7 May 1916 : moved to Bethune and transferred to 44th Brigade in 15th (Scottish) Division. Four days later amalgamated with 10th Bn to form 8/10th Bn. 6 June 1918 : reduced to cadre, with surplus troops going to 1/5th Bn. The cadre was disbanded on 17 August 1918. |
| Action : The Battle of Loos and associated actions |
"The Battle of Loos (25 September to 18 October 1915) was the major battle on the Western Front in 1915, surpassing in every respect all that had gone before in terms of numbers of men and materiel committed to battle. The preliminary bombardment was the most violent to date and the battle was charaterised by the committment of Regular and Territorial battalions on a large scale, in which the Territorials performed just as well as the Regulars. As the battles on the Western Front in 1915 increased in size and violence, so the casualties increased in proportion: Neuve Chapelle 12,000, Aubers Ridge/Festubert 29,000 , Loos 60,000. 1916 was to take the casualty cost to another level. Loos was intended as a minor role in support of French efforts around Arras but circumstances reduced the French effort. It marked the first use of poison gas by the British. Once the initial assualt had failed the battle continued in a series of actions mostly focused on the northern sector around the tactically important Hohenzollern Redoubt."
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Kerala No. 2188 E.C. | Madras |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
2nd July 1896 | 6th August 1896 | 3rd September 1896 |
Listed as a Merchant at Calicut when initiated into Kerala Lodge in 1896. The register of Kerala Lodge shows that Ian "Died 6 May 1914 which, if true, would precede the Great War and negate the imperative to create an entry in the 1921 Book. He is, though, listed in that book as Past Master, Past District Grand Sword Bearer (Madras).
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