Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Helles Memorial | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.115 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 12D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Early Life :
John was born c.1876 in Banchory, Aberdeenshire.His first marriage was to Catherine Davidson in 1900 resulting in the birth of John Edward (b.1901). The both appear innocuously on the 1901 Census as John G and Kate, but his trade, tailor's cutter, and his place of birth betray him. They are living at 78 Gainsborough Road, in the Arthurs Hill area of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Sadly, Catherine died in 1904. John did not marry again until 1906, when he took Isabella, nee Hedley, (b. Jarrow 1880) as his wife. By her, they had more children James Davidson (b.1904) and Renee (b.1908).
In 1911 was living in 87 High Street Blyth with 2 sons and 1 daughter. They had sadly lost 2 children by the time of the 1911 census.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 23/Northumberland Fusiliers (Tyneside Scottish) |
| Action : The Battles of the Somme 1916 |
The Battle of the Somme 1st July - 18th November 1916 is inevitably characterised by the appalling casualties (60,000) on the first day, July 1st 1916. Having failed to break through the German lines in force, and also failed to maximise opportunities where success was achieved, the battle became a series of attritional assaults on well defended defence in depth. The battle continued officially until 18th November 1916 costing almost 500,000 British casualties. German casualties were about the same, and French about 200,000. The Somme could not be counted a success in terms of ground gained or the cost, but it had a strategic impact as it marked the start of the decline of the German Army. Never again would it be as effective whilst the British Army, learning from its experience eventually grew stronger to become a war winning army. The German High Command recognised that it could never again fight another Somme, a view that advanced the decision to invoke unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain of food and material, and in doing so accelerated the United States declaration of war thus guaranteeing the eventual outcome. 287 Brethren were killed on the Somme in 1916.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Blagdon No. 659 E.C. | Northumberland |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
8th October 1911 | 17th December 1912 | 20th March 1912 |
Discrepancies (Require checks, clarity or further research) :
Original record here was for J F Anderson, which was naturally difficult to tie records down to. A manual search of the records of Blagdon Lodge in the ledgers at United Grand Lodge show that there is only one Anderson in their records for a reasonable time frame - Found to be John Glennie Anderson. [[J F Anderson d. 16Aug1915 Glasgow Yeomanry, Gallipoli (Helles Memorial) - Blagdon Lodge))
At his initiation he is a 35 year old Tailor's Cutter, resident at 87 High Street, Blyth. The contribution register shows two years absence 1914-5 followed by "Killed in Action July 1916"
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