KIRKTOWN OF DESKFORD

The details of each man below were researched by Ann Marr of Lincoln, a native of nearby Ordiquhill. Her grandfather, C.S.M. Wiliam Ogilvie, 2nd Battn, The Gordon Highlanders fell in action during the liberation of Best, Holland on 25th September 1944. These details appear here with her kind permission. The Deskford War Memorial The memorial was unveiled by Proffessor Ashley Mackintosh in June 1921. There is a description of the memorial and of the day’s events in the Banffshire Advertiser on 16th June 1921, which is available from Moray local studies centre Elgin. The Great War 1914--1919 Alexander Cruickshank - son of Mrs Cruickshank, 12 Bridge St, Keith, husband of Marjory S. B. Cruickshank, 2, Ballach Rd, Keith, he was born and enlisted in Keith and is also commemorated on Employees of the GNSR Memorial, Joint Station, Aberdeen and Keith War Memorial. During peacetime Alexander was a Farm servant who lived in Deskford but joined the Gordon Highlanders as a Private, Service No 9252, and served in the 8th/10th Battalion. He was killed in action on 20 APR 1917. This was during the battle of Arras. Alexander’s death is commemorated at ref. A. 9.Hibers Trench Cemetery, Wancourt, Pas de Calais, France. This is the Libindex Reference No. NM026173 and his death is reported in the Banffshire Advertiser on 24/05/1917, 5/2 William Duncan – son of Mr. James and Mrs. Helen Duncan, of Faichyhill, Deskford but born in Grange. He enlisted at Keith and joined the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders and became a Corporal, service No. 679. He died, aged 22, of his wounds at Le Havre, on the 19th March 1915. During the First World War, Le Havre was one of the ports at which the British Expeditionary Force disembarked. William’s grave is at ref Div. 19. A. 7.Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France. Ste. Marie Cemetery is actually situated in the commune of Graville-St. Honorine Robert John Farquhar – son of Mr. James Farquhar and his wife Margaret Chapman, Muir of Squaredoch, Deskford was born on 6th October 1898 at Deskford. He enlisted in Keith and became a Lance Corporal in 'B' Coy the 1/6th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders. His service number was No. 10999. He died of his wounds, on the 7th January, 1917, aged 18, at the 1st South African Hospital, Abbeville and is buried at II. B. 9 Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France. There is a Libindex entry for him Reference No. NM048290 and his death is recorded on his parent’s gravestone in Deskford cemetery. James Ingram – Son of James and Isabella Ingram, of Upper Craibstone, Deskford, Cullen. He was born at Ruthven and baptised in St John’s Deskford “James Ingram, Labourer, Greens of Blairoch, had a child by Isabella Topp, Born 16th September, 1894, and Baptised on 5th May, 1895, named JAMES INGRAM. Witnesses Mrs. Brander and Mrs. Bremner.”He enlisted at Aberdeen. He became Private, No. 58948, 3/6th Gordon Highlanders, but was serving in the 178th Coy, Machine Gun Corps when he died of his wounds on 22nd August, 1917. He is buried in Plot H. Row 3. Grave 9.Calais Southern Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Calais Southern Cemetery is a civil cemetery lying on the south of the old main road to Dunkerque. Donald Stewart (Stuart) - Son of Annie Stuart, of Cultain, Fordyce, Banffshire, and the late James Stuart. He enlisted at Portsoy. He was Private Donald Stuart, No. 1470, G Company, 1/6th Battalion Gordon Highlanders, when he was killed in action, on 16th May, 1915 aged 17. Memorial Reference Panel 39 to 41at Le Touret Memorial. This is on the main road between Bethune and Armentieres. Over 13,000 names are listed on the memorial of men who fell in this area before 25 September 1915 and who have no known grave. It covers the period from the arrival of the II Corps in Flanders in 1914 to the eve of the Battle of Loos. He is also commemorated at Fordyce Academy Alexander Taylor - son of Mr. James Taylor, Bell Croft, Deskford. Private Alexander Taylor, S/8399, C Company, 11th Platoon, 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders, B.E.F., France; died of his wounds on the 5th April, 1918,. He is buried in grave P. VII. I. 7B St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen. Charlie Taylor – son of Mr. Brodie Taylor, farmer at Swailend then Mains of Skeith, Deskford and his wife Jessie nee McWillie. He was born Ruthven and Baptised at St John’s Deskford “Brodie Taylor, Crofter, Braeside, had a child by Jessie McWillie, Born 12th May, 1897, and Baptised on 19th September, 1897, named CHARLES TAYLOR. Witnesses David Wood and Robert Duncan.”. He enlisted at Aberdeen. Charles was Private No. 242475, of A Company, 3rd Platoon, 1/7th Battalion Gordon Highlanders, British Expeditionary Force, when he was killed in action 12th of April, 1918, aged 20 years. He is remembered on Panel 19 of the Ploegsteert Memorial. Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium. This is about 6 miles south of Ieper. (Ypres) The Ploegsteert Memorial commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen who died in this sector during the First World War and have no known grave. Those commemorated by the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south. Most were killed in the course of the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this part of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere. His Libindex Reference is No. NM189300 and Deskford Headstone Ref D62 William McGregor – Son of William and Mary McGregor, of Kirktown, Deskford, Cullen. He was born and enlisted at Edinburgh. William was a Private, No. S/11188, D Company, 14th Platoon, 1st Battalion Black Watch, (Royal Highlanders) B.E.F. France, when he was killed in action on 19th July, 1918, aged 41. Grave/Memorial Reference III. H. 779 at the Meteren Military Cemetery. Meteren is a village 17.5 kilometres southwest of Ieper, (Ypres) Belgium. German forces occupied Meteren early in October 1914 and on 13 October, the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division captured their entrenched positions covering the village. The village then remained in Allied hands until the German offensive of April 1918. The 33rd Division held it against heavy German attacks on 13 April, but it was lost on the 16th. The sector was then taken over by French troops for a time, but on 19th July, the 9th (Scottish) Division recovered the site of the village after a fortnight's bombardment, which completely destroyed the houses. George Benzies – Son of William and Charlotte Benzie, of Baronne, Deskford, Cullen, He was born and enlisted at Cullen. Private George, service No. 316451, of B. Company, 13th (Scottish Horse) Battalion, Black Watch was killed in action 17th October 1918 aged 22. His memorial is Grave/Memorial Reference III. B. 21 at the Highland Cemetery, Le Cateau, Nord, France. Le Cateau is a small town about 19 kilometres southeast of Cambrai. After the Battle of Le Cateau (26 August 1914), the town remained in German hands until the middle of October 1918. The original cemetery (Plot III) was made by the 50th (Northumbrian) Division after the fighting of 17 October; the name of Highland Cemetery is suggestive at once of the comparatively high ground on which it stands and of the 32 graves of the 13th (Scottish Horse) Battalion, Black Watch, found in this plot. George Cruickshank – Son of Jane Cruickshank, of Berryhillock Mills, Deskford, Cullen, Banffshire, and the late Robert Cruickshank, miller. From baptismal register of St John’s Deskford ” R. Cruickshank, Snr., Miller, Berryhillock, had a child by his wife Jane Mackimmie, Born 8th June, 1890, and Baptised on 3rd September, 1890, named GEORGE CRUICKSHANK. Witnesses R. Cruickshank and Jessie Cruickshank.” George enlisted in Cullen. In civilian life George was a farmer and miller, like his Dad, but in the army he was Lance Serjeant (sic) George Cruickshank, Serial number 267205, in the Black Watch, D Company, 6th Bn. Scottish Horse. He had already served at Gallipoli before he was posted to France with the B.E.F. He died there on 21st March 1918, aged 27. His sacrifice is recorded on Bay 6 of the Arras Memorial. The Arras Memorial commemorates almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918, the eve of the Advance to Victory, and have no known grave. The most conspicuous events of this period were the Arras offensive of April-May 1917, and the German attack in the spring of 1918. His death is also recorded on his parent’s grave in Deskford, no D124 and his Libindex reference no is NM027745. George’s Mother, Jane carried on the business of Miller at Berryhillock after his death. William Murdoch – Son of William and Margaret D. Murdoch nee Lorimer, of Kirktown, Deskford; husband of Jeannie C. Murray Murdoch, of Orchard Cottage, Deskford, Cullen, Banffshire. He was born Deskford enlisted Keith. Lance Corporal William Murdoch, No. 31107, was serving in A Company, No. 2 Platoon 14th Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry, when he died of his wounds on 12th January, 1917, aged 37. (There is some confusion as he is also recorded as a Private) He is buried at II. L. 19. Grove Town, Cemetery, Meaulte, France. Meaulte is a village a little south of Albert. In September 1916, the 34th and 2/2nd London Casualty Clearing Stations were established at this point, known to the troops as Grove Town, to deal with casualties from the Somme battlefields. Alexander Murray – son of Mr. W. Murray, Hollandbush. He was born in Ordiquhill, enlisted Banff but his home was Cullen. Private Alexander Murray, No. 59526, A Company, 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers was killed in action on, 24th October, 1917. His memorial, with many more is on Panels 19 to 23 and 162 of the Tyne Cot memorial, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing forms the north-eastern boundary of Tyne Cot Cemetery, which is located about 5 miles north east of Ieper town centre. The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders, which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. The Salient was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge. The Second Battle of Ypres began in April 1915 when the Germans released poison gas, the first time it was used, into the Allied lines north of Ypres. After this there was little significant activity on this front until 1917, when in the Third Battle of Ypres, the Commonwealth forces mounted an offensive. The initial attempt in June to dislodge the Germans from the Messines Ridge was a complete success, but the main assault, northeastward, which began at the end of July, quickly became a dogged struggle against determined opposition and the rapidly deteriorating weather. The campaign finally came to a close in November with the capture of Passchendaele Alexander Ross – Son of Alexander and Mary Ross, nee Duncan, farmer’s of Kirkton, Deskford, Cullen, Banffshire. Driver, Alexander Ross, Service No T4/083079, of the Royal Army Service Corps, 28th Division, Base H.T. Depot (Salonika) aged, 27 was unlucky when he drowned on the 2nd June 1917 when the “SS* Cameronian” was torpedoed north of Alexandria with the loss of only 49 officers and men. Other ships sunk at the same time lost up to four times as many. His loss is recorded on the Chatby Memorial, Alexandria, Egypt. The Chatby Memorial commemorates almost 1,000 Commonwealth servicemen who died during the First World War and have no other grave but the sea. Libindex reference No. NM151449 His death is recorded on the family stone in Deskford ref D112. *Steam Ship James Stephen – Son of James Stephen and Elizabeth McGuire Stephen, of Deskford and husband of Mary Ann Tait Stephen, of 27, Shore St., Fraserburgh. James Donald Stephen was an Engineman of the Royal Naval Reserve, Service No 1443/ES. He drowned at Portsmouth, on 13th April, 1915, aged 32, when the “mine-sweeper”, H.M. Trawler 'Egbert' was sunk. He is buried at reference E 21.30 in Haslar Royal Naval Cemetery at Gosport, Hants. During both wars, Gosport was a significant seaport and Naval depot, with many government factories and installations based there, as well as the Haslar Naval Hospital. James Gray – son of Mr. James Gray, Farmer Meikle Knowes, Deskford and Jessie Ann Alexander. Private James Gray, No. 268122, B Company, 5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Saskatchewan Regiment); died of his wounds on 10th November, 1917. His death is recorded on Panel 18-26-28 of the Menin Gate Ypres, Belgium. At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 the eastern exit from Ypres was a cutting through the remains of the ancient ramparts, with the road crossing the moat. This cutting was known as the Meenenpoorte, which translates as the Menin Gate. From October 1914 British and Commonwealth troops began to march through the Meenenpoorte from the city of Ypres onto “The Menin Road” and into the battlefields of the Ypres Salient. For the next four years of the Great War soldiers from practically every British and Commonwealth regiment passed through this gateway. Many thousands of soldiers in the British Army lost their lives fighting in the Ypres Salient. The remains of over 90,000 of them have never been found or identified. They are, therefore, buried somewhere in the Ypres Salient with no known grave and so it was decided that this gate would be a fitting memorial. Still each night at 8 P.M., nearly 100 years later, a member of Ieper’s fire brigade plays the Last Post and very moving it is too. The Remembrance Day ceremonies are also held here, which is an experience I was privileged to have and will never forget. It was doubly special in that that Remembrance Sunday was actually the 11th. James’ Libindex reference is No. NM067307. He is also recorded on the family grave in Deskford reference D65. Edward Currie – was the son of John and Jane Currie, of 49, Wyndham Rd., Mataura, Southland, New Zealand. He was a Serjeant (sic), service no, 24/1008 in the 1st Bn. 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade. He died aged 23 on the 9th of June 1917. His grave reference is III. C. 151. in the Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension (Nord). Bailleul is a large town in France, near the Belgian border, 14.5 kilometres southwest of Ieper and on the main road from St. Omer to Lille. Bailleul was occupied on 14 October 1914 by the 19th Brigade and the 4th Division. It was a corps headquarters until July 1917, when it was severely bombed and shelled. Baptiam at Free church Deskford “JOHN CURRIE , farmer, Burnside, in the Parish of Rathven, had a child by his wife JANE GARDNER, Born 16th October, 1893, and Baptised 10th January, 1894, named EDWARD.”. Robert Wood – Son of Elsfiel Wood, of Cottarclump, Deskford, Cullen, Banffshire, Scotland, and the late David Wood. Lance Corporal Robert Wood, No. 14018, 8th Otago Company, 2nd Brigade, New. Zealand Expeditionary Force, died of his wounds at Rouen, 30th October 1917 aged 30. His grave is P. III. Q. 1B at the St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen. For cemetery details see Alexander Taylor above. Robert’s Libindex reference is No. NM200617. He is also recorded on the family grave in Deskford reference D105. The Second World War 1939--1945 John Urquhart Burns – called Jock, Son of Robert Burns and of Mary Jane Burns (nee Urquhart), Mid Street, Keith; husband of Elsie Duncan Burns (nee Maclean), of Milton, Deskford, Banffshire. He was a Private in the 2nd Bn, Gordon Highlanders, Service No 2888497. He was killed in action on the 28th of November 1944, aged 31 when he stepped on a landmine. His Libindex reference No. is NM236525 and an account of his death can be found in the Banffshire Herald on the 16th of December 1944 page 1 column 1. His Grave reference is VI. G. 5. Cemetery Venray War Cemetery. Venray is located 40 kilometres east of Eindhoven in the southeast province of Limburg, Holland. The Netherlands fell to the Germans in May 1940 and was not re-entered by Allied forces until September 1944. The town of Venray was liberated by Allied troops in the middle of October 1944, and the burials in the cemetery date from October 1944 to March 1945 Alexander Rennie McConnachie – Son of John and Williamina McConnachie, Bloomfield, (next door to my maternal great grandparents) Deskford, Banffshire was the eldest of a family of ten. His siblings included Nora, Betty and Ian. Alexander was a time served joiner with John Gordon, Berryhillock. He and Ian were in the Territorials and were both called up immediatly war broke out. Alexander was a Private in the 6th Bn, Gordon Highlanders, Service No 2880037 and was evacuated from France at Dunkirk in 1940. He was killed in action in North Africa on the 30th of April 1943, aged 23. Libindex reference No. NM105101 His death is also recorded on his parents headstone Ref D56 and he is buried in grave reference V. L. 3. Cemetery Massicault War Cemetery . Massicault War Cemetery is about 25 kilometres southwest of Tunis, Tunisia, Africa. In May 1943, the war in North Africa came to an end in Tunisia with the defeat of the Axis powers by a combined Allied force. The campaign began on 8 November 1942, when Commonwealth and American troops made a series of landings in Algeria and Morocco. The Germans responded immediately by sending a force from Sicily to northern Tunisia, which checked the Allied advance east in early December. Meanwhile, in the south, the Axis forces defeated at El Alamein were withdrawing into Tunisia along the coast through Libya, pursued by the Allied Eighth Army. By mid April 1943, the combined Axis force was hemmed into a small corner of northeastern Tunisia and the Allies were grouped for their final offensive. Many of those buried at Massicault War Cemetery died in the preparation for the final drive to Tunis in April 1943 and in that advance at the beginning of May. I have a beautiful mourning card with a picture of Alexander which his parents sent to my Grandma at the time of his death. William Ogilvie – Son of John and Mary Ogilvie, Badenhannen, Deskford; husband of Netta Ogilvie (born Jessie Johnston Gray at, Easter Gollachy, Buckie), of Burnside Smiddy, Fordyce. He was a Warrant Officer Class II (Company Sergeant Major), Service No 2872417, serving with the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders. Bill had already served for 7 years, from 1925 to 1933, in the Gordons, spending much of that time in India at the Khyber Pass. He rejoined for a 21year term in 1937. He died near Best, Holland on 25th of September 1944, aged 37. A newspaper cutting from the time tells the story of his death. I’ve quite a few cuttings but none with dates, or which paper they come from, recorded on them. The story of German perfidy was revealed by Major D.C.D. Duff (Gordon Highlander) of Edinburgh, the only one of the Scots to escape unwounded. “In the attack we had taken between 40 and 50 German prisoners” Major Duff said ”and we were busy rounding them up when on our right flank some more Germans came forward carrying Red Cross flags. As we moved over to collect them in as well they dropped their flags and opened fire on us with automatic weapons. With their first burst they killed eight of their comrades among our prisoners and several of my men. To make things more difficult, the rest of the prisoners panicked. Somehow we managed to get behind the cover of the railway embankment and we also got nearly 40 of our prisoners back. I think this was largely due to the sacrifice of CSM W Ogilvie. He summed up the situation in a flash, and grabbing a Bren gun and firing from the hip, he advanced towards the Germans until he was fatally wounded.” For his bravery Bill was mentioned in despatches. His grave reference is IV. F. 5. Cemetery Mierlo War Cemetery near Eindhoven. His death is also recorded on the Fordyce Memorial and on his parent’s gravestone in Grange cemetery. Libindex reference No. is NM145592. The Mierlo cemetery was started in the spring of 1945 when graves were brought in from the surrounding district, most of them being casualties of September-November 1944. At that time the main fighting was concerned with clearing the region south and west of the Maas and with opening up the Scheldt estuary further west. Helmond itself was occupied on 25th of September 1944. If you want to know the day to day details of the 2nd Battalions from Jan 1944 there is a wonderful diary on the Gordons website. www.thegordonhighlanders.co.uk/diary_sergeantjsrobertson.htm . Bill’s wife, Netta, was not informed officially of his death until the 1st of November but before that Jock Burns’(above) had written to his wife telling her that Bill was dead and she’d passed on the news to Netta. William Ogilvie is also commemorated on the war memorial at Fordyce. George Fordyce – Son of John and Margaret Fordyce, of Drybridge, Banffshire. He was a private in the 5th Bn, Seaforth Highlanders service no 2883801. He died on the 11th of September 1944 aged 25. His grave reference is Divn. 67. Row H. Grave 6. in the Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, France. Ste. Marie Cemetery is one of the town cemeteries, but it is actually situated in the commune of Graville-St. Honorine. It stands on the ridge overlooking Le Havre from the north. John Cruickshank – Son of Robert Cruickshank and Rachel Cruickshank (nee Matheson), of Deskford. B.Sc. Agriculture; their address was Lintmill and Moss-side, Deskford. John was a Flying Officer (Navigator.) in 59 Sqdn, the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service no.152578. He died on the 19th of June 1944 age 22. He was killed in action and his military grave is also in Deskford churchyard as well as a mention on his parent’s stone. Ref’s D 9 and 11. His libindex Reference No. is NM028688. Marshall Simpson – Foster son of Robert and Jane Raffan, of Deskford, Banffshire. Marshall was an Able Seaman in the Royal Navy. He served on H.M.S. Ardent and died aged 19 on the 08th of June 1940. His service number was D/SSX 24356. His Memorial Reference is Panel 38, Column 2. Memorial Plymouth Navel Memorial. HMS Ardent was an A class destroyer built by Scott's on 26th June 1929. On the afternoon of Saturday the 8th of June, 1940, the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and her escorting destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent were intercepted in the Norwegian Sea by the German battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. The three British ships were sunk by gunfire in a little over two hours, with the loss of over 1500 officers and men of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Air Force. James Wilson – The Royal Scots. – Son of Alexander and Helen Calder Wilson, Crofter, Aultmore. James was a corporal in the 2nd battalion Royal Scots, service number 2872587. He died near Hong Kong on the 15th of December 1941, aged 36. ( I actually found him by checking all Deskford baptisms and cross checking against servicemen’s recorded parents on CWGC. I’ve baptismal records for both churches in Deskford if anyone needs a lookup) His grave or memorial reference is II. K. 9. in the Sai Wan War Cemetery, in the north-east of the island of Hong Kong about 11 kilometres from the centre of Victoria. At the entrance to the cemetery on Cape Collinson Road stands the memorial to those who died in Hong Kong and have no known grave. Hong Kong fell to the Japanese on Christmas Day 1941 following a brief but intense period of fighting.