Auld Earlston: War & Remembrance

Showing posts with label War & Remembrance. Show all posts

Friday, 8 November 2024

Earlston War Memorial - A short history

In mid-January 1919, and perhaps embarrassed by the poor turnout at the December meeting, the Secretary of the Men’s Committee, John Weatherston, called a meeting to discuss how to provide a war memorial. At the meeting, under the chairmanship of John Neil, a motion by Colonel Hope was carried – that a large committee would be appointed to consider the matter. And the committee was certainly large, with thirty-seven members. Colonel Hope was the chairman, Dodds, the bank manager, was the treasurer, the Reverend Davidson represented the church and George Dove, as the Mellerstain Estate Factor, represented the Earl of Haddington. Only seven of the dead were represented by family members, and only one member of the committee, Bill Frater, had seen active service.

Within a month of that meeting, the committee considered a proposed design that would incorporate a Runic Cross with the names of the dead inscribed around the base. This design was deemed acceptable by the majority of the committee, and, more importantly, by Lady Binning of Mellerstain. Lady Binning vetoed the suggestion that the memorial be erected in the square opposite the Corn Exchange and indicated that she would accept the memorial being sited on the Green. And so, without any apparent sense of irony, the memorial to commemorate victory at the Battle of Waterloo was demolished to erect a monument to another war.

(L)The well pump and memorial to the Battle of Waterloo and the end of the Napoleonic Wars
(R) Dismantling the memorial to make way for the war memorial

Captain Mitchell told the committee that some places had decided to build cottages in memory of the fallen, which were to be given to the severely wounded, but this concept was not progressed. The Veterans Housing Association had been formed in 1915, but it would not be until after the Second World War that Earlston would provide two houses on Mill Road for veterans under this scheme.

It was agreed that a public meeting be held on 5 March to ‘settle the question’ regarding the final design.

On the last Wednesday in February, Earlston school children were given a half-day holiday, owing to a visit to the village of a ‘Whippet’ tank. The Scottish War Committee arranged visits to the towns and villages of Berwickshire as a token of thanks for their contribution to the war effort. Earlston had financed three larger tanks in response to the War Implements Investment Week, and this was an opportunity for villagers to see a tank, albeit a smaller, lighter version, up close. The tank trundled its way along the High Street from the east end of the village. It was notoriously difficult to control, but its two-man crew (on this occasion) managed to prevent it hitting anyone and made numerous stops so that curious adults and children could marvel at this war machine.

In late February, John Hardie, who had already lost one son in Gallipoli, received news from his daughter-in-law in Canada that his remaining son, James, had been killed at the Battle of Vimy, in September 1918. The report didn’t come through official channels, but a soldier who was in the same platoon as James had informed his widow on his return to Canada.

A week later in early March, villagers found out that Robert Johnston had died in a German hospital, where he was being treated for his wounds following his capture.

A brief announcement of the War Memorial Committee meeting was reported in the Scotsman on 13 March, which read: ‘Earlston – It has been decided to erect on the West Green, Earlston, a Runic or Ionic cross as the memorial to the local men who have fallen in the War’. However, the final design did not have the agreement of the entire committee, as suggested in the Scotsman.

When the committee met in mid-April the chairman, Colonel Hope, tabled the minutes of the previous meeting, which reported that it had been decided that, ‘Under all the circumstances the best memorial that could be erected would be a Northumbrian or Early Christian Cross’. However, the vice-chairman, Mr J.M.D. Simpson, advised the committee that he had agreed to the cross design on his understanding that a bronze figure or statue would be too expensive, but had learned post-meeting that the cost was not nearly as much as he had been told.

Despite this new information, Colonel Hope proposed that a cross be erected, which was seconded by Mr Aitkenhead. Mr John Weatherston made a countermotion and proposed that a figure, rather than a cross be erected, provided the necessary funds could be raised. Mr W. Frater seconded this countermotion, and the motion was carried. The committee agreed to invite Mr Thomas Clapperton, a well-known local sculptor, to the next meeting to offer advice.

Clapperton was born in Galashiels in 1879, and studied at Galashiels Mechanics Institute before winning a scholarship to study at Glasgow Art School. He also studied at Kennington School of Art in London and the Royal Academy Schools. By the time he was invited to speak to the War Memorial Committee, he had been commissioned to design the Flodden Memorial at Braxton and the Mungo Park Memorial in Selkirk. Arguably his two most viewed works are the Robert the Bruce statue mounted on the wall at the entrance to Edinburgh Castle, and a frieze on the Liberty Building in London.

At his meeting with the committee in late April, Clapperton outlined his vision for the memorial, which would consist of the figure of a soldier in uniform. The statue would be cast in bronze and stand about six feet six inches high. The memorial would have a granite base on which bronze panels, inscribed with the name of the dead, would be mounted.

We can only assume that the committee gave Clapperton the go-ahead to finalize his design and the final cost.

In August 1919, the committee announced that it intended to raise £2,000 (equivalent to approx. £58,000 in today’s money) to erect the memorial. Funds would be raised by voluntary subscriptions and not by entertainment, which was in contrast with the fundraising events for the war effort. Contributions could be made either as single sums or as instalments.

Tom Murdison, a committee member, was so passionate that a fitting memorial be erected that he felt compelled to compose an appeal to Earlstonians:

To Earlston Natives at Home and Abroad

For the sake of the auld hame, and bygone days and tender memories, may I ask if you can kindly help us with our War Memorial Scheme. We are desirous that every Earlstonian – near and far – might have the opportunist of remembering his or her native village in this fashion. Better there could not be. The brave boys (48 in number) who gave their all for us, were our and your successors here - laddies who, like many of us, in the long ago, played about the street of the old place, who spent many a glorious hour ‘paddling’ in the burn and the Leader, speeling’ the Black Hill, picking’ the berries, the room and the wild rose on our bonnie banks and braes, bird nesting’ in the charming woods of Carolside and Cowdenknowes or kicking’ the ba’ on the Green around the old pump well.’ For their sakes, and also to enable us to record their immortal names on imperishable bronze through out the ages, we shall gladly welcome whet you care to send us. with sincerest greetings from Leaderside, about which our local weaver-poet, the late James Sanderson, wrote nearly 80 years ago:

O’er pebbly beds, by wooded banks,

The Leader rushes on,

By Rhymer’s Tower and Blaikie’s grave

That tell of time long ago.

To me more dear these sylvan shades,

Than rivers more renowned.

Loved memories linger on thy banks

As on enchanted ground.

Murdison planned that every house in Earlston should receive a copy of the appeal, but how he intended to supply Earlstonians ‘living abroad’ is not known.

Sadly, his appeal and other fundraising efforts failed to reach the £2,000 target. And so, instead of Clapperton’s bronze statue, his more modest Celtic cross design was built. The memorial was described as a:

Celtic Cross, with interlacing bands on all four sides, executed in Freetown granite, and stands on a rustic granite base in which are fixed three bronze panels bearing the names of the fallen and on the front the following dedicatory inscription: ‘To the Glory of God and in memory of 48 men of the Parish of Earlston who gave their lives for King and Country during the Great War, 1914–1918. Their name liveth for evermore’.

The work was executed by Messrs G. Sutherland and Sons of Galashiels, at a total cost of £650.

It would be natural to assume that the names of the dead inscribed on the memorial were from Earlston parish, or at least have some family connection with the village, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

A service of commemoration was held in the village church in January when the Reverend Walter Davidson conducted the devotional part of the service and the Reverend James Turner preached the sermon. The names of the fallen were read out. Comparing those names with those inscribed on the memorial we find that Privates James Dunn, Thomas Blackie, Robert Anderson and William Bell are not listed on the memorial.

Thomas Blackie was born in Earlston, but his name appears on the Hawick memorial; William Bell’s father lived in a cottage at Town Farm in Earlston yet his name is recorded on Lilliesleaf memorial, as is Robert Anderson, who lived and worked in Redpath, a village less than 2 miles from Earlston. Thomas Faichney, whose parents lived in Hawick, is listed on the memorial. Robert Halliday, whose mother lived at Bridgehaugh Mill, Earlston, is listed neither on the memorial nor was mentioned during the service. Lance Corporal James Rogers, whose wife lived in Earlston, was similarly absent from the service list and the memorial.

It is sobering to consider that the number of war dead from a small village might well exceed the forty-eight men recorded on the memorial.

Although the War Memorial Committee continued to argue over what was ‘the best’ tribute to Earlston’s dead, a peace celebration was held in July 1919, which took the form of a picnic on the banks of the Leader River, close to Cowdenknowes House, home of Colonel and Mrs Hope. A sports day was held in a field at Sorrowlesfield Farm on the other side of the river, connected by bridge to the picnic site. That evening a beacon was lit on the summit of the Blackhill and a firework display was held.

Newspaper coverage of the event suggested that it was very well supported. The reports include the names of the successful athletes in the family sports events. Few, if any, of those watching the children run their races would have imagined that in twenty years’ time that generation would also be ordered to fight another war.

Two years later, on the afternoon of 13 November 1921, the unveiling ceremony of the war memorial took place. A sizeable crowd gathered for the occasion, with the ceremony presided over by Colonel Hope. Before asking his wife to unveil the memorial, he addressed the crowd. His speech concluded:

'This memorial cross which we are about to unveil will keep the memories of these brave men always before the minds of those seeing it from day to day or passing by it from time to time. We are proud also to see present today so many of those gallant men who went forth from this parish and have been spared to return to their homes. And now having all pulled together to win the war – for I really think that those who had to stay at home did something to help – shall we not all pull together to win the true peace and prosperity which are so much wanted throughout the world after all the devastations of the war.'

This text is an extract from 'A Village At War' by JJ Price

Edward Weatherly (1892-1946) - Earlston Soldier, Baker & Confectioner

The third part of our Weatherly Story profiles the life of Edward Weatherly, the son of John P. Weatherly and grandson of Thomas Weatherly who founded the family business in Earlston.

Edward William Sprott Weatherly was born in 1892 to John Patterson Weatherly and Margaret Thomson Winter. Two sisters followed - Ellen Sarah Patterson Weatherly, born in 1889 and Margaret Thomson Weatherly, born in 1891 - both are remembered still today by many local residents.

Edward did not follow in his parents’ footsteps into the family business, but became a baker and confectioner. He was active in the community life of the village as a church elder, President of the Bowling Club and a member of the Rifle Club. As with most men of his generation, the First World War proved a searing experience.

Wartime Service

Edward's Service Record showed that he joined up, ahead of conscription at the age of 22 on the 12th May 1915. His medical record noted his height as 5 feet 8 inches, and his address the Post Office, Earlston.

Edward's signature on his recruitment record.

Edward was badly wounded and was awarded the Military Medal - as revealed in this report in “The Berwickshire News”: 2 November 1918:

“The 2 gallant youths who in last week’s “News” were reported to have been awarded Military Medal are well known Earlston ‘callants’.

(1) Corporal James Burns……… [who will be remembered today by many older residents]

(2) The other distinguished soldier is Gnr. Edward W. S. Weatherly, Postmaster, Earlston, only son of Mr. J. P. Weatherly, Postmaster, Earlston and brother of Misses Weatherly of the Post Office, and Agent for the ‘Berwickshire News’. The gallant Earlstonian comes from of an old Berwick Family.

Gnr. Weatherly volunteered for Active service in Motor Machine Gun Corps, but was afterwards transferred to the Royal Tank Corps.

He has seen active service in France and had many hair-breadth escapes in the imminent deadly tank. As an example of the hardship he endured, he was nearly frozen to death when on sentry-go and after doing his allotted time at his post it was several hours before he could be thawed out of his refrigerated condition and his temperature raised to normal.

A few months ago the tank in which he was serving was struck by an explosive shell and many of its occupants killed. He himself received several severe wounds, the result of one being the loss of his left eye. He has no fewer than 14 wounds in his pelvis.

The doughty deeds of these gallant soldiers thrills everyone who hears it and their fellow townsmen offer them their heartiest congratulations on their display of such fearless bravery and contempt of danger in their defence of King and Country.”

Serving in the Royal Tank Corps - motto "Through mud and blood to the green fields beyond” - was by all accounts an appalling experience. Tanks, known initially as "land battleships" were first in action on the Somme in 1916. Men inside them had to contend with intense heat, noise and exhaust from the engine, violent movement as the tank crossed the ground and molten metal splash as bullets struck the plating. Men would often be violently sick or badly incapacitated. (https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/tank-corps-in-the-first-world-war/)

Edward’s name was recorded in the Roll of Honour printed in “The Berwickshire News: 7th January 1919.

Postwar Family Life

In 1924, Edward married Mary Webb at Holy Trinity Church, Melrose. Three children were born to the marriage - John Patterson Weatherly in 1923, named after his grandfather; Margaret Campbell Weatherly in 1926; and in 1928 Frederick Edward Weatherly.

Edward had worked initially for William Shaw, baker at Lauder, before opening his own business in Earlston in the late 1920s.

Near tragedy hit the family when their young son was involved in a road accident. "The Southern Reporter": 27^th October 1927 noted:

“The four year old son of Mr Edward Weatherly, who has lately opened a cafe in the High Street Earlston, was playing about his father’s premises, when he darted between two heavy wagons attached to a heavy traction engine belonging to Mr James Cochrane, contractor, Earlston. The child was knocked down but extricated by a passer-by. After medical assistance had been procured, it was found that the child’s foot had been badly crushed. He was conveyed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary."

Given that the little boy was not named in the press report, it is assumed this must have been Edward's elder son John, born in 1923. Edward's cafe and bakery on the High Street was next to the Post Office on the east side of Post Office Close.

Edward's cafe and bakery premises in a photograph taken much later around 1987 - the occasion a procession marking the Guild centenary,

During the 1930s several articles in the local press showed that Edward Weatherly of The Café, Earlston, gave demonstrations of Cake Icing at various venues around the area; such a one at Earlston Women’s Rural Institute, as reported in "The Southern Reporter”: 17^th June 1937:

“A meeting of Earlston WRI was held in the Good Templars Hall – Miss Vera Davidson presiding over a large attendance. The demonstration was cake icing and decorating by Mr Edward Weatherly, the Café, Earlston who kindly presented two cakes.”

Edward died in the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh 23 April 1946, with an announcement in “The Scotsman” newspaper - “beloved husband of Mary Webb and son of the late John P. Weatherly, post-master, Earlston."

”The Berwickshire News” of 7^th May 1946 printed an obituary giving us a picture of Edward’s life.

"EARLSTON MAN’S DEATH

The death took place at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after a brief illness, of Mr. Edward Weatherly, The Gables, Earlston, who was in the bakers and confectionery business.

Mr. Weatherly served his apprenticeship at Earlston Co-operative Society and thereafter went to Edinburgh. He returned to his mother’s business at the Earlston Post Office.

At the outbreak of the 1914-18 war, he joined the Tank Corps and was wounded. He was awarded the Military Medal.

He worked in Wm. Muir, Baker, Lauder and in 1927 he opened the business of The Café in Earlston.

Mr. Weatherly was an elder of Ercildoune Church, now the United Parish Church, and was an ardent worker for his Church. Recently he was elected president of the Earlston Bowling Club for the second year in succession. Mr. Weatherly was also a member of the Earlston Rifle Club and a very grand marksman on either the indoor or the outdoor ranges.

Mr. Weatherly is survived by Mrs. Weatherly and two sons and a daughter. The funeral to Earlston was attended by a large company of mourners."

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Postscript:

Edward's widow, Mary survived him by more than forty yeas, until her death in Melrose in 1989, aged 97.

Mrs. Weatherly seated on the right - in possibly a Guild event

Mrs Weatherly, third from the left, on a Guild trip.
Edward's two sisters, Ellen and Margaret took over the running of Earlston Post Office, following their mother's death in 1914. They never married and are remembered today as two rather austere spinsters. Both died in 1970.
Edward's elder son John Patterson Weatherly (1923-2006) became a well known figure in Earlston, taking over from his aunts Ellen and Margaret at the Post Office He qualified as a pilot during the Second World War and was heavily involved in many community organisations. He also served as Cornet in his birthplace of Lauder.
Edward's daughter Margaret, born in 1926, did not marry and died in Earlston in 1993 aged 66.
Edward's son Frederick, known as Fred, was born in Earlston in 1928. He carried on his father's cafe and bakery business for several decades, with Weatherly's Scotch pies and morning rolls special favourites of the local community. Fred died in Melrose in 1994 aged 65.
The two brothers took to the stage in this Earlston Dramatic Club performance.

Fred fourth from left - John third from right.

Sources

Contributed by Susan Donaldson and Sheila McKay

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Wednesday, 5 May 2021

A Village at War: Earlston 1914-1918: A Review

It is nearly 100 years since Earlston War Memorial was unveiled in November 1921. To mark this occasion, Auld Earlston member Jeff Price has published his book “A Village at War: Earlston 1914-1918”. - a description of the village in the war years and its aftermath, interwoven with detailed accounts of the fate that befell the many Earlston men who fought.

The emphasis in the book is very much on the human stories of courage, tragedy, and pathos for both the men and their families back home - it is not just a listing of battles and casualties . Many of the names will be familiar to local residents today.

Jeff takes us in turn through the four years of war, looking at the economic background, notably in relation to mill workers, and the farming community; the post war discussions on the form of a village memorial, and the impact of the war on social change. Contemporary newspapers are a key source of material for the accounts. The book concludes with a Roll of Honour of the men remembered not only in Earlston but in cemeteries and on memorials abroad.

Unveiling of the War Memorial in November 1921.

Photograph from the Auld Earlston Collection

This readable account is a must for anyone interested in the history of the village and the impact of the war on one small community - a valuable addition to the publications available on Earlston.

Available from Amazon in both Kindle and Flexicover format.

Earlston War Memorial, November 2018

Photograph: Neil Donaldson, Earlston

Contributed by Susan Donaldson of the Auld Earlsotn Group

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Sunday, 8 November 2020

Henry David Duff - Remembered on Earlston War Memorial

Henry David Duff (1895-1918)

Henry David Duff was born in Earlston on January 1895, the only son of Archibald Duff, a shoemaker and Helen, with four older sisters, Jane, Annie, Nora and Isabel. His parents came from Perthshire and had moved to the Borders prior to the birth of their three youngest children. The 1901 census saw the young family at 4 Rodger’s Place, Haughhead Road, Earlston. Archibald was described as a “retired” shoemaker, which seems surprising, given his age was noted as 41. Perhaps he was not a well man.

Henry’s Parents: Archibald and Helen Duff, nee McLeish

Ten years on in the 1911 census, 16 year old Henry Duff was working for David Wallace, a local draper and clothier on Earlston High Street.

Earlston High Street c.1910

A later newspaper report (Berwick Advertiser: 19^th February 1916) noted that:

“Henry served his apprenticeship in the establishment of Messrs. Wallace & Sons, drapers and clothiers. Upon its completion he went to London where he was in a situation for a short time, but, not liking the living-in system which is so common in the larger drapery houses, he determined to seek his fortune in the Western Hemisphere."

Emigraion

In 1914, 19 year old Henry emigrated to Canada on board a ship of the Allan Line which carried more young Scots emigrants to Canada than any other line: an estimated 2.3 million people emigrated from Scotland between 1825 and 1938, many of them leaving from the Clyde for Canada

Henry travelled on the S.S. Hesperian from Glasgow, bound for Quebec. The ship was built by Messrs Alex Stephen and Sons, Glasgow for the Allan Line and launched in 1908. A Handbook noted that five of its eight deck were devoted to passenger accommodation and facilities

Henry arrived in Canada on 9th May 1914 and settled in Toronto.

Enlisting in the War Effort

Three months later after Henry’s arrival, Britain and its Empire were at war with Germany. Henry showed his commitment to his new country by joining the Governor of Canada’s Bodyguard. One cannot help speculating on what prompted Henry’s decision at this particular time, for two months before the SS. Hesperian, the ship he had sailed on to Canada, was torpedoed by a German U boat and sank, with the loss of 32 lives.

News of Henry reached Berwickshire, for The Berwick Advertiser of 19^th February 1915 featured a fulsome introduction under the heading “Roll of Honour”:

“Among those Earlstonians who have responded to the call to enlist in the Army for the defence of their King and Country, one has somehow escaped mention among the worthies who have been kept in remembrance by those left behind. We refer to Henry Duff , a lad of about 20 years, son of Mr. Archibald Duff……….

He responded to Lord Kitchener’s call for men, by enlisting in the crack cavalry regiment – no other than the Governor of Canada’s Body Guard. After undergoing some training at Stanley Barracks, Toronto, he was sent away about 500 miles into the backwoods along with a detachment of his regiment to do duty at an encampment for prisoners at a place which is 72 miles from the nearest town. Here he is at present located and in a letter which he has written home to his friends, he expresses himself as well pleased with his surroundings. He is well paid, well fed, and well clad against the rigour of the Canadian climate, his only regret being, that he sees no prospect of being sent to the from where he would very much like to be.” The news item concluded that “Henry is a Good Templar and a non-smoker, so that a share of the tobacco sent to the other Earlston heroes would have been of no use to him.”

Henry’s time at Kapuskasing Internment Camp in Northern Ontario.

In the early years of the twentieth century, Canada recruited large numbers of people from eastern European countries to settle the Prairies and to build up its labour force. When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Canadians' attitude towards immigrants from countries under German or Austro-Hungarian rule suddenly changed. They were now regarded as potential enemy sympathizers rather than valuable contributors to Canada's economic development. The government's solution to this perceived threat to domestic security was to establish, under the War Measures Act, a series of internment camps across the country to detain enemy aliens and prisoners of war for the duration of hostilities – among them Kapuskasing, in a camp carved out of the bush by the prisoners themselves. The Kapuskasing location was one of the largest and the last to close on 24^th February 1920.

Below is a letter, written on birch bark, which Henry wrote to his mother when he was at the camp.

“Via Cochrane

Canada

Oct 4^th 1915

Dear Mother

I guess you’ll be wondering why I’m writing on this stuff. Well you see, it’s the only stuff I can get here. I’m down the river from the camp. There was an officer got drowned here on the 1^st. so there’s a search party trying to find the body, and I’m one of the party. We’ve been here for 3 days but it is a very difficult place to get at as it is a waterfall at the foot of rapids, so we are searching around there but I guess we’ll have to wait till after 9 days we’re going down to put a net across the river. I think that is the best way.

He was just a young fellow and a very nice fellow too, he was a career (?) officer and he had his photo taken along with us just two days before he got drowned.

Well goodbye just now

XXXXXXX best Love from Harry”

Shortly afterwards, The Berwickshire Advertiser: 22^nd October 1915 wrote under the headline “An Ardent and Patriotic Earlstonian”:

“According to letters which have been received by his parents from Henry Duff, who has for some time been serving with the Canadian forces to the west of Toronto, is having a busy time in the far West.

Henry, who served his time with the firm of D. Wallace and Sons, is now engaged in canteen work, and stimulated by the stirring news coming from the various scats of war in Europe, his patriotic spirit prompted him to take part with so many of his youthful countrymen in resisting the aggressions of Germany and Russia.

This feeling on his part was so strong that it prompted him to offer to resign his place in the Canadian Army, and pay his fare back to Scotland, in order that he might join the army so urgently called for by Lord Kitchener and Lord Derby. The Canadian military authorities, however, know when they have got hold of a good man, and they desire to keep him, and for the present have persuaded him to remain and discharge his canteen duties.”

Henry joined the infantry of the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Private in the Central Ontario Regiment 15^th Battalion – service no. 192423. His Attestation Papers have survived in the collection of The Library and Archives of Canada: Personal Records of the First World War and confirm his name, date of birth, birthplace, with his next of kin noted as his mother Helen Duff. His occupation was given as salesman, he was Presbyterian and unmarried. He signed the document on 15^th December 1915.

We also have a description of Henry from the medical section of this record. He was 5.5 inches tall, chest 37 inches, with an expansion of 3 inches. He had a fresh complexion, grey eyes, brown hair, and a mole on his left back, and a scar on the right side of his neck. He was described as a Presbyterian and considered fit.

Action in France

The Berwickshire News: 13th November 1917 reported under Earlston News that “Henry Duff, Canadian Contingent, who has been 15 months in France, has been at Home on short furlough.”

But ten months later Henry, whilst on duty as a runner during operations in the vicinity of Marquoin, was hit in the head by an enemy bullet and instantly killed – the date 27^th September 1918, just six weeks before the Armistice on 11^th November. Henry was just 23 years old/ .

In Remembrance

Henry was buried with 257 other servicemen in the Commonwealth War Graves British Cemetery (below) at Sains-les-Marquoin, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France

Back home Henry’s death was reported in the local press:

“Border Heroes of the War” was the headline in The Southern Reporter: 10^th October 1918: “Pte. Henry Duff, Canadian Highlanders is reported killed. He was the only son of the late Archibald Duff, shoemaker, Earlston and served his apprenticeship in the drapery trade with Messrs. Wallace. He immigrated to Canada and there joined the Canadian contingent.”

The Berwickshire News: 5^th November 1918 noted:

“Rev. Walter Davidson writes as follows in Earlston Presbyterian Supplement of Life and Work for November – “Another splendid young Earlstonian, Pt. Henry Duff, Canadians, after a lengthy period of active service has fallen in the performance of a most heroic, single handed action on the Western Front. To save the lives of his comrades Henry attempted to destroy a machine gun crew. A companion writes, “It was the bravest deed I have seen in the war.” Before going to Canada Henry was a draper with Messrs. Wallace, and his bright and winning disposition made him a favourite with all and an especially welcome visitor on his brief furloughs home during the war. His three sisters, who have also lost both parents this year, have the deepest sympathy of everyone in this fresh and sore bereavement.”

The Canadian Virtual War Memorial paid tribute to Henry: