Auld Earlston: War & Remembrance

Showing posts with label War & Remembrance. Show all posts

Saturday 30 July 2022

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: