Marchmont St Giles’Graveyard Walk

War and Warriors

Cpl John Howie 2nd Lieut George Howie

Sons of Mr and Mrs John Howie, 32 Dublin Street

died 21st March 1918aged 303rd Battalion attached to16th Battalion Royal Scots

died 1 September 1916aged 21K Company,3rd special battalion,Royal Engineers“RIP UNTIL THE DAYDAWNS AND THESHADOWS FLEE AWAY”Buried at Ration farm(L a Plus Douve) Annexe,Belgium

The graveyard is south ofYpres, north ofArmentieres and justnorth of PloegstreetWood, with 11,000names on memorialwithout graves.

His name is on the ArrasMemorial, along with35,000 other soldierswhose remains were notdiscovered.

He died on the first day ofthe German SpringOffensive of 1918 whichwas the last major Germanoffensive of the war calledoperation Michael and hewas on the front line atArras.

Major General Frederick Roome, 1783-1845

He was the son and brother of Major GeneralsHe served in the Indian ArmyFrederick married Evander McIver Roomeborn 1796 - 1875 (born Morrison) in 1824,at age 40 she was 28Evander is buried in the graveyardalthough her husband is buried in Bombay.

They had 6 children. Frederick seems to have beenmarried before Evanderand his first wife was Indian.He appears to have had 4 other children.

Lieut Andrew Ronald LuskDied aged 21 on 30th June 19421st Batt,Kings Own Royal Regiment LancasterHe is commemorated on the El AlameinWar Memorial. The Alamein Memorial forms theentrance to the El Alamein War Cemetery in Egypt.The memorial commemorates nearly 12,000servicemen of the British Empire who died in theWestern Desert campaigns of the Second WorldWar including the Battle of El Alamein.He died the day before the major GermanOffensive called the first battle ofEl Alamein.

David James Theodore LuskFlying OfficerDied aged 24 on 7th May 194022 Squadron of Royal Air ForceHe is buried in the Jonkerbos Cemetery.His grave stone reads“NOR HEIGHT, NOR DEPTH, ... SHALL BE ABLE TOSEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD”Both David and Andrew were thebrothers of Mary Luskwhose married name was Levison,who was the woman who campaignedfor the Ordination of Womenin the Church of Scotland.

Major General Charles IrvineIndian ArmyBorn on 17 February 1823, Tarves, Aberdeen.Father Alexander Forbes Irvine,mother Margaret Hamilton.He became an Officer in the HonorableEast India Company Service, before joiningthe 51st North India Company,then afterwards the Punjab Infantry.in 1843 he went through the Gwalior campaign;he was present at the Battle of Punnair, where he was awarded a medal;he took part in the first Sutlej campaign 1845-46, his regiment being em-ployed on escort of seige trains; he was present at first and second seiges ofMooltan 1848-49, where he was again awarded a medal; was, at time ofoutbreak of Inidan Mutiny, in command of Fort Michmie, and later second incommand of his regiment. He went with the same regiment on Expedition toChina under SIr Hope Grant 1860-61; he was present in Looshai Expedition1865 (medal). He joined the Bengal Staff Corps on its foundation, and retiredwith the rank of Major General 23 January 1875.

Captain James DonaldsonDied 23/08/1917 Aged 397th Battalion attached tothe 9th Battalion,the Black Watch (RoyalHighlanders)Son of Mr and MrsDonaldson, of Arncroach,Fife; husband of Helen Donaldson, of 7, Briarwood Terrace,West Park Road, Dundee.He was killed at the 3rd Battle of Ypres – Paschendaele.He is buried in Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No 3,Which contains 975 First World War burials.

This grave marks men who died in Scotlandand who had close local connections.Little is known about them, although they probablydied of illness or a time after they received wounds.Serjeant WILLIAM CAMPBELLService Number 3065 Died 26/01/19155th Bn. Royal ScotsHusband of Henrietta Aitken Shaw Ogilvie13, Viewforth Square, Edinburgh.Awarded Territorial Force Efficiency Medal.Died of pneumoniaPrivate C FrancisService Number 10957 Died 29/05/1918 aged 24King's Own Scottish BorderersFlight Cadet JOHN WOOD MACKAYService Number 110338 Died 13/06/1918 Aged 1839th Sqdn. Royal Air Force, THE Squadron was based in London and spentthe war fighting Gotha Bombers and Zepellins. Son of Donald and FrancesMacKay, 38, Spottiswoode St., Edinburgh. He died while flying.Private J TRAYNORService Number 45010 Died 10/02/191916th Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

Serjeant JAMES JUDEService Number 7255957Died 22/01/1946 Aged 43Royal Army Medical CorpsSon of Alexander and Mary Jude;husband of Mary Ann Jude, of Edinburgh.Little is known about James Jude, however, it is theone grave stone in this cemetery which a stone ofThe Commonwealth War Grave.

Lieutenant ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL BROWN, WSDied 27/05/1918 Aged 35"A" Bty. 95th Bde. Royal Field ArtillerySon of Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Brown, of Edinburgh." Faragon," Murrayfield

Archibald was commissioned as 2nd LieutenantRoyal Field Artillery in December 1915.He served in France with A 95 Batteryfrom 2nd September 1916 till 27th May 1918.He was promoted Lieutenant August 1917.He was killed on 27th May 1918 at Berry-au-Bac on the Aisne.He lies in the Jonquery Cemetery near Reims. Inscribed on his stone is“ELDEST SON OF ARCHIBALD GEORGE BROWN W.S. EDINBURGH LIEUTENANTARCHIBALD CAMPBELL BROWN”.Jonchery-sur-Vesle British Cemetery was made after the Armistice, by thecollection of graves from the battlefields and other cemeteries.There are now over 350, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site.Of these, over two-thirds are unidentified andspecial memorials are erected to five soldiersfrom the United Kingdom, buried in othercemeteries, whose graves could not be found.The cemetery covers an area of 1,376 squaremetres and is enclosed by a low flint rubble wall.

Lieutenant PETER JOHN STEWART MCPHAIL, BA WS Died 26/11/1918 Aged 30Royal Garrison ArtillerySon of Peter and Catherine McEwan McPhail,of 7, Craigmillar Park, Edinburgh.Died at Winchester and is buried here.He Joined the Officer Training Corps in September 1915,and after training obtained a Commission as2nd Lieutenant in Royal Garrison Artillery.He went to France in January 1917, where he wasslightly wounded in March 1918 and afterwards suffered from shell-shock.In May 1918 found unfit for general service and returned to this country.In November 1918 contracted pneumonia and died on 26th of that monthat Magdalene Camp Hospital, Winchester. Prior to his death he waspromoted to Lieutenant and also served as a Temporary Adjutant.Peter senior was a prosperous merchant in Edinburgh, who gave the sum of£2,000 in 1919 to the Kenmore Nursing Association to form a memorial of hisonly son. The Marquis of Breadalbane at the same time intimatedhis intention to grant a perpetual title to the Association for the cottageoccupied by the nurse in the village of Kenmore; and the Association hassince been called "The Stewart McPhail Memorial Nursing Association.”

Captain DOUGLAS MARSHALL STEWARTDied 03/01/1919 Aged 244th Bn. Royal ScotsA son of Mr. John and Jane. Stewart.He was born in 1894, and went throughGeorge Watson’s from 1902-12.He was in the OTC, 1907-12,and left with the rank of Colour Sergeant.He began the study of agriculture, andprevious to the war was gazettedto the 4th Royal Scots.He went with his unit through the Gallipoli, Egyptian,and Palestine campaigns 1915-17 and rose to the rank ofCaptain. He was wounded in the head at the third battleof Gaza on 2nd November 1917, and died at Edinburghon 3rd January, 1919.

Serjeant WILLIAM ARCHIBALD AITKENDied 11/05/1941 aged 391st County of London (Westminster) BattalionOf the Home Guard.Son of William Robertson and Janet ShadforthAitken (nee Hoggan), of Sunderland, Co. Durham;husband of May Katherine Aitken, of Edinburgh.

The worst air raid on London during the Blitz tookplace on 10-11 May 1941. Destruction was spreadout all over the city, with German bomberstargeting all bridges west of Tower Bridge,factories on the south side of the Thames, thewarehouses at Stepney, and the railway line that ran north from Elephant andCastle. 505 bombers flew to London on the night of 10 May, the full moonlighting their snaking path along the Thames. The German pilots had 15minutes to locate and bomb their targets once they reached London, but stillthe bombing lasted nearly seven hours, starting at 11pm on 10 May andcontinuing until the all-clear sounded at 5.50am the next morning. Britishanti-aircraft batteries and RAF nightfighters managed to shoot down 33planes, but despite their best efforts,10-11 May 1941 was one of the mostdestructive raids of the war.The House of Commons, one of the best-known landmarks in Westminster,burned that night. In the House, the raging fire caused the roof to collapse.William Sansom, a volunteer fireman, remembered that:“in the morning there was nothing left of the famous House but a charred,black, smouldering, steaming ruin. The Bar no longer stood to check intruders.The Speaker’s chair was lost. The green-padded leathern lines of seats werecharred and drenched. The ingenious, ingenuous, most typical gothicinnovations of the old period had gone for ever; and with them the Chamber,its Press Gallery, its Strangers’ and Ladies’ galleries.”The night of 10-1 May 1941 marked the last major raid of the Blitz. It inflictedthe highest number of casualties of any single night raid of the London Blitz:1,436 Londoners killed and over 2,000 others seriously injured.

Second Lieutenant GEORGE BROWNLIE BROWNEDied 07/02/1916 Aged 2310th Bn. attd. 9th Bn.Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)Son of G. Washington Browne, R.S.A,of Randolph Cliff, Edinburgh,and of the late Jessie B. Brownlie,“THE MORE DANGER ATTACHED TO DUTYTHE MORE THOROUGHLY DID HE DO IT”He was a member of the Cadet Corps, andbroke the school record in the cross-countryrace. After leaving school, he went to Ceylonfor tea and rubber planting, and later toSouthern India, returning to Scotland in 1915.Gazetted Second Lieutenant, 10th Black Watch,on 7 May 1915, he went to France in the December, attached to the 9thBattalion, and was killed in action on 7 February 1916, age 23, in the trenchesnear Loos. His Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel John Stewart, wrote:“Your boy was absolutely devoid of fear. He took part in a most successfulbombing attack on 25 January, and in my report on the matter I speciallymentioned your son's name, and I think that he would in all probability havebeen mentioned in Despatches for his gallant conduct on that occasion.”He is buried in Vermelles Cemetery designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

Sir George Washington Brown was aRenowned Scottish architect. He designeda number of buildings , including CentralLibrary, Braid Church in Nile Grove,the Sick Kids Hospital, Edinburgh Collegeof Art and among othersthe Edward VII Memorial Gatesat Holyrood Palace. He lost all 3 sons in theGreat War. George Washington Browne wenton to design seven war memorials between 1919 and 1921. He was knightedin 1926, admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and

Private HEW EDWARDS BROWNEService Number 17572Died 01/07/1916 Aged 2115th Bn. Royal ScotsHew, born in Roslin, Midlothian in 1895, was the youngest of the three sons of George WashingtonBrowne RSA, architect, and Jessie Brownlie. WhenHew left George Heriot’s School, he became a pupilphotographer before  joining up with the 1st Cityof Edinburgh (Pals) battalion, designated the 15th

Battalion, of the Royal Scots in 1914. Pals battalions, which were made up ofvolunteers from the same locality or business, were introduced to encourageyoung men to join up with their friends. The 15th Battalion was also known asCranston’s, named for a former Lord Provost of Edinburgh. It was raised inEdinburgh in September 1914, attracting volunteers from Edinburgh itself andwith a strong contingent from Manchester, and arrived in France in January1916. He died on the first day of the battle of the Somme between La Bolselleand Contalmaison.

The first day of the Battle of the Somme,in northern France, was the bloodiest dayin the history of the British Army and oneof the most infamous days of World WarOne. On 1 July 1916, the British forcessuffered 57,470 casualties, including19,240 fatalities. They gained just threesquare miles of territory.

Leslie Aitchison BrowneLeslie was George’s eldest son.He graduated BSc, University of Edinburgh,was attached to Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in France duringthe War and was severely wounded in 1916 at Ypres. He survived the war. ,but never fully recovered from his injuries. He worked as a Research Chemistafter the War and died at Peebles on 1 September 1922, age 32. The cause ofhis death was pulmonary tuberculosis, officially recognised by the CanadianGovernment as the result of his wartime service. He is the only son buriedwith his parents.

Captain JOHN RANKINE BROWNDied 23/04/1917 Aged 317th Battalion. Highland Light InfantrySon of the Rev. John Brown, D.D., and MargaretRomanes Brown, of 23, Ainsley Place, Edinburgh.Native of Bellahouston, Glasgow. HE is buried inthe Deir El Belah military cemetery in Palestine.His grave inscription reads“FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH”John Rankine Brown was the eldest son of the VeryReverend Dr. Brown, of Bellahouston, and grandsonof the Very Reverend Dr Rankine of Sorn, both ofwhom were Moderators of the General Assembly.He was born on the 4th April 1886 and went to theHigh School of Glasgow when he was only nineyears old. At 15 he entered the University of Glasgow,where he carried on his career of unbroken success, winning theCowan Gold Medal in Latin and Greek, the Blackstone Medal in Greek,and the Luke Historical Prize for best examination in Ancient Greekand Roman History, finishing up with the Snell Exhibition and an inevi-table First Class Honours in Classics.At Oxford he matriculated at Balliol in 1905, and secured First Classesin Classical Moderations, and in final school of Literae Humaniores. Healso won the Ferguson Scholarship in Classics.After graduation he decided to specialise in Ancient History, and wasclassical assistant in Armstrong College, Newcastle. He also studied inBerlin, travelled in Greece, Turkey and Asia Minor. Finally he wasappointed to a Fellowship in Pembroke College, Oxford, and as lectur-er in Classics and Ancient History. During his residence in Berlin hebecame convinced that there was a serious danger of war betweenthis country and Germany, and with his characteristic keen andpractical sense of duty he decided that he ought to undergo somemilitary training.He received a Territorial commission in the 7th Battalion. HighlandLight Infantry, and was mobilised at the outbreak of war.

He served in the Gallipoli campaign, and was invalided home inOctober 1915. In March 1916, he was sent to Egypt. Captain JohnRankine Brown was mortally wounded in the Battle of Gaza on the21st April 1917, and died on the 23rd. The cemetery was beguntowards the end of March and remained in use until March 1919. Mostof the burials were made either from field ambulances from March toJune 1917.

Second Lieutenant GEORGE JAMES RANKINE BROWNDied 21/05/1917 aged 232nd Bn. Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)Son of the Very Rev. John Brown, D.D.,and Margaret R. Brown, of Bellahouston, Glasgow.George James Rankine Brown was the third son of Dr John Brown.

Born on the 24th November 1893, he received his education at the HighSchool of Glasgow. Before joining the Army he was engaged in the service ofthe Burmah Oil Company, Glasgow. He was trained in the University'sOfficers' Training Corps, and on the 11th January 1916, received hiscommission in the 11th Bn. Black Watch (Royal Highlanders).

His training was further continued in Edinburgh and at Kinross, until inSeptember 1916, he left for India. There he spent a most enjoyable time,travelling through a considerable part of India, and visiting many places ofhistoric interest. In March 1917, he was selected to go to Mesopotamia withthe 2nd Bn. Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), and there on the 21st April,received gunshot wounds in the chest, from which he died on the 21st May,aged 23.

He is buried in Amara War Cemetery, which contains 4,621 burials of theFirst World War, more than 3,000 of which were brought into the cemeteryafter the Armistice. 925 of the graves are unidentified. In 1933, all of theheadstones were removed from this cemetery when it was discovered thatsalts in the soil were causing them to deteriorate. Instead a screen wall waserected with the names of those buried in the cemetery engraved upon it.

Amara is a town on the left bank of theTigris some 520 kilometres from the sea.The War Cemetery is a little east of thetown between the left bank of the riverand the Chahaila Canal.The cemetery was destroyed during theIraq war and will be rebuilt by theCommission once the currentclimate of political instability improves.

Captain WILLIAM SANDILANDS BROWNDied 14/10/1918 Aged 263rd Battalion North Staffordshire RegimentSon of The Very Rev. Dr. Brownand Margaret Romanes Brown,of "Romanhouse," Hallhead Rd.,Edinburgh. Born at Bellahouston, Glasgow.His gravestone records “FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH”

William joined the University of Glasgow in 1909,where he matriculated as an Arts student.He was awarded the King William's Bursary of £15 a year, In William's firstyear he studied Latin and Greek, followed in his second with classes inMaths, Logic, and English. In his final year he studied English and PoliticalEconomy. His interest in sports also continued during his time at University,where he gained distinction as an athlete - especially in hurdle racing. He wasalso a member of the University's Cricket Club for three years, and wonprizes in University and Inter-University Sports. He was awarded full SportsBlues for Athletics in 1911. He graduated on the 18th June 1912 with an MA.

Having graduated from Glasgow, William joined Edinburgh University tostudy Law, and served an apprenticeship with the firm Melville & Lindsay.After the outbreak of war, he joined the 15th Royal Scots as a private, andwithin seven months had been commissioned to the 3rd North StaffordshireRegiment.In 1916, William was sent on active service to France, where he was at-tached to the 1st Battalion as Lewis Gun Officer. In the summer of 1917, hewas sent as instructor in Machine Gunnery to the 2nd Army School of In-struction at Wisque. After a year there here was transferred to the King'sOwn Scottish Borderers, where he was given command of the company. Tendays later Lieutenant William Sandilands Brown was killed during the cap-ture ofUniform Farm. He is buried at Hooge Crater Cemetery.

Second Lieutenant HAROLD HALSTEAD BROWNDied 18/07/1916 aged 19Gordon HighlandersHarold Halstead Brown was the youngest son of the late Very Reverend JohnBrown. He was born on the 24th October 1896. On leaving the High Schoolof Glasgow, he proceeded to the University, entering on the Arts side. Therehe joined the Officer Training Corps, from which he obtained his commissionin the Gordon Highlanders in March 1915.He left for the front on the 1st June 1915, and was attached to the 2nd Bat-talion Seaforths, then at Ypres. Later he was invalided home. He rejoined the

3rd Battalion Gordon Highlanders in September, and left again for the fronton the 7th March 1916. He was attached to the 1st Bn. Gordon Highlanders,and with them took part in an attack on Delville Wood on the 18th July, andfell in action, aged 29. His name is inscribed on the Thiepval Memorial, inFrance.

THe Battle of Delville Wood was part of the Somme Campaign. On the 18th

400 shells per minute fell into Longueval and the wood, along with heavyrain, which filled shell-craters. The  German infantry attacked from the east,north and north-east. They were cut down by small-arms fire as soon as theyadvanced and no more attempts were made to advance beyond the interme-diate line.

By afternoon, the north perimeter had been pushed further south by Ger-man attacks. Hand-to-hand fighting occurred all over the wood. A Germanofficer wrote

... Delville Wood had disintegrated into a shattered wasteland of shatteredtrees, charred and burning stumps, craters thick with mud and blood, andcorpses, corpses everywhere. In places they were piled four deep. Worst of allwas the lowing of the wounded. It sounded like a cattle ring at the springfair....

Second Lieutenant JOHN STUARTDied 28/07/1918 aged 203rd Bn. Attached to the 4th/5th Battalionof the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)He was the son of Mrs. and the lateMr William Stuart, of Luffness Mill House,Aberlady, Scotland.His gravestone says:“HE BEING MADE PERFECT IN A SHORT TIMEFULFILLED A LONG TIME”.He is buried in Buzancy cemetery.Buzancy was reached (though not held)by the 1st American Division on the21st July, 1918, after an advancebegun on the 18th. It was attackedby the 15th (Scottish) and 34th Divisionson the 23rd July, and taken on the 28th.

Major DONALD STUARTService Number 32154Died 05/08/1940 Aged 34Gordon HighlandersSon of William and SusanCampbell Stuart;husband of Elizabeth Stuart,of Fleet, Hampshire.He is buried in Ramleh Cemeteryand the inscription on his grave reads:DEVOTED, BELOVED HUSBAND, FATHER, SON & BROTHER."LIFE IS ETERNAL; AND LOVE IS IMMORTAL"

The Cemetery houses graves from both the 1st and 2nd World Wars.There are 1168 graves from the Second World War.