Taynuilt War Memorial Book

"LA A' BHLAIR 'S MATH NA CAIRDEAN" (Friends are good on the day of battle) Old Gaelic Proverb

Taynuilt Boys 1914 Back l - r: Donald MacCall (Blackmill), Archie Campbell MM and John Campbell MM (Shore Cottage) Front l - r: Tommy MacPhee (Bridge of Awe,) James MacBean (Inverawe)

Private John Black was born at Brochroy Farm Taynuilt in 1892: son of Johnnie Black, a Lismore man of uncertain temper who farmed there and ran a carting business. His Mother was Margaret MacDonald, an Aunt of the MacDonald sisters who, till recently, kept the sweet shop in the village. John was brought up with his elder brother Donald, his younger brother Alexander (Sandy) and his sisters Mary, Catherine (Katie) and Margaret (Maggie). Donald and Sandy also served in the Great War, but returned safely. Before the war John was a skilled ghillie and fisherman, much in demand with visiting gentlemen who " owed heavy baskets to his skill in boat- handling and his knowledge of baits and of where the fish lay." Villagers regarded him as one of the best young men in the District.

John joined the 1/7th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as Private 278503. We know that he served as a stretcher-bearer and was mentally very affected when he came home on leave and recalled the suffering which he had witnessed. He was with the Battalion at the Battle of Arras when the 51st (Highland) and 34th Divisions advanced on 9th April 1917 and was killed in action on Vimy Ridge on that day, aged 25. His Platoon Commander, Lieutenant Hislop, wrote of him that he was "a good soldier doing his duty". It was some consolation to his family that he had seen his oldest brother Donald the day before he died.

He is buried at Plot III.E.16 in the Valley Cemetery, Roclincourt, a village a little to the east of the road from Arras to Lens. In the 1960s, Maggie and Katie asked the author to act as escort and interpreter so that they could go to visit his grave but they never ever got round to making a decision about the trip.

A story used to be told by John Campbell, father of Lily MacNaught, that he went to Stirling Castle while home on leave after a spell in the trenches to accompany Donald Black and three others who were going to be recruited. They expected to come home to Taynuilt by train that night but were immediately put into uniform and sworn in. John had to return home alone and confess to Johnnie Black that he had returned without Donald. At this point, Johnnie flew into a rage and said "I've got seven tons of coal to deliver tomorrow so you will just be here at 7o'clock in the morning to do the job". John Black's death and Donald's recruitment obliged Maggie and Katie Black to take on man's work during the War, carting coal and other goods and helping with the farm. Older residents of Taynuilt will remember that Sandy later ran the passenger and mail contract on Loch Etive with his boat "Darthula", for which he was awarded the BEM. Maggie and Katie continued to farm Brochroy and were lynchpins of the local community, particularly when they retired to their house, Ardfuar, which they built on their own ground and which gave them much pleasure.

Sergeant Archibald Campbell, MM, born in 1885 and brought up at Shore Cottage Taynuilt, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Campbell, later of Rhugarbh, Ledaig, Benderloch. He was on the Engineering Staff at J&A Gardners, Bonawe Quarry. He is shown in the record as enlisting at Port Sonachan. With his brother, John, and other village boys, he joined the Scottish Horse, a mounted unit that encouraged and paid the troopers to take their own horse with them on call-up.

The Unit was posted out to the Middle East and went from Egypt, as a dismounted unit, to act as infantry in the Gallipoli campaign against the Turks. Archibald was present when the Scottish Horse covered the withdrawal from Suvla Bay and returned with the unit to Egypt. In 1917 the Unit was posted to Salonika to take part in the campaign against the Bulgarians and the Austrians. Archie distinguished himself there, making an extremely gallant defence of a post attacked by 40 Bulgarian troops, where only he and one other were unhit. They were forced to retire 200 yards but received reinforcements and under Archie's leadership counterattacked, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy and capturing enemy documents with a considerable intelligence importance. For this operation he was awarded the Military Medal.

While in the Middle East, he was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct medal for 12 years' service with the Scottish Horse and became time-expired. He returned home for a well-earned one month disembarkation leave after which he re-trained at a Scottish Depot - possibly Perth - and joined the Black Watch as a Private soldier for duty in France.

He was posted to D Company 7th Black, Watch as Private 292872, rising again quickly to at least the rank of Corporal. He was Killed In Action at Arras on 26th March 1918 at age 33 and his name is recorded on the An-as Memorial for those who have no known grave.

The Campbell sons were all distinguished soldiers. Archibald who won the Military Medal and became a casualty was brother of Christina Campbell - Lily MacNaught's mother.

The other brother, John, who returned safely from the War, was Katie Clayton's father and was awarded a Military Medal for a fine defence by a scouting party of Scottish Horse against a Bulgarian attack. His citation said he showed "rare initiative and coolness".

The other brother Sergeant Donald Campbell was Mentioned In Dispatches. He was wounded but refused to go to the Regimental Aid Post and, as a result, was made a Prisoner of War. He must have been badly wounded because a picture of him in the Oban Times shows him being transferred from captivity, into the care of the Red Cross in Switzerland. From there a letter home speaks of his time as a PoW and says: "I am getting stronger every day...I am thankful for friends who sent parcels to me. Without them, I could not have existed."

An article in the Oban Times congratulates Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Campbell Shore Cottage "for the honour their family has brought to themselves and Taynuilt."

The present-day family recalls hearing that, on the day Archie was killed, his young brother Clarkie Campbell was standing by the shore at Loch Etive near the cottage and saw a light which came across the sea and rested for a moment on the cottage which was Archie's home.

Private Duncan Campbell, born in Craignish. On his Mother's side, he was of Taynuilt stock being the son of Duncan Campbell, Airds Farm, Craignish and Catherine MacCallum, a Taynuilt girl with many Macfarlane/MacCallum relatives still living in the village.

His Mother was widowed before World War 1 and is referred to as "crofter, Airds, Taynuilt" in the 1918 Election Roll, living in Airds Cottage.

Duncan had volunteered in 1914 but was rejected several times before being accepted in 1916.

He enlisted at Stirling as Private S/20318 in 8th Argylls as shown on the War Memorial, and was wounded at Passchendael in 1917 but recovered and was again drafted.

He was killed in action on 26 May 1918 aged 27 years old in a shell burst which also killed many and wounded many of his comrades. The 8th had been reinforced by the remaining officers and men of 11 th Argylls which had disbanded after taking heavy casualties The war diary of an officer of 11th Argylls, Major Robert Lindsay Mackay MC who had joined the 8th Battalion from the 11th, has an entry for that day which says:

"The Hun guns are very active. All calibres are strafing our area. It looks like a cover- up for a demonstration elsewhere. We had 5 men killed and about 20 wounded"

Duncan is buried at Duisnans Bridge Cemetery, Etrun in the Pas de Calais, the cemetery that was used by Divisions for burials from the Front, mostly related to the Battle of Arras.

Duncan had brothers and sisters. One was Archibald, affectionately known as "Baldy Bear". Baldy inherited the croft at Airds from his Mother, was for many years porter/ signalman at Taynuilt Station and is late Father of Elizabeth Campbell, wife of Dougie Barr, Inveraray. Colin, another brother, was a well-known local butcher and game dealer whose shop was opposite the Robin's Nest on a plot of ground now occupied by the Station Cottage gardens.

Duncan was, apparently, very mindful of his Mother, particularly when she became a widow.

Peter Campbell was born, in Kippen, Stirlingshire in 1898. It is possible that he was related to Dugald Campbell who is shown as a shepherd at Clachadow in the 1918 Electoral Roll.

Prior to enlistment in 1917, he was employed as shepherd to Mr HL MacDonald of Dunach at Clachadow. He enlisted in the 8th Argylls as Private S/22637 but transferred to the 1/5th Seaforths. He was wounded in an attack on 27th July and died of wounds at age 20 on 2nd August at No 50 Casualty Clearing Station, Roye. A letter from his Company Sergeant Major said:" He was a brave soldier and a great favourite with all who knew him."

He is buried at Sezanne Communal Cemetery in the Haute- Marne about 100 Kilometres East of Paris.

Sergeant Malcolm Fisher was the son of Hugh and Marjory Fisher, both fluent in Gaelic and English and from the local area. Hugh managed Barguillean Farm on the MacDonald Estate and when Malcolm was young he and the other children, Mary, Katie and Finlay lived at Achnahannait with their parents.

Malcolm had been a Clydesdale Bank clerk in Dundee before enlistment on 27 May 1915, aged 33, and lived at 3 Rustic Place, Dundee with his wife Cathie.

Although it was a time of high casualties, he must have been an able man, because he was promoted to Sergeant in a year and a half and held that rank in "D" Company, 14th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders when he became a casualty on 4 November 1916. A letter to his parents from his Platoon Commander, Lt MacKay, said: "Sergeant Fisher would certainly have got a Commission as an officer, had he survived I never knew a man more imperturbable and I saw him in some hot places. I saw him shortly after he was wounded and he was as cool as ever. With a man like him the honour of Scotland and of the Battalion was always safe..."

Malcolm died of wounds and is buried at Choques Military Cemetery in the Pas de Calais in France where bodies for burial were from No 1 Casualty Clearing Station, which received casualties from actions on the Bethune Frontline.

Finlay Fisher is shown in the 1901 Census as "shepherd at Achnahannait". Katie Fisher was in the WRENS in the First World War and was a woman of considerable dry humour. She and her elder sister Mary were respected members of the community when they retired to the family croft at Brochroy where Mary died in 1967 aged 89 and Katie in 1974 aged 90. A nephew, also Malcolm, worked the croft for a short time in the 1970s. Sergeant John MacNiven Fraser DCM is buried under a Commonwealth War Graves Commission stone near the old chapel in Muckairn Churchyard. He is shown on the War Memorial as being from the Lorn Furnace but the only John Fraser shown as "soldier" in the 1918 Electoral Roll is at Oakbank, Falls of Cruachan. I am advised that he may be connected to the family of Duncan Fraser who was gardener at Tighnambarr during the long let to the Melville Family. I am also told that he may be connected on his Mother's side to Alexander MacNiven who was a ghillie and lived at Lorn Furnace.

Whatever his connections, John had a distinguished military career, probably first of all in the Infantry. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry in the field.

He seems to have transferred to a new Corps, the Machine Gun Corps, after it was formed. The Corps was mustered in recognition of the special skills required to deploy and use the "Queen of the Battlefield": the Vickers Heavy Machine Gun. He did however maintain his connection-with Highland soldiers because his records show that he was in the 51st Highland Battalion Machine Gun Corps.

He survived the War, only to succumb to the virulent epidemic of Influenzal Pneumonia, which swept Europe 1917-1919.

His death certificate shows him as son of John Fraser, Wood Sawyer, and Jessie Fraser (née MacNiven) both deceased. John's occupation is shown as "seaman" and his death was witnessed by "D Thomson Acquaintance, present."

His gravestone has a fitting epitaph: "He lived to see the peace he fought for."

Sapper James Allen George, born in 1884, the son of Robert George and Christina MacKellar or Sinclair, a local girl from Glenaray who were married in Glen Orchy and Inishail in 1880. They are shown in the Electoral Roll of 1918 as living at Pass of Awe where Robert 's occupation was "River Watcher."

James seems to have gone to Canada but, like many emigrants, returned to the Old Country to fight in the War, in this case as Sapper 216353 with 2nd Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers.

Tunnelling under enemy lines was a particularly dangerous occupation, as the Germans often sank counter-tunnels which exploded under ours. Even at the best of times, it was as dangerous as any form of mining can be.

James lost his life at age 33 on 24th August 1917 and, like all of 54,000 officers and men missing in action in the Ypres Salient, is commemorated on the Ypres Menin Gate where the Last Post is still sounded each day in memory of those who have no known grave.

Private John Johnston MM. It is likely that this soldier is the John Johnston whose birth, according to the Register, took place at 4 a.m. on March 23rd 1887 at Kinchrechin, Dalmally. His Father is shown as "James Johnston, travelling tinsmith " and his Mother as Betsy Johnston née MacAllister. His Father made his mark on the certificate.

We have no firm details about John other than that he was in the Black Watch. The only John Johnston from Argyll shown in Black Watch Regimental Records is one who enlisted as Private S/40820 in7th (Fife Battalion) Black Watch, showing his birthplace as Clachan, Argyll. Soldiers frequently made mistakes or deliberate errors in declaring a place of birth. John may not necessarily have known where he was born or, ashamed to admit ignorance, gave the place where he and his family last camped before he enlisted. Or it could have been a clerk copying down details who could not cope with Kinchrechin!

Given his background we can be reasonably sure that John would be a good shot and a self-reliant soldier, used to living off the land and to being outdoors in all weathers.

He was awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous conduct in the field and was notified as Killed In Action on 15 April 1918. His name may also be on the Dalmally Memorial as John James Johnston but this has not been confirmed.

The Johnston family were travelling tinsmiths who for many generations practised their craft in North Argyll, Mull and the Outer Hebrides and seem to have regarded the Taynuilt area as home ground. They are closely associated with the MacAllisters who based themselves on Tobermory and there was much inter-marriage.

Bridget Johnston, married to a MacAllister in Tobermory used to come to the door of the author's home, during the Second World War to collect rabbit skins and would ask the author's Mother (herself a Taynuilt girl): "And when were you last in our own dear country, Mistress Macfarlane?"

The MacAllisters were skilled seafarers and ranged far and wide among the Islands in their lugsail skiffs.

During the First World War, the extended family took the decision to establish a base camp in Glen Nant which was always manned. Their sons returning on leave from the trenches in France could thus "find" home on arrival. It was set up at Lon Bharr na Buidhe Gainmhaich, a quite conspicuous flat parcel of land on the left hand side of the road about half a mile along the Glen Nant road to Kilchrenan. We can be sure that it was to the quiet beauty of Glen Nant that John returned on leave. It is fitting that he should be commemorated on our Memorial.

There are now posts driven in to the ground of the campsite to prevent modern day travellers settling there. The Livingstone Brothers, Glenetive

Donald Livingstone and his wife Margaret MacNiven were living at Coilletter in Glen Etive at the time of the 1901 Census. Donald, born in Ardchattan Parish in 1851, is shown in the census as "Shepherd and Forester" and died in 1906. Margaret was born in the Parish of Glen Orchy and Inishail in 1857. Children at home in the Census were Hugh, Mary, Margaret, Jane, Dugald (9 years old), Jessie, John (4 years old) and Archibald (1 year old). For some reason there is no sign of James. The census may have been' taken before his birth. The family gravestone in Muckairn Churchyard records that John died in 1914 aged 18 years and is interred at Bedford and Dugald died in May 1917 aged 25 years. Archibald's death is recorded on a Commonwealth War Graves Commission stone in Muckairn and on the Memorial and James is shown as an 8th Argyll on the Memorial but died at home in September 1919. What appears to have happened is shown below. The record of these brothers is a sad testimony to the lethal power of tuberculosis before the era of antibiotics. One can only feel sorry for Margaret MacNiven who lost four sons at a young age, at least two of them from TB. She herself survived as a widow for 33 years until her death in 1939.

John Livingstone War was declared in August 1914. John was probably a Territorial Army volunteer with the Argyll Mountain Battery and, as such, would have been called-up in August 1914 for active service. Although his two brothers are correctly commemorated, John's name is on Taynuilt War Memorial as the last inscription and out of alphabetical order. No mention is made of his military service on the family gravestone, although he is buried in a military grave at Bedford.The entry on the Memorial is a late inscription. We shall never know why.

Archibald Livingstone Archibald was born in Glen Etive on 13th December 1899 and is a twin with his brother James. He is commemorated on a Commonwealth War Graves Commission stone in Muckairn Churchyard and on the War Memorial. His headstone records that S/25989 Private A Livingstone Seaforth Highlanders died 2nd March 1918 aged 18 and is annotated " Gone but not forgotten." It is likely that he died during Home Service in the United Kingdoin.

James Livingstone James was born in Glen Etive on 13th December 1899 ten minutes after his twin Archie. He is commemorated on the War Memorial as serving with 8th Argylls. His Death Certificate shows that he died of tuberculosis on 22nd September 1919 at Lorn Furnace aged 20 years. His occupation is shown as "postman" and his Uncle, James MacNiven, witnessed his death. He may have been given a medical discharge suffering from TB and, weakened by military service, succumbed to the disease about ten months after the end of the War. Footnote

Dugald Livingstone Dugald's death certificate show that he was a single man and a gamekeeper in Glen Etive when he died of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Glen Etive on 22nd May 1917, at age 25, the death being witnessed by his Uncle James MacNiven. He may have been unfit for military service.

Private Alexander MacCall is shown as 6 years old in the 1901 Census and lived at Nantside Cottage, Dalfearn with his Father, Duncan MacCall, known as the "The Dochan" and his Mother Sarah who was an Invernessshire girl from Kilmonivaig. His sisters Christina (8), James (4) and Mary Jane (2) are also recorded.

Alexander enlisted in the Argylls at Taynuilt as Private (301183) and held the rank of Corporal when he was notified as Killed In Action on 16th May 1917 with 8th Argylls during the Battle of Arras.

He is commemorated in Bay 9 of the Arras War Memorial for those who have no known grave.

The "Dochan" was a well-known figure in the Village and was some 50 years a Ploughman at the Hotel, living eventually at Tigh an Fhuarain in Kirkton. The presentation of his Certificate of Long Service provided the occasion for a great celebration in the Village Hall. A witty poem was written (allegedly by Doctor MacNichol) about the function: "The Dochan's Ball." It lists local characters who attended and shows the capacity of all rural communities in that bygone age for bestowing apt, affectionate and amusing nicknames. The "Dochan" was related to many of the older families in the Village and is a close relative of Donald "Gorm" MacGregor.

There is a "Missing" notice for Alexander in the Oban Times of July 28th 1917: " Any information regarding him would be most gratefully received by his parents at Dalfearn Taynuilt

The MacCall Brothers

Trooper Donald MacCall, Black Mill, is shown here in the Scottish Horse uniform in 1914 when he would be about 28 years old. It is part of a group photo of other soldiers from Taynuilt and they are photographed beside a blackboard on which is chalked TAYNUILT BOY'S 1914. Donald was the son of Alexander and Kirsty MacCall and lived at BlackMill with his brothers Malcolm, John (who also died in World War 1) and his sister Annie.

Thereafter, the military part of his story becomes difficult to trace. We do not know how long he was with the Scottish Horse. The Regiment sailed for the Middle East and served, dismounted, as infantry. They took part in the campaign at Suvla Bay Gallipoli and then in Salonika and Macedonia, where they saw a lot of action against Bulgarian and Austrian troops. There was a large number of Argyllshire boys in the Unit and at least four from Taynuilt. Robert Campbell-Preston from Ardchattan Priory was a Major in the Unit.

The Regiment then returned to Egypt and Palestine where most of the soldiers were transferred to 13th Battalion Black Watch, which continued to wear Scottish Horse uniform and badge. The Battalion was posted directly by sea and rail to the Front in France without returning to UK.

Donald was known locally as "Sir D" and, according to Taynuilt folklore, was a hardy fighter. He was said to have been in the same Unit as "Seochdi", John Campbell, Brolas. During some hand-to-hand fighting with the enemy, Sir D was stabbed in the ribs with a loose bayonet but kept on fighting until Seochdi pulled it out when the scrap was over.

The Oban Times obituary for his brother John says that Donald was wounded in the Dardanelles where an explosive bullet passed through his right lung and rendered his right arm useless. A letter from the Rev Donald Lamont, a Chaplain with the Unit at Gallipoli to Donald's wife at Drimvargie, Oban confirmed that he was wounded in the shoulder. There is no trace of him in any official casualty records. It is, however, clear that Donald survived the War. The author has seen a death certificate, which shows him as resident with his wife at 43 Combie Street Oban where he died on 27th June 1920 as a result of a cancer of the face, following "an accidental bruise and blow" sustained on 15th October 1919. Although he was one of the first to enlist, it may well be that his Dardanelles wound caused his retention in the Army until 1919 and that he sustained the fatal injury while a soldier. This would account for his name being commemorated on the War Memorial. It is however more likely that the village community in Taynuilt considered that his war wound and long service contributed to his death and that he was worthy of inclusion.

Piper John MacCall, Black Mill, was another son of Alexander MacCall and Christina McVean, BlackMill. Before the War, he was in farm service with Captain Alasdair MacLaren in Inverardran Crianlarich. In August 1914, on the day War was declared, he was posting from Inversnaid with a string of horses, which were compulsorily taken into Crown Service on his way to Inverardran.

John joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as Piper S/6829 in November 1914 and served with the 12th Battalion in the campaign in Salonika in Greece. He contracted malaria in 1916 but recovered in Egypt and returned to the Front in Macedonia only to die there on 16th February 1917, after succumbing to Black Water Fever, in dreadful conditions where malaria and fever claimed three times more soldiers than did the enemy.

He is buried in Grave 806 at Lembat Road Military Cemetery near the town of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece.

The MacCalls are an old family in the Village. The earliest mention I have seen is of a Duncan MacCall "at Airdeny" in 1798. Alexander MacCall was aged 53 and shown as "Fisherman" in the 1901 Census. His wife was Christina McVean born at Kilbrandon. They were married at Fortingall where Alexander was a ploughman at Auchlyne in StrathFillan and Christina was at service in Glen Lyon. Christina died in 1912, before the tragedy of her two sons. Alexander followed her in 1924 at age 77. During the First World War Alexander's two sons, son-in-law and 10 nephews all served in the Armed Forces, Donald MacCall was born on 26th March 1887 in Blackmill Taynuilt and was a woodcarter at Balliveolan when he married a girl from Tobermory, Sarah Morrison, in Oban Parish Church Manse on 3rd November 1911.

Gunner Donald MacDonald, Lakefield, was the grandson of Donald MacDonald and Catherine Brown, Lakefield. He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery as Gunner 49482 and was with `D' Battery 62 Brigade when he died of wounds in France. On the family tombstone in Muckairn, his death is shown as "20th April 1917 aged 22 years" but the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him as dying "on 13th April 1917 aged 23 years."

His gravestone at Duisnan British Cemetery at Etrun France records him as "Son of Annie MacDonald of Melford, Kilmelfort Argyll" and shows him as a "Native of Taynuilt". He must have spent his childhood on the Farm.

At the time that he was wounded, the Battle of Arras was in progress. Most of the burials at Etrun are from the 8th Casualty Clearing Station, which selected the site of the graveyard in February 1917. It is likely that he was treated there and died there.

The MacDonalds must have been in Taynuilt for some time because Donald who married Catherine Brown in Oban (Kilmore and Kilbride) in 1861 buried his Father in Muckairn in 1875 and he died in 1923 at age 90 years. He would have been 84 at the time of his grandson's death.

Private Duncan MacDonald, Lakefield, was son of Donald MacDonald and Catherine Brown and-was born at Lakefield in 1896. Although they were almost the same age, he was Uncle to Donald MacDonald. Duncan had some previous service looking after horses and mules with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps where his expertise, particularly with horses, was much appreciated by his superiors. He saw service with The Gunners in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) and Egypt, Duncan was then drafted to France. He was serving with 28 Battery, 9 Brigade Royal Field Artillery when he was killed in action on 22nd September 1918, during the Second Battle of Arras. He is buried in the British Extension of the Queant Communal Cemetery in the Pas de Calais. While that part of the Line was in their hands, the Germans buried and commemorated both their own and Allied casualties in the German Extension to the civil cemetery.

British fighting units further extended the cemetery to accommodate the casualties from the final stages of the War and it is here that Duncan is buried. His obituary says, "Taynuilt has lost one of her most popular and promising young men."

Duncan was a champion ploughman and won three Highland Society medals for his skill.

The MacDougall Brothers

Fusilier Archibald MacDougall, Lorn Furnace, was the youngest son of Joseph MacDougall, shepherd at Fanans and later Blarcreen, and his wife Isabella MacDonald. He was born on July 13th 1890 at Lorn Furnace, Taynuilt and lived there with his brother Joseph-John. (See Footnote 1) He assisted with his Father's work.

Archie enlisted as Fusilier 205218 in First Battalion 5th Royal Scots Fusiliers in Glasgow, where he was employed in Partick.

By then, he was married to Mary Janett (sic) Whyte whose Father was a Marine Engineer. The young couple, who married in 1913, were living at 12 Robertson Street in Partick, Glasgow. Mary was widowed when Archie was Killed In Action in France on October 1St 1918, very close to the end of the War. (see Footnote ) He was killed during the battle for Cambrai, a town that was in German hands till October, when it was liberated. In the offensive a new weapon, the Tank, was unleashed. He is buried at Cambrai East Military Cemetery in Plot VI.A.12.

Rifleman (Joseph) John MacDougall, Lochandhu, appears to have enlisted as Rifleman (266583) in the Cameronians, the famous Scottish Rifles. He was posted to 7th Cameronians and served in the Middle East Campaigns in the 1st/7th Battalion, as part of the 52nd Lowland Division. Between 21st November and 9th December, there was severe fighting in Palestine against the Turks, which led to the Capture of Jerusalem. John died in action during this period and is buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery, near the Mount of Olives.

Joseph MacDougall and Isabella MacDonald were married in Muckairn in November 1882 and stayed at Achnacloich where Joseph was a coachman. They had a family, which consisted of, at least, two sons, Joseph-John and Archibald. When Joseph-John was born on March 4th 1884, they were still at Achnacloich but by the time Archibald was born on 13th July 1890, they had moved to Taynuilt and Joseph (Senior) was employed as a ploughman, possibly on the Bonawe Estate. Their address is shown as "Bunaw", the old name for the area around the Iron Furnace. Joseph personally registered Archibald's birth and made his mark, which was witnessed by the Registrar, Mr Sinclair.

Although Archibald 's home is shown on the War Memorial as Lorn Furnace and that of John as Lochandhu, the author is assuming that Joseph-John and John are the same person and that'he is brother of Archibald. They are the only MacDougalls traceable in that area of Taynuilt and the Births Marriages and Deaths Records seem to bear this out. Maybe Joseph-John was called John to distinguish him from his Father.

The tragic loss of a generation led to a shortage of men at the end of the Great War. Many women remained widows or spinsters for the rest of their lives. Archibald's widow, Mary Whyte MacDougall married a policeman, Frank Dow, in Partick and on Archibald's gravestone in France, his family details are shown as "Son of Joseph and Isabella MacDougall and husband of Mary Janett Whyte Dow formerly MacDougall of 10 Fielden Drive Partick, Glasgow."

After the War, the aged Mrs MacDougall stayed with her daughter who had married J. Collie, Shore Cottage, whose son was till recently resident in Taynuilt.

Gunner Alexander MacGreavy, Taynuilt, to begin with proved to be somewhat of a mystery. There were no military records of death in action or during service with the Royal Field Artillery, for any individual with a name spelt MacGreavy, as shown on the War Memorial.

From village folklore, we know that he was the son of a lady with a similar sounding name, who came from travelling folk.

His name was eventually found on a Census List for Appin ln 1901. At that stage he was 15 years old and shown as the son of Euphemia MacGreavy. He would have been 28 years old in 1914 and from the entry on the War Memorial, served in the Royal Field Artillery. He could have been wounded and repatriated for work on the Home Front.

He re-enters the record, serving as Private 253001 with No. 456 Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps, based at Cameron Barracks, Inverness. The Unit provided troops to take in the Harvest and do essential farm work or other heavy work.

Further investigation showed that he had served as Gunner 175349 with 31St Battery Royal Artillery and had probably seen action with the 4th Infantry Division in France before transferring to the Labour Corps.

Alexander died at Cameron Barracks, Inverness at 4 p.m. on 23 rd February 1919 from broncho- pneumonia after a bout of the virulent Spanish Influenza which had swept the world in 1918. His Mother registered the death at Taynuilt and made her mark on the Death Certificate.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission confirm that he is buried in Kilchrenan Churchyard under one of their stones as Gunner A McGREEVY, 175349 and is shown as " Son of Mrs. E. McGreevy, of Taynuilt, Argyll. "

Mrs MacGravie was a familiar sight in Muckairn and a very respectable and well-liked travelling packwoman. We first see her in the Census of 1901, where she is recorded at age 33, living in a tent in Appin with her Father, Alexander Johnston, a hawker born at Inveraray, and her Mother Mary Johnston or Irvine who was born in Dunkeld. Her brother Geordie Johnston, born in Kilchrenan, is also there. At some stage, she had been married to John MacGravie, a hawker who died prior to 1919. Her first child was born when she was 15 or 16 years old.

Her children, Alexander aged 15 born Muckairn, Hannah aged 18, born Glen Orchy and Mary aged 13, born Kilmartin are in camp under the care of their Grandfather. The loss of Alexander, her Muckairn child, must have been a blow to her. There is also some evidence that she may have lost another son, John Stewart McGravie who was a casualty in 1916 aged 21 and may be recorded elsewhere.

Until her death, Mrs MacGravie camped regularly in Glen Nant each year from May until the Autumn. Geordie always accompanied her. She was a kindly woman and the local children always hailed her arrival with delight. When she arrived, they knew that Summer was coming!

Although she based herself on Taynuilt, she travelled all over Argyll and is known to have camped in Barcaldine. Whilst in Taynuilt, she would frequently ask a local person to write a letter for her to a supplier to order the small items which she sold. The letters she dictated would invariably start off: "My Dear Kind Sir"

Dr MacNichol, the much-loved and long-serving medical practitioner in Taynuilt, swore that the best soup he ever tasted in his life came from a black pot over Mrs MacGreavy's campfire. It was, he said: "redolent of local herbs and game."

She died of a heart attack in her tent in Glen Nant at age 76 in 1944. Her death was registered by Geordie who signed the certificate with a shaky but bold hand.

Captain Peter Sleath MacGregor, Brochroy, was the son of John Sleath MacGregor and Anne M Munro and was born in 1880.

There appears to be some strong connection with Africa where the Germans had, like us, taken vast areas under Imperial rule. Peter was Killed In Action on 25th November 1917 while serving with 2nd Rhodesian Regiment in the campaign against enemy Forces in German East Africa which were under the command of General von Lettow- Vorbeck. 1500 officers and men died during and after January 1917 and Peter was one of them. He is commemorated both on the family gravestone in Muckairn and on the Dar-es-Salaam British and Indian Memorial for those soldiers and officers who have no known grave.

The MacGregor family had a long connection with the Loch Awe and Muckairn area, dating at least from the 1790s. We currently have no information about the early life of Peter's Father, John. He was born in 1833 and married Anne Munro in 1874 when he was 41 years of age. In his latter years, he is shown as "Gamekeeper retired" and lived in either the middle or end cottage at Brochroy. He died of cancer of the throat on 25th July 1918. The Africa connection is interesting. John was clearly a relative of Ina MacGregor who stayed in the same property in the 50s and 60s. Local folk memory says that she had a sister who went to South Africa. It is possible that this may be part of the strong link to Africa. Possibly, John Senior spent his early years in East Africa. We know the link continued into the next generation. His son, also John, died in the Congo Free State in 1910 aged 24 and Peter seems to have felt strongly enough about Rhodesia to join the Forces defending it.

The Reverend John Campbell MacGregor, was the son of John MacGregor and Catherine Campbell who, from the records, seem to have been connected with Ardeny on the Glen Lonan Road. There were at least two other brothers in the family: Duncan who was killed on duty in Inverawe Wood on 3rd June 1880 aged 20 years and Angus who died in 1902 whose epitaph at Muckairn churchyard reads "A man greatly beloved". Their parents John (b. 1811 d. 1883) and Catherine (b. 1826 d. 1898) are also buried at Muckairn.

John had been a lawyer's clerk in Oban but went on to the University of Glasgow where he was an outstanding Classics scholar.. On ordination, he was missionary at Kilfinichen and Minister of Strachur in 1901. He was later called as Minister of St Orans Gaelic Parish Church in Edinburgh but seems to have felt called to be an Army Chaplain or "padre" in the Royal Army Chaplains Department, even although he was over 40 when he went in to uniform. The "padres" were a much-respected body of men and many of them showed conspicuous gallantry, serving, unarmed, in the frontline with Infantry and other Units and going forward into No Man's Land after an attack to comfort the wounded and give last rites to the dying. They are still much- loved in the Forces and share their faith, serving where soldiers serve.

John was a powerful Gaelic preacher. During his time with the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Cameron Highlanders, he held Gaelic Services in the evenings out of sight of the enemy and a witness afterwards recalled "the glow of the evening sun in the faces of Highland lads in Flanders orchards singing the good old Gaelic Psalms line by line." We know that John was a Chaplain 4th Class (Captain) and had been serving with the 4th Cameron Highlanders when he was died on 4 November 1916 probably during a phase of the Battle of the Somme. He was killed by a shell burst, as he was tending to a wounded soldier.

He is buried at Janval Cemetery near Dieppe. From January 1915 to May 1919, a Section of No 5 Stationary Hospital was posted to the town and there are 219 military butials in the Cemetery. It is therefore also possible that John died of wounds. He left a widow and five children.

He is further commemorated, with all his Church of Scotland brother-Chaplains, on the Roll of Honour at St Andrews Royal Garrison Church in the home of the British Army, Aldershot.

Private Angus Maclnnes, Creag Mar, has benn difficult to identify. Creag Mar is, apparently, the name of an area round the quarry near Inverawe. There were two Angus Maclnnes's born about the correct period in the Taynuilt area. The best fit is the Angus who was the son of Skyeman, Lachlan Maclnnes who was shepherd at Grunachy and lived there with Janet his wife, a local girl from the parish of Glen Orchy and Inishail. In the 1901 Census, Angus was 4 years old and had three brothers, Lachlan (14), Alexander (12) and Neil (8). The eldest was Margaret aged 27 years. The other possibility is that Angus comes from the Maclnnes family who were at Ardmaddy and Glen Etive.

Whichever Angus it was, he enlisted at Bonawe and his address on enlistment is shown as "Taynuilt." He joined 1/8th Argylls as Private 1724 and served in "D" Company. From the record, he appears to have been medically downgraded as "unfit for Imperial Service" in 1915. The Doctor in Taynuilt refuted this and Angus returned to service.

He must have been a crack shot because he is shown as being a Battalion Sniper during the extended action at the Battle of Beaumont Hamel, where he lost his life on 13 November 1916 in the closing stages of the Battle. He is buried in plot D.1.2 at Maillywood Cemetery on the Somme north of Albert. Units of the 51st Highland Division used this cemetery for their casualties after the battle.

The Commonwealth War Graves Record further confuses the issue by showing details of Angus' next-of-kin on his gravestone as Mr J Maclnnes with a garbled address, which is presumably meant to be in. Soroba Road, Oban.

Major Alexander Cameron Maclntyre, MC, Croix de Guerre, Island Ferry, Bonawe, is probably the most distinguished and experienced soldier on the Memorial. In 1913, he was gazetted as Second Lieutenant in the 8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Territorial Battalion which had a large proportion of Argyllshire boys in it, particularly from Lorn, Appin, Ballachulish, Glen Coe, Nether Lorn, Kintyre, Mull and the Inner Hebrides.

Sandy was the son of Peter and Sarah Maclntyre who crofted at Inveresragan, Ardchattan and he was married to Katherine M Maclntyre. He quickly achieved promotion up through the ranks and before his death held the acting rank of Major. Local folklore tells of one attack in which, as a Captain, he was the only officer left unwounded and took firm command of the Battalion for the rest of the operation. He was awarded the Military Cross for distinguished conduct in the field on 24th June 1916 and was also Mentioned In Dispatches a week later. The French Government also decorated him with the Croix de Guerre.

As an experienced soldier, he was latterly attached to the 5th Seaforth Highlanders as either a Company Commander or Second-In-Command.

He died of wounds on 24th March 1918 and is buried at Etaples Military Cemetery in Plot XXVIII.E.5

The Maclntyres are a very ancient family on both sides of Loch Etive, particularly in Glen Noe. The author has traced Sandy's family in the area for at least three generations.

Sandy's Father was Peter, a blacksmith, who ran the Smiddy and a croft at Inveresragan, at the mouth of Glen Sallach and of the Esragan Burn.

His Mother Sarah, a Cameron from Morven, is shown in the 1901 Census as "Crofter and Grocer" by which time she is a widow. Her Father has come to live with them from Morven at age 87.Sandy's sister Margaret lives at home. For neighbours they have a Dalmally man, John MacLaren, the shepherd on the Inveresragan Estate, his wife Christina MacCallum from Taynuilt and his large family, which includes two unmarried sisters-in-law and Allan MacCallum, born in1818 in Taynuilt, who is blind.

In the Census, Sandy is shown as a "Sett Makers Apprentice " at the Bonawe Quarry but by the time he marries Catherine Campbell from Oban, he is shown on the record as a "School Board Clerk". The Wedding is held on 23 September 1913 in the Royal Hotel, Argyll Square, Oban presided over by the Reverend John MacCormick, the Minister of Achnanba Church Ardchattan. Catherine is a Post Mistress and daughter to "William Campbell, Harbour Master. "

The author knows that, before his untimely end on the battlefield, Sandy and Catherine were blessed with at least one child, a daughter. Local information says that she immigrated to Canada but made return visits Inveresragan. At her death, her ashes were, it seems, scattered at Inveresragan.

It is also intriguing to learn that Sandy would have been Grand Uncle to John Smith, the Labour MP, who died so untimely and is buried in Iona.

Private Angus MacKechnie, Kirkton. In the Census of 1901, Angus MacKechnie is shown as an 11-year old scholar who speaks Gaelic and English. He was the son of Angus and Margaret MacKechnie and lived in Kirkton with his sister Mary and a step- brother and sister, Donald and Maggie Cameron.

Angus, who is shown on the military records as McEachnie and born in Oban, enlisted in Perth .He served as Private 3/2630 as Private S/2630 with the 1sT battalion The Black Watch The Royal Highland Regiment. He must have been detached from Regimental Duty with his own Battalion and seconded to the next higher formation at Brigade because he is shown as being attached to Headquarters 154 Brigade on 12th September 1917 when he was killed in action. He was 26 years of age.

His In Memoriam in the Oban Times of 1917 for "a particularly gallant soldier" explains the secondment and the circumstances of his death. He was for 9 years the personal servant of Colonel Campbell- Preston, Ardchattan, to whom he was greatly attached. His patriotic ardour, however, drove him to enlist in the fighting line. In France he was orderly/personal servant to General Stewart and later General's runner for General Hamilton. The latter had sent him to a post behind the Front Line for a "rest" after much strenuous activity "in the Line". It was here that he was killed by a stray German shell. He is buried at Bard Cottage Cemetery near Ypres in Belgium in grave IV.G.42. The Front Line 1915-1918 faced the Germans on the Yser Canal and Bard Cottage was a little house somewhat back from the Line. A Cemetery was constructed by the fighting Units in a sheltered position under a high bank near the Cottage. A total of 1639 casualties are buried there.

Angus' Father, shown as" John" in the Oban Times Memorial but named "Angus" in the 1901 Census, was from Ardnamurchan and worked in Bonawe Quarry as a "Granite Quarryman". His Mother was from the parish of Glen Orchy and Inishail. At that time, Kirkton was a well-populated place. The MacKechnies appear to have lived at the Western end of Kirkton, close to the MacCallums at the Manse, and to Kenneth Beaton who was the Head Master of the Public School in Taynuilt and whose descendants, Frank Beaton and family still work the croft.

The family must have moved away from Kirkton because there is no evidence of the parents in the 1918 Voters Roll and no family grave in Muckairn.

Angus' gravestone in Belgium shows him as "Son of John McEachnie, Kirkton Taynuilt"

Fusilier Finlay MacLachlan, Laroch. War is a young man's game. Finlay MacLachlan was 24 years old at the 1901 Census and was aged 37 when the War started in 1914. This would seem to indicate that he was a volunteer. Many were influenced by patriotic fervour or by a feeling that they could not stand by while others suffered.

Finlay came from the MacLachlan family that farmed Clachadow. He lived there with his Father John, a Kilchattan man, and Mary his Mother who was born in the Parish of Kilmore and Kilbride.

He joined as Fusilier 296074 in the 12th (Ayr and Lanark Yeomanry) Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He died in Alexandria in Egypt at age 41. Alexandria was a Hospital Centre for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. Several large Military General Hospitals were based there and seriously ill servicemen and those wounded in action in other locations in the area were brought to the city for treatment.

He is buried in Grave A.32 in Hadra War Memorial Cemetery.

John and Mary MacLachlan retired to Laroch House in the Village Main Street. Their remaining son Colin had emigrated to Canada. The sisters, Mary, Bella and Margaret, never married and pursued careers of their own until they and Colin reunited in Achabuie, opposite Clachacharra, behind Grahams' Shop, where the ladies ran a Temperance Hotel.

Colin had felt he must return to Scotland to share the dangers and deprivations of the Second World War with his sisters. He joined the Royal Observer Corps and was a member of the intrepid sub-units who, 24 hours per day in all weathers, manned "The Post" on the left hand side at the top of the hill beyond Black Mill on the Glen Lonan Road. They observed enemy aircraft and had communications to the Connel and Oban Headquarters, which controlled the defences of Oban Bay and the Convoy Assembly Areas.

The MacLachlans were kindly, decent and hospitable Highland people and the author retains a very good remembrance of them.

Private Alexander Malcolm MacLarty, Ichrachan, was the son of Donald MacLarty, a Craignish man, and Janet or Jessie MacCallum, a girl from a well-established local family. Alexander was a top-rate craftsman: a joiner and carpenter who had trained in Midlothian and was in a skilled reserved occupation working as a wheelwright making gun-carriage wheels, work of national importance. He is described in the In Memoriam in the Oban Times as " a most estimable and intelligent young man ....well-known in Masonic circles." He was born in 1881 and was 34 years of age when the First World War broke out. He did not need to go to war, but chose to volunteer.

He had come home from Lothian to marry Margaret Campbell, one of seven daughters in the Campbell family, their only son Hugh having been killed in the Boer War. Alexander and Margaret lived initially in the cottage in Ichrachan which is now an old byre, at right angles to the A85 before the Ichrachan turn-off. Alexander was drafted in to the 7th (Service Battalion) York and Lancaster Regiment as Private 35135. He would have had no choice in the matter. The 7th had been selected to be what are known as "Divisional Troops", to carry out engineering and pioneer tasks under the direction of the Major General Commanding 17 (Northern) Division, a famous fighting Division, which had served with great distinction in the War. Alexander's skills as a joiner and carpenter would have been a great asset to his unit in frontline pioneer tasks.

He managed home on leave one last time in October 1917. At the time of Alexander was wounded on 31st October 1917, the Division was engaged in the battle which was later to be called Second Passchendale, 26th October to 10th November 1917. Although he was treated, his injuries became gangrenous and he died of his wounds on 22nd November 1917, probably at Etaples, near Boulogne, where there was an immense concentration of military camps and hospitals.

He lies in Etaples Cemetery, along with nearly 11,500 others who made the supreme sacrifice.

In the 1901 Census, Donald MacLarty (56) is shown as a "Ground Officer Estate". Jessie (46) his wife is shown as born Muckairn. Alexander (20) is shown as "Coachbuilder/ wheelwright". Both he and Robert (18) "Woodcutter " and Archibald (16) "Sett maker Apprentice" (who probably knew Alexander MacIntyre (q.v.)) and Maggie (14) "Scholar" are recorded as born in Kilmore and Kilbride. Jessie (11) and Donald (8) were born in Muckairn. James (7) died in infancy, named after the eldest son James who was killed in the South African War.

Archie and Donald emigrated to Canada but returned with the Canadian Army to fight in France. Donald was severely wounded but made a good recovery at a hospital in England. Archie died as an old man in a Veterans Home in Canada but kept a regular correspondence with the author's Mother, his cousin.

After Alexander died, his widow, Margaret raised her family of three on her own. Alexander's daughter, Annie MacAulay lives at Heather Cottage in Taynuilt and his descendants prosper both in the Village and in the South.

Ordinary Seaman Angus MacMaster, Glen Etive, was the son of Hugh and Ann MacMaster, Kinlochetive.

Possibly because he was already, a seaman, he was drafted in to the Royal Naval Reserve as Ordinary Seaman J/6651. He died at HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Barracks at Plymouth on 26th March 1917. He is buried at Ford Park Cemetery, formerly known as the Plymouth Old Pennycomequick.

Other than these rather sparse notes, it has been difficult to come across any other personal details. Hugh MacMaster is shown in the Electoral Roll 1918 as "Retired shepherd, Kinlochetive". There is two possible brothers for Angus: Archibald MacMaster, who is absent on military service but is shown as "Stalker Kinlochetive" and Allan MacMaster who is recorded as "Shepherd, Inverliever."

Private Neil MacNicol, Lochandhu, was the son of Alexander MacNicol a ploughman and Catherine Cunningham, a domestic servant and daughter of Rachel Cunningham of Lismore, a widow and crofter who spoke only Gaelic. He was born in 1887 in the Parish of Glen Orchy and Inishail but stayed with his Grandmother at Lorn Furnace.

He enlisted at Oban as Private 201740 in 2nd Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He was Killed In Action at the Battle of Passchendaele, on 23 November 1917, aged 27 years.

He is remembered on Panel 141 to 143 and 162 at Tyne Cot Memorial as "Son of Alexander and Catherine McNicol of Hillfoot, Neilston,Glasgow" and is one of 35,000 officers and men on the battlefield who have no known grave.

Private Duncan MacPhee, Bridge of Awe, was born in Duror on 13th May 1889: the son of Alexander MacPhee, "Granite Cutter" in the Granite Quarry in Duror and Catherine MacColl, a local girl.

He had originally studied engineering with the Caledonian Railway but moved to Kinlochleven and found work in the Aluminium Works where he was well known as "their foremost football player." While there, he suffered burns and moved to a job in the gardens at Inverawe. He married Annie MacDonald on 17th December 1913 in MacNeill's Temperance Hotel in Oban, the town where he also enlisted as a volunteer very soon after War broke out. He was drafted into the 211c1 Battalion Royal Scots as Private 31168. He was declared Missing in Action on 9th April 1917 aged 28 years at the Battle of Arras. He died when an incoming shell burst among his platoon as they were taking part in an advance. He is commemorated in Bays 1 and 2 of the Arras Memorial for those who have no known grave.

His Father seems to have moved to Kinlochleven while Duncan was young and worked as a foreman platelayer. He later moved to Taynuilt and Duncan's declaration on joining the Army shows Bridge of Awe, Taynuilt as his home.

After she was widowed, Annie MacPhee moved to Connel where her address was Lora House, Connel.

The Mcbean Brothers, Inverawe

The McBeans were the sons of Hugh McBean, a Kilmartin man, and Christine Sinclair who was born in Kilmore and Kilbride. The couple are shown in the 1901 Census as "caretakers at Inverawe House." Both they and the family were fluent both in Gaelic and English.

James McBean, is shown in the Census of 1901, as a 15-year-old under-gardener at Inverawe, so he was 29 years old when World War 1 started, and a gamekeeper for Mr Currie who purchased the estate. He had enlisted at Taynuilt pre-war, at age 16, as Trooper 1078 and, at the time the photo was taken he was serving with the Scottish Horse, which was a Territorial Army Mounted Regiment. The Regiment served out in the Middle East fighting at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli as dismounted troops against the Turks and in Salonika against the Bulgars. It is likely that James stayed with the Regiment during these actions.

In Egypt, after Gallipoli, the 1St and 2nd Scottish Horse were renamed and formed up at Abbassia as 13th (Scottish Horse) Battalion The Black Watch The Royal Regiment. They were, however, allowed to retain their distinctive badge, headdress and buttons. James took the Regimental No. 315765 and rose to the rank of Sergeant.

In July 1918, the Unit was sent from the Middle East direct to France in support of operations in that theatre, as part of 50th Northumbrian Division. There, James is described as being" at the forefront of everything that concerned the happiness of the men and his good spirits always affected others."

He did, however, worry about the fact that his two brothers had been killed and that his own death would finish off his Mother and Father. An eyewitness, Hector MacLean, told Angus MacIntyre (Taynuilt and Tobermory) a story about James. Hector said that James' platoon was defending a ruined Sugar Factory in the Front Line. James had again been expressing his worries about the effect his death would have on his parents, Hugh and Christine McBean. He had scarcely stopped speaking when he was a shot dead by a stray bullet.

James was thus Killed In Action on 17th October 1918 at age 32 and is buried in Highland Cemetery, Le Cateau France. After the Battle of Le Cateau (26 August 1914), the town had 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 in which James was killed; 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. James is buried with 31 of his comrades at plot III B 19. After his death, 11 NCO 's and men of his Company wrote a voluntary letter to his parents speaking of James' line life and character."

John McBean, was born in 1881. At the time of enlistment in Oban, he appears to have been resident in Kilmelford and married to Annie McBean who lived post-war at the Old School House.Lochearnhead. He enlisted as Gunner 167192 in the Royal Field Artillery. He died of wounds on 24th December 1917 at age 36 years while serving with C Battery 232 Brigade. He is buried in plot G21 at Ruyaulcourt Military Cemetery, France.

William McBean, was born in 1888 and was a brilliant student Engineer at Heriots Hospital, Edinburgh. He was commissioned from the ranks of 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders , as a Temporary 2 Lt. He was Acting Captain in 11th Argylls when he was Killed In Action on 12th May 1916 at age 28 years. His death came at the end of a night in which he distinguished himself during a German attack, taking charge of the counter-attack, finding units on the flanks despite being gassed with tear- gas and finally taking the firing-step with rifle in hand like his men. A brother-officer remarked : "McBean was magnificent! "

Just at the moment when the last attack had been beaten off, he was killed by a single sniper-shot to the head. He was the first of the three brothers to be killed and his Father Hugh presented a bed in Dungallan Military Hospital in his memory. By a strange coincidence, its first occupant was a soldier who had been in William's platoon when he had been a Platoon Sergeant before commissioning.

He must have been quite an extraordinary officer and personality, described as "frank, genial, untiring and fearless". At the behest of Colonel MacNeill of Dungrianach, a stone seat of granite from Inverawe Quarry was erected by the officers of the Argylls at the mouth of the Awe on the Inverawe side and unveiled by Campbell of Lochnell in July 1917. Mrs Campbell of Dunstaffnage delivered the address and said that it was appropriate that the memorial should be on her land as she intended to hand the estate over to her son who was himself a soldier and a Prisoner of War. She was delighted that Lochnell, whose ancestor had raised the 91st Argyllshire Highlanders, held Lt McBean of the Regiment in such esteem.

Hugh McBean had been in the service of the Campbells of Dunstaffnage for many years at Inverawe and was, by 1917, tenant of Home Farm, Balure and Inverawe Ferry. His wife Christina Sinclair came from a family of Sinclairs who had farmed for many generations on Lochnell properties, particularly Strontoiller. It was thus particularly apt that Lochnell should unveil the memorial seat.

The memorial for William McBean was placed near the "Penny Ferry" which crossed the mouth of the Awe near the ancient Inn, which had stood for centuries on the site. The seat was, fortunately, rescued during Hydro Board operations and is now used as a village seat at the foot of the Church Brae on Taynuilt Main Street.

As a seasoned soldier James McBean took a friendly interest in the Taynuilt Section of the Argyllshire Volunteers - the Home Guard - and on his last home leave gave them the benefit of his expertise in drill.

Donald Mc Bean, the eldest brother, was allegedly the last ferryman on the Penny Ferry at the mouth of the Awe.

As the Mother of three lost sons, Mrs McBean was invited to unveil the Taynuilt War Memorial on 24th November 1921.

Captain Thomas Arthur Nelson, Achnacloich, ("Tommy") was the son of Thomas and Jessie Kemp Nelson of the publishing family. He was born in St Leonard's Edinburgh in 1877 and went up to University College Oxford after completing his secondary education at Edinburgh Academy. He was a brilliant Rugby player and an Oxford Blue who captained the University XV and played inside three-quarters for Scotland. He was also, in 1898, President of Vincent's, an exclusive Oxford Athletic Club which "consisted of the picked hundred of the University, selected for all-round qualities; social, physical and intellectual qualities being duly considered"

He was said to be the most popular and well liked of his contemporaries at Oxford. This engaging characteristic stood him in good stead when he became a publisher in the "great publishing house of Nelson's" and when he was Laird of his Achnacloich Estate. He married Margaret Balfour of Dawyck, daughter of Alexander Balfour, a shipping magnate, and sister of a fellow student at Oxford, at Dawyck, Peebles in 1903 at age 26.

He joined the Lothian and Border Horse, a mounted Territorial Yeomanry Unit and is shown as "TA Nelson Lothian and Border Horse" when John Buchan dedicated the first edition of "The Thirty-Nine Steps" to him, saying "I should like to put your name on (this book) in memory of our long friendship in the days when the wildest fictions are much less improbable than the facts." John Buchan and John were up at Oxford at the same time.

As Thomas Nelson III, he directed the family publishing firm, which grew and prospered under his management. He also took a keen interest in social concerns in Scotland, particularly the establishment of Gothenburg Arms public houses, which encouraged temperance and capped profit at 5% with the surplus going to improve local social amenities.

He entered into the spirit of the war with characteristic energy and was mentioned in despatches at the Battle of the Ancre, in late 1916. He had probably by this time been seconded to the Machine Gun Corps. This final period before his death was spent with the most novel and secret of weapons, the "Tanks" and he enjoyed every moment of it.

He was mortally wounded at Arras on 9th April 1917 and is reputed to have died in the arms of an Anglo- French soldier called Paul Lucien Maze.

One who knew him wrote: "A good soldier he was, by nature, with his quick intelligence, his faithfulness, his unshakeable good humour and his perfect courage. He died, as he would have wished, in his country's triumphant advance to that end for which he held no sacrifice too great (and) he carried to his last fight that clean and happy spirit which he had kept from boyhood, undimmed." He is buried at Faubourg D'Amiens Cemetery at Arras.

Thomas Arthur left a widow, two sons and four daughters. Margaret Balfour is buried at Muckairn where her gravestone records that she subsequently married Monsieur Maze. Paul Lucien Maze DCM MM was of Anglo-French extraction. He was born in 1887 and served in World War One, 1914-1918, unofficially with Royal Scots Greys, later with the French Army on reconnaissance work. He served in World War Two, 1939-1945, in the Home Guard and as personal Staff Officer to Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Travers Harris and was appointed by Bomber Command to help investigate the effects of British bombing raids on German towns, 1945. He retired from the Army in 1945 and established an international reputation as a painter. He died in 1979.

Private Alexander R Newton, Taynuilt, was the son of Robert Newton, Grocer, and Agnes Russell and lived at Dalriada on the Hall Brae in Taynuilt. He was born in 1889. He enlisted as Private 1573 in the 3/8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He died in the Military Wing of Stobhill Hospital Glasgow on 30th January 1916 as a result of a gunshot wound to the right leg, which necessitated an operation to release a posterior tibial nerve. Various thromboses set in and after two days the wound became gangrenous, resulting in his death. Major Archibald Young MBChB of the Royal Army Medical Corps certified the death. Alexander's brother, Robert Newton was present. Alexander is buried in Plot 2.2 in Paisley Woodside Cemetery.

The 1891 Census shows Robert Newton and Agnes staying at 33 Combie Street Oban with their children John (10) Jane (9) Elizabeth (7) Isabella (5), Isaac (3) and Alexander (2). Robert Junior is not present. By the time Alexander is shot in the leg, the family has moved to Taynuilt and Robert Senior and Agnes are dead. Robert is a grocer in Taynuilt living at Dalriada. Isaac has got married to wife Jessie and is living with her at Bay Cottage, Airds Bay.

Gunner James Scott, Glen Etive, was the son of David Scott from Fowlis Wester, gardener at Druimachoish, Glen Etive and Mary Scott, his wife who came from Kilmonivaig, Invernessshire. James was born in 1893 in Ireland. The Census of 1901 shows that he had two brothers, James (18), David (10) and two sisters Flora (5) and Barbara (2). He enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery in Oban and trained as Gunner 125771.He was serving with B Battery 177 Brigade in the last months of the War: an artillery unit that supported the 51st Highland Division. He died in France on 29th August 1918, aged 25 years of age. He is buried in Plot IV.E.1 at Anzin-St Aubin British Cemetery, a cemetery used by the 51st Highland Division in the last months of the War. His brother, Davy Scott and a business partner set up a transport company, Weate and Scott in Taynuilt. Thereafter, Davy was the driver/mechanic in Taynuilt Garage in the early 50s. He lodged at "Aros" with Miss Alice MacDonald.

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Taynuilt War Memorial unveiled by Mrs McBean on 24 November 1921

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to acknowledge all those who have encouraged him and have contributed to the information that made this booklet possible. First must come Donald ("Gorm") MacGregor, who first spoke up for a Second World War Memorial and has lobbied vigorously for it.

A Memorial is not just a list of names. It is about people. The relatives and descendants of the fallen keep their names alive. It has been a privilege to share in their family memories, to see precious old photos and to handle mementoes.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission solved some mysteries, as did the staff and databases at the National Archives. Kew, the Register House Edinburgh and the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Our County Archivist, Murdo MacDonald, was helpful as were the Librarians in Oban Library who dug out the Census Returns. The Museums of the Scottish Horse and the Black Watch helped out, but special mention must be made of the Regimental Secretary and Museum staff of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders at Stirling Castle. They were particularly supportive, providing some splendid photos, extracts from Regimental War Diaries and details on individuals. lain Nicolson of The Oban Times was also a tower of strength, providing PR and access to old copy.

We are indebted to the long-established Taynuilt builders, Alasdair MacGregor and Sons, in particular Kenny, for their expertise and generosity in inserting the memorial plaque in position.

The financial generosity of certain other organisations, local firms and individual benefactors, especially the relatives of the war dead, was especially heart-warming.

We are indebted to Taynuilt Community Council, the Royal British Legion, Oban Branch and Neil McGougan, Builders, Taynuilt for major contributions.

We are also grateful to the generous individual benefactors shown below:

Campbell lain, Grahams Shop, Taynuilt. Campbell Mollie and Katie Clayton, Ardchattan Priory and Dunavin, Taynuilt. Campbell-Preston Robert, Inverawe House, Taynuilt. Dewar Isobel, Norwood, Taynuilt. Douglas Angus, Ronlas House and Awe Filling Station, Bridge of Awe, Taynuilt. Fitzgibbon Mrs Annie, (widow of Sgt Johnnie Fitzgibbon 7th Argylls, Bonawe.) Fleming John, (nephew of Sgt Duncan Fleming) Gow Miss Rita, Cuil Ghrianach, Taynuilt. Graham Miss Elizabeth, Gowanbrae, Taynuilt. Grant Miss Sheila, Lonan House Taynuilt. Hannigan Peter and Pamela, Birchwood, Airds Bay, Taynuilt. Houston Arthur, West Manse, Taynuilt. Kidd Michael, Ceann Pairc, Taynuilt. Livingstone Mary, Balindore Taynuilt (niece of Pte Dugald MacGregor.) Macfarlane John ("Squashy"), Airds, Taynuilt. MacGregor Donald ("Gorm"), Achlonan, Taynuilt. Maclntyre Eric, Loughborough, Tobermory and Taynuilt (relative of Gnr D Campbell) MacLeod Roderick, (nephew of Pilot Officer N MacLeod) MacNaught, Church and Macfarlane Families, Shore Cottage, Shore House Lorn Furnace, Taynuilt and elsewhere. McCallum Professor R Ian, (cousin of Pilot Officer Norman MacLeod.) McGladdery Mrs Isabel, (daughter of Sgt Duncan Fleming.) McGregor Maj and Mrs WR (formerly of Taynuilt.) Michael Mrs R P, (Anne, daughter of Maj AC Huntington on behalf of the family.) Reffin Family, Bridge of Awe and elsewhere.