1 Men of Greenock who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 A Memorial Record MEN OF GREENOCK WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1918 Published by the War Memorial Committee Men of Greenock who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 IN THIS BOOK ARE ENSHRINED THE NAMES OF OVER FIFTEEN HUNDRED MEN FROM THE TOWN OF GREENOCK WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR. Men of Greenock who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 THE FIFTEEN HUNDRED AT THE CALL OF duty they left their homes and their dear ones; native born and incomer they went forth from the town, and they came not back again. By land and sea they endured hardship and faced danger, and finally passed from the sight of men through the shining gates of Self Sacrifice, giving up their lives that we might live without dishonour The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and we dare not even yet intrude with our sympathy into the homes where there is a chair for ever vacant and a voice for ever still. Only in silent gratitude can we honour the unreturning dead, lifting our hearts in the stillness to catch an echo of the voices we once heard, and a glimpse of the faces we once knew. "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn, At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them." They are the unreturning dead. They gave all that man could give, poured out the rich blood of their Youth, thrust aside the chalice that Life held to their lips. They died—and they died for us who are left. IN HONOUR OF THOSE WHO SERVED. THE GLORY OF THEIR SACRIFICE is beyond our imagining and beyond our words. All that can be said of those who were spared can be said of those who died; but for the inexpressible More that the dead, in the Providence of God, were called upon to give, no words can be found that fitly signify the grandeur of the sacrifice Only in setting forth the achievements of those who were spared can we pay tribute to those who fell. : : : : HONOUR FOR EVER THE UNFORGOTTEN DEAD. But, we forget not those who stood by their side in times of danger; those who fought with them in the heat of battle, or with them went down to the perilous seas in ships. We remember that there are many of whom the ultimate sacrifice was not asked, who were spared to come back to the familiar places of home; we remember how many of them still bear in mind or body grievous traces of the ordeal through which they passed; and we give them our thanks for what things they endured in our cause. Men of Greenock who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 It was not given to all to serve with the fighting forces, for without shells and ships and other armament the war could not have been carried on. Therefore, when we take account of all those who laid us for ever in their debt, we remember in gratitude those who bore the burden and heat of the day in factory and workshop, labouring to serve their country's need. IN SYMPATHY WITH THOSE WHO SUFFERED THE SEA that flows by Greenock's doors is the very fount of her existence and the foundation of her prosperity. We are especially proud, therefore, to reflect how the services of Greenock's sons during the war maintained and strengthened the Town's connection with the sea, and with the Navy, "upon which, under the Providence of God, the honour and safety of this realm do most chiefly depend." To those who laboured amid the clangour of the shipyards, answering the call for ships and ever more ships, we have good reason to render thanks. : : : : HUNDREDS OF WOMEN, too, stepped gladly into place beside the machines, hardening their hands with unaccustomed toil the while they forged the weapons of victory. They served their Town and their Country nobly, no less than their sisters who worked long hours in the sick air of hospitals, lending their skill and their gracious presence to bind up the wounds of stricken men and comfort them in affliction. "They also serve who only stand and wait" — and in time of War to wait is perhaps the hardest task of all. No fighting man looked into the eyes of danger who did not risk another's life as well as his own. No man suffered but another's heart suffered with him. All honour is due to the, women to whom years or circumstance denied the satisfaction of taking an active part in the struggle. To them the lot fell to stand and wait. It was given to them only to lend the assistance of their prayers and, by their words and letters, to nerve the arm and cheer the spirits of the men who fought. IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE BEYOND THIS, these wives and mothers could do nothing. Helpless and alone, they had to face the long drawn agony of waiting and watching, tortured a score of times every day with the thought of the news the morrow might bring, going about their daily round with a cheerful countenance lest their fears might add to a sister's burden; daily hearing how Fate had robbed a neighbouring home, hiding as beneath a mask the aching dread that made the days a darkness and the nights an abyss of lonely fear. Their courage endured to the end. Without it, victory had not been ours. Men of Greenock who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 : : : : TEN YEARS HAVE PASSED since the flame of war scorched across the face of Europe. Fire fuses what it does not destroy, and the fire of war fused all our people together into one solid, united, determined whole. A new spirit was abroad in the land. Men looked into each others eyes and saw that they were brothers. For the first time many realised that they were citizens of one great Commonwealth, owing duties as well as possessing rights. A great ideal began to shape and form in men's minds: an ideal of Peace; of a world where the Spirit of Love would be enthroned above the Spirit of Hate; of a country where men and women might live and laugh and love without fear or bitterness, where little children might grow up in the sunshine, where the shadow of war might no more darken the lives of a peaceful and contented people. IN GLORIOUS HOPE ONLY BY SUCH A UNITY of purpose as we maintained during the War can such an ideal be attained. Given such unity, such recognition of duties as well as rights, such realisation of our common brotherhood, and no bounds can be set to the limits of our progress along the road of happiness. The grass grows greenest where the fire has passed. Just a little forbearance, a little charity, a little tenderness for those less fortunate than ourselves, a little of the comradeship that helped our fighting men through the stress and storm of warfare on land and sea, will make the grass grow greener and the sun shine more brightly in this dear country of ours that has been bought for us anew by the blood of those who fought and died. So, perhaps, we may make it at the end almost worthy of the price that was paid to keep it free. Men of Greenock who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 Men of Greenock who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 The Men of Greenock Who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 ABBOTT, JAMES, Sergeant, 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers ADAMS, ADAM, Private, 2nd Highland Light Infantry ADAMS, ANDREW W., Driver, Royal Army Service Corps ADAMS, DAVID, Private, 13th Royal Scots ADAMS, JOSEPH, Private, 20th King's London Regiment ADAMS, SIMON, Sapper, Royal Engineers ADAMS, WILLIAM, Private, 11th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ADAMSON, JAMES, Private, 6th Connaught Rangers AINSLIE, JOHN E., 2nd Lieutenant, 9th Royal Scots AITKEN, ANDREW, 2nd Lieutenant, South African Expeditionary Force AITKEN, CHARLES, Private, 5th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders AITKEN, JAMES, Sergeant, Royal Engineers AITKEN, ROBERT, Private, 2nd Gordon Highlanders AITKEN, WILLIAM, Private, 16th Royal Scots ALEXANDER, DONALD, Private, 11th Highland Light Infantry ALEXANDER, EDWARD, Private, 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ALEXANDER, EDWARD, Lance-Corporal, 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers ALEXANDER, HUMPHREY, Driver, Royal Army Service Corps ALEXANDER, WILLIAM, Chief Engineer, Transport Service ALLAN, GEORGE W., Private, 1st Highland Light Infantry ALLAN, GORDON S., Private, 8th Seaforth Highlanders ALLAN, JOHN, Lance-Corporal, 3rd Seaforth Highlanders ALLAN, JOHN B., Corporal, 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ALLAN, PETER R., Private, South African Expeditionary Force ALLEN, FRANK D., Private, 5th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ALLEN, THOMAS H., Lance-Corporal, 5th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ALLISON, NEIL, Private, 3rd Seaforth Highlanders ALLISON, SAMUEL, Gunner, Royal Field Artillery ANDERSON, ARCHIBALD McC., Transport Service ANDERSON, GEORGE A., Lieutenant, 6th Black Watch ANDERSON, GRAEME S., Corporal, 8th Seaforth Highlanders ANDERSON, H., Private, Canadian Expeditionary Force ANDERSON, JAMES, Driver, Royal Army Service Corps ANDERSON, THOMAS, Private, 5th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ANDERSON, WILLIAM, Private, 2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ANDREW, FRANCIS, Sergeant, 10th Royal Field Artillery ANDREW, THOMAS, Private, 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ANGUS, WILLIAM, Private, 10th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ARLOW, WILLIAM J., Transport Service ARMOUR, CHARLES H., Lance Sergeant, 2nd Highland Light Infantry ARMOUR, JOHN, Private, 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ARMOUR, WILLIAM T., Seaman, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve ARTHUR, WILLIAM RONALD, Private, 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Men of Greenock who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 AULD, GEORGE L., Royal Naval Division BAGAN, JAMES, Private, 9th Black Watch BAGAN, JOHN, Gunner, Royal Field Artillery BAIN, ALEXANDER, Lance-Corporal, 8th Seaforth Highlanders BAIN, THOMAS, Lance-Corporal, 5th Seaforth Highlanders BALM, FREDERICK, Private, 3rd Lancashire Fusiliers BANKHEAD, JAMES, Driver, Royal Army Service Corps BANKS, ROBERT, Leading Seaman, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve BARBOUR, ANGUS, Sapper, Royal Engineers, Inland Water Transport BARBOUR, ARCHIBALD, Private, 6th Cameron Highlanders BARBOUR, HUGH, Private, 6th Cameron Highlan3ers BARBOUR, JOHN S., Private, 6th Cameron Highlan3ers BARCLAY, ROBERT, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve BARNETT, ALEXANDER McP., Private, 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders BARR, ALEXANDER, Lance-Corporal, Royal Army Service Corps, Mech.