Roxy Posted 15 September , 2010 Share Posted 15 September , 2010 Alexander Rettie died in the parish of New Deer on 28 Jan 1915 of pulminary tuberculosis. His death certificate indicates that he was a Naval Reservist on HM Ship Pitstruen 89 - I suspect that it meant HM Trawler Pitstruan. I can find no evidence of Alexander on CWGC. Is he a non-comm? Roxy Edited to get the name right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnethmont Posted 16 September , 2010 Share Posted 16 September , 2010 Roxy As a Reservist ( essentially a Civilian ) he would only qualify for CWGC in certain circumstances involving enemy action, not due to illness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Underdown Posted 17 September , 2010 Share Posted 17 September , 2010 If he'd been recalled to the colours, I thought he would be just as eligible as any other serving personnel. Can't see any records on teh TNA site though. There's a James Shirran, but that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Posted 17 September , 2010 Author Share Posted 17 September , 2010 Thanks. I have no evidence to suggest that he was ever in the military; only the wording on his DC. He was the ship's cook on a Trawler requistioned to Service; his death does not, on first look, to be the result of his Service, so I guess that means - if Jim is correct - that he does not belong on CWGC. I guess that this thread is, therefore, closed. Roxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Clark Posted 17 September , 2010 Share Posted 17 September , 2010 On 17/09/2010 at 20:25, Roxy said: Thanks. I have no evidence to suggest that he was ever in the military; only the wording on his DC. He was the ship's cook on a Trawler requistioned to Service; his death does not, on first look, to be the result of his Service, so I guess that means - if Jim is correct - that he does not belong on CWGC. I guess that this thread is, therefore, closed. Roxy Perhaps all is NOT lost YET! How exactly did he lose his life according to the DC? Only after careful consideration of the circumstances can an informed decision be made whether he's entitled to a official CWGC commemoration. Remember to look at the cause of death carefully and always consider a secondary INFECTION following war service... Perhaps a copy of the DC (or at least a word by word transcript) would help others give advice, what is his profession listed and has it a military or quasi-military conitation? Trawlers that were requisitioned for naval service (mostly as minesweepers) were often crewed by owners and their normal civilian crew. More importantly they were often given the status of Royal Fleet Reserve (RFR), RNVR or RNR officers & sailors for the duration of the war. It's perfectly possible that your chap here was RFR or RNR and therefore is a goodun. These links may help? http://www.antiquusmorbus.com/ Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Posted 19 September , 2010 Author Share Posted 19 September , 2010 I posted some details of the DC here: Roxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnethmont Posted 19 September , 2010 Share Posted 19 September , 2010 Roxy The DC on the other thread relates to an Alexander Rettie, which explains why I could not find Shirran's death at New Deer. It probably is him at Aberdeen as the family were there in 1891 and 1901. He was born at Tyrie and it looks as if they moved to Aberdeen in 1890. If he was a civilian member of the Reserve ( that detail might be wrong) you would have to prove he was embodied into the Royal Navy at his death to have any prospect of commemoration by CWGC for a death due to TB. I doubt it was the case, but if so, I suspect it would be very difficult to prove unless you have original papers from the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Posted 20 September , 2010 Author Share Posted 20 September , 2010 Jim is indeed correct - that's what happens when you research 2 families from NE Scotland where they all have the same Christian names! I was actually refering to Alexander RETTIE (not Shirran). I only have the DC which indicates that he was the ship's cook at the time of his death. Incidentally, the crew of the Pitstruan, when she was sunk by a mine in 1917, are commemorated on CWGC; however, I suspect that that is easier to substantiate. Roxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnethmont Posted 20 September , 2010 Share Posted 20 September , 2010 Incidentally, the crew of the Pitstruan, when she was sunk by a mine in 1917, are commemorated on CWGC; however, I suspect that that is easier to substantiate. Roxy Roxy These men will automatically qualify for CWGC as their deaths were due to enemy actions and not on account of illness, normal ocupational risks, etc. Shirran / Rettie - You should be able to edit your existing posts to correct the surname. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Underdown Posted 21 September , 2010 Share Posted 21 September , 2010 There's an Alexander Robinson Rettie from Kelvin in the RN records - but he wass till serving post-war, so it's not the same man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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