Harry M. K. Peddie, Royal Garrison Artillery

[DoubleD]

This soldier is commemorated on the Perth Academy Wat Memorial.

82239, Bombardier Harry M. K. Peddie, Royal Garrison Artillery. Killed in action, 11th October 1916. Son of Dr W. J. Peddie and Mrs Janet Kyle Peddie of Stanley, Perthshire. Buried in Bienvillers Military Cemetery. Ref: V. C. 4.

I have contacted the Royal Artillery Museum and they added that he was in the 177th Siege Battery RGA, 19th Heavy Artillery Group, but couldn't give me any more information.

Anything about him, or any help or advice, would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Dave

[dundeesown]

Harry Macdonald Kyle Peddie, Birthplace Stanley,Residence Montrose,Enlisted Buckie.

Gary

[DoubleD]

Cheers Gary!

[ororkep]

Dave,

From my database:

177Sge Bty 11/10/1916. Position Bienvillers.Time 10.15a.m.

“A party was sent down to the billets when all seemed quite to get rations and the office stationery boxes. Five were killed by one shell at the crossroads near the billet: Bdr Davies, a/Bdr Peddie, Gnrs Wood, Lockyer and Taylor and two others wounded.”

11/10/1916 cont…Time 3.p.m. The men who had been killed were buried in the Cemetery by the brickfield E7b.50.20.(Sheet 57D).

Rgds

Paul

[DoubleD]

Paul,

Thank you very much for that very detailed piece of information.

Regards,

Dave

[rolt968]

He is on the Buckie war memorial.

http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/warmemscot-ftopic2263.html

RM

[rolt968]

Interesting! The Register of Soldier's Effects says sole legatee Miss Dorothy N(?) Bruce. There should be a will somewhere.

RM

Edit: There is a soldier's will at scotlandspeople.

"to my friend Miss Dorothy May Bruce, Deemount, Cliff Terrace, Buckie"

RM

[rolt968]

Dundee Courier, 16 November 1916, reports his death and says he came from Montrose. He doesn't seem to be on the Montrose War Memorial.

His mother was born in Australia.

Extracts from past editions of the Banffshire Advertiser used to online somewhere, but I can't immediately see them.

RM

[DoubleD]

RM.

Once again I am very grateful for your efforts in finding information about the background of Harry Peddie.

Cheers,

Dave

[rolt968]

RM.

Once again I am very grateful for your efforts in finding information about the background of Harry Peddie.

Cheers,

Dave

Hi Dave,

This one is intriguing me a bit as I used to know both Buckie and Montrose quite well.

RM

[Guest njp1234]

I cam across this forum post by chance.

Harry Peddie was my Great Uncle and twin sister to my Maternal Grandmother. Just wondering why there was a shared interest? Was he a relative of yours?

If you have any more information I would love to have anything you have, as my 95 year old mother (his niece) has only fragmented memories left.

I have attached a photo from one of our family albums. This shows that he was working in the Clydesdale Bank in Buckie before he was called up.

Thanks

Nigel

[DoubleD]

Hello Nigel,

Great to see your post.

I have pm'd you the details of the school project.

Best wishes,

Dave

[kevinrowlinson]

A little bit of additional info, which hasn't been posted.

He would have been conscripted/mobilised around the 22th-24th May 1916 and been told to report to No.2 Depot, Citadel, Plymouth, a day or two later. From there he was probably posted to 16 Coy (Company) at Weymouth on/around the 3rd June 1916. A month later he would have then been posted to 177th Siege Battery on formation. This 4 x 6in Hows (26 cwt) battery left England on the 24th September 1916 and disembarked the next day. Unfortunately, as one can see, he was only "in the field" for 16 days before being killed.

Kevin

[DoubleD]

Kevin,

Thanks very much for the information.

Dave

[rolt968]

The note on the bottom of the photo gives us the Buckie link.

A bit more to come.

RM

Edit: Dave, I rather left this thread hanging in the air thinking it was straightforward. However a couple of things are not:

CWGC is slightly misleading, both Harry M K Peddie's parents were dead; his father in 1898 (not 1905 as an ancestry tree says) in strange circumstances and his mother in 1914.

Dorothy May Bruce (to whom Herry left everything in his will) is interesting.

I don't think we will ever know if there was some kind of romance or if she was a friend or perhaps the niece of his landlord/landlady. His parents' deaths explain a bit why he left everything to her.

She was born in Aberdeen in 1898. In both the 1901 and 1911 census she was living at Cliff Terrace, Buckie, shown as the niece of the head of the household (though that might mean niece of the wife of the head of the household). Her uncle was Henry H Smart. harbourmaster of Buckie. In 1911, Dorothy's older sister Isabella was also living there and there was a lodger - not Harry Peddie.

Dorothy married in Aberdeen in 1920, still giving Cliff Terrace, Buckie as her home address and died in 1922 in hospital in Banff, also still giving Cliff Terrace, Buckie as her home address.

RM

Edit 2:

The "Buckie Branch of the Clydesdale Bank" intrigues me.

The main bank which served the north-east of Scotland was the North of Scotland Bank. The Clydesdale and North of Scotland banks merged in 1923, but the NOSB continued to exist until the 1940s (ish) when the whole lot became the Clydesdale and North of Scotland Bank. However if my memory serves me rightly (after 60 years) in the 1950s Buckie had two branches of the C & NoS B - a town branch and a harbour branch.

RM

[DoubleD]

RM,

Yet again, a fantastic amount of detail, and fascinating stuff.

Many thanks for taking the time to find it all.

Best wishes,

Dave

[DoubleD]

The Clydesdale Bank has a War Memorial in their branch at St Vincent Place, Glasgow, which bears the name of HMK Peddie. I have attached an image. More details are available on the Scottish War Memorials Project website.

Dave