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Remembered Today:

Inconsistent detials around deaths in France


Path66

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My grandfather Peter Fowler Glass died in July 1918, I have a number of letters with differing details. There is the official "brown" paper saying he's missing then another saying he's dead. There are two letters from his friends, another form an officer plus a number of conflicting details. the dates vary between 15th -25th July.

My granny was not at home when they came as she had just lost her daughter to the flu and had moved to her mothers in Edinburgh.

I can not find a lot about his war service as the records were destroyed in the WW2 bombings.

I have some details but not many such as the CWG and the medal role. I do not even know when or where he signed up.

This is what I have been able to work out:

Corporal Peter Fowler Glass 28034 killed 25/07/1918 was in the 9th Battalion of the 9th Cameronians Scottish rifles. Killed in action son of George and Ann Craigie Glass of Edinburgh & husband of Jemima Glass of 36 Seymour street ,Crossmylof, Glasgow aged 35 buried in Meteron Military cemetery Plot 11 J248

9th Scots rifles Cpl. died 25-07-1918, records of exhumation and reburial from map reference X13.b.6.3 no effects, burial in plot 2 row K number K248, gravestone cross, 1053/1D choice of words agreed with wife "Sleep my beloved, sleep and take rest good night".

9th battalion Scottish rifles, 2nd royal Scottish fusiliers & south African corps took back Meteron from the Germans who had held it from 1915 after 2 week bombardment on the 19th july 1918

Cemetery Meteren is a village 17.5 kilometres south-west of Ieper (Belgium) and 3 kilometres west of Bailleul on the main road to Cassel. When heading through the village towards Bailleul from Cassel, turn left along D.18 opposite the Mairie. The cemetery is 200 metres further up this road on the left hand side and is situated to the rear of the civil cemetery.

Meteren was occupied by German forces early in October 1914 and on 13 October, their entrenched positions covering the village were captured by the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division. The village then remained in Allied hands until the German offensive of April 1918. The 33rd Division held it against heavy German attacks on 13 April, but it was lost on the 16th. The sector was then taken over by French troops for a time, but on 19 July, the 9th (Scottish) Division (2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers and South African Composite Battalion) recovered the site of the village after a fortnight's bombardment which completely destroyed the houses. The cemetery was made in 1919 by the French authorities, who brought in Commonwealth, French and German graves from the neighbouring battlefields and from other cemeteries, and a further ten Commonwealth graves were brought from Meteren Churchyard in 1923. The German and some of the French graves have since been removed to other cemeteries.

Casualty Details: UK 587, Canada 7, Australia 104, New Zealand 22, South Africa 31, India 17, France 69, Total Burials: 837

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The soldiers effects records show he had 25 months qualify service at time of death

Craig

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From SDGW

Name: Peter Fowler Glass

Birth Place: Newington, Midlothian

Enlistment Place: Glasgow

regards Ray

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With 25 months or so of Service, per Soldiers Effects Register, that would put his enlistment date as about June 1916.

The records quoted above by various Pals all give 25 July 1918 as his Date of Death, do you not accept that?

Of course, his comrades would write, but in the heat of battle detailing precisely how a man died would likely vary, depending on what the men thought they saw, plus there was a desire to make the mans death seemingly instant and painless, regardless of the actual truth, to soften the blow.

It might be worth obtaining a copy of the 9th Battalion Scottish Rifles (Cameronians) War Diary for the period up to and after his death, to see what they may contain. It is unlikely to mention him by name but you never know.

The date of his Will may well be about the time he was being sent to France.

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#28030 was allocated Sep 16 so we have one of a couple of possibilities - one of which is ruled out straight away.

1) He was a lance corporal and not a full corporal (can't be the case due to the way the gratuity worked)

2) He had service prior to being in the cameronians by at least a few months.

3) His gratuity was calculated wrongly.

From experience #2 is the one I would go with.

Craig

Edited by ss002d6252
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The Minor Records, Service Records (scotlandspeople - as near as a death in action got to a death certificate) says he was killed in action 0n 25 July 1918.

He does not have a soldier's will. There is a "normal" will and inventory at scotlandspeople.

He should be in the city of Glasgow Roll of Honour. (At the Mitchell Library, but also transcribed online somewhere.)

The Mitchell Library also have a book of the Daily Record's (I think) WW1 obituaries.

Roger M

 

Edit: In Glasgow last week. The index in the Mitchell Library is for the obituaries in the Glasgow Evening Times for which they have bound copies available.

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Hi,

The death of Peter isn't specifically recorded in the battalion war diary. The diary is available from Ancestry (by subscription/free trial) here, or (for a small fee) from the National Archives here. It does though give a brief description of the events of the day. Below is a map (from May 1918), the green dot on which shows the approximate location of his original burial.

post-113776-0-91157900-1465415681_thumb.

If you click here, it will take you to an interactive version, which can be zoomed in and out of. You can also change the transparency level to see how the area fits into the modern landscape.

Regards

Chris

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  • 4 weeks later...

Path 66

Must have forgot he started this thread

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