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?Brigadier Laing info?


Jesse

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I'm looking for any biographical data or photos per the life of Brigadier Roderick Laing, CO 152nd Brigade, 51st Highland Division. Thanks in advance for your help.

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Time frame?

Aye

Malcolm

Well, Malcolm, anything on his life and career would be of interest. I know he was a Coy CO with the 2nd Seaforths just prior to the war, and that commanded the 152nd brigade in 1918, but of the befores, in betweens, and afters, I have nothing.

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Roderick Laing was commissioned 2Lt Seaforth Highlanders on 7/3/00 and promoted Lt on 27/7/01. He served in the South African War 1900-02, receiving the Queen's Medal with 3 clasps and King's Medal with 2 clasps. He was promoted Capt on 28/8/08 and was appointed Adjutant to the 5th Argylls (Territorial Force) on 4/7/11 and was in this post at the outbreak of war. He was promoted Major on 1/9/15 and Lt Col on 18/7/19, but retired from the Army on the same day.

During WW1 he was awarded the 1914 Star the MC and DSO and Bar. His first DSO was gazetted in the 1918 New Year's Honours and hence there is no citation. His second was gazetted on 26/7/18 when he was an Acting Lt Col. The citation reads:

For conspicious gallantry and devotion to duty during a hostile attack, when he made a personal reconnaissance under very heavy artillery fire and brought back most valuable information to brigade headquarters. The success with which the attack was driven off, and over 100 prisoners taken, was greatly due to his splendid courage and skill. Throughout all operations his invaluable services have maintained the finest discipline and morale in the battalion. [He was commanding the 2nd Seaforths]

He was also three times Mentioned in Despatches in 1915, twice in 1917, once in 1918, and once in 1919.

I hope that this will provide a start.

Charles M

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"Who's Who" (1928): b 1879, m 1926 Mary Alison Muir (one son) Address 2 Cavendish Court, London W1. Club: United Services.

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I'm looking for any biographical data or photos per the life of Brigadier Roderick Laing, CO 152nd Brigade, 51st Highland Division. Thanks in advance for your help.

Many thanks, Charles and Steven, for your kind assistance and valuable information. It was much appreciated. I have a large undated photo of the 2nd Seaforths, Coy D, with Laing in command, and had been curious as to his life and career history.

Jesse

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  • 8 years later...
Guest Alastair Laing

This series of posts is very old - I've only just come across it - and my information is not strictly military, so may not be of interest to any of those who have contributed them. I am the only surviving son of Malcolm Strickland Laing, who was the only son of Brigadier Roderick Laing (1879-1944), by his first marriage, to Amy Sanderson. His parents divorced around 1920, when he was eleven ( each commissioned a portrait of him: my grandfather by a conventional Scottish R.A., whose name I cannot read, but my grandmother by Eric Kennington - a haunting portrait, that expresses all the pain that my father must have felt). Each married again: my grandfather, Alison Muir, by whom, he had a son, John, who died many years ago, leaving wives and children, and a daughter, Alison, twice married and divorced, with no children, who died last September; my grandmother, Alexander ('Alec') Livingstone-Bruce, grandson of the missionary and explorer, by whom he had a daughter, Diana, who married the monster film-maker, Ray Harryhausen, by whom she had a daughter, Vanessa. Diana and Ray both also died last year, he in May and she in October.

It was my grandmother who was given custody of my father, who never seems to have kept up any contact with his father, so that I know virtually nothing about him. Alison, however, gave us the portrait by the Scotch R.A., and a miniature set of his remarkable number of decorations. If anyone does have any more knowledge of him than the interesting post above about his military career, I (and my son, Sam) would be very interested to know it too.

Our family, incidentally, originated on Orkney, and there is a very interesting memoir by the youngest brother of Roderick's great-grandfather, published as The Autobiography of Samuel Laing of Papdale 1780 - 1868.

Alastair Laing

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