Galloway family 400 miles apart
A BRUTAL death in the Great War, emigration, a thriving new family branch across the Atlantic in Canada.
Those were just some of the chapters in the story which emerged after the Galloway Gazette received a plea for help from 4000 miles across the ocean.
Ann Taylor, of Orangeville, Ontario, Canada was looking for any information about her great-grandfather Private James Keith from Whithorn, Wigtownshire, Scotland after her children urged her to find out more about her Scottish roots.
Pte Keith, of 'A' Company, of the 5th Battalion K.O.S.B. died amid the carnage that was Gallipoli in July 1915. Ann was desperate to find out all she could about her great-granpa after hearing a book was being compiled about the 5th K.O.S.B.
All she had to go on were a set of precious war medals, what records she could access through the internet and the fragmented memories of a three year-old child.
That three year-old was 46 year-old Ann's grannie, Sally Keith, who was taken by her bereaved mother, Sarah Keith (nee Neil, of the Neil family from Bladnoch near Wigtown) on an emigrant ship to Canada in 1918, three years after her husband James had been killed at Gallipoli.
The couple had married on April 30th 1915. Only 11 weeks later James was dead. Sarah was pregnant with the twins her man would never see. One infant died soon after birth, but Sally survived to reach Canada with her mother.
The Gazette enlisted the help of Whithorn man Joe Whiteford, who has a keen interest in local social history, himself the subject of a book on Galloway's last crofts.
Joe wasn't long in using his local knowledge to contact relatives of private Keith to see if they could shed any light on where he fought and how he died.
Incredibly, Pte James Keith's nephew, also James (Jimpy) Keith had in safe keeping three letters from the Red Cross and Order of St John sent in 1916 to Pte Keith's mother, Mrs John Keith, (nee Annie McCallie) in response to her anxious enquiries to find out what had happened to her son.
The letters, signed by Sir Louis Mallett include graphic eye-witness accounts of the murderous fighting in which Pte. Keith was killed.
The first, dated March 27th 1916 states: "Dear Madam, with reference to your enquiry about your son, we send you with regret a report which we have received from L/Cpl. Wm. MacRobert of the same Regiment, but B Coy, who is now in the Southern General Hospital, Somerville College, Oxford and whose address is St. Crispin Street, Creetown, Kirkcudbrightshire.
"He says that on the 12th July, near Krithia, after a very big attack, he was told by John McCleary of the same Regiment, A Company, that he had seen James Keith killed.
"He does not give us McCleary's number, but he says he is in the 155 Brigade, 52nd Division, M.E.F and MacRobert thinks that he can probably furnish you with definite information, we suggest therefore that you should write to McCleary.
If we should receive more direct information about your son we will at once send it on to you. Meantime, we beg to assure you of our sincere sympathy."
A week later, Mrs John Keith received a second letter, dated April 4th, 1916, containing a report from Pte.W.Thompson 2047, of the K.O.S.B.
He states:"Keith came from Whithorn in Galloway, is a baker in civil life and a man of about 5'7"-8", dark and clean-shaven.
"I saw him lie wounded in the head and in the thigh, in the third line of Turkish trenches on July 12th. (1915)
"He was looking very pale and asked for water and was bandaged up. This was about midday, the attack began at 8pm and we were driven out of this trench about 3pm.
"There was heavy fighting for three days, and I am afraid the wounded would have to be left."
Sir Louis Mallett says: "We fear this unsatisfactory report agrees with the one previously sent on to you; but we are trying to obtain further and more definite information."
Mrs Keith finally received the news she had been dreading in a final letter, dated 23rd May, 1916. It contains an account from Pte Keith's commanding officer, Captain E.N.Gibson, of the 5th K.O.S.Bs.
He states:"Pte Keith was very severely wounded in the head in a Turkish trench which we took on the 12th July and held. He was bandaged up by 2nd Lt Salmon of A Coy.
"I think he must have died of wounds and his body was probably put over the parapet as they had to clear the trenches of bodies, but he may have received a burial. This took place about 10am."
Sir Louis Mallett told Mrs Keith: "Second Lt Salmon is with the 5th K.O.S.Bs at Richmond, Yorks. We much regret having to send on such sad news, but we fear it leaves no doubt as to the ultimate fate of Pte Keith. We assure you of our very sincere sympathy."
Having uncovered the fragile letters, Joe Whiteford was even more surprised to find that a story about Pte Keith's suitability for war service had been handed down through the generations.
Joe recounted what he had been told: "He (Pte Keith) didnae need to go because he was terribly short sighted. When he was standing at The Ra' mooth (The Ra' is Kings Row, a street leading on to Whithorn's main thoroughfare - Ed.), he couldnae see the toon clock - an' yet he signed up tae shoot Turks!"
Meanwhile over in Canada, Ann could not believe her chance call to the Gazette had turned up so much news about her great-granpa - or that Pte Keith was one of 11 children.
She has the author of a soon-to-be-released book on her great-grandfather's regiment to thank for her inquiry.
"I still can't believe its true, the smile is permanently frozen on my face," Ann said.
"A month ago a chap named Stuart Wilson from England e-mailed me asking questions about my great-grandfather's unit.
"He is writing a book on the 5th Bn. K.O.S.B. of Dumfries and Galloway. He wants to put a more human aspect to the men in this unit, not just name, rank, serial number and I was asked for what information I had and if I had a picture of him.
"That's when I thought of writing the local newspaper. He was the one who actually told me to write you. Oh my god, am I glad I listened to him!
"What a shock, I have relatives that I never thought that I had. I hope they knew him, so I can tell Stuart (the author) what he was like and hopefully get a copy of a picture of him for the book honouring the men."
An explained her family had figured strongly in her decision to research her Scottish roots.
She said:"I've got a boy, Steven and a girl, Leticia, and they are very curious as to their family roots so I started looking in it.
"I first started looking for my great grandfather back in 2003. At that time all I knew about him is what my grandmother had told me. That he had died in the First World War and that she thought that he was a pastor. At that time, I didn't even know what his first name was.
"My grandmother and father have both passed on, and I really had no idea on who to turn to for help. As my mother has little knowledge about my Grama's life, prior to Grama marrying my grandfather. So I went online with both my toes and fingers crossed."
Through the Scotland's People site Ann found the record of James and Sarah Neil's marriage using her great grandmother's name which she knew.
"That is when I found out that my great grandfather's name was James Keith and that he lived in Whithorn at the time he married Sarah Jane Neil," Ann said.
"My great grandmother is buried here in Canada and I have found her grave since. Since she re-married here in Canada, she is buried with her second husband, George Lawson."
From finding the family, Ann went onto the Commonwealth War Graves site and found James Keith's ID number, rank, and when he died - then fate took a hand.
Ann explained: "On a whim, I took the back of the picture frame off that I had my 'grandfathers' medals in to see if I could also find his I.D. etc.
"To my shock it was James Keith's medals that my grandmother had left me, not my grandfather's, which I'd thought. So I guess she did have something given to her of her father's.
"Over the next few months I tried looking for more information on him and all I found was the War Memorial in your town (Whithorn). After that it was like I hit a roadblock. Without paying for usage of sites with no guarantees that I'd find anything I had all but given up."
The first Ann knew of her grandmother Sally Doris Keith, that same Sally that left Galloway as a child, was that she stayed in Mono Township, Dufferin County, in Ontario.
Her mother and stepfather (George Lawson) and three stepsiblings lived on a property owned by the Sproule family, who lived in the homestead just south of their place.
Mrs. Sproule became sick and Sally (Ann's grannie) went down to tend to her. There she met her future husband Fred Sproule.
They were married in 1934 and lived on the Sproule farm. They had one son, James Oliver Sproule.
In 1960, James married Ann's mother, Yvonne Goodeve. They lived and worked on the farm for years until Fred's accidental death in 1964.
In Whithorn cemetery lies the grave of Annie McCallie who died in 1940 aged 73, and John Keith, who died in 1928 aged 78.
Beside their names is inscribed that of their son, Pte James Keith, killed in action, 12th July, 1915, aged 24.
Ann is urging anyone related to one the men who fought in the 5th Bn. KOSB to contact Stuart Wilson on kosb.help@ntlworld.com to help him with his research."It really is going to be a great book!" she said.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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