Medal Trio to Alexander Beveridge

[leon21]

Alexander Beveridge No 1191 1/6th Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, born 3rd Feb 1892 Eastwood Renfrewshire

to parents George and Elizabeth one of six children living at 24 Bengal st Pollokshaws Glasgow.

At the age of 17 yrs old he enlisted on the 22 March 1909 in the Princess Louises 1/6th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

at Pollokshaws he was a printer by trade.

From 1909 to 1913 he did Annual Training and Drills, he was Embodied in to the Regular Army in 1914 and given a new No

250430. In May 1914 the 1/6th Battalion was part of the 152nd Brigade in the 51st ( Highland ) Division, and in Sept were

moved and stationed at Bedford doing Coastal Defence work.

In April 1915 the Division crossed the channel  between 30 Apr and 3 May to France and by the 6 May had concentrated at

Lillers, Busnes and Robecq. It was later hurried to the defence of Ypres.

And later moved again South to an area North of the river Somme and relieved a French Division near Hamel.

 

Alexander was employed as  H Company Cook and on 1st Dec 1915 he was admitted to hospital suffering with Myalgia =

( Repetitive Strain Injury ), he rejoined his Battalion on the 13 Feb 1916.

On the 26 June 1916 the 1/6th Battalion was transferred to the Divisional Engineers and Pioneers in 5th Division and

became a Pioneer Battalion.

Alexander was wounded on the 26 Sept 1916 with a G.S.W. ( Gun Shot Wound ) to his right thigh and arm and admitted

to Hospital and later sent by ship to the Kitchener Hospital in Brighton on the 13 Oct 1916 and granted a Furlough from

1 Nov to 10 Nov 1916, after he had recovered from his injures he Joined the 1/5th Battalion in Egypt on the 11 Aug 1917.

 

He saw action in the following battles the First, Second, and third battles of Gaza. In the Spring of 1918 the 52 Lowland

Division  was moved to France to help stem the mighty German Offensive.

In June the 1/5th Battalion left the 52 Division to join the 103 Brigade of the 34th Division which concentrated at Senlis,

and came under orders from General Petain, he was in command of the 30th Corps of the French 10th Army on the

Marne Front, during the Battles of the Soisonnais and Ourcq 20 July to 2 Aug 1918.

 

Alexander was wounded on the 29 July with a gun shot wound to his right hand,on the 2 Aug he was sent back to the

UK on the Hospital ship Warilda sailing from Le Harve to Southampton.

On the 3 Aug 1918 the Warilda was sunk by UC49 in the English Channel and 123 persons died with Alexander being

one of them he is remembered on the Hollybrook Memorial Southampton, and on the Pollokshaws Burgh Hall

Memorial Cross.

[leon21]

Here's some photo's of a typical WW1 field cook house, the Kitchener Hospital in Brighton and a few pages from his records.

[leon21]

HMAT Warilda.

His Majesty's Australian Transport was a 7713 ton vessel built by William Beardmore and Company in Glasgow as the SS Warilda for the

Adelaide Steamship Company. She was designed for the East-West Australian coastal service, but following the start of WW1 she was 

converted into a troopship and later in 1916 converted into a hospital ship.

On 3rd August 1918 she was transporting wounded soldiers from Le-Harve to Southampton a trip she had done 180 times before, when

she was torpedoed by the German submarine UC 49. This was despite  being painted white and marked with the Red Cross, as with a number

 of other hospital ships torpedoed during the war Germany claimed the ships were also carrying arms.

She had onboard a total of 801 persons and crew the torpedo hit the ship aft on the starboard quarter, damaging the starboard propeller, but 

the ships engines could not be stopped  because engine room had been flooded, the ships steering gear had also been blown away causing the

ship to go round in circles . The ship sank in two hours and many of the Injured soldiers were trapped in one of the lower decks due to the 

collapse of the main companionways.

UC 49 a type UCII  Minelaying Submarine went on to damage two more ships before she also was sunk by depth charges from the British Destroyer

HMS Opossum a Sunfish Class Destroyer, she caught the UC 49 off Start Point Devon on the 8th August 1918 with the loss of all the  crew onboard.

[Kenny Andrew]

Hi Colin, sorry I missed this, so you did receive the medals safely, excellent research and such a sad story. I didn't realise he was from Pollokshaws that's only about a mile from where I live.     

[leon21]

Yes he had 4 children but the document with them on half of it is missing so I only have their dates of birth not their names.

I did manage to find one a son born in 1914 named after him he died in 1979 he lived in Glasgow.

I did find 9 Families linked to Alexander on ancestry but only one is a direct link that's his son who died in 1979 and the tree ends with him.

Hopefully I may find some of his other children's names.

 

 

 

 

[leon21]

Update

Alexander Married Elizabeth Campbell Baird born 1885 in Govan Glasgow, they were married on the 26 April 1912 and

lived at 16 Cogan Street Pollockshaws.

They had 4 children

Mary Campbell Beveridge born 9th April 1912.

George Beveridge born 4th April 1913. 

Alexander Beveridge born 11th April 1914.

John Beveridge born 29th July 1917.

This is how they are listed on his Pension Records.

Alexander is remembered on The IWM .ORG.UK Lifestory by 2 people.

Also on the Hollybrook Memorial Southampton.

I also found him on the Roll of Honour of the Citizens of Glasgow, were he is listed twice, first at his Parents address of

24 Bengal Street Pollockshaws were he lived before he got married.

and at 16 Cogan Street Pollockshaws  were he lived after he got married giving the appearance that they are two different

people when in fact they are the same person.