Matilda Dickson Hutchison. Lair 367
Matilda was born in Bellshill to James Dickson and Martha Graham on 14/04/1894.
On 28/11/1913, she married George Hutchison, an iron worker. George enlisted in the Navy during the Great War aboard “Anson” Battalion Royal Navy Division as a volunteer reserve.
George was never to return to Matilda as, on 26/10/1917, he was killed in action and his body was never recovered, aged just 26.
Matilda never recovered from losing her husband and soon found herself in Hartwood where she remained until she died aged 31.
The widow's penny
We sometimes forget about the families left behind or those escaping their homeland due to war, but we uncovered a few sad stories, one being Leah Carson Stockdale in Lair 400.
Leah was born circa 1852 in Rutherglen to Thomas Carson and Jane Thomson. She married Thomas Stockdale on 03/03/1871 and, according to records, they had two sons and a daughter. Sadly, they lost their son Henry Thomas, on 19/06/1919, who, having served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during WW1, died 7 months after the war ended due to his injuries and trauma.The motto for the batallion is quite ironic and sadly, the opposite of where we find his mum, Ne Obliviscaris, translated to 'Forget not'.
Leah was commited to Hartwood not long after this and probably suffering from grief.
Lair 289 - Hortense Vervoot - was one of those displaced persons from Belgium who came to Scotland during WW1, who then was admitted to Hartwood for reasons unknown.
I found Gerorge Hutchison and now Matilda Dickson Hutchison will know where her husband is, and to think I more than likely read his name when we went over to search for our GGG uncle Robbie.
The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war.
The Tyne Cot Memorial now bears the names of almost 35,000 officers and men whose graves are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Herbert Baker with sculpture by Joseph Armitage and F.V. Blundstone, was unveiled by Sir Gilbert Dyett on 20 June 1927.
He would more than likely have been killed on the first day at The Second Battle of Passchendaele (26 October – 10 November 1917), a phase of the Third Battles of Ypres 1917. George is named on Tyne Cot Cemetery panels 2-3 (he is one of the men in the picture).
Annie Muirhead Rhinds born circa 1884. She married William Rhinds on 27/12/1901 at Bonkle Church. They went on to have 6 children and William fought in the Great War. There is no mention of his return.
Patrick McLaughlin was born 27/05/1901 to Owen McLaughlin and Mary Timney and is another one of our many sad stories. Placed into care aged 9 due to his mother dying and his dad being in prison, his father then enlisted in the war when Patrick was 12, deserting him and his brother Owen once again.