Matilda Dickson Hutchison — Lair 367
Matilda was born in Bellshill to James Dickson and Martha Graham on 14 April 1894. On 28 November 1913, she married George Hutchison, an ironworker who volunteered for the Royal Navy Division, serving aboard the AnsonBattalion during the Great War. Tragically, George was killed in action on 26 October 1917, aged just 26, and his body was never recovered. Matilda never fully recovered from this devastating loss and eventually found herself in Hartwood, where she lived until her death aged 31.

 

Too often, the stories of families left behind or displaced by war are forgotten. One such story is that of Leah Carson Stockdale — Lair 400. Born around 1852 in Rutherglen to Thomas Carson and Jane Thomson, Leah married Thomas Stockdale in 1871. They had two sons and a daughter. Sadly, their son Henry Thomas, who served with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during the First World War, died on 19 June 1919 — seven months after the war ended — from wounds and trauma sustained during his service. The battalion’s motto, Ne Obliviscaris (“Forget Not”), stands in stark contrast to Leah’s fate. Overcome by grief, Leah was committed to Hartwood not long after Henry’s death.

 

Lair 289 — Hortense Vervoot was one of the many displaced persons from Belgium who came to Scotland during the First World War. She was later admitted to Hartwood for reasons unknown, a reminder of the wide-ranging human toll of the conflict beyond the battlefield.

 

In researching George Hutchison, I realised that Matilda may now find some peace knowing where her husband rests. George’s name is inscribed on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgian Flanders, one of four memorials dedicated to the missing from the Ypres Salient area. This memorial, designed by Sir Herbert Baker and unveiled in 1927, bears nearly 35,000 names of soldiers whose graves remain unknown. George was likely killed on the first day of the Second Battle of Passchendaele (26 October – 10 November 1917), part of the larger Third Battles of Ypres in 1917. He is commemorated on panels 2-3 of Tyne Cot Cemetery.

 

Other stories reflect the wide-reaching impact of war on families:

 

Annie Muirhead Rhinds (born circa 1884) married William Rhinds in 1901. They had six children, and William fought in the Great War. There is no record of his return, leaving Annie and their children to face an uncertain future.

 

Patrick McLaughlin (born 27 May 1901) was placed into care at age nine after his mother died and his father was imprisoned. His father later enlisted when Patrick was twelve, abandoning Patrick and his brother Owen once again — a heartbreaking example of how war fractured families beyond the battlefield.