DOWN MEMORY LANE
One man’s delve into his family tree has unearthed a Campbeltown First World War hero.
Douglas Frazer, previously Campbell, from Campbeltown but living in Belfast, contacted the Courier to share the story of his great grandfather, Malcolm Campbell, who served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during WWI.
Malcolm was shot dead at Ypres on July 31 1917 when his son, Douglas’s paternal grandfather Neil, was only three years old.
As such, the family knew little about Malcolm’s life, until Douglas began researching his ancestry.
He told the Courier: ‘I would be most grateful if you would consider putting this great man into the Courier as I feel we need to honour him after discovering him. He is a true hero in my eyes.
‘Malcolm has no grave but is on the war memorial in Campbeltown and named on the Menin Gate in Belgium.’
In 1917, the Courier reported Malcolm’s death under the headline, ‘Toll of the war: Heroes who have fallen’, and described him as ‘a fine young soldier’ who ‘proved himself to be brave and intelligent’.
The article reads: ‘We understand that Private Campbell was carrying out the dangerous duty of a battalion despatch runner when he was shot in the head by a sniper.’
Malcolm was the youngest son of Neil and Jeanie Campbell of Glebe Street. His siblings were Isabella and Neil. He had only one child, Neil, with Douglas’s great grandmother, Mary Ferguson, who he never married.
Five generations later, Malcolm’s descendants continue to live in Campbeltown, where much of Douglas’s family is.
‘I left Campbeltown for Belfast in July 2000,’ Douglas said. ‘I worked on the Ballycastle ferry in 1999 and then went to Troon to work with the ferry there before going to Belfast. I now work in the electricity sector in customer billing and have been in my role for 12 years.
‘Campbeltown is always going to be home and I miss it lots. I’m the youngest of seven; my parents are Fergie and Jacqueline Campbell who still live in the town. My brother is Neil and my sisters are Lorraine, Jacqueline, Rhonda, Audrey and Mairi. Neil is in Glasgow and Rhonda in Dunoon. I have numerous nieces, nephews and great niece and great nephews too.’
Malcolm’s life wasn’t the only interesting information Douglas unearthed. He added: ‘I’ve discovered after doing a DNA test that my dad has 10 per cent Scandinavian DNA from somewhere – I really wasn’t expecting that!’