The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Final piece of jigsaw
“I contacted Craigie some time ago looking for information on William David Forbes, who is commemorated on the Perth Academy War Memorial,” writes Dave Dykes. “William’s name is also recorded in the Golden Book in St John’s Kirk, and he is commemorated on the St John’s East Parish Church War Memorial.
“Although this gives pretty conclusive proof that he died as a result of his service in the Great War, I can find no record whatsoever of his service.
“I am a retired teacher from the school, and am helping a group of students with their project Flowers of the Forest. The aim of the project is to honour the 168 former pupils and staff who fell in the First World War and who are commemorated on the school memorial.
“William David Forbes had two sisters and a twin brother. His sister Annie never married, and therefore has no descendants. I managed to contact the granddaughter of his twin brother Edward, who lives in Bodmin, Cornwall.
“She remembers her grandfather mentioning his brother, and the fact that he was killed in the GreatWar, but nothing more. She sent me the photograph above, which was taken sometime in the 1890s across the Tay from the North Inch.
“The two tiny figures in the centre are William and Edward. It would appear that William’s two older sisters, and his mother, are also in the picture.
“This leaves William’s other sister, Janey, as the final piece of the jigsaw. She died in Perth on February 3 1958. She married William Stewart, in Perth, in 1910. Their son, Patrick Campbell Stewart, married Mary Turnbull Smith, in Forfar, in 1936. Finally, Patrick Campbell Stewart died in Dundee in 1996, aged 85, and Mary Turnbull Stewart died in Dundee in 1978, aged 68.
“Are any descendants of Patrick and Mary still living in Courier Country? I am trying to contact any remaining family members to make them aware of the project, and also to see if any family history or photographs have been handed down to them.”