The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Research project insight to the lives of the fallen
Church member and grandson ‘put flesh on bones’ of Panbride war heroes
A labour of love by a member of a Carnoustie church and her grandson has revealed the personal stories of local men who lost their lives in the First World War.
Linda Nicoll, assisted by her 12-yearold grandson Cameron Stuart, has painstakingly researched the lives of 41 men from the parish of Panbride whose names are inscribed on the war memorial in Panbride churchyard and on a memorial plaque at the door of Newton Church.
The result of their work is now included in an exhibition in Carnoustie Panbride Church.
Mrs Nicoll, a retired primary school headteacher and local history enthusiast, referred to information held by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Arbroath roll of honour for her research, as well as online sites and DC Thomson archives.
She said: “It has been a labour of love. With the 100 years since the end of the war I didn’t want the opportunity to be missed. I felt the war memorial was very much part of our church.
“It was nice to put flesh on the bones, to find out about the people instead of just worshipping something inanimate. It was nice to bring it to life.”
Cameron, a pupil at Carnoustie High School, helped his grandmother compile fact files on each of the soldiers.
He, too, is interested in local history and gained a special badge for a project on the First World War at the Boys’ Brigade.
The pair have been working on the church project since the beginning of the summer.
The Rev Annette Gordon, minister at Carnoustie Panbride, said the First World War display is a fitting tribute to the men from the parish.
There has been a lot of interest from the congregation and from the various community groups using the church halls.
Ms Gordon said: “Reading through the profiles we catch a glimpse of these young men, one of whom was only 17 years of age, and get a sense of the lives they led before going to war.”
The men came from all walks of life and had varied occupations – farm worker, railway porter, baker, apprentice grocer, accountant and a promising golfer and footballer.
She added: “It must be all the more poignant for the people of this parish to read the different press clippings and obituaries and recognise the street names, houses and local businesses these men left from to go to war.
“Mrs Nicoll and Cameron are to be commended for the painstaking work and research.”
Panbride Hall will be open on Monday from 2-4pm for members of the local community to see the display.
Linda, a volunteer with Dundee City Archives, will next week launch a book entitled The Great War –Dundee and the Home Front.
She said: “I was doing research for a banner of war and it just snowballed from there.
“I was asked to give talks to groups in Dundee and learned so much I was absolutely hooked. Once the 100th anniversary of the end of the war is past it will gradually diminish and something else will take its place. I wanted to record the information I had gleaned.”
The book launch, in association with The Great War Dundee Project, is in the Wighton Heritage Centre at Dundee Central Library in the Wellgate Centre next Thursday from 6-8pm.