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Gilbert Mckichen appeared (aged 22) in the 1881 census for the Ballachulish area. He was living with his widowed mother Isabella and younger sister Margaret. After that I can find no trace of him anywhere in Scotland or England until his marriage in 1910 in Perth. His surname provides a problem as I have seen Gilbert entered in documentation as Gilbert McKichan/Mckichen/McEachen/McEachan etc. If I can at least find out where he was in 1891, that would be a help. I am trying to date a photograph of a group of Ballachulish slate quarriers. I have managed to establish that the photograph could not have been taken later than September 1893 because one of the men died in a boating accident in that month. Gilbert is one of those named in the photograph. Knowing his whereabouts in 1891 would help me narrow the timeline even further. All help appreciated.

Regards

Doddie

On Ancestry I have found my g.g. uncle Hugh McInnes (born c.1883) on board the Lake Erie, arriving into Quebec on the 13th of July 1907. Hugh was a slate quarrier by occupation. On the passenger manifest it mentions what I think is a company that he and other Slate quarriers from Scotland are going to work for. I cannot read the writing very well but I think it may read, 'For Can Pac slate Coy Limited Victoria BC'. This could be, Canadian Pacific Slate Company Limited in Victoria, British Columbia. Has anyone heard of this company. I have tried searching for it on the internet without success. All feedback appreciated.

Regards

Doddie

This is just a general inquiry. I am presently doing some research which involves doing some searching between census years (Dec. 1905 to be precise). A lady working for the archives department of Lancashire Council very kindly looked up the relevant electoral register for a particular property in Newton-in-Makerfield  that I am interested in and came up with a name against that property. What I want to know is, were these registers updated and released on an annual or quarterly basis or even more randomly even than that. In other words, how specific (or otherwise) would the 1905 register for the area I am researching be to the December period itself?

Regards

Doddie

Archibald is one of my more distant relatives but his story is a touching one all the same. He was born in Kilmartin, Argyllshire in 1895 to Neil & Catherine McNair. Before the war he had been working as a gardener on some of the sizeable estates in Argyll. In 1914 he joined the Scots Guards. He was originally posted to the 3 Battalion and based in the London area. In early 1915 he was transferred to the 1 Battalion and headed off to France. According to a newspaper cutting I discovered he was injured twice during the early years of the war (the second instance being a serious head wound which resulted in a period of hospitalisation in Manchester). He was eventually killed in action during the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele. News of his death death was initially relayed to his family by a letter sent by a Pte Hugh Campbell, one of Archibald's friends in the battalion. Archibald is remembered with hounour at the Menin Gate Memorial.

A quick question about the procedure of awarding medals. Pte Archibald McNair of 1st Batt. Scots Guards (Reg. No 10939) went off to France in February of 1915. He was killed in action on 31 July 1917 aged 22. His Medal Index Card indicates he was awarded the Victory Medal, the British War Medal and the 1914/15 Star. If he died before the end of the war would he have still been awarded the Victory Medal posthumously? Does the same go for the British War medal? I have cross referenced the Medal Index Card with Archibald's commemoration certificate on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website to corroborate that both items do indeed refer to the same man. Would Archibald's medals have been automatically forwarded on to his parents? All  input much appreciated.

Regards

Doddie