Trying to find info on Pte James McQuarrie, Ayrshire Yeomanry

[jac]

Hi,
I'm not sure how to go about this but a WW1 Victory medal has been handed down by the family and I am trying to make a connection without success. He is Pte James McQuarrie No 1856 of the Ayrshire Yeomanry. His date/place of birth would be useful so I thought that this might be on his war record. I have managed to find his medal card & an index to war deaths that state that he died in 1915. It gives a volume & page but I don't know where to find that. I am now stuck. Any advise would be gratefully received.
Thanks, Jac

[Meliora]

Hello, Jac,

On looking at the Commenwealth War Graves Commission site I could find no mention a James McQuarrie, there is one for a John Mcquarrie, no 1150, Cameroons(Scottish Rifles) memorial Helles.

http://www.cwgc.org/search/SearchResults.aspx?surname=McQuarrie&initials=&war=1&yearfrom=1915&yearto=1915&force=Army&nationality=6&send.x=41&send.y=15

Meliora

[LJReb123]

Hello

This one's a bit  unclear - as Meliora says there isn't any record of a James McQuarrie being killed in 1915. The soldier you have mentioned appears to have survived the war. The other peculiarity is the medal card which very likely indicates his arrival in a theatre of war in late 1915 or early to mid 1916.

1st Ayrshire were a mounted Territorial battalion and served in Gallipolli in 1915 before being broken up in 1916. This is when he probably moved to The Corps of Hussars.

There are six possibilities on the 1901 census.

The details on the medal card relate to the medal roll held at Kew, Londonshire.

The Scottish Rifles were The Cameronians (no offence Meliora)

Hope this of help.

David

[Meliora]

No offence taken David, just my arthritic fingers not following my brain.

I was on the point of coming back to this one, having thought about it, it occurred to me that a Victory Medal would not have been awarded posthumously.

I have just found this that may answer some of the questions re James McQuarry.
In the British Army WW1 Service Records in Ancetsyr/co/uk there is an entry for a James McQuarry born circa 1891 serving in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.  In  total there are 28 pages to this record, I scolled thro'  all of them & they were very comprehensive, giving details of this family, wife Mary ne McCourt & three children, names of parents, siblings, aunts & Uncles & grandfather.  There was a conduct sheet showing that he had been given 7 days CB for disobeying an order & being drunk whilst in Bastingstoke.   He was awarded three medals, 1914-1918, British War Medal & the Victory Medal but then goes on to say that he was killed in action 24th Aug 1918 & was reburied in Heath Cemetery , 6 ¾ miles of Villers Bretomeux.   A pension was awarded , 29 shiilings & 7d to his wife & children .  This record really need to be studied in detail as he was originally in the Seaforth Highlanders 1908 -1910, & his home address was Longerplea, Crockford, Kirkcudbright. 

It should be possible to buy this record from the Mational Archives, otherwise, Ancestry have a free 14 day offer on at the moment & you can look it up for yourself & copy it off.

James McQuarry is also to be found in the 1901 census with his parents & siblings.


Hope this is of some help.

Meliora

[Meliora]

James McQuarryis also to be found the the CWFC site under L/Cpl J. McQuarry Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders..

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=559826

Meliora   

[jac]

Thanks to both of you.  I don't think that he can be the James McQuarry you mention Meliora as nothing else fits only the name, it would be great if it was though - all that information!!

He is definitely listed in the index to war deaths as having died in 1915, Vol:C.2 Page 131. His name, rank, regiment & number are all identical to the details on the medal. This was found via The Genealogist web site - Deaths WW1. I wonder why he is not listed on the CWGC though.

Like you, I am also a bit confused with the medal card David as it has him in the Corps of Hussars after the Ayrshire Yeomanry but the Ayrshire Yeomanry only arrived in Gallipoli in Oct 1915. I had therefore assumed that he must have died shortly after arriving in Gallipoli. I was hoping that access to the actual entry of his death would give more details. Would this be kept at Kew?

Anyway, thanks again for your contribution. Jac

[liverpool annie]

These Mac's are all the same ... they give you the "runaround " !!!!!!!!! 

MACQUARRIE
Initials:   J
Nationality:   United Kingdom
Rank:   Private
Regiment/Service:   Ayrshire Yeomanry
Unit Text:   1st/1st
Date of Death:   14/11/1915
Service No:   1856
Casualty Type:   Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:   B. 93.
Cemetery:   ALEXANDRIA (CHATBY) MILITARY AND WAR MEMORIAL CEMETERY

Heres a plan of the cemetery !

http://www.cpgw.org.uk/cwgc_cemetery.cfm?sID=00A-43&pID=1&zoom=1&picType=plan

[liverpool annie]

I did find this ... I believe the Ayrshire Yeomanry and Lanarkshire Yeomanry were there also ....  you might try looking for the war diary !

The next Turkish attack on British Egypt did not come from Palestine to the east, however, but arose unexpectedly in the far western reaches of the country on the Egyptian/Libyan border. On November 14th, 1915, Arabs of the powerful Senussi tribe opened fire at a British-Egyptian border post at As-Sallum, then advanced east to attack Sidi Barrani. The Arab revolt was instigated by the Turkish government, who hoped that it would tie down British and Italian troops in North Africa, and who supplied enough arms and manpower to equip 7,000 men.

The Commander of British Forces in Egypt, General Sir John Maxwell, was forced to divert troops from the Suez Canal Defence Force (now renamed the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) to defend the Nile Delta from possible attack. Maxwell created a mobile formation, called the Western Desert Task Force, to halt the Senussi. It comprised an armoured car detachment, a small number of camel-mounted units and several mounted Yeomanry Regiments, among them John and Harry Brown's Denbighshire Yeomen. The new outfit was headquartered in Alexandria, but quickly marched west to track down the rebellious tribesmen

[forester]

From SDGW:

James MACQUARRIE
Pte 1856 Ayrshire Yeomanry
Born Prestwick
Enlisted Ayr
Resident Bonnybridge
Died (which suggests sickness or accident)
Theatre of war Gallipoli (which conflicts with his being buried in Alexandria?)

Phil

PS Death certificates for Overseas deaths are available from the GRO in the same way as home deaths, but the amount of information on them is usually sparse.