Hello All,
I am trying to sort out my relative's military career, and I was hoping that someone may be able to help me identify the attached uniforms?
My relative John George 'Jack' Rutherford's service during WWI is complex and confusing. I have not been able to find his service record, but what I have been able to confirm with records is below:
Jack was born on 22 Sept 1899 in Dundee
Jack enlisted 20 Oct 1915 at Kirkaldy as a trooper with the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (Regimental No: 2874) - he was discharged the same day, due to being just 16 yrs old (he claimed to be 19!!)
His medal card (attached) shows that he re-enlisted and served as below:
Highland Light Infantry 57501 Private
Royal Scots 59165 Private
Army Ordnance Corps 049349 Private
I know that this is my Jack (there are a few John George Rutherford's!) as in the 1918-1919 absentee voter list for Dundee, he is listed at his mother's address with his brothers. That list shows that he was in the 3rd Royal Scots as a private, with the Regimental Number of 59165.
From family folklore I have been told the following:
His son recalled that "He went straight from school into the Army – the Highland Light Infantry. He fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 but was shot and gassed and was invalided out. He recovered and went back in 1918 and stayed in the Army after the war as there were no jobs available. He ended up in Ireland putting down the rebellion."
His nephew recalled that "During WWI, my dad had to go to Perth to get the 14 or 15 year old Jack out of the Black Watch Regiment where he had volunteered, lying about his age"
Now, from the records I can see that it was actually the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry that he joined as a young teenager, not the Black Watch, and was discharged due to being 16 years old. So this story may have been exaggerated over the years.
What I would love to know is whether he tried enlisting in the Black Watch earlier than his escapade to Kirkaldy to join the Fife and Forfarshire Yeomanry in 1915. When I was given the attached photo, I was told it was Jack in the Black Watch uniform in 1914......can anyone confirm if it is Black Watch or Fife and Forfar Yeomanry?
I know that the Battle of the Somme was fought between 1 July and 18 November 1916 and that there were several battalions of the Highland Light Infantry present during the battle. So I would love to know if he served with the HLI during this time, or whether this story is not quite correct? Jack would still have been under 17yrs at the start of the battle....do you think he would have been allowed to enlist at that age?
I am not sure which uniform he is wearing in the second photo, I presume it was taken between 1916-1918. Is it Highland Light Infantry? Or Royal Scots?
I am presuming that he was with the 3rd Royal Scots till the end of WWI, then moved to the Army Ordinance Corps for the Irish Rebellion....would this be a reasonable assumption?
Any help sorting out this riddle would be appreciated
Jenny