James (Hamish) Galbraith Russell
Briefly, three battalions of the Highland Light Infantry had very recently arrived by ship from Britain and were thrown into a bigger attack by several brigades. There wasn't enough artillery to fire support on the Turkish trenches so one brigade attacked in the morning and the Scottish brigade in the afternoon. The initial attack went well with two lines of Turkish trenches taken albeit with casualties among the attackers as a result of morning attack in the area. Maps issued showed a third line of trenches and these were the final objective but these turned out to be very shallow ('dummy trenches') and a retreat was soon ordered. Several men were wounded and left behind. Hamish was with his platoon in the second Turkish trench and saw this - he ran out and rescued one man, then a second.
He was wounded in the thigh but not seriously and was evacuated by ship (the Asturias, photo above) to Alexandria but the injury became complicated and he died on 16th July. The story has it that when the recommendation for a VC, the highest medal for valour, he refused it because Hamish had left his position which was with his troops in the second line trench.
He is buried at the Chatby Cemetery in Alexandria, Egypt.
James Galbraith Russell was born on 17th July 1889 at 11 Hampden Terrace, Mount Florida
Google Earth view looking south-east showing James's birthplace, 11 Hampden Terrace, ringed in red, bottom right, and the national football stadium at Hampden Park, Cathcart Road to the right
His father was Thomas Russell, gave his occupation as 'ship owner'. His mother was Ellen Galbraith and they had married five years earlier at her parents' house, Jessamine, Bearsden. This is likely to be today's 7 Ledcameroch Crescent (traced via the 1885 Valuation Roll which gives the address as Crescent Road). Ellen's father was a merchant, with an office at 13 St Vincent Place.
1928 view from Britain from Above, looking north from above Bearsden Station, number 7 ringed in red in the bottom right
Hamish was their eldest son. He had two younger brothers Herbert Manning
Russell (b 1891-1965) Douglas Russell (1900-?) and Thomas Knox Russell and a younger sister Ellen Hope Russell (1910-?).
Hamish's father, Thomas was a shipowner, meaning the company he worked for owned and maintained ships and hired or chartered them to companies wishing to move goods on a particular route and ate. He was an agent for the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Blue Funnel Line. His employer was Messrs J and A Roxburgh, ship and insurance brokers, 14 St Vincent Place, Glasgow (the Anchor Line building):
The Anchor Line building in the white stone, City Chambers in George Square to the right
A key trading relationship for Thomas's company was with Victoria, British Columbia on the Pacific coast with the company of Evans, Coleman and Evans suppliers of building materials and hardware - described in 1912 as the principal commercial firm in the province (see this excellent post here). Thomas was the nephew of a key executive in that company, AL Russell, and well-known in British Columbia (according to the Milngavie and Bearsden Herald of the time).
Thomas's business evidently flourished - when he died in 1918 he left an estate of £136,000 equivalent to about £8.8m today. Wealth did not protect against disease, however - Hamish's younger brother, Thomas Knox Russell, died before his first birthday of convulsions and heart failure.
The family kept moving, reflecting growing economic status. From relatively modest Hampden Terrace (birthplace of Hamish) they moved to:
from 1891 to 1901, Middlbie, Thorn Road (now 3 Thorn Road), birthplace of Herbert and Douglas
from 1901 to at least 1905 Duncarss just off Drymen Road (the contemporary address was Canniesburn Road) - this was later the birthplace of another man on the war memorial, Edward Mark Anderson see his profile for more details of the location) - birthplace of Thomas and Ellen
in 1911 Redlands on Ledcameroch Road (now number 21)
Map showing the houses connected to the Russell family in the Thorn area
Hamish was educated at Glasgow Academy to age 16 and then at Leys Road School, Cambridge (North A House, won 2nd Colours for football). He was a well-known rugby player for Glasgow Academicals.
In 1906 he visited Niagara Falls. In the 1911 Census, aged 21 his occupation was as a clerk for a railway company. It's possible this was his father's idea that he should see business from the 'ground floor' before he moved into management because his 19-year old brother Herbert was also a clerk for a shipping company.
Also present on Census Day 1911 was a visitor, Water Galbraith, a medical student. He went on to become the President of the British Association of Urological Surgeons (link) - he was also at Glasgow Academy and Leys Road schools suggesting he may have been a friend of Hamish. The Galbraith surname also suggests they were related through Hamish's mother.
Around this time he had gone into business as a shipowner on his own account with Messrs Shankland, Russell and Co, shipowners, Glasgow. Possibly in connection with this, in 1913 he was recorded crossing the border from Canada to America, seemingly heading home after a visit. The record describes him as 5 feel 7 inches tall, of fair complexion, with brown hair and grey eyes.
He was a member of the Bonnetmakers and Dyers of Glasgow (a trade guild), qualifying as eldest son of a member.
He may have had some experience of soldiering before the war with 5th Scottish Rifles, but joined the 7th HLI in September 1914.
His brother, Herbert, was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 6th HLI who fought at Gallipoli next to the 7th Battalion. He survived the war, serving in Egypt and joining the Royal Flying Corps (which became the RAF). He was demobbed on 28 May 1919 and married on five months later to Bessie Douglas-Watson. His mother, Ellen, seems to have purchased 21 and 23 Thorn Road, Bearsden at this time - Herbert and Bessie moved into 21 and Ellen moved into 23.
His sister Ellen Hope never married and died in New Kilpatrick in 1985.
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