We are fortunate that we hold in the collection a number of personal diaries and letters written by soldiers serving in The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). These documents can provide fascinating glimpses into war as experienced by the soldiers who were there, while others remind us of the pain and suffering that war can bring.
This letter wasn’t written by a soldier, but by the wife of an officer who was killed in the Second World War. Lieutenant George Murdoch Alexander was killed on 30th July 1944, while serving with the 9th Battalion Cameronians. His widow wrote this letter to a friend, in reply to a letter of sympathy. The black border on the paper is a sign that the writer is in mourning:
Pages 1 and 4
Pages 2 and 3
In response to words of sympathy from her friend, Margaret, Elizabeth Alexander writes:
I just can’t realise that now he’s never coming back. Everyone has been so kind, and they have all said that time will heal. But I don’t think that it really brings forgetfulness. It is only that a little of the soreness leaves the heart as the weeks go past. At first it seemed as though the bottom had dropped right out of my world, but now as I slowly return to normal, I am realising that his two sons are his sacred trust to me and please God, I shall be worthy of that trust. When I look at them, I know that he is not lost to me entirely.
Mrs Alexander goes on to give the circumstances under which her husband was killed, as told by the Commanding Officer of the 9th Battalion Cameronians, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Villiers DSO:
I had a letter from Col. Villiers last week. He was his C.O. in France. He said that he was killed in the action which ultimately led to the big push which we are now having. He was leading his men against an enemy strong point across the River Orne and he says that I can be proud that he died so heroically. God knows it didn’t take this to make me proud of him. He was buried with eight of his men in a small regimental cemetery in a lovely little orchard on the banks of the river. A cross has been erected over his grave and the name of the regiment, Cameronians, was written out in flowers at the foot of all their graves.
She finishes her letter with:
I hope that Isa’s, Bessie’s, and your husband are spared to come back to you, my hopes and dreams are buried in a little orchard somewhere in France.
Your Sincere Friend
Elizabeth Alexander.
Lieutenant George Alexander
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Today is the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory over Japan. While the War in Europe against Germany had ended in May, the War in the East carried on until 15th August 1945. While millions in Britain celebrated the Victory against the Nazis, British forces were still engaged in bitter fighting with Japan.
This anniversary provides an opportunity to remember all those who lost their lives in the Far East; in campaigns that were often overshadowed by the war fought in Europe. It also gives an opportunity to remember all those men and women who had been prisoners of war under the Japanese, thousands of whom suffered terrible cruelties at the hands of their captors. We must also not forget those men who returned from the War in the East – many denied by time the heroes welcome they deserved.
It was a sad coincidence that, in the days leading up to this anniversary, we learned of the death of Mr Frank Nicholson, a veteran of the 1st Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who served in Burma and with the Chindits. We are grateful for the fantastic photographs and other material from Mr Nicholson’s service in the Regiment that he bequeathed to the museum collection. We will be adding more of Mr Nicholson’s material to the blog in due course, where I am sure it will be appreciated by many viewers all over the world.
Frank Nicholson, on the right
Frank had been serving with the 1st Battalion Cameronians when the Japanese forces surrendered. His photographs from this time show Cameronian soldiers guarding their Japanese prisoners; a stark contrast to the images seen of British prisoners under the Japanese following the fall of Singapore.
A Cameronian soldier stands guard as a queue of Japanese prisoners await processing.
While this website and blog focuses on the regimental collections of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), we feel it only appropriate to acknowledge how significant today’s anniversary is to the families and friends of those soldiers of The Lanarkshire Yeomanry who suffered so terribly in the Far East. The men of the 155th (Lanarkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, fell into the captivity of the Japanese with the fall of Singapore on 15th February 1942. For the remainder of the War these men endured unimaginable hardships and treatment at the hands of their captors. For more information on the Lanarkshire Yeomanry’s service in the Second World War, please take the time to visit the Lanarkshire Yeomanry Group website – http://www.lanarkshireyeomanry.com/
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