A Sequel to the Report by his Grand
Nephew
John Henderson
On the World War I Service
of
Private James Anderson Kerr, DCM (1895 -1917)
15075, 9th Bn., Royal Fusiliers
Born on 24th
September 1895
Old Polmaise, Bannockburn,
Stirling, Scotland
Killed in Action on
30 November 1917
Battle of Cambrai,
Northern France
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Remembered with honour at
CAMBRAI MEMORIAL, LOUVERVAL, FRANCE
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A few
months after I first reported my discoveries concerning my Grand Uncle,
James Anderson KERR on the ‘Electric Scotland’ web site, two second
cousins of mine currently resident in Toronto, Canada, and Grand Nieces
of James, found me, as a previously unknown blood relative, during their
first visit to the genealogical web site ‘Genes Reunited’.
In some of our subsequent ‘catch-up’ conversations, mention
was made, not only about James’ fate, but also two family stories told
to the girls by their Grandmother, one of James’ seven sisters, Barbara
‘Cissie’ Kerr. The first was about James running away from home in
Stirling to London, aged about eighteen in 1914, and there joining the
Royal Fusiliers. The second was about James’ mother, Janet (Richardson)
Kerr (1855-1925), originally from Hightae, Lochmaben, Dumfries,
Scotland, having her case packed ready to go from Stirling to France ....
from the date of her receipt of the news that her son
was missing in action …. until the day she died in 1925. Then I
told my Canadian cousins about the campaign medals awarded as documented
on James’ Medals’ Card in the National Archives. But none of us at that
point were able to say who in the wider family may have inherited his
medals and accompanying ribbons.
About two weeks after these initial transatlantic e-mailings,
while presenting a memorial booklet about James to my son Kerr
Henderson, he astonished me by saying that he had inherited
(unbeknown to me) a bar of ribbons from James’ niece in Stirling,
my spinster Aunt Janet ‘Neta’
Richardson Nicoll Henderson (1910-1982). ‘Dad, he said, ‘I have no idea
what they are, or who they belonged to, but did my Grand Aunt Neta not
often say in her old age, ‘When I was a wee girl, I lost the only young
man that I really ever loved’. I agreed that what he said was true, and
then simultaneously we exclaimed, ‘I wonder if that bar of ribbons was
first inherited by Aunt Neta from her Grandmother Janet Richardson
Kerr!’
So, at the first opportunity, Kerr raked around his loft and
unearthed the little gold tin that he knew contained the bar of ribbons
in question. I used my digital camera to photograph them and then
returned them to the safety of the box and the attic. As soon as
possible I then went online to Chris Baker’s informative site at
www.1914-1918.net
and was able to confirm not only the identity of the campaign ribbons,
but also the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal ribbon …. all as
portrayed below:-
Unfortunately, the location of the actual
medals remains a mystery.
Janet Kerr's
Lonely Vigil
