Introduction

In 2014 the centenary of the outbreak of World War One, Cumnock History Group began researching the names on the Cumnock War Memorial plus other men and women with Cumnock connections mentioned on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission or in the Cumnock Chronicle of the time. The research is not limited to those who died but also to men and women who served, using family history information.

The group would like to appeal to individuals with knowledge of family members for photographs of the soldier, either in uniform or not, and photos of medals or other memorabilia eg letters sent home from the Front. If you would be prepared to share these on this site, please email the web manager info@cumnockhistorygroup.org The group is willing to share any copies of documents found with the soldier's descendants.

Monday 28 July 2014

Lieutenant William James McNaughton

Ancestry has this


Name: William James McNaughton
Death Date: 31 Dec 1915
Rank: 2 Lieutenant T Lieutenant
Regiment: Royal Scots Fusiliers
Battalion: 5th Battalion (Territorial)
Type of Casualty: Died of wounds


CWGC gives us some more information. He is 19 years old, the son of William and Marion McNaughton, Bank of Scotland House, Cumnock.

His father was the bank agent in Cumnock.

The Evening Times
The photo was published on the Glasgow Evening Times, accessed on microfiche at the Mitchell Library. He was educated at Cumnock Public School and Ayr Academy and he worked in the bank.  The quality of the copy is hard to read.

From the Daily Record of 5 January 1916:


William James was born in Partick, Glasgow in 1896 to William McNaughton and Marion McPhee Nicol.


1911 census
3 Ayr Road, Cumnock
William McNaughton 51 bank agent
Marion 47 wife m 25 yrs 3 children 3 living
William J 15 scholar
Jessie Weir servant17
all b Glasgow


1901 census
279 Byres Rd Partick

William Mcnaughton             41 bank clerk
Agnes Mcnaughton             37 think this first name has been recorded or transcribed wrongly
Agnes Mcnaughton             14
John N Mcnaughton             13
William J Mcnaughton             5

1891 census
12 Grosvenor Place


William McMaughton             31 bank clerk
Marion McMaughton             26
Agnes McMaughton             4
John N McMaughton             3

Update 22 Apr 2015
Ancestry has published War Diaries from Gallipoli
Here is the entry for 1/5th Battalion RSF for 30 December 1915

Trenches were shelled with HE for 4 1/2 hours continuously, shells were falling at a rate of 50 an hour.
 The Turks attacked one of our new bomb stations with dynamite and killed or wounded everyone in it.
A total of 3 officers including Lt William McNaughton  and 16 men were killed, and 30 men were wounded as a result of this one day.



UK, WWI War Diaries (Gallipoli and Dardanelles), 1914-1916
 CWGC

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