Duncan Macfarlane Memorial Presentation

On Sunday 19th April at 2pm there will be a presentation in the Heritage Centre in Dunscore Church and coincides with the launch of a related temporary exhibition on the same day.

Jo Abbot writes:

“This temporary exhibition for the summer season comprises WW1 items belonging to my grandfather, Duncan Macfarlane of the Gordon Highlanders. There is his service Bible, held in his uniform chest pocket, with a bullet hole in the spine. This saved his life. He was missing in action for around six months and suffered many other wounds. I’ve seen the missing in action telegram but, over the years, it disappeared. There is his medical discharge certificate, dog tags, cap badge still with the tartan attached and various other items.

He suffered severe strokes aged fifty and that’s all I remember of him – a tall, cadaverous man with a useless left arm and side who managed to shauchle from his chair to the bathroom. He had the most horrific dreams, screaming and shouting and crying. It’s only as an adult that I was able to appreciate what they were about.

The presentation is being attended by representatives of the Gordon Highlanders Glasgow and Edinburgh Associations and their standard will be piped into the Kirk. After the heritage centre season the items will go to the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen.

He was an ordinary man, a postman and my grandparents lost two infant boys, one at six months to polio and another at eighteen months to diphtheria. Their oldest daughter, my aunt never married. My mother was born after the war, I was born in 1950 and had two children Duncan MacFarlane’s great grandchildren who, between them, have five great great grandchildren.

This story has never been told and my family feel it’s time it should be. He was my grampa. Seventy two when he died and I was twelve and I loved him.”