Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The Mystery of the Gordon Highlanders kilt: Missing photos could hold key

Unfortunately a box of family photographs were borrowed and not returned.

Jelle Angillis with the WWI Gordon Highlanders kilt worn by Elgin soldier, Private John Fordyce.
Jelle Angillis with the WWI Gordon Highlanders kilt worn by Elgin soldier, Private John Fordyce.

A descendant of an Elgin First World War soldier has contacted the historian who bought his kilt.

An article in The Press and Journal highlighted the military career of Private 12296 John Fordyce.

Born in Elgin around 1884, he died at the town’s Spynie Hospital on May 28 1961.

Jelle Angillis, a doctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp, bought the Gordon Highlanders kilt at an online auction last month.

The WWI Gordon Highlanders kilt worn by Private John Fordyce.

He put out a plea for information about Pte Fordyce via an article in The Press and Journal. He also posted on the Facebook group Our Elgin.

Now he has been contacted by a relative of his late wife.

John Fordyce was married to Isabella McConnachie (1878-1965) and last lived at 35 South College Street.

Memories of Jock and Bella

Rosemary Clark, grand-daughter of the late Mary Catto, Isabella’s sister, has spoken to Mr Angillis.

She can “just” remember “Jock and Bella” from when she visited with her granny.

But unfortunately, a box of family pictures has been lost.

Mr Angillis is still keen to hear from anyone with more information about the Elgin soldier.

He said: “I’ve been contacted by a descendant of the man’s wife.

“As a child, she had known him and his wife, but they themselves had no children. His brother and sisters also died childless.

“The woman also told me that there was a big box of family photos. She had lent these out once but they have not been returned.”

Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen.
Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen.

The kilt attracted Mr Angillis’ interest because its wearer could be identified.

Sources from The National Archives First World War Service Records ‘Burnt Documents’, and the Morayshire Roll of Honour, Elgin, 1921, have provided details.

At 18 he joined the 3rd Battalion Highland Light Infantry. And fought in the Boer War in South Africa between December 1901 and September 1902.

The couple settled back in Elgin

After leaving the Army in 1904, he worked as a painter. In  1908, he married Isabella McConnachie from Elgin. The couple settled in their birthplace.

Mr Fordyce re-enlisted when Britain joined the war in 1914.

He was later assigned to the 6th Battalion Gordon Highlanders, when he received the distinctive kilt.

In total, he served in the British Army for three years and 71 days.

After the war, Mr and Mrs Fordyce continued to live in Elgin.

Anyone with information can contact Mr Angillis by email at  jelle.angillis@uantwerpen.be .

Are you interested in all the latest news and updates from Elgin? If so, why not join our new Facebook group.

Conversation