225915 Pte. William Alexander British Army 6th Battalion Cameron Highlanders from:Galsgow I always knew my grandfather, William Alexander, my dad's dad, was in the Cameron Highlanders and was in the 1st World War, but very little information was passed down. My dad was 22 when his dad died and he would tell us about our grandad and the Battle of the Somme and how he was shot in the shoulder. My dad only found out as a teenager when he asked his dad about the scars on his shoulder, the answer was "son they are there, so you will never have to have the same" and that was that.
It wasn't until after his death that my grandmother spoke about my grandfather's injuries and the effects it had on him. He never spoke of it and never told any of his four children. He went on to have two billiard rooms in Glasgow, one in the Trongate up from the old C&A and one in the Great Western Road, near his beloved Glasgow Rangers. He and my grandmother also had a boarding house in Beach Way Largs for many years.
He died in 1951 aged 61. I never met him as I was born 10 years later, but my dad said he was a wonderful, kind, loving man that everyone loved, a real gem. His mother was Clementina Shand Daniel, the daughter of the poet William Shand Daniel and they originated from Fraserburgh and the Shands of Craigellie. And old highland and patriotic family.
I wish I had met him, I feel so honoured and proud of him.
If anyone has anymore information on the 6th Battalion Cameron Highlanders, please could you let me know. Thank you.
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