The grandchildren of a New Cumnock man who died during World War I are paying tribute to him on the 105th anniversary of his death.
Stewart James Buchanan, Corporal for the Seaforth Highlanders, attached to 23rd Trench Mortar Battery, moved to New Cumnock from Galston to look for work when he was around 17.
Upon settling in the village, James joined the local reserve outfit and married Elizabeth Brown, who hailed from Liggate in Dumfries and Galloway.
Now deceased, the woman, known affectionately as Granny Park, was the former and last housekeeper of the Lochside Hotel when it was a stately lodge. The couple settled just outside New Cumnock and had five children, Margaret, Hawthorn, James, Buchanan and William, both of whom later migrated to New Zealand.
They are both buried at Whanganui.
On November 6, 1916, at the age of 34, Stewart was killed by an incoming shell. Following his demise, he was interred by his comrades at Voormezeele near Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium, where his remains lie still.
In the early 1950s, his wife, Elizabeth, spent some time in New Zealand but sadly, in 1953, on her return to New Cumnock, she passed away.
Grandson Alexander Stewart, said: “I remember her well.
"After being widowed, my gran married again to a Fanny Park of New Cumnock. It was one of their three children, my late Aunty Margaret Shewan, whom I have to thank for keeping many old photographs and giving them to me.
"I have been to New Cumnock several times to see my many cousins but now there are just three still standing.”
Addressing his grandad, Alexander added: “Although we never knew you, your memory and bravery remain with us.”
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