It Is Good to Look to the Past

It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look upon the virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies ahead. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored so hard and gained so little in this world, but out of whose dreams and early plans, so well nurtured, has come a great harvest of which we are the beneficiaries. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all.

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Memories of Aberdeen During WWII

FG, one of Ella’s first cousins who also grew up in Aberdeen (their common ancestors are George and Charlesina Findlay), shared over email some of his first-hand memories of life and specific experiences during World War II. Thanks, FG!

As I read through these memories and found related information online, I again was overcome by what a sobering time this was (for lack of a better adjective), and impressed by how daily life routines just carried on, despite the circumstances. As Grandma Ella likes to say, "The Scots are tough." Indeed they are!

In addition to this blog post, see these other posts on WWII:
The War Years: Air Raids, City and Countryside, and Strength in the Gospel
At Home and Abroad: Family Members' Military Service in WWII

……….

On 12th July 1940 Hall Russell's Boiler Shop took a direct hit and 32 shipyard workers were killed and 100 were injured. The men were having their lunch break when the bomb struck….the men were working that day as all holidays were cancelled during the war….In normal circumstances all the men would have been on holiday at that time of the year. Of course, I was five years old at the time but I still remember it happening and the sense of shock among the adults. (1)

Hall Russell Shipyards after the bombings of 12 June 1940
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In another air raid, the primary school that I attended, Victoria Road School, received a direct hit and was extensively damaged. Luckily, it was a night air raid and the school was closed when it was hit. Eventually, temporary classrooms were erected but until then we all attended school for half days only - half the pupils in mornings and the other half in afternoons. (2)

Victoria Road School after the bombings of 12 July 1940
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For a while, when the air raids were quite frequent, we lived with Grandma Charlesina at 4 Ferrier Crescent, Woodside, as my Mum and Dad felt that our house in Torry was too close to Aberdeen harbour. During that time I attended a school near Grandma's house. When the air raids stopped we returned to our house in Torry.

4 Ferrier Crescent in the Woodside area of Aberdeen (on the second story),
where Grandpa George and Grandma Charlesina Findlay lived.
Photo taken May 2017. Note that this is not the original building, but similar in design.

I remember when a German bomber was shot down. At the time it was generally accepted that the pilot made efforts to avoid landing on houses in the Ruthrieston area of Aberdeen (very close to Holburn Street, where Ella lived). The plane crashed into a building which housed the town's public ice rink. I think that all crew members were killed. (3)

During those war years we all had to carry gas masks around with us. They were in cardboard boxes, held with loops of string round our necks. Very young children and babies had special gas masks, made of rubber and styled as Donald Duck masks.

School children with gas masks in boxes on a string. (These children were actually being evacuated.)
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Boxes containing gas masks, with a long string to wear around one's neck.
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Every home was provided with an air raid shelter by the local authority. Most were free-standing concrete buildings located in back gardens or other areas near the house. They were known as Anderson shelters, presumably named after their designer. We had a different type in our garden, again made of concrete but partly sunk into a hole dug in the ground and covered with earth and grass turf. I remember spending many hours in that shelter.(4)

A family entering an Anderson shelter.
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A diagram of the exterior of an Anderson shelter.
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An example of an interior of an Anderson shelter.
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Additional images of Aberdeen after the bombings of 12 July 1940

Notes:

1. This is an excerpt of an email from FG to KF on 11 June 2017. I found this related information: “At 12:45, the first bombs began to fall on the Hall Russell shipyard. There was no air raid warning when the bombers approached the city from the sea. Indeed, the first anyone knew was when around sixteen high explosive bombs exploded in quick succession. The boiler shop was worst hit with around ten bombs exploding in and around it….The bombing continued unabated with the Neptune Bar on the waterfront receiving a direct hit. In those days it had an upper floor which collapsed on to the lunchtime drinkers below, killing 40. A fragment from the bomb cut the end off the tail of the bar’s cat who went around with a shortened tail for the rest of its days.” Source: https://aberdeenvoice.com/2013/07/the-july-1940-blitz-in-aberdeen-part-2/. Here is a map that shows all the streets bombed in Aberdeen during WWII: https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/new-map-shows-every-aberdeen-street-bombed-germans-ww21/.
2. This is an excerpt of an email from FG to KF on 24 May 2017. More information on the bombing of Victoria Road School here: https://doriccolumns.wordpress.com/ww2-1939-45/black-friday-40/.
3. This is an excerpt of an email from FG to KF on 24 May 2017. More information on the bomber crashing into the ice rink here: https://aberdeenvoice.com/2013/07/the-july-1940-blitz-in-aberdeen-part-2/.
4. This is an excerpt of an email from FG to KF on 24 May 2017. More information on Anderson shelters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raid_shelter#Anderson_shelter. And more images of the shelters: http://mashable.com/2015/07/24/wwii-backyard-bunkers/#wxPr5v9GgZql.

George and Charlesina Smith Love Findlay - Final Resting Spot

On our must-see list on our most recent trip to Aberdeen, in May 2017, was the final resting place of Ella’s paternal grandparents, George and Charlesina Findlay.

George and Charlesina Findlay - 1956

Charlesina Smith Love, daughter of Alexander Love and Caroline Love (M.S. Smith), died on 5 January 1960 at 76 years old. Per the death registry, she passed away at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen of generalized atherosclerosis, cerebral thrombosis, and bronchopneumonia.(1)

Charlesina was cremated at Kaimhill Crematorium in Aberdeen and her ashes were scattered (can we assume by family?) at the Garden of Rest, which surrounds what is now the Kaimhill Funeral Home. (That particular crematorium is no longer in use, having closed in 1975).(2)

Just about 5 years later, her husband George Findlay died on 29 December 1964 at 85 years old. He was the son of Walter Findlay and Elizabeth Findlay (M.S. Taylor). Per the death register, he died of coronary thrombosis (a heart attack) and senility.(3)

Like his wife, George was also cremated at Kaimhill Crematorium, on 31 December 1964, and his ashes were subsequently scattered at the Garden of Rest.(4)

The Kaimhill Funeral Home in Aberdeen - May 2017

When we arrived at the Kaimhill Funeral Home, we visited the Hall of Remembrance, where plaques on the walls commemorate the lives of deceased loved ones - almost like gravestones, with names and dates, but for persons who were cremated. There is also a beautiful, large Book of Remembrance in the hall, several volumes in fact, with one volume displayed in a glass case, and with persons names detailed in a stunning hand-penned script.

Ralph and Ella in the Hall of Remembrance
at the Kaimhill Funeral Home - May 2017

Book of Remembrance, in the Hall of Remembrance at Kaimhill - May 2017

We lingered in the Hall of Remembrance, reading the names on the walls and hoping to find plaques for George and Charlesina. The caretaker also opened up the Book of Remembrance for us (ever so gently, wearing white cotton gloves so as to help avoid dirt and oil from bare hands tarnishing the pages), but we didn’t find reference to them in either place.

However, while we were in the Hall of Remembrance, we did find a plaque for another relative - Alexander Love Findlay, son of George and Charlesina and Ella’s uncle. “Alec” as he was often called, was born 29 June 1906 and passed away on 28 December 1960 of carcinoma of the bronchus (lung cancer). He was 54. He was cremated at Kaimhill Crematorium on 31 December 1960.(5) Alec died without having any children, and what I hadn’t realized previously was that he passed away just about a year after his mother Charlesina. It was nice to remember him this day as well.

"Alexander Love Findlay, Died 28th December 1960, Aged 54 Years"

Ella's uncle Alec Findlay, walking down Union Street
in Aberdeen. Date unknown. Image source: This photo was
shared with us by Cousin CS in May 2017.

We also took time to wander through the Garden of Rest, particularly on the grounds to the right of the funeral home, and we silently paid our respects to Ella’s grandparents. The garden is a peaceful place with paths to meander around and benches on which to sit and stay awhile. It’s also a public space and ashes may be scattered anywhere, so there’s no way to know for sure where George and Charlesina’s ashes are (unless a family member might anecdotally know that detail.)

Ralph and Ella at the Garden of Rest, on the grounds of the
Kaimhill Funeral Home - May 2017

Inside the Hall of Remembrance, and a peek at the Book of Remembrance, 

at the Kaimhill Funeral Home - May 2017

A view of the exterior of the Kaimhill Funeral Home and the Garden of Rest - May 2017

Notes and Questions:

1. See the death registry for Charlesina Findlay, included in this blog post, below.
2. Charlesina Findlay’s cremation and confirmation of her ashes being scattered at the Garden of Rest received via email with a Support Assistant in Bereavement Services, Marischal College, Aberdeen, on 8 March 2017. However, I’m not 100% sure of the cremation date as I’ve been told it’s 7 January 1960 as well as 9 January 1960. It’s a non-essential detail but I wanted to make sure that what details we have are correct.
3. See the death registry for George Findlay, included in this blog post, below. Can anyone decipher what where George passed away? 64 [street name] Crescent, Aberdeen?
4. George Findlay’s cremation date and confirmation of his ashes being scattered at the Garden of Rest received via email with a Support Assistant in Bereavement Services, Marischal College, Aberdeen, on 8 March 2017.
5. Alexander Love Findlay’s cremation date received via email with a Support Assistant in Bereavement Services, Marischal College, Aberdeen, on 30 May 2017. However, I have not confirmed whether there’s any record of his ashes also be scattered at the Garden of Rest, or whether his name is recorded in the Book of Remembrance that is kept at the Hall of Remembrance in the Kaimhill Funeral Home.

Death Registry for Charlesina Smith Findlay - 1960
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Death Registry for Alexander Love Findlay - 1960
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Death Registry for George Findlay - 1964
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