My grandfather, Garden Donald, died before I was born and I know very little about him. But I have two objects that bears witness to his connection to the 1914-18 war. The first is a photograph of him in uniform with the 2nd Volunteer Reserves of the Gordon Highlanders.
The second is a hand written note dated 1917 on paper with the Gordon Highlander crest, addressed to ‘Aggie’, which must be my grandmother Agnes.
The letter reads:
16 February 1917
Dear Aggie,
Excuse me for not noticing what I called you in my last letter but I was in a bit of a hurry writing some other correspondence and I did not notice what I was writing. We are having an awful frost here and it still shows no sign of thawing.
My hands are all swollen and sore with the frost it is he coldest weather I think I ever experienced. My people at home are all right and Jim is still in hospital. I have no time to write more next time.
I would really like to know more about his experiences during the war. Were the reserves sent to join the regiment’s forces overseas? Where was he when he wrote this letter? Who would know now?