Canadian WWI Graves in the Auld Kirkyard at Kirkoswald
Kirkoswald is a small village
about 25 miles south of Glasgow. It has historical ties to Robert the
Bruce who was christened at the Auld Kirk and also to Robbie Burns who
studied there as a young teenager.
The churchyard of the Auld Kirk is the final resting place of three soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force of the First World War. These soldiers were of the parish of Kirkoswald but had left prior to the war to become Canadian immingrants. On the declaration of war in 1914 they joined up to serve with the Canadian Expeditionary Force and were subsequently killed in action. Their memory is preserved on the war memorial which is located in the north east corner of the churchyard facing out onto the main street.
The churchyard of the Auld Kirk is the final resting place of three soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force of the First World War. These soldiers were of the parish of Kirkoswald but had left prior to the war to become Canadian immingrants. On the declaration of war in 1914 they joined up to serve with the Canadian Expeditionary Force and were subsequently killed in action. Their memory is preserved on the war memorial which is located in the north east corner of the churchyard facing out onto the main street.
 |
 |
 |
The photo in the upper
left is of the memorial as seen from the street. Above is a view of the inscription including some of the names and the dedication: TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR KING AND COUNTRY TIN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919 THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE The photograph at left shows some of the names on the memorial including those of the three Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.) members: WILLIAM C. GIBSON
ARCHIBALD McNICOLL WILLIAM SHINNAN |
A seasrch for the graves of these three Canadian soldiers was not completely successful.
The Grave of William C. Gibson
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
grave of William C. Gibson is marked by the standard Canadian military
grave marker of the First World War. It features the Canadian maple
leaf and has the inscriptions: 423049 LANCE CPL
W. C. GIBSON 8TH BN CANADIAN INF 13TH JULY 1916 AGE 24 GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN The grave is located near
the south wall of the cemetery just to the left of the main entrance
gate.
|
|
The grave of Archibald McNicol(l)
 |
 Looking for a standard
military marker we did not immediately locate the grave of Archibald
McNicol. We eventually found him buried in a family plot and included
in the family names on that grave marker. The inscription reads:
ARCHIBALD McNICOL, C.E.F.
KILLED IN ACTION AT YPRES BELGIUM, 6TH APRIL, 1916 AGED 23 YEARS [the spelling of the surname
varies between the memorial and the family marker]
|
The Grave of William Shinnan
We were unable to locate a grave
marker for William Shinnan. There was only one grave marker for anyone
with the surname Shinnan
 |
The inscription on this grave marker reads: ERECTED
BY JAMES SHINNAN In Loving Memory OF HIS WIFE ALICE RAWCLIFFE WHO DIED 5TH JULY 1912 AGED 45 We can surmise that Alice was William's father and that William is also buried here. Further research is in progress to determine if this is the case |