Alexander Park met his future wife
Agnes Yuill Kerr at 54 Sword St Glasgow. Alexander's father, Mitchell operated
his rag business at the same address as James Kerr's horse and carriage hire business. In
1913 Agnes and Alex married. Their daughter Agnes was born in soon after 1914.
Few War records remain for Alex but we know he enlisted aged 23 as a private in
the 1st Battalion Scots Guards- Service No 11165.
While Alexander was away Agnes was
also awaiting news of her five brothers who had also gone to war. Another
brother David, had stayed behind to work in the family business. Brother John
was discharged early due to lameness and four other brothers Andrew, Francis,
James and Tommy continued fighting until the war's end.
In May 1917 Agnes's father died and a
mere six weeks later her beloved of Alexander was killed in action in France.
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| Alex's medal card |
Here’s what we can piece together of
his service... In August 1914 the 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards departed
for France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (B,E.F). In Mons the
British forces successfully defended against the Germans incurring heavy
casualties.
Due to the strength of the Germans the British
withdrew from Mons together with the French troops. This action effectively
saved the BEF and the French resources to keep the British fighting in France
in future against the Germans. A second
major engagement, the first battle of the Marne, halted the Germans despite the
bitter fight. Later the battalion saw heavy fighting in September 1915.
They took part in the Battle of Loos
and in July 1916 lost 57,000 soldiers in the first day of battle in the Battle
of the Somme. Heavy shell fire and machine gun fire continued through July.
Later in the month the regiment began its involvement in the Third Battle of Ypres. The battle lasted into November 1917 by which
time the British had suffered very heavy casualties against the Germans in
terrible fighting conditions. Alexander was killed in action on 30 July 1917 and
is one of the guardsmen buried at the Ypres Gates Panel 11.
Alexander and Agnes' only son Mitchell
Park named after his grandfather, was born posthumously in 1918 but died in
1920 after a long illness with meningitis.
It seems Agnes may have carried on in
her husband's business as her husband's father had died in 1914 and her husband
was absent, then kill in the war.
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| Agnes' business card |
"Tailors' clips - a speciality"
What exactly was the nature
of the business may be explained by the various descriptions given to Alexander
in his marriage certificate, son's birth and death certificate and Agnes' own death certificate.
He is variously described as “rag
merchant”, " sewing machine operative" and "Wool broker". I
wonder if the term -wool broking is a euphemism
for rag dealing and a much more palatable term in 1960s Sydney!
With so much sadness Agnes who had
been a ship stewardess before marriage looked to adventure. She took her
daughter and nephew to Australia where she remained for the rest of her life
probably living on a British War Widow's pension. She'd had a pretty trying few
years with so many deaths in the family and the War. While her mother and
brother Tommy tried the life in Sydney
for a short time they returned home to Scotland. Many other members of the
family were preparing to try their luck in the Antipodes and arrived a few years later. They became her
family in the tight knit community of the North Shore of Sydney.
 |
| Agnes and her daughter Agnes in her passport photo 1924 |
The funny thing is that many of the
Park family settled in South Australia remaining unaware of each other until
only recently. The families who shared a business premises in Glasgow in the
1900s have now been connected through an ancestry tree. (Contact me for
details)
