The grandson of a north-east sailor who was sunk by a U-boat during WWI has unearthed dozens of letters sent to his new wife in prior to his tragic death – just two months before the birth of their son.
John Milne has spent considerable time attempting to trace any living relatives on his grandfather James’ side of the family, who were from Kintore.
His grandfather was a merchant navy officer during the Great War and was posted to the Ballogie shep which ferried coal out to British forces in Dunkirk and elsewhere in France.
A century ago, the 31-year-old, who worked at Tom’s Forrest Quarry before the war, died when the Aberdeen-based vessel was sunk by the notorious UC-47 submarine, which sent 57 boats into the deep before it was destroyed by a patrol ship.
The naval officer met his end while Gertrude was expecting John’s father, John sr.
Their concerns and anxieties about the every day dangers that James faced on his sorties are detailed in a number of letters that were passed onto their grandson.
In their exchanges, James tries to quell his new bride’s worries amid growing fears both home and at sea about the Germans’ deadly underwater weapon.
There are also touching moments where he expresses his feelings for his “darling kiddie”.
In one he writes: “I love you kiddie better than life and I know and believe that you will be ever so true to me.”
The letters were eventually passed to the couple’s grandson, who himself served as part of the Royal Navy, and he has been trying to trace the family tree ever since.
“She (Gertrude) must have kept them, I don’t know when they came to my father but she died in the 1970s, they were in a big bundle of items my mother gave me when he died,” Mr Milne said.
“My grandmother remarried and it’s not something we were ever that aware of, it’s not something that you talked about – even my father was in the air force and served in Burma during WWII and he never spoke about it.
“Now I have grandchildren and my brother does too so I just decided that I would try and fill in the gaps so they know the family history.”
While Mr Milne has had some success in researching his grandfather’s family, he still does not know the fate of his great-uncle Craigie James Milne, who also lived in Kintore.
Anyone who has any information which may be able to help Mr Milne, who lives in Farnborough, should email john.milne7@ntlworld.com
