Alexander "Sunny" Cook, 04/04/1888 - 16/04/1918, was the eldest son of Alexander and Jessie Cook (nee Petrie). The Cooks and Petries are families long associated with the Lumsden area. Sunny was born on the 4th April 1888, most probably at Clova. He had emigrated to Canada as an adult, and was working as a baker in Vancouver when he enlisted on the 28th March 1916. His address at enlistment is given as 337 Broadway West, Vancouver. During his time in the army he had made at least one trip home to see his parents at Landerberry, Echt, in Aberdeenshire where they had moved to. His sister Mary Petrie Cook once related that their mother would not allow him into the house until she had ironed the lice from the pleats of his kilt.

The award of his military medal appears in the London Gazette for the 13th of March 1918; and the bar on the 6th August 1918.

His demise came after he had led a dawn patrol up to the German wire on the 16th April 1918. His party had completed their mission and started to withdraw when he was shot by a "Hun sniper".  The other three members of the recognisance party got him to a shell hole; one managed to crawl back to the Canadian line.   A stretcher party was sent out under cover of a white flag to get him safely back-in. He was sent to a Dressing Station and then by motor ambulance to a hospital that was well back from the front line.  He died in the evening of the same day that he was wounded and the following morning he was buried in the cemetery of the hospital. He lies in plot 3, Row B, Grave 34 in Aubigney Communal Cemetery Extension, Aubigney-en-Artois, 15km north-west of Arras. His medals arrived home in June 1918, and his personal effects on the 16th of July.

Email his nephews (Note: Remove the stars to get the correct email address. The stars are added to foul webcrawlers).

Kenneth M^cHardy : ****kmchardy@tinyonline.co.uk

Derek Heath : ****Derek.Heath@btinternet.com

1015264 L/Cpl. A./Cpl. Alexander Cook M.M., bar., 72nd Canadian Seaforth Highlanders

Private S/25110,7th Bn., Seaforth Highlanders who died on Thursday 25th April 1918. Age 19.

Robert was the son of John and Annie Smith of the hotel in Lumsden. He was a first cousin of Alexander Cook above. His mother Annie was a sister of Alexander Cook snr.

The photograph is in the possession of his nephew Derek Heath.

Henry and Annie had daughters Maggie and Tilda, and another son Patrick who worked in Canada for the Hudson Bay Company.

Robert had joined the North of Scotland Bank in Rhynie on the 24th August 1914. He enlisted in July 1917 and was killed in action at Lys on the 25th April 1918. He is remembered on the Tyn Cot Memorial at Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. This memorial is one of those dedicated to the missing men of the Belgian Flanders battles.

His sister Tilda married Henry Reid from Todstone and emigrated to Canada in 1939. Sister Maggie was married to a Walker of Kildrummy and already married and in Canada at this time.

Left: Mother Annie wearing her Canadian furs with brother Pat and sister Tilda. Picture taken in Scotland in the 1930's.

Tilda's daughter Ann was to become a Olympic Athlete for Canada.

Mrs Jean R. Wiseman of Aberdeen writes of her grandfather James Burnett Clark...............

James was the 4th child of William Clark and his wife Christina Livingston. He was born on the 8th February 1890. His parents farmed at Craik, Auchindoir. When he enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders he was working in Aberdeen as a baker with the Northern Co-operative Society.

He was wounded during a battle near Arras. James returned to Aberdeen from the war in poor physical condition and died on the 10th of March 1920, aged only 30. He is buried at Auchindoir Cemetery. His death is reported as due to tuberculosis that I assume he contracted in the trenches. He is interred at Auchindoir Kirkyard.

Email his granddaughterMrs Jean Wiseman : ****AWis270261@aol.com (Note: Remember to remove the stars which were added to foul webcrawlers)

Douglas Baxter Gordon was the son of Wilfrid Munro Gordon and Jessie Ann Logie Baxter Gordon, of Fochabers, Morayshire. His father had been the Bank Agent at the Toll of Mossat Clydesdale Bank.

Douglas joined the R.A.F.V.R. after leaving school.

He died on 30th May 1943 aged 22, and is interred Rheinberg War Cememtery, Germany, Coll. grave 9. C. 19-21.

This photograph was also taken at the council houses at Coreen View, Lumsden.

With thanks to Mrs Margaret Shearer (nee Willox) of Lumsden

Right : 1349618 Sargeant, 460 (R.A.A.F) Sqdn., R.A.F.V.R., Douglas Gordon

William "Cappie" Cook was the son of William and Margaret Cook (nee M^cIntosh) who ran a General Merchant's store in the main street of Lumsden. His father was a cousin of Sunny Cook and Robert Smith mentioned above.

He died on 21st April 1943 aged 21, and is interred in grave 735 at Lemvig Cemetery, Denmark.

The photograph is taken at the council houses at Coreen View in Lumsden (built 1939).

With thanks to his cousin Mrs Margaret Shearer (nee Willox) of Lumsden.

Left : 1005936 Air Bomber, 49 Sqdn., R.A.F.V.R.
WIlliam "Cappie" Cook