A NEW book has been
published detailing the lives of many of the Moray servicemen who died in World War I. Moray’s Sacrifice is the culmination of more than 10 years of research by Jill Stewart. Since August 2014, Jill has been contributing weekly articles to the Northern Scot about the conflict. She said: “On a number of occasions over the past four years I’ve been contacted by people who have seen their grandfathers, uncles or great-grandfathers, great-uncles in the newspaper. “Some were aware of exactly how and where their relatives had died in the war, but some were not. “Quite often it’s the first time they’ve ever seen a photo. It’s obviously very gratifying when that happens. “My book doesn’t just detail the service records of the troops, where these were available, but also provides details of their family and residence in Moray. About 1800 servicemen from Moray, as well as two nurses and three munitions workers, died during the course of the conflict. “The numbers are so huge
it’s hard to imagine how devastating it must have been.” Jill, a retired local government officer, has had a life-long interest in World War I. She first went to see the war graves in 1983, and has been back to France and Belgium many times since.
In addition she’s also been to Gallipoli in Turkey, where a number of Moray casualties were recorded. Jill, who was made an MBE four years ago, said: “Thanks to the internet there’s so much more information in the public domain nowadays
than ever before. There’s been a rise in interest in recent years not just in World War I but in family history
in general. I think it’s right that these folk are remembered.” Through her research Jill has also learned more about her own grandfather who fought in the war. Moray’s Sacrifice deals not only with those who served in the local territorial battalions of the 6th Seaforth Highlanders and 6th Gordon Highlanders, but also those who served in Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and South African Regiments. The book also covers the immediate post-war years and the actions taken to ensure that those lost would be appropriately commemorated. Moray’s Sacrifice can be bought from the Northern Scot office or Yeadon’s Bookshop, both in South Street, Elgin; the Paper Shop in Cullen; Buckie Fishing Heritage Museum; and The Washington on High Street, Forres