William Shirran, born 1855

He appears in the census of 7^th April 1861 aged six (which in fact can't be right - he was five and a half), living with his mother and his siblings Adam, Jessie and James at Shandscross [Census 1861 247/00 004/00 011]. At fifteen he is probably the William Shirren, born in Turiff, who in April 1871 was working as a farm servant at South Loop Farm, Fyvie, a sixty-seven acre farm owned by a John Black just east of Mains of Towie. [Census 1871 197/00 008/00 009] This is probably the farm now just called Loop, as there is an Upper Loop to the north of it.

Much of what we know about William's later life comes from his army pension records [National Archives, Piece reference PIN 71/5247], which contain part of his army records and information on his health and his working life. Included are his army medical history, including his postings, and various forms relating to his medical discharge, as well as a series of documents from the 1920s in which he requests an increase in his pension owing to his worsening health and his income is stated year by year, and papers relating to the rates he was paying at that time.

His army documents confirm that he was working as a farm servant when he joined up. On 28^th May 1878 he applied at Aberdeen to join the 92^nd Regiment of Foot, a.k.a. the Gordon Highlanders (who in 1881 would merge with the 75^th Stirlingshire Regiment of Foot but keep the name Gordon Highlanders). In joining the Gordons he de facto also joined the 56^th Brigade, which comprised the 92^nd (Gordon) and 93^rd (Sutherland) Highlanders. His Medical History form W.O. 1143 shows him as born in Turriff, twenty years old (he was twenty-two), a farm servant, 6'7½" (probably an error as he is elsewhere described as 5'7½", and his brother George was 5'6¾") with a chest measurement of 37½". His physical development is good, he has no pox marks, and one vaccination mark on his left arm, from a vaccination in childhood. He was re-vaccinated on 15th July 1878, on his left arm, twice, both failures.

The army would later treat 28^th May 1878 as his twentieth birthday and calculate from that. Unlike his brother George, who would claim on enlistment to be two years older than he actually was, there seems to be no profit for William in lying to the army about his age and claiming to be two years younger than he was. His discharge documents would later state that he had no Certificate of Education. The forms he would fill in in the 1920s regarding his income show a nice clear handwriting but a tendency to get numbers wrong, so it is possible he was so disnumerate he genuinely didn't know how old he was. However, the fact that their father's name was Alexander Shirran of Ewebrae, Hill of Greeness, and yet the army records of William and George's younger brother Alexander Cowie Shirran claim that his father is called Alexander Hilgreness, suggests to me that the Shirran boys probably had impenetrably thick Doric accents and the army clerk had to take a best guess at what they'd said.

There seems to have been some complication regarding William's recruitment. On the 29^th May a letter was sent regarding it, and then on 1^st June a typed letter addressed to Horse Guards, War Office saying: "Sir, I am directed by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief to acquaint you that His Royal Highness approves of the man named in the margin [William Shirran], alluded to in your communication of the 29th ult., being enlisted for the 56th Brigade, as a special case, the Brigade being very much in excess of its establishment. I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant Squiggle, Officer Commanding 56th Brigade Depôt, Aberdeen, N.B." N.B. I suppose is "North Britain", the 18^th C alternative name for Scotland.

William finally enlisted as a Private in the 92^nd Foot on 4^th June 1878 and Attested on the 7^th June, which became the date from which his service was reckoned. His Regimental Number was 1853. He remained as a soldier at Aberdeen until some time in December 1878 when he set sail for India, where his regiment was based at Sitapur but with its left wing in Benares [Varanasi].

His discharge document later referred to him spending thirty-eight days "to date of disembarkation" which suggests he set sail on or about 8^th December: however, the fact that he landed in India on 15^th January 1879 suggests that he came in to Bombay on HMS Jumna which had sailed from Portsmouth on 17^th December 1878, with her flags at half-mast to mark the death of Princess Alice on the 14^th. The Jumna was carrying the 8^th Hussars, along with officers and draughts for other units including the 92^nd. That means William was only at sea for twenty-nine days: perhaps the figure of thirty-eight days includes time spent getting from Aberdeen to the South Coast and then cooling his heels in Portsmouth, waiting to board.

According to Charles Greenhill Gardyne's The Life of a Regiment: the History of the Gordon Highlanders Vol. II 1816-1898 the 92^nd set out from Sitapur to Afghanistan on 18^th December 1878. They passed through Lucknow on the 23^rd and paused at Jelhum [Jhelum] on the 28^th-29^th where they were joined by a half-battalion from Benares. They then swung north and reached Lawrencepore [Lawrencepur], about eight miles east of Kamra, on 8^th January 1879.

On 15^th January the Jumna made port carrying a draught of a hundred and eight men of the 92^nd under Captain DF Gordon, who were immediately "taken on the strength". Gardyne does not record the date on which these men, William amongst them, physically joined up with the rest of the regiment, but on 21^st January the body of the regiment reached Kohat, where it was inspected and the men were complimented on their "smart and soldier-like bearing" and their good conduct. They were still in Kohat late in February, when Lord Roberts described visiting them there (Forty-One Years in India), so the men of the draught had probably caught up with the regiment by then.

According to Gardyne they reached Ali Khel on 18^th April, going by way of Kurrum [the Kurrum Valley) and the Peiwar Kotal [Pēwār Kandow]. The Kurram Valley is a beautiful green water-course of reeds and peach-trees, running north-west to south-east along the course of the Kurram river. The word Kotal, often met with in this lumpy terrain, means "height": the Peiwar Kotal or Heights of Peiwar refers to a road which runs over a mountain ridge three miles north-west of Shalozan. There are several villages in modern Afghanistan which are normally spelled Ali Khel, Kheyl or Khayl, but the approach-route and the subsequent movements of the British forces from Ali Khel into the mountains shows that it is the the Alī Kheyl which is eight miles south of Azrow which is meant.

From Kohat they probably went via Thal, forty-five miles south-west of Kohat, and thence up the Kurram Valley. William's documents show that he reach Afghanistan (that is, presumably, he crossed the border in between Kohat and Thal) on 1^st April, and reached Ali Khel three days ahead of the bulk of his regiment on the 15^th, right in the middle of the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

Like the troubles in Afghanistan in the late 20^th C, this was a side-effect of tension between Russia and other states. Afghanistan was caught between the Russian and British spheres of influence. Initially friendly to Britain, the Amir of Afghanistan - the nearest thing this mountainous zone of small, fractured and shifting factions had to a central authority - became disenchanted when Britain failed either to acknowledge his choice of his youngest son as heir (which was a cheek on Britain's part, since it wasn't really our business) or to give him a firm promise to support Afghanistan in the even of an invasion by other powers. Rather than pushing for better terms from Britain, the Amir decided to allow a Russian diplomatic mission into Kabul but exclude the British one.

Britain wanted the Afghani government either to accept both British and Russian delegations, or neither: but the Russian delegation was by now a fait accompli and the Amir refused to allow the British to join them. Afghanistan's strategic position meant that Britain didn't want the Russians sitting there without a British delegation on hand to see what they were up to, so Britain invaded in order to counter the Russian influence, rather than to take control of the country as such. Afghanistan ceded some territory in what is now Pakistan, and Britain installed delegates in Kabul and other towns, took control of Afghanistan's foreign relations and then withdrew the army.

The original Amir, Sher Ali Khan, died partway through this process, in February 1879. After the British Army withdrew, his eldest son and successor Mohammed Yaqub Khan was initially more friendly towards Britain. He ceded some territories and agreed to an exchange of envoys and to be guided by Britain in matters of foreign policy, in return for a firm promise of protection from invaders. However, on 3^rd September 1879 the British envoy, Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari, and his staff were massacred in Kabul by Afghani troops. They had probably done so without the Amir's order but the Amir then played both ends against the middle, pretending friendship towards Britain and claiming regret at the massacre whilst privately encouraging the border tribes to oppose any British advance.

Britain then turned the Amir's words against him by saying that since the Amir had announced that this massacre had happened against his will it was clear he had little control, and so the British would come to Kabul to strengthen his government. The British army then invaded in earnest. Yaqub Khan initially played for time, still pretending friendship while his forces moved into better positions, but when his plans failed he abdicated, creating a confused power-vacuum with several candidates warring for control. Fighting continued until September 1880. Britain had won, after a fashion, ending up with a fairly friendly regime in place and keeping control of Afghanistan's foreign policy and the territories it had gained in what is now Pakistan, but it backed down a bit, withdrew its envoys and promised the new Afghani government protection and financial support. Regrettably, before reaching this fairly peaceful conclusion British officials had executed several suspects in the Cavagnari murder with brutality and not much due process, and were accused of having left women and children homeless in winter.

Most of that was still in the future, however, when William arrived at Ali Kheyl on 15^th April 1879, with Mohammed Yaqub Khan newly in place as Amir. The troops were to remain there for the next five months. According to Garen:

These were quiet months and the climate was generally pretty nice in the Kurram Valley for the troops (not so good for the camels, many of which perished until the majority were sent back to Thal where there was better grazing), though there was some snow in April, and late May and June started to get hot.

Much of the time was spent entrenching the base at Ali Khel, improving the roads, laying telegraph lines, escort duty, and building up stores - no doubt the 92^nd played their part in all this (eg. on 31^st May a working party of the 92^nd were involved in widening the road from Byan Khel). The monotony was often broken up by games and entertainments, including a huge parade on the Queen's birthday (24^th May).

General Roberts spent of most his time in reconnaissance, exploring routes and expanding the military knowledge of the area. Different regiments and mixes of regiments were exercised on these expeditions, including the 92^nd. A detachment went south of the Harriab Valley on 12^th May - exploring a range of hills between the Manjiar Pass and the Peiwar Kotal. Four parties went out on this expedition, the 92^nd accompanied Captain Martin, survey officer. Two companies acted as reserves to an expedition to the southwest of Ali Khel on 22^nd May, and a wing accompanied Roberts to Dabuzai and Ahmad Khel on 2^nd June.

Operations in the interim of the two campaigns were very peaceful, with a few very minor exceptions. On 10^th May a party of Mangal tribesmen decided to fire upon a small British survey party - the British returned fire, including a few men of the 92^nd who happened to be fishing in a nearby river. The affair ended when the Gurkhas were sent in from camp.

We do not know whether William was one of these combative fishermen, but certainly he took no part in any major combat at this time, for the first significant battle the Gordons fought in in this campaign seems to have been the one in which William was wounded. His first taste of battle was to be his last.

The London Gazette of 16^th January 1880, pages 209-227, contains extensive war-reports from various British officers in Afghanistan for September and October 1879, most notably from Major-General Sir FS Roberts, commanding Kabul Field Force, and Brigadier-General TD Baker.

On the 9^th of September Roberts, who was (or at least had been a few days before) at Simla, telegraphed ahead with orders for some of his men who were currently based at Shalozan to march to Shuturgurden [Shotor Gardan] Pass, which he had previously taken on 8^th December 1878 but which must have still been an insecure position, since his men were told to "seize and hold" it. On the 10^th he himself reached Thull [Thal] in Pakistan. On the 12^th he reached Ali Khel [Ali or Alu Kheyl] and learned that his forces had taken Shuturgurden the day before. To get from Thull to Ali Khel he must have passed along the Kuram [Kurran] Valley.

By the 13^th of September Roberts's men were working on the Serkaie [Surkay] Kotal, an ascent around ten miles on the proximal side of the Shuturgurden Pass. A large body of men were then ordered to march from Kuram [Kurram] Valley towards the front.

Starting from Thull, their aim was to march north-west up the Kurum Valley, pass Shalozan and bear left into the Hariab Valley heading for Ali Khel (see map below). From there, they would go about seven miles north-west along a narrow valley leading into the mountains,

At or just past Karatiga they would leave the defile at an angle and head about a mile and a half west up and over a notch in the Sirkaie Kotal and down to a camp at Kusini Kheyl [Kasim Khel or Qāsem Kheyl] about a mile to the north-west. Although Roberts doesn't say so, from there they must have followed a shallow curved defile that runs about four miles south-west and another four north-west to Shuturgurdan, passing by villages which are (now, at least) called Zinak, Sretarkhe and Ahmad Shah Kheyl. The problem was that enemy troops based at Gardez commanded a position from which they could descend on this route at several points. a Thull [Thal]

By the 18^th most of Roberts's advance men were at Shuturgurdan, apart fron two hundred 5^th Punjab Infantry who were in a nearly-completed walled serai (in inn with a walled courtyard for camels or horses) at Karatiga, on the north-west side of the defile.

Further back in the Kuram and Hariab Valleys, the 92^nd along with other forces had been ordered to concentrate at Ali Kheyl (other regiments were distributed elsewhere).

Various skirmishes and meetings followed over the next few days, in which no Gordons were involved. On the 24^th a large force under Brigadier-General Baker moved down from Shutugurdan, through Dobandi [Dobanday - this is an area rather than a village] to Kushi [Khoshi], securing the entrance to the Logar Valley. On the same day (according to Gardyne) the 92^nd under Major White set out from Ali Khel, arriving at Shutugurdan on the 25^th. C Company, made up to a hundred rifles, were then sent to occupy the fort/serai at Karatiga. According to Gardyne:

There was no proper camel food in this district, and numbers had died and were lying among the rocks, their heads twisted painfully back and downwards in the throes of death, presenting a singular appearance, which being remarked upon by a soldier, his comrade was heard to say, "D'ye no' ken that a cawmel aye stands on his heid when he's gaen to dee?" The stench was so powerful that many of the troops were actually sick from it.

As at 26^th September, there were six companies of the 92^nd at Shuturgurdan and one each at Sirkaie Kotal and Karatiga. The army seems to have been shuffling forwards in stages. On the 27^th of September, headquarters was moved from Ali Kheyl to Shuturgurdan, with the cavalry pushing ahead of the rest to try to reach Shuturgurdan by nightfall or, failing that, to spend the night at Kusini Kheyl.

At 10:30am the HQ party was joined by twenty-five men of the 92^nd who had come down from Karatiga to act as an advance guard. The way had been clear as they came down, but going back up the slope at 11am Roberts learned that a force of two thousand enemy troops now occupied the pass between Jagi Thanna and Karatiga. These twenty-five men of the 92^nd, along with a dismounted troop of 9^th Lancers, cleared the north side of the gorge rapidly, but it took time and reinforcements from 28^th Punjab Native Infantry to clear the south side.

Continuing towards Karatiga they ran into the tail-end of "a warm engagement" which was in the process of ending with a large number of enemy troops retreating before a small detachment of about eighteen 92^nd Highlanders and forty-five 3^rd Sikhs who had come out from Karatiga and had been "with excellent judgment and boldness led up a steep spur commanding the defile". Without their intervention it would not have been possible for the HQ party to proceed.

There is some confusion about this incident, for Gardyne says that 27^th D Company of the 92^nd was sent to the Sirkaie Kotal to hold the pass for Roberts's force to come through, and that they did so and then returned to Shuturgurdan. He then recounts the story about the battle in the pass and the Gordons coming out from Karatiga, and it is not clear whether these are the same troops or not.

On the 28^th Roberts visited Brigadier-General Baker at Kushi where various units had been accumulating, including the 92^nd who arrived that day. The current Amir Mohammed Yaqub Khan, his seven-year-old son, several of his officials and two hundred men had arrived at Kushi on the 27^th and were staying at the British camp, and both sides were politely pretending that the Amir was there in good faith and that the British were going to help him regain control over his supposedly rebellious troops who were, according to Gardyne, actually doing the Amir's covert will.

On the 29^th Roberts called on the Amir, and in the afternoon the Amir visited him in turn. According to Gardyne:

A guard of honour of the Gordon Highlanders, with the Queen's colour, was drawn up to receive him. "The Amir was lost in admiration of his guard, and he may well be pardoned for his earnest study of the men; the Gordon Highlanders are in physique and bearing perfect specimens of British soldiers. In the evening the band of this regiment, turned out in their usual faultless manner, played before the Amir's tent." [Hensman's Afghan War 1879-80]

More troops including artillery were moved up to Shuturgurdan, where a permanent garrison was left, while the rest then began to advance north towards Kabul, reaching Zurgunshahr [Zarghūn Shahr] on the 2^nd of October. Behind them, Shuturgurdan was immediately attacked, but the garrison successfully held on to it.

The Amir came with them, pretending collaboration whilst sending messengers to rally his forces against them. Crossing with difficulty over the Logar River, the level of which had been deliberately raised to impede them, and under fire from nearby villagers, the advancing party passed through Zahidabad [Zeydābād], where Roberts inflicted unspecified "summary punishment" on some of the more militant villagers, and a proportion of the troops was left to protect reserve ammunition and stores. The rest reached a point a little way south of the village of Charasia or Charasiab [Chahār Āsīāb], around eleven miles from Kabul, on the afternoon of the 5^th.

Gardyne describes Charasiab as "a pretty village, nestling in orchards and gardens, with a rugged range of hills towering above it a short distance beyond". This was the ridge of hills called the Heights of Khairabad [Kheyrābād], a couple of miles north-east of the village. "This range descended abruptly on the right to where the Logar River ran between it and the precipitous cliffs on the other side, forming a gorge named Sang-i-nawishta (the 'written stone'), distant five or six miles from Kabul." Beyond the Sang-i-Nawishta Pass [Tangai-ye Sang-e-Nowishtah], also called the Khurd Kabul, there began a crescent of hills running north to south, which cut off the advance towards Kabul: the only way through was the pass which cut through to the far side of the hills, and opened into the Chardeh Valley south-east of the city.

The British army spent the night of the 5^th surrounded by strong pickets and cavalry patrols. On the morning of 6^th October 1879, they advanced with the intention of taking the Sang-i-Nawishta Pass. Half a battalion of 92^nd Highlanders under Major G White, along with the 23^rd Pioneers and two guns from N° 2 Mountain Battery, set out just after dawn in order to work on the surface of the road through the pass, and make it safe for artillery guns to run on. Roberts was about to follow them with cavalry when a large force of enemy soldiers and guns appeared, cresting the heights on either side of the road like an ornamental fringe, extending from the near side of Sang-i-Nawishta across the pass and along the ridge leading towards Kabul. The road behind the camp was also now blocked, so that the British were more or less surrounded. Roberts decided to press ahead with all speed and tackle the enemy force before they could bring up more reinforcements.

Brigadier-General Baker was given the task of dislodging the enemy, with a force of two thousand men including the 72^nd Highlanders (the Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders, who in 1881 would merge with the 78^th Foot, the Ross-shire Buffs, to form the Seaforth Highlanders). The troops who had gone ahead to improve the road through Sang-i-Nawishta, including the party of 92^nd Highlanders under Major White, had only got about a mile from camp and were now told to place themselves under Baker's command and take up defensive positions. So many enemy troops were now concentrated around Sang-i-Nawishta that Roberts decided to bypass them by bearing left and passing around the enemy's right flank - pausing only for the men to have their breakfast.

General Baker meanwhile ordered a party of the 92^nd (other than the group who had already gone on ahead, who must already have been on the far side of the settlement) to push forward and hold the north-east outskirts of Charasiab to prevent the enemy from moving into the village. This is probably the same group who Gardyne says went round the east side of the village under Major White of the 92^nd.

Roberts says that "General Baker advanced over some bare undulating hills, forming a series of positions easily defensible, and flanked by steep rocky crags varying in height from 1,000 to 1,800 feet above the sloping plain which our troops had to cross. The main position of the enemy was at least 400 feet higher. It commanded their entire front, and was only accessible in a few places." Baker himself refers to "sandy, barren, undulating hills".

Baker ordered a mixed party on his right - the side nearest the enemy, since he was planning to pass them by tending left - commanded by Major White and including half of the 92^nd under a Major Hay, to continue to stall the enemy in the Sang-i-Nawishta area and prevent them from getting through to Charasiab, and to feint to the right to distract the enemy from his true purpose, but not to push ahead through the pass until the flanking movement was well-developed. These were the same group of Gordons who had set out for Sang-i-Nawishta under Major White just after dawn.

Baker's advance began by passing to the left of Charasiab, which would also take them to the left of Khairabad. Troops - presumably the 92^nd under Major White - cleared the village of enemy soldiers. According to Roberts Baker's force set up camp in some of the discrete woodland hamlets which made up the village, and Baker left about a thousand troops guarding the area - but Baker himself doesn't mention it. Gardyne says that Roberts himself, with around eleven hundred men including the Gordons' HQ, stayed in the Charasiab area to keep the way open for additional troops who were still coming up from further back on their route, and to keep an eye on the Amir.

Baker pressed on to the left side of the main enemy force, encountering stiff resistance which required him to summon reinforcements. The enemy realised what was happening and shifted their focus to Baker on their right, so Baker redoubled his efforts in order to break through before they could reorganise and bring up their own reinforcements.

... Major White ... having examined the ground, at the head of only fifty Highlanders charged the first hill, on which several hundred Afghans were strongly posted, outnumbering his force by about eight to one. It was a perilous undertaking and looked, perhaps, impossible; but that word is not recognised in the Gordons' vocabulary. The Highlanders went up in skirmishing order, climbing from rocky terrace to rocky terrace under a severe fire of musketry, and the enemy waited in the protection of his sangars [sangar: fortification; "a breastwork of stone or sods"], as if to receive them at the point of the bayonet; but when they were within six yards the Afghans turned and fled, and were shot in the back as they made for the next hill. The success of this bold attack was mainly due to White's personal gallantry, of which the following is an instance. Not caring to expose his men, who were rather blown, in a particularly steep bit of ground which was enfiladed by a few Afghans securely placed in rear of some rocks, he took a rifle from one of the soldiers and "stalked" the enemy, followed by his leading files. Cautiously climbing, he reached the rocks forming a natural sangar behind which they were concealed, and as he showed himself they jumped up and ran, doubtless in the belief that he was the leader of many. "Look out, sir," cried a soldier just behind White as one man, the Afghan officer, stayed to fire; but he missed his aim, and as he turned the Major shot him though the back, and some of the 92^nd took his sword and gave it to their leader. This hill was named "White's Hill" in memory of his daring.

After two hours of fierce fighting, with the 72^nd Highlanders bearing the brunt of the initial attack, Baker took the ridge to the left of the pass at 2pm. White, having given his men a breather, pushed ahead towards the pass, and also sent two companies of the 92^nd under a Captain Oxley to their left to capture a hill from enemy troops who were harrassing Baker's right. Judging from the timing of other events, this must have been around 2:30-3pm.

The enemy troops fell back in stages, each time holding their position for a while and retreating only when driven to do so by a medley of units which included Oxley's two companies of the 92^nd, who had worked their way around the right side of Baker's advancing force. This group pursued the enemy at the double, keeping them moving. At some point two of the Gordons under Captain Oxley were wounded, and it is possible William Shirran was one of them. At 3:45pm Baker's forces took the highest ridge and the enemy withdrew from Sang-i-Nawishta, pursued through the pass by Major White and his forces. A general advance now left Baker and his forces wheeled around onto the far side of the enemy, relative to Charasiab, so they must now have been in the open valley near Kabul.

During these operations Baker's and White's forces had difficulty getting close enough to the enemy's main position to fire on them, as it was defended by outlying guns and troops. A half-battery of Royal Artillery aided the advance, and as the outflanking manoeuvre developed, a picket of the 92^nd decided to take out the enemy emplacements which were harrassing them from the hills on the far right of the advance. Around four o'clock a group of them - Roberts says a small party under Lieutenant R Grant, Baker says two companies under Captain Cotton - set out to successfully dislodge the enemy soldiers in what Roberts calls "a most gallant manner". Baker says they carried the fight "in a very dashing manner, in the face of an obstinate resistance". Gardyne describes it thus:

They had to climb a bare hill, so steep that they were sometimes on all fours, the enemy firing down on them the while, till when the Highlanders, breathless as they were, reached the top they soon cleared it of the enemy. They were reinforced by a company of the 67^th, who brought them meat and drink, and held the hill, being occasionally fired at, till the morning, when they rejoined the column as it marched.

William Shirran's war ended here, if not before. Of the three killed and six wounded (one of whom later died of his wounds) that the 92^nd sustained at Charasiab, two had been wounded in Captain Oxley's party a few hours earlier, and the rest happened here, during the madcap rush to take this enemy emplacement. William has to have been in one or other group - or possibly both, if any of Oxley's men later ended up in the so-dashing dash up the hill. If he was in this second party, it doesn't sound as if there was any immediate opportunity to evacuate the wounded, so he may well have lain the night in this stone eagle's nest with a bullet through his leg and probably a shattered thigh-bone.

Roberts's account of the march on Kabul finishes by praising the cheerfulness and willingness of his men under very strenuous conditions, which included going for days at a time with little rest or food.

The London Gazette of 16^th January 1880, page 219, records among the 92^nd's casualties "1853 Private William Sherran, severe bullet left leg" but surviving records show that this is incorrect. He was shot through the right thigh just above the knee, the bullet apparently passing straight through from side to side (since he had a wound either side of his leg) without damaging his left leg, so he was probably striding forwards when he was hit. In 1923 a medical assessment described an oval, half-inch-diameter non-adherent scar (which sounds to me like the entrance wound, since it is the smaller and neater of the two) on the inner side of the lower third of his right thigh, and a circular depressed adherant scar on the outer side of the leg just above the knee. The knee joint was stiff and ankylosed and his discharge papers show that this feature was already present in 1880 soon after he was shot.

He also had an operation scar on the front of his thigh at the same level as the other wounds. Since he had matching wounds either side of the leg the bullet presumably passed through, so the operation wasn't to remove the bullet. Some references to his wound speak of him being shot in the femur, rather than the thigh, so probably the bone was damaged and the operation was to remove splinters and tidy up the break.

On 9^th October 1879, three days after he was wounded, William arrived in Kabul. He was then sent to Peshawar in the North-West Territories: this move is undated but its position on the page suggests that it was prior to 7^th February 1880. On that date a faded scrawl says that he was "Invalided to England": in fact he remained in India until mid April but this may be when the decision was first made to send him home. On 10^th March he was sent to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

A Discharge form dated 17^th April 1880 at Cabul (Kabul) records that a Regimental Board consisting of Major GP White, Captain LC Singleton and Captain PJ Robertson have examined the records relating to Private William Shirran, n° 1853 in the 56^th Brigade and the 92^nd Regiment of Foot, Gordon Highlanders, "whereof General George Staunton B.B. is Colonel". As at that date the service he was entitled to reckon was 1 year 315 days of which 1 year and 123 days were served abroad, consisting of 247 days in Afghanistan and 241 in East India, plus also 38 days to date of disembarkation.

In this form, discharge is proposed in consequence of William's being found unfit for further service due to "Gunshot wound of right leg (severe)" sustained on the 6^th of October 1879 at Charasia Afghanistan. It appears that his conduct has been very good and he is in possession of one good conduct badge. He is not in possession of a Certificate of Education. His name has never appeared in the Regimental Defaulters Book and he was never tried by Court Martial. William signed to confirm that he had received "all just demands" from his entry into the Service up to 5^th April - i.e. he was not due any outstanding pay, allowances or clothing up to that date.

On the 23^rd of April William embarked on HMS Euphrates, arriving at Netley on the 24^th of May. Netley is a village just east of Southampton, and was at that time the site of a military hospital properly called the Royal Victoria Military Hospital, but commonly known as the Netley Hospital. For a while this vaste hospital even had its own landing stage so that troopships could offload the wounded straight into the wards. Garen of the Anglo Afghan War 1878-1880 list describes the voyage of the Euphrates thus:

HMS Troopship 'Euphrates' left Bombay on 23 April 1880 and arrived at Portsmouth at noon on 22 May with time-expired men and invalids, consisting of 54 officers, 527 rank and file, 73 servants, 19 officers' wives, 27 children, 102 soldiers' wives, and 227 children. Six deaths occurred during the voyage - 1 sergeant, 4 men and 1 child.

William apparently stayed on the ship for two nights before moving on to the hospital. He remained at Netley for eighty-four days. On, or possibly from, 7^th June he was awarded a conditional pension of a shilling a day - in terms of its purchasing power, probably about £3:70 a day in modern terms.

On 28^th July GE Dobson MB, Surgeon Major at Netley, completed W.O. Form 1719 "to be filled in by the Surgeon by whom the Soldier is brought forward for discharge." The disability unfitting the soldier for service is twofold: "Gunshot Wound - Right Femur" and "Ankylosis of knee joint". This occurred as a result of gunshot penetrating the limb on 6^th October 1880, in Afghanistan, while in action during the performance of his duty. The disability is permanent "and will almost wholly render him incapable of earning a livelihood as he has no trade, and he cannot follow his former occupation of farm servant". It has not been aggravated by "intemperance or other irregular habits".

On 17^th August 1880 William was finally discharged from the army, and on the same day he was placed on the pensions list of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, with the Chelsea N° 82885/A. The form was later rubber-stamped by the Pension & Reserve Office, Perth on the 25^th of August.

Another form describes him at the time of his discharge as a farm servant born near Turriff, who attested for the 56^th Brigade at Aberdeen on 7^th June 1878 aged twenty and who was now being discharged from Netley on "this ... day" 17^th August 1880 aged twenty-two years and two months. He was 5'7½" with a fresh complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair and no scars. Not only is his age well out - by now he was two weeks short of twenty-five - but the description of him as having no scars is bizarre, since his leg must have looked as if it had been chewed.

His Intended Place of Residence was Ewebrae in the Parish of Turriff, Aberdeenshire, i.e. his parents' croft somewhere immediately west of Redbriggs. Bizarrely, the form appears to have been stamped by the Royal Hospital Chelsea on the 11^th August, six days before it was supposedly filled in.

How William with his half-crippled leg got all the way from Southampton to Turriff is not recorded, and his return to civilian life must have been a difficult one, for the winter of 1880/81 was exceptionally harsh, with heavy snow in north-east Scotland beginning in the second week of October. The following summer of 1881 remained cold in Scotland, with snow and frost in June and more snow in mid August, and an early, green harvest followed by an autumn of severe gales, including the tragic lost of almost the entire Eyemouth fishing fleet in a sudden storm.

As at spring 1881 when he was twenty-five the census lists William as a Chelsea Pensioner, still living at the family croft. His stories about army life can't have been too off-putting, since at least three of his younger brothers went on to enlist: perhaps they were keen to get away from the weather. On 26^th July 1881 William's pension of a shilling a day was made permanent.

He probably stayed at Ewebrae for a while - he was certainly still there on 3^rd April 1881 - but by 1886 he was living in New Pitsligo, Strichen, a.k.a. Cyaak. Several members of the Shirran family were to end up in this Victorian New Town, which you can read about here. On 5^th November 1886 he married Annie Souter, a domestic servant aged twenty, the daughter of William Souter (deceased), a general labourer, and Isabella Souter née Elrick. William himself was also described as a general labourer. They married at what looks like 141 (?) High Street, New Pitsligo, which was where Annie was living, but William's home address is given as 126 (?) High Street, a few doors along. [National Archives; Census 1881 223/00 005/00 005; GROS Statutory Marriages 1886 227/0B 0014]

As at the census of 5^th April 1891, William and Annie were living at 136, High Street, New Pitsligo, crammed in alongside a family of five called Maitland. They had with them a seven-year-old boy called John who is described as their son but whose name is given as something that looks like John S Young. Annie is described as Annie S Shirran, so in both cases the "S" probably stands for Souter. This boy was definitely Annie's son, born John Souter on 3^rd October 1883 at 146 High Street, New Pitsligo, but that was more than three years before William and Annie married. He might have been William's son: but since the census seems to think his surname is really Souter-Young he was more probably William's stepson, and William married a girl who already had a little boy from a previous relationship [Census 1891 227/0B 001/00 018; GROS Statutory Births 1883 227/0B 0090].

As at the census of 31^st March 1901, William was working as a stone-breaker (a job which he could probably do with his upper body without walking about too much) and he and Annie were living at 122, High Street, New Pitsligo, sharing the house with four other families, two of them called Souter - possibly Annie's brothers. They had staying with them a three-year-old niece called Harveyna Amelia Hadden, born in Strichen. [Census 1901 227/0B 001/00 014; GROS Statutory Births 1897 241/00 0028] There was a practice in north-east Scotland of choosing a male name

The former Congregationalist church, now the British Legion, and what seem to be n°s 44 and 44A High Street, New Pitsligo, from Google Streetview. N° 42 would have been next to these on the other side of the alley at far left, but it was demolished circa 2005 to make way for a car sales yard: it was probably similar to these (but without the modern enlargement of the downstairs windows at n° 44).

Harveyna was illegitimate and her mother's name was Maggie Hadden: if that was her maiden name she wasn't a sister of Annie Souter's, so if Harveyna really was the niece of William and Annie she must have been the child of one of their brothers.

As at the census of 2^nd April 1911 William, described as an army pensioner and general labourer, was living at 42 High Street with his wife Annie S Shirran and a child born in Strichen and given as Hareyna Shirran, their adopted daughter - obviously Harveyna misspelled. William was the head of house but there were many other people at the same address, described as "inmates". We later learn from William's pension records [National Archives, Kew, army pension document PIN 71/5247] that n° 42 was a small lodging house which William and Annie owned, and which he had probably bought because his lameness was already getting worse.

The census records that the couple have had no children born alive. That's actually not true in Annie's case but presumably it means that as a couple they have no children, and John S Young was indeed not William's. [Census 1911 227/0B 003/00 008] At the time of his mother Jessie's death in June 1917 William was still living at 42 High Street [GROS Statutory Deaths 1917 227/0B 0021], where he was to remain for the rest of his life.

In August 1920, the Secretary of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea wrote to someone asking for William's latest address and was given the address at n° 42, stamped by the Pension & Reserve Office Perth on 25^th August 1920. Written across the top is "Chelsea N° 82885a S2". This seems to have to do with a general reorganisation of the pension scheme: it is just after this that we start to see the expressions "Former War Case" (presumably meaning a pensioner from a war pre-dating WWI) and PWP (probably "Permanent War Pension"). Starting from October 1920 we see a series of printed sheets serving as pension-books, bearing stamps or written dates indicating money received, although the intervals are odd - there are about thirty-two dates in two years on the first pad, some at intervals of less than a week, others much longer. It's also been used as a jotter - "Room 14" appears handwritten among the date stamps.

On 1^st December 1920 a "Form of Declaration" shows William living at n° 42 with his wife and confirms they have no children under sixteen. His and his wife's income for the previous year did not exceed £56 15/-. His army pension was (still) a shilling a day, and during the previous year he also earned £20 in employment and made £6 10/- profit in business (presumably the lodging house, although that isn't specified at this stage). The annual value of his house was £12. Witnessed by the Rector of St John's Episcopal Church. Although there is nothing to say so, it may have been from this point that his pension was increased to 1/6 a day, because a form a few months later refers to this increase being extended: if so this probably represents a worsening of his medical condition.

The form is very confused: William has written only his name and his details have been filled in by somebody else, who in the totals column has put his annual pension down as two pence rather than the £18 5/- it should be, although they have made the overall total £56 15/-. They seem to have included the annual value of William's house as if it was an earning, which is probably an error: without that his income would have been £44 15/-. Or perhaps his income really was £56 15/-, and his earnings from the lodging house should have been £18 10/-. The Episcopal Rector has then corrected these figures and filled in the pension amount but he initially, wrongly made it £18 15/5 and corrected the overall total to £56 15/5, then had to go back and over-write the erroneous five pences with zeroes.

On 9^th February 1921 a written note records that forms were sent to William. On 14^th February William himself filled in a "Detailed Statement of Means" form, again giving his annual income and that of his wife as £65 17/6. It confirms that his pre-war pension is now 1/6 a day and he has no other pension or benefits, the net annual value of his house is £12, and he made £26 10/- profit in business (this may actually be the £20 earned in employment plus £6 10/- made in business which he claimed in the December 1920 form). Witnessed by the Minister of the Congregational Church. It's not clear whether the change from having the Episcopal Minister as a witness to having the Congregational Minister represents a change in religion or not. The Congregational Church was only a couple of doors from n° 42, so the two men may just have struck up a friendship.

He claims on this form to be sixty-two, which is incorrect - he was sixty-four - but is consistent with the army's mistaken belief that he was born in May 1858.

A form headed "Renewal or Revision of Award" was signed by the Proposer on what looks like the 10^th February 1921. A note at the top records the fact that William signed a declaration - presumably the "Detailed Statement of Means" form - on the 14^th, and that he was a married man with no children and an annual income of £65 17/6 - this is £9 2/6 more than he had declared a few months previously, equivalent to six pence a day for a year, which again suggests his pension had already increased prior to this. The Approver signed on the 21^st and William was entered on the Revision List on the 22^nd. Somebody called O Ettridge stamped the form on 2^nd March and "Increase to be continued for a further 12 months" was signed on 1^st April.

It may have been around September 1921 that William submitted an undated "Detailed Statement of Means" form on the side of which is scribbled "Continue @ 18d to 31/12/1922" - which implies that it relates to pension decisions being made in autumn 1921. "Revision 1922" is written across the top. Again, William has filled in only his own name and someone else has filled in the rest of it for him - and not the same someone who filled in the one from December 1920. He claims on this form to be sixty-three years and three months old, although he in fact turned sixty-six at the start of September 1921 - but this makes sense if he filled it in in September 1921 and was maintaining the fiction believed by the army, that he was born in late May 1858.

According to this form his and Annie's income for the previous twelve months was £45 12/6, which again places this form at around 1921 as prior to that, while he was still working, his income was around £20 higher, and a form dated 29^th October 1921 would later give his income as £45 13/-. His Pension or Establishment M° is given as S2 although this seems to be something else - his own number was still PWP 82885/A which has been written across the top. William still describes himself as a casual labourer, although he no longer seems to be working.

His pension is said to be 7/- a week with no other pension or benefits, and no employer. He owns a "small common lodging house" at n° 42 with a net annual value of £15, and has no other income. The average annual income from this property is £18 5/- and his total income is given as £18 12/-, which doesn't make sense. This total has been crossed out in now-faded ink and £45 13/- written above it. This goes better with the £45 12/6 written in the upper section of the form.

The form appears to have been filled in by someone other than William himself (the handwriting doesn't match his signature) which may explain some of the confusion. Perhaps Annie filled it in, and he hadn't told her his pension had gone up - or someone from his old regiment helped him with it, which would explain the anomaly about his age. It seems clear from other documents that he was receiving 1/6 a day at this point, so his pension would have been £27 7/6 a year and the £18 5/- which made up the rest of the £45 12/6 was, indeed, the income from his lodging house.

On 3^rd October 1921 somebody requested William's records from the Chelsea Hospital. On the 25^th the Director-General of Awards asked William to fill in a form so his case could be assessed. In fact someone else has filled it in - it's not in William's hand - and they've done it badly and put "Nil" in some places where that was wrong. It confirms his details, that he was discharged on 17^th August 1880 at Netley due to "Severe Gun Shot W Right leg" and that he had previously corresponded about this matter on 9^th February.

A few days later on 29^th 1921 October a "Renewal or Revision of Award" form declaring his annual income to be £45 13/- - more than £20 less than he had declared in February. This may represent the point at which he ceased to do any paid labour, and became entirely dependent on his pension and on running his lodging house. Under "Pension, Gratuity or Weekly Allowance Granted" is written "Continue at 18^d per day to Dec 31 1922" signed mofp. The Proposer has signed the form on 2^nd December 1921, the Approve has signed it on the 5^th and the Finance Division have stamped it on the 9^th. The form has "Declaration signed by man Oct 29 1921" written on it but the date seems to be the date of this form, which has not been signed by William, and the reference to a signature must refer to the "Detailed Statemenrt of Means" form William had filled in previously. A note was sent to the Ministry of Pensions confirming that something had been witnessed by DZ Haig Forson, the Congregational Minister.

William's pension at this point was being assessed and renewed annually which required a round of form-fillng every autumn, but these become more and more confused - perhaps because, as the Regimental Board had reported all those years ago, he had no Certificate of Education. On 4^th October 1922 William submitted another "Renewal or Revision of Award" form according to which his income was now £60 13/- pa. Under "Pension, Gratuity or Weekly Allowance Granted" is written "Continue at increased rate of 18^d a day to 31st Dec, 1923". The Proposer has signed the form on 16^th October 1922, the Approve has signed it on the 17^th and the Finance Division have stamped it on the 31^st. Along with this went a letter confirming that he paid no rent, signed by a JP living at n° 30 High Street.

Nine days later, on the 14^th of October 1922, William submitted another "Detailed Statement of Means" form: this time in his own by now rather shaky hand - in which he spelled Private "Praivate". His income and that of his wife for the previous year was again £45 12/6. He is now correctly admitting to being sixty-seven, and still calling himself a labourer although his sole income is his pension and the rents from the lodging house. His Pension or Establishment N° is now given as SAP 8635SP. For some reason he is still claiming he has a pre-war pension of 7/- a week although his annual pension is correctly shown as £27 7/6, which means he was getting 10/6 a week or 1/6 a day, as shown in other documents. The lodging house was bringing in £18 5/- a year.

Two receipts dated 12^th December 1922 from Deer District, Parish of Tyrie show that the Shirrans paid both owners' and occupiers' rates for n° 42, amounting to £2 11/4 for the Poor and Education Rates and £3 12/2 for other assorted rates, including 7^d New Pitsligo Special District Rate (Lighting). This makes £6 3/6 - a considerable expenditure for a family whose annual income was only £45 12/6.

By autumn 1923 William's condition was obviously worsening. On 6^th September 1923 a hand-written note says "50% case, please have man examined as soon as possible." A standard memo-form headed "Case to be sent out for a Medical Board" and dated 10^th September 1923 refers to forms being sent to somebody illegible and bear William's address.

A letter was sent from the Minister of Pensions, the Regional Director, Soldiers Awards Branch, requesting a medical report on William. The front page confirms his details and his regimental number, 1853, and that the disability in respect of which his pension was granted is "G.S.Wd Right Femur. Ankylosis of Knee Joint. Pre-War Case." The form is stamped "Former War Case" and across the top is written in red "Please give this case PRIORITY B." A Medical Board in Aberdeen examined William and filled in the form on 25^th Septemebr 1923. The Board confirmed William's identity. His complaint is "Stiffness of Right knee." His Symptoms and Physical Signs are described thus:

on lower ⅓ R. Thigh on int aspect. Oval scar ½" diam healed. Healthy : non adherent.

Just above knee joint on ext aspect circular depressed adherent scar. Operation scar ant. aspect of thigh lower ⅓. ¾" wasting R Thigh above knee no wasting below. Complete bony ankylosis R knee. Very obvious wasting Quadriceps extensor : no obvious shortening.

Marked varicosity of veins on post. aspect R Thigh.

"Complete bony ankylosis" means that the bones of his knee had fused together into an inflexible whole. The effect of his disability on function is summarised as "G.S.W. Right Thigh with resulting ankylosis and marked Varicosity". The degree of disablement is assessed at 30%, which is permanent and "in a final stationary condition", but he has no other disablement and doesn't require "the constant attendance of another person in his home (other than skilled nursing)".

A note on 1^st October records a form MPA 110 being sent to William. Tnis was a "Declaration by a pensioner claiming an increase of pension" which "William filled in and signed on the 2^nd. His income and that of his wife for the previous twelve months did not exceed £63 17/6, and he earned or made £36 10/- from the lodging house (two shillings a day - probably he now had twice as many lodgers as he had had when he was making £18 5/-) and has no other income. That makes perfect sense if his pension was £27 7/6 but he has wrongly added his earnings to the £15 net annual value of his house, not to his pension, and so made his total income on that part of the form come out at £51 10/-. Under Occupation he now puts "none" so he has given up on thinking of himself as a labourer. His Pension or Establishment N° is now given as 1/FWJ/437, and the form is witnessed by the Congregationalist Minister, DZ Haig Forson.

On 6^th October 1923 a Ministry of Pensions form, marked 5854/FW/M, was sent from PWP to the DMS6 Medical Branch, asking for details regarding William's condition. The form was filled in and signed by the Chief Medical Officer on the 9^th, stating that William has been assessed as having a 30% permanent disability in its final stationary condition, and that his present condition may be "accepted as wholly & directly due to his invaliding disability". On the 12^th October a handwritten note states: "Mr Pelling, For 1st award under Former Wars Warrant. What action please. Man was boarded 25.9.23." and signed Squiggle Sullivan. Underneath Pilling has added "Accept from 25.9.23" and the date 12.10.23. "Boarded" obviously refers to his being examined by the Medical Board, and perhaps taken under their aegis in some way.

A final "Renewal or Revision of Award" form was filled in. Underneath against "Matter now Submitted" is written "Report of Medical Board 25.9.23 30% P" - P for Permanent - and against "Opinion of Medical Branch" is written "At 50/20 dt 9.X.23 30% P.". Under "Disability (or Disabilities) in respect of which granted" it says "G Shot Rt thigh 9", percentage of disablement 30%, due to Afghan. From 25^th September 1923 William's pension is increased to 12/- a week for life "In lieu of Former award & Former Perm Pension" - a fairly meagre increase of 1/6 a week over what he had been getting before, probably worth about a fiver in modern terms - granted under Warrant and Article "1 11/20 Former Wars". The Approver has signed on 13^th October, the Finance Division stamped it on the 19^th and various illegible people added squiggles dated the 19^th and 22^nd October. Notes on the bottom say "Pass to Mr Bentite", "Noted PB" and "Sent".

William was still at n° 42 when he died on 1^st January 1925 at 6:45pm, of a cerebral haemorrhage combined with cystitis and "gonorrhoeal stricture". Since it was acompanied by cystitis, presumably gonorrhoeal stricture of the urethra is meant. This may explain why William seems never to have had children of his own: gonorrhoea affecting the urethra can cause malformation of the inflatable sacs in the penis, so he may have been unable to sustain an erection, or his children may have died in utero due to an inherited S.T.D..

His wife Annie survived him, although not by very much. The registry entries for both his marriage and his death describe him as a general labourer: the one for his death adds "an army pensioner" in quotes. [GROS Statutory Marriages 1886 227/0B 0014; GROS Statutory Deaths 1917 227/0B 0021; GROS Statutory Deaths 1925 227/0B 0001]

His death was registered by his niece Harveyna Amelia Mutch, who was present when he died. William himself had been present at the deaths of both his parents and had registered their deaths.

The document trail continues after his death: his last pension book, if that's what these collections of dates are, has one date before his death, on 17^th June 1924, and four after it, ending on 23^rd July 1925. It looks as though Annie went on collecting his pension after he died, although it may have been money he was owed and had been too ill to collect. A formal Notification of Death on 16^th January 1925 records the same causes of death as his death certificate. On 21^st July 1925 a man called HP Hocloway with an illegible job title sent a hand-written note to a Mr Chalmers, saying baldly "Man deceased" - perhaps because they had noticed that his pension was still being drawn.

Ann outlived her husband by less than eight months, dying at n° 42 at 3:50am on 27^th August 1925 [GROS Statutory Deaths 1925 227 B0 0007Z]. She was sixty-three. Death was certified as due to pulmonary congestion and myocarditis, and was registered by Harveyna, who was residing at 33 High Street but was present when Annie died.

Annie's will and the inventory of her effects survive. The inventory sheds some light on her and probably also William's financial practices, for she had no money at all in the bank, the equivalent of £7 11/3 in furniture and other effects - and £95 8/- in cash, roughly equivalent to £4,500 today, stored in the house. Whether she kept it in a sock under the matress is not recorded, but clearly the lodging house had been doing quite well and she and William had not needed to deprive themselves of life's little luxuries unless they chose to.

Curiously the date on which the will was written is not given, although there is an extract dated 17^th September 1825, after Annie's death. The will must have been made up less than eight months before her death for it starts "I, Ann Souter or Shirran, widow". She directs that once any outstanding debts have been paid the remainder of her estate should be turned into cash and divided equally between "my son John Souter, and my adopted daughter Harveyina Amelia Hadden or Mutch".

Towards the end of the will we find "By authority of the above named and designed Ann Souter or Shirran who declares that she cannot write, on account of sickness and bodily weakness, I, James Will, Justice of the Peace for the County of Aberdeen subscribe these presents for her, she having authprised me for that purpose, and the same having been previously read over to her, all in the presence of the Witnesses before named and designed..."

It sounds as though the will was drawn up while Ann, only sixty-three, was more or less on her death-bed: but it is also distinctly possible that her claim that she was too weak to hold a pen was an excuse to cover the fact that she was functionally illiterate. Her decision to keep her money in the house, rather than in the bank, might have been because she was unable to udnerstand the bank's paperwork.

On 29^th July 1960 a note records that William's Attestation form was sent to the War Office: the space for recording when the document was returned is blank.