A few old photos reminding me of how young they were…
A few personal connections to the Western Front Way…
My Mother’s side of the family
My mother’s name was Catriona. Her family were Scottish settlers to Vancouver Island (specifically to the traditional territories of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ, Quw’utsun, and T’Souke peoples) in the 1880s and their forbears were from Biggar Park in Lanarkshire, Scotland. My mother’s father was Erroll Pilkington Gillespie. Erroll had six brothers and a sister. As far as I can determine, four of the brothers served in Belgium and France in World War I: Hebden, Ronald, Sholto, and my grandfather Erroll. Sister Florence served as a nurse serving in Egypt. All survived. Ronald, with the Gordon Highlanders was captured early on and remained a prisoner until 1918, Sholto was with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regiment, Erroll enlisted in the Canadian Scottish Regiment in 1917 and returned to Victoria in 1919. They were first cousins to Alexander Douglas (A.D.) and Thomas Cunningham (T.C.) Gillespie. E.P. Gillespie’s grandfather and A.D. Gillespie’s grandfather was Alexander Gillespie of Biggar Park, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
My Father’s side of the Family
My father’s name was John. His family are originally from Leeds, Yorkshire. My dad was descended from a centuries old family of violin makers and luthiers with the last name Dearlove. My father was born John Graeme Dearlove, but in early adulthood dropped his last name and took on his middle name as his surname prior to immigrating to Canada in 1951. My dad’s father was Jack Dearlove. Jack had five uncles who were in France in 1914-1918.
Walking in Europe 