One left.

[Malcolm]

In the Sunday Herald there is a report on Alfred Anderson 5th Black Watch who survived the Somme and was wounded in 1918 and evacuated home and is still living in his own home in Alyth, Perthshire. He is the last surviving WW1 Scottish veteran still living in his own country. The only other surviving WW1 Scot, William Elder 107, lives with his daughter in Kettering having been in New Zealand for years. Sadly, the Herald has not seen fit to put it on their online newspaper.

Here's to them both.

Aye

Malcolm

[hmsk212]

Lang May their Lum Reek

Steve

[Will O'Brien]

Raising a glass to both Alfred & William tonight.

[shelley]

I too will be raising a glass to Alfred and William!

Thanks for keeping us up to date Malcom.

cheers Shelley

[munchkin]

We too have raised a glass to Alfred and William tonight.

Glynn & Family

[NIGEL]

perhaps you could print all the raised glasses off and post it to him he may appreciate that

[john w.]

Joining you all tonight!!

Hear that there are only 23 vets left, and only three will make it to the 90th anniversary remembrance of when war broke out... a glass to em all

John

[Malcolm]

Sorry folks, it is Scotland on Sunday not The Herald. ( senior moment) I should have pointed out Alfred Anderson is 108 years old

See

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index...&20040801220824

The last paragraph:

[quote]"They are all gone. I was only 18 when I went to France in 1914," he said. "I went home after I was wounded. One or two of my friends came through, but not very many."

He still has a keen interest in his old regiment, and only last month he wrote a letter attacking proposed cuts that threaten the Black Watch.

But Anderson is reluctant to dwell on his own memories. "It’s over, it’s passed. If I dwelled on what happened during those terrible times I would never have lived to see this age now."

Raise glasses.

Aye

Malcolm

[Blackblue]

Thanks Malcolm. Same battalion as one of my relatives 2239 Pte Sylvester Robertson. He died a good 40 years ago. Wonder if Alfred knew him?

Tim D

[Quew]

Cheers to both Alfred & William From the Pounder Family down under in NZ

[bkristof]

Shlansey

Cheers, Hoorah!

Scotland for ever!

[Derek Robertson]

Aye, God bless them both.

Alfred Anderson aged 108.

[steve fuller]

And he looks better at 108 than I do at 38 (in the mornings anyway)

Raising a glass and thanking you tonight Sir.

Steve

[gord97138]

Alfred-I tip my hat and raise my glass for you!

gordon

From the Perth News-June 28th, 2004 edition:

Perth News

Don’t send troops back – WW1 hero

Jun 28 2004

ALYTH man Alfred Anderson is spending his birthday today with thoughts of his old regiment as they head back to Iraq.

At 108 World War I veteran Alfred is Scotland’s oldest man but he can still remember the time 90 years ago when an 18-year-old Private Anderson left Scotland with The Black Watch to face the horror of trench warfare in France.

He will be surrounded by friends, relatives and well-wishers as he celebrates his birthday today but Alfred says he will spare a thought for The Black Watch troops who are heading back out to Iraq.

“I was saddened when I heard they were sending The Black Watch back to Iraq,” he said. “It's so unfair. They've done their bit in a war they should never have been fighting in the first place.

“I was told I was fighting the war that would end all wars but that wasn't the case. A century on and we're still sending our young men to face who knows what.

“Every war is senseless and the one against Iraq is no different,” he said. “War doesn't cure the ills of the world. We no sooner bury the dead and heal the wounds from one war than there's another to claim a new generation of our youth.”

The Black Watch encountered some of the fiercest fighting of the Iraq War last year as they fought to secure the southern territories.

Now the Perthshire regiment is being sent back and its 600-strong first battalion will be in place in the Gulf by mid-July.

Alfred said: “It won't be so different from when I headed for France a lifetime ago. There will be a kind of bravado among the lads – the thought of a great adventure – but they will still be scared.

“My thoughts will be with them. I don't know any of them personally but they are our lads and The Black Watch is still my regiment.”

Still healthy and active, Alfred lives alone near his daughter in Alyth. Today he will attend a large family celebration at a nearby hotel to mark his birthday.

Tomorrow he will be guest of honour at The Black Watch annual reunion in Perth, where he enjoys chatting with other veterans – or “the young lads” as he calls them.

He said: “It was strange to watch the recent D-Day celebrations and see all the old soldiers a generation younger than me pay their respects to old comrades.”

All his birthday celebrations, however, are keeping him from his interest in Euro 2004 and Wimbledon. A keen sportsman in his day, Alfred claims the secret of his longevity is regular exercise, a cheery disposition and being content to take each day as it comes.

“We lived for each day during the war and that's what I've been doing ever since. Enjoy each new day as it's given to you,” he said

Born in Dundee in 1896, Alfred grew up with five brothers and sisters in Newtyle, Angus, where his father had a builder and joiner's business.

When he was 18 Alfred found himself in the living nightmare of the Western Front. His was one of the first units to go into France in 1914 and encountered some of the most horrific trench warfare of the Great War.

For a short time he served as batman to the Queen Mother's brother, Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon, who was killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915. Alfred's 108th birthday well-wishers will include Prince Charles, who has struck up a friendship with the old soldier through the family tie.

Alfred's active service ended in in 1916, when a piece of German shrapnel embedded itself in his neck.

He remembered: “We were entrenched in a listening post in no man's land — a trench closer to their lines where we could listen for information. A shell exploded over our heads, killed several of my pals and injured many others, including myself.”

Alfred lay bleeding in the trench all day until darkness provided the cover to get him back to a field hospital for treatment. “My fighting days were over but I was lucky,” he said. “I left my dearest friends behind forever in that trench that day.”

After the war Alfred took over his father's business, married and had five children. He claims to have lost count of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

During the Second World War he helped to set up Home Guard units and later played a key role in local British Legion affairs. He was awarded France's highest military honour, the Legion d'Honneur, when he was 102.

He said: “I never thought when I was in the trenches that I would become Scotland's oldest man and celebrate my 108th birthday with my lovely family.

“It doesn't do to look back – even at my age I'm still looking forward.”

[Guest Mintguy]

the BBC are saying that there are 23 veterans still alive. The Sunday Mirror in November said there were 27, left alive, and obviously some have died since, but unless I'm going blind I can only see 26 names. I think they were only listing British veterans still alive in the UK. I understand that there are one of 2 in Australia and New Zealand. Does anyone have the definitive answer?