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Dear Ruud
Merry Christmas (2009)
I am the nephew of Alexander McGilvray who lies at peace in
Brunssum Cemetery. He was my mother's elder brother and we
visited his grave May 2003. We believe that we were the
first of his relatives to visit his grave. Alex was the
fourth of nine children; Christina, John, Malcolm, Alex,
Rita, Ethel, Margaret, George and Norman. (I see from your
guest book that Norman's eldest son, Glenn, replied to the
article which appeared in the Greenock Telegraph last
September.)
Of his
eight brothers and sisters, only Rita (my mother) and Ethel
are still alive. Rita is 90 and lives in Edinburgh and
Ethel is 88 and lives in Blackburn, Victoria, Australia. A
sad postscript to Alex's death was that his younger brother
George, who was 19 at the time, was with the Highland Light
Infantry following a fews days behind my Uncle Alex. George
arrived in Brunssum the day after Alex's death. He went to
look for him and reported to Alex's platoon HQ. He was told by
the duty sergeant, in an offhand way, that "he died
yesterday". The sergeant did not know that George was
Alex's brother. I'm afraid that we do not have any
photograph's of Uncle Alex nor more information about his
service history. My mother remembers him as being quieter
than his brothers but very determined. Our visit to Brunssum
Cemetery was extremely moving. The cemetery is beautifully
maintained and very peaceful. We would like express our
thanks to all the people in Brunssum who remember the
sacrifice of the British and Allied soldiers over 60 years
ago. I hope the above is helpful. My mother is sitting with
me as I write this and we hope that this will add to the
wonderful memorial website you have created for those who lie
at rest in Brunssum Cemetery
Yours sincerely
Ross Marshall |
