Cumnock Chronicle
He was born in Auchinleck to James Hyslop and Margaret Brash Crossan on 23rd December 1885.
In 1901 this is the family at 364, 7th Row, Lugar
James Hyslop 49 school master
Margaret Hyslop 45
William Hyslop 24
Margaret Hyslop 18
James Hyslop 15 pupil teacher
Laurence Hyslop 12
John Hyslop 10
Marion Hyslop 8
In 1891 the family was at the Schoolhouse, Cronberry
James Hyslop 39 elementary school teacher
Maggie B Hyslop 35
William Hyslop 14
Thomas C Hyslop 10
Maggie B C Hyslop 8
James Hyslop 5
Lawrence C Hyslop 3
John Hyslop 7 Mos
He attended Kilmarnock Academy for the final years of his school education and is on their memorial board He worked as a civil engineer and then as a naval architect.
Update March 2021
Prior to the war he was in the employ of William Denny & Bros. He worked at the Denny Ship Model Experimentation Tank in Glasgow and the letters he sent back to colleagues, Mr Mumford and Miss Colquhoun, have been kept and are in the hands of a private collector who has shared the content with us. Other papers are at the Scottish Maritime Museum who will fall heir to the letters too.
James Hyslop enlisted as a private in the Royal Engineers in May, 1915 at the age of 29. He left the employ of William Denny & Bros to become one of the original members of the 217 Army Troop Company (Glasgow), (Fortress Company), with service number 93973. After training in Ayr for the Royal Engineers he was made a Corporal. His training included getting physically fit, helped along by early morning dips in the sea, and whilst there was plenty of sunshine in May 1915, it was a cold month with widespread frost, and in several Scottish localities this was severe.
Full military kit had not been issued by the middle of June, and James wrote about wearing out his own suits whilst undergoing training: “So far I’ve received nothing in the way of kit. I’ve already finished off an old suit & near through with another. This state of affairs I understand is due to the Battalion being under strength. Recruits however are arriving daily & recruiting at the Glasgow office is I hear pretty brisk. I may say that I have roped in a pair this last week for which I receive 2 days leave & half a dollar.”
Before going in the general billet in the Town Hall and then under canvas in Doonfoot Camp, he was billeted with Mrs Cunningham at 37 Northfield Avenue in Newton on Ayr. Whilst he got to grips with getting physically fit he did not fare well with the inoculations given to the recruits in preparation for the trenches, suffering severe sickness and needing all the time allocated to recover.
James described his days in Ayr: “Muster at Headquarters each morning at 6.45am. Billet being about 20 minutes from Headquarters necessitates a fairly early rise. A march of 10 minutes takes me to drilling ground where Swedish drill is indulged in for roughly 30 minutes. The sea dip follows hard on & I may say that this part is highly enjoyed by all. Breakfast from 8.10 until 9.10am. On the drill ground parade inspection by the Colonel carries us to 9.45am. Then to the different companies break off & proceed to their own drill patch. Infantry drill till 12.10pm. Muster again at 1.45pm. More infantry drill varied occasionally by a short route march usually about 8 miles. Dismiss for the day at 4.10pm. I daresay you’ll think this a very short day, but I can assure you that meantime its sufficiently long for me. I must say however that I enjoy it & I’m sure that when the soreness has gone off, and the real instruction begins I shall like it still better.”
By April of 1916, his Company of the Royal Engineers joined the B.E.F. in France, sailing there in a Denny-manufactured ship. Immediately, he was caught in the “hot spots” of trench warfare, coming under repeated fire and threats of gas attacks. He served in various parts of the line, moving for tactical reasons as well as following the destruction of their billets and trenches.
He searched the front lines for news of colleagues from Dumbarton, and was kept informed of their situation along with news back at Denny’s by a combination of letters, parcels and newspapers from the tank, from Mr Mumford, the drawing office and the indomitable Miss Colquhoun.
He served in France and Belgium for the remainder of 1916 and throughout 1917, and was promoted to Sergeant by October 1917. In addition to dealing with the horrors of trench warfare and the challenge of Flanders mud, he was reported as wounded twice. He also speaks of his worry for his mother. His parents were James and Margaret Hyslop, and James was one of seven children, being the fourth of five brothers and two sisters. His father had been a schoolmaster, mostly in Cronberry, but he had died at the age of 56 in June 1907. James’ sister, Marion, died in 1917, aged 24, while he was at the front, and he was unable to return to provide support for his bereaved and widowed mother.
James succeeded in becoming a Cadet with the Royal Engineers in early 1918, leaving the front on Boxing Day, 1917, heading for officer training in Newark. Whilst he appears an earnest technical and academic student, he also played football and golf and got on well with riding. He succeeded in gaining a commission and became a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers.
Before joining a new Company of the Royal Engineers, his health started to give him problems which became serious by September 1918 with him reported as having become alarmingly thin and enduring severe abdominal pain. This resulted in two critical operations, which he survived. He was recovering in the Chatham Military Hospital when the ‘flu epidemic hit. He wrote that anyone who could crawl was encouraged to get away from the dangers of the ‘flu in Chatham, and he transferred to Moffat Military Convalescent Hospital to complete his convalescence. To transfer from Chatham to Moffat, he had to pass through London, presumably travelling by train, and was disappointed he was not in a condition to join in the victory celebrations that were taking place across London.
After five weeks in Moffat, and ahead of medical recovery advice, he returned home to his mother’s house in Prestwick. He began his period of leave, granted until January 20th 1919, and also began discussions with Denny’s about returning to his pre-war employer. Terms were discussed with Denny’s, and he confirmed to them on Tuesday, 21st January 1919 that he was awaiting de-mobilisation.
Sadly however, just a week or so after discussing terms to return to civilian life, he succumbed to the ‘flu, becoming seriously ill and being transferred into Ayr County Hospital, where he died, of pneumonia, on February 15th 1919.
Link to him on the Cumnock Connections tree
George McMillan 2020
Hyslop stone in Cumnock New Cemetery
Denny Tank Roll of Honour 1914-18
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