The parish of Kincardine O’Neil at the time of the First World War comprised the villages of Kincardine O’Neil and Torphins and the surrounding rural areas. Each had its own kirk, and each has its own war memorial. These commemorate the same people except that Torphins lists two men who are not on the Kincardine O’Neil memorial.

The purpose of this part of the website is to create a record of the lives behind the names, who deserve to be remembered for something of what they were, not just what they were called. It is intended to provide information that might respond to a search by family researchers and enable them to follow up with more detailed investigations of their own. The notes below are not, and are not intended to be, the last word on anyone.

In a few cases, it has not been possible to be entirely sure of the identity of the person named on the memorial; two soldiers have so far proved unidentifiable. Mostly there is an obvious connection with the parish, but not always. Sometimes the connection is with the parents’ or even grandparents’ generation.

On the war memorial itself there are a few instances of wrong spellings, initials, rank or regiment. The headings immediately above the text below reflect what is actually on the monument, with an explanation of the error where there is one.

Except where otherwise stated, references in the sources to registers of births, marriages and deaths and to censuses are to Scottish records, and references to the National Archives denote the UK National Archives at Kew.