My uncle,Donald Macleod,gave up his chance for a higher education for a life at sea,but also to allow his younger brother John to take up a place at the Nicolson Institute,feeling he was the more studious,and acknowleging that his parents could only afford to put one of them through.Donald was quiet and unassuming,and in camp was seen as a diligent reader and student.He had for some time been been studying with Mr.Mulder's Navigation Class and was expected to go up soon for his Mate's Certificate.On the 5th january,1916,he was taken to the hospital in the town with a slight attack of pleurisy.The case did not seem serious.and early in February he was expecting his discharge.But,by the end of the month,he had a serious relapse and Donald died on Wednesday,March 1st 1916,aged 24 years.He died in the Academisch Ziechhuis attended throughout by the very competent nursing sisters,Zuster Dourna and Zuster van der Hoist.He was buried with full military honours at the Heerweg cemetery in Groningen,the service in Gaelic conducted by the Rev.D.Macdougall from Barvas in the Isle of Lewis.
As far as I know,the only person in our extended family to have visited Donald's grave in Holland is my daughter Carolyn Maclennan about 1985,while a medical student.
Dalmore Daytime
Sandy Beach
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Hello Donald John,
I happened across your blog with stories from Dalmore through an article in "Back in the Day". I am interested in this particular story, as I have done a fair bit of research into the internment camp, with a man from Groningen. You may be familiar with the site, HMS Timbertown.
Hello Donald John,
If you like to see some photo's from the funeral of you uncle you can surf to http://news.webshots.com/album/562475141aXzurh
Here you find 7 photo's from the funeral. The first photo (description 'Oostersingel') is the street where the Academisch Ziekenhuis is situated. The last four photo's are from the Zuiderbegraafplaats (cemetery) where your uncle was buried.
D.J.Maclennan would like to thank Harm Renkema for making it possible to see the photos of the funeral of his uncle,Donald Macleod,who died in Holland in March,1916.This is greatly appreciated.
Hello Donald,
In Sept. 2009 ,my husband Keith and I visited the graveyard at the Heerweg cemetery Groningen, with historian Menno Wielinga . It was part of a visit to Groningen to discover more about the time my father, William Hicks, spent in Holland during his internment there in WW1 . We left a red rose on each grave of the men from the camp who died.
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