We can only imagine the horrors of war, and what state of mind many of the First World War soldiers were in when they were deployed to the trenches on the European Mainland.
Blantyre man Hugh Boyle, from Auchentibber like other soldiers felt it necessary to draft a small will, knowing chances of death in battle were high. His hand written will is shown here.
A simple will, Hugh was to leave all his worldly possessions to his mother, who lived at Springpark, Auchentibber (a former public house and home which still exists only as a house today). He must have been aware of impeding increased danger. His will was written on 7 July 1915 only a couple of months before his death on 25 September 1915. He is remembered today on the Auchentibber War memorial.
After my own fathers death-by natural causes in 1985-I surprisingly found amongst his papers a similar “will” drawn up in 1940. I am aware soldiers were “encouraged” to “put their things in order” before deployment.