A HELENSBURGH man commanded and died in the last British warship to be sunk in the European and Arctic theatres in World War Two.
Lieutenant Commander James Vaudalle Fulton RNVR, who had previously commanded the destroyer HMS Brighton, was the captain of HMS Goodall, K479, a lend lease 1,430 ton Captain class American frigate commissioned in 1943.
A YOUNG Helensburgh Army officer — son of the town’s Provost — survived fighting in the World War One trenches . . . only to die in Britain’s worst ever train disaster.
Lieutenant James Crawford Bonnar of the 9th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was one of 226 dead and 246 injured in the Quintinshill rail crash near Gretna on Saturday May 22 1915.
A HELENSBURGH woman became involved in the top secret world of code-breaking in World War Two.
Agnes McGee, who passed away on January 6 2016 at the age of 92, had a remarkable story to tell about her wartime endeavours at home and abroad.
A HELENSBURGH veteran of what Winston Churchill called “the worst journey in the world” was presented with the Arctic Star medal on August 7 2013 — over 60 years after undertaking the dangerous mission.
Conditions on the Arctic Convoys were some of the bleakest faced by any Allied sailors during the Second World War. Besides the ever-present threat of enemy attack, the crews braved extreme cold, gales and pack ice.
TALES of RAF Helensburgh during World War Two are usually of brave men and women doing vital war work and sometimes losing their lives. But there was one dishonourable exception.
The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, based at Rhu and in the burgh, worked on seaplanes, bombs and how to sink U-Boats, and was staffed by service personnel, scientists, and local people.
THE DAY four Heinkel aircraft flew over Rhu and landed in the Gareloch during World War Two is still remembered by a number of villagers.
One of the men who was dispatched to RAF Helensburgh to work on the aircraft was Norwegian Hans Strandrud, and in July 2013 his son, also Hans, came to see where his late father worked at the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Rhu Hangars.
A SHANDON prisoner of war during and after World War Two liked the area so much that he decided to stay.
Indeed Ulrich Behrendt — who will soon be 89 and is now in a care home in Cathcart, Glasgow — is probably still remembered by some Garelochside residents.
A PICTURE has been found of all twenty two soldiers from Helensburgh and district who served in the Boer War between 1899 and 1901 and who received clocks from the Town Council to mark their service.
Because of poor logistics, disease, and clever and determined Boer fighters, the South African campaign was very demanding for the British soldiers, and this was recognised at home.
ONE of the 22 Helensburgh soldiers who received carriage clocks in recognition of their service in the Boer War went on to win praise from the King of Albania.
A Lieutenant at the time of the clocks presentation in 1901, John Maxwell Gillatt rose to become a Lieutenant Colonel and was awarded the DSO and OBE.
HELENSBURGH Heritage Trust bought a carriage clock presented to a burgh soldier who served in the Boer War, Private William McKinlay, in 1901, and would like to find out more information about him.
The Trust bought the clock in May 2013 from an antique dealer in Kent for £5,000, with the help of an anonymous benefactor, and it is planned to display it in the Heritage Centre at Helensburgh Library.
A SERGEANT-MAJOR from Helensburgh who died in action during World War One was described by Lord Kitchener as a credit to his country.
Sergeant Major W.B.McLaren, formerly a janitor at Hermitage School and well known in the town, was serving in the 9th Black Watch on the Western Front.
GARELOCHSIDE was the home of three World War Two prisoner of war camps, two at Shandon and one at Whistlefield, which remained for several years after the end of the war in 1945.
A fascinating article on life in one of the camps was published in the Helensburgh aand Gareloch Times in April 1947.
