Alumni who served (in military or civilian role) in World War 1
David Dick (1896-1984) and Alek Sawyer (1903-1973) grew up in early 20th century Scotland, and both became ministers in the 1920s. The age gap between them was just enough that one served in the Great War, while the…
Alek William Sawyer [1921-UC1-065] was born on 18 February 1903 at Newmilns, Ayshire, to Fredrick Henry Sawyer, the first Professor of Music at St Andrews, and Sarah Worsnop. He later moved to Belfast, where he was…
David Dick [1921-SM1-002] was born on 8 August 1896 to John Dick and Thomasina Smith in Cellardyke, Fife, and was schooled at Waid Academy in nearby Anstruther. He matriculated at the United College in the University…
James Christie Ross [1914-UCD-027] may have been born in Nigg, in 1895, though he was later living in Arbroath. He matriculated at University College Dundee in 1914 at the age of 19, to study under the Provincial…
Malcom McGibbon [1913-UC1-041] was born in 1894, in Inchture. He may have been educated at Harris Academy, Dundee. He arrived at St Andrews in 1913, at the age of 19, intending to study under the St Andrews Provincial…
John Donald Steward Menzies [1913-UC1-047] was born in Dundee, in 1894. He studied at St Andrews under the provincial committee for the training of teachers for at least two years, before joining the 5th (provincial…
From 1905, would-be teachers in Scotland were trained under the auspices of the Provincial Committees for the Training of Teachers. In this article, I explore St Andrews’ role in teacher-training, through a study of…
On the 22nd April 1915, chlorine gas was first released in a small village in Belgium. Its impact would be felt in St Andrews, where its use would change the trajectory of countless lives, including those of Walter…
Edmund Langley Hirst arrived at St Andrews with ambitions of a degree in Classics. His experience in St Andrews’ chemistry laboratories during the First World War would shape his life as a scientific pioneer. There,…
Minister Alexander Anderson, was celebrated as a hero by his community in Scotland when he was detained in Germany during the Great War… until he returned home and was labeled a traitor.