On this day in 1915, my paternal great-grandparents lost a son, although not on the battlefield. He was instead a victim of the sea, accidentally drowned in Aberdeen Harbour.
Alexander Duncan Calder Mitchell, known to his family as Sandy, was born 20 May 1895, in Aberdeen, Scotland, the third of 10 children of Joseph Clark Mitchell and Helen Fraser and the namesake of his father’s youngest brother.
With the onset of World War 1, as many others of his generation enlisted and headed overseas, Sandy did his part by hiring on at a sawmill, wearing a service badge as he worked at making packing crates to fulfill government war contracts.
On 18 Aug 1915, a Wednesday, Sandy and three of his co-workers decided to spend the afternoon fishing for mackerel. Despite a blowing squall and choppy sea—and against advice from pier officials—the four young men climbed into a 10-foot yawl and headed out to sea. Once beyond the pier, however, they quickly realized their mistake and turned back.
Within minutes, the small sailboat was capsized by a heavy wave, throwing all four young men into the water. None of them could swim.
Harbour Commissioners staff, who had observed the accident, immediately headed to the capsized boat, soon joined by soldiers from the nearby artillery battery. With rescue efforts hampered by the turbulent, muddy water, Sandy and one other were located about 15 minutes later and brought ashore unconscious. Resuscitation efforts were attempted for a full hour but proved unsuccessful. The bodies of the other two men washed ashore several hours later.
Word of the tragedy quickly spread throughout the city and reports of the accident were published in newspapers all across the country.
Aberdeen Press and Journal, 19 Aug 1915:
Aberdeen Evening Express, 23 Aug 1915:
Funerals for the four, all in their twenties—Sandy at 20 was the youngest—were held three days later. Sandy was laid to rest in Aberdeen’s Trinity Cemetery.
On each anniversary of his death, Sandy was lovingly remembered in the local paper, attesting to how deeply he was missed by his parents, four brothers and five sisters, as well as his fiancée, Rachel Mitchell.
Gone, but never forgotten.
Aberdeen Evening Express, 18 Aug 1916 
Aberdeen Evening Express, 19 Aug 1918
Wonderful job Nancy. When Susan and I and our two daughters took our mother back to Aberdeen in 1998 it was her dearest wish to visit Sandy’s grave. We went to the registrar of graves in Aberdeen and located the entry and the location of his burial. The registrar escorted us to The cemetery where Sandy was buried. Mom was so thrilled to be able to stand there and say a prayer over his grave so many many years later. Keep up the good work – love your entire blog. Your parents’ marriage photos and the photos of the extended family are amazing. Sandra ❤️
Hi Nancy – a sad story.
Any idea which sawmill Sandy worked at? I’ll have to check with my Dad but I think my grandfather may have worked at a sawmill near Aberdeen before moving to his job on the railways.
Best
Douge
Just read the newspaper account – now think it wouldn’t have been the same sawmill as my grandfather grew up a bit west of Aberdeen.
Interesting! Better vocabulary was used in newspapers back then.