Lieutenant, William Williamson Kerr Duncan L.R.C.P., L.R.C.S., L.R.F.P.S.,(27), Died of Illness

Royal Army Medical Corps, 29th February 1916

Royal Army Medical Corps Cap Badge similar to the one worn by William Duncan.

Synopsis of Life and Military Service

William Williamson Kerr Duncan was born in Edinburgh on 3 July 1888, the son of the Reverend Henry Duncan (deceased) and Cecilia Bertram Duncan of Crichton, East Lothian.

He was educated at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh from 1900 to 1903, before pursuing a career in medicine. By the early 1910s he was connected with the medical community in Morayshire. The Edinburgh Gazette of 2 May 1913 records him as a witness to the dissolution of the medical partnership between Dr. William MacKenzie Barclay and Dr. James Kennedy Drysdale at Grantown-on-Spey, both of whom continued to practice independently thereafter. His association with the Barclay family was likely personal as well as professional, as he later married Clementina Barclay, believed to have been Dr. Barclay’s daughter.

On 7 February 1914, Duncan obtained the Scottish Triple Qualification, formally entering the medical profession on the eve of war.

He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps (Territorial Force) on 25 September 1915, having joined at Grantown-on-Spey the previous day. He was attached to the South Eastern Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance, where he served as a medical officer responsible for the treatment and evacuation of wounded soldiers under active service conditions.

Duncan died at Willowbank, Grantown-on-Spey, from uraemia contracted while on service. Uraemia is a serious condition caused by the accumulation of waste products such as urea and creatinine in the blood, normally eliminated by the kidneys. Though not the result of a single battlefield wound, such conditions were often a direct consequence of the hardships and exposures of military service.

At the time of his death, he was residing in Morayshire. His civilian occupation was recorded as doctor. He is buried in Grantown-on-Spey Cemetery, where his grave marks the loss of a medical man whose career, like that of many of his generation, was cut short by the effects of the First World War.

The Grave of William and Winifred Duncan at Grantown Cemetery. © Vincent Stuart

Family

William Williamson Kerr Duncan was born on 5th July 1890 at 17 Merchiston Avenue, Edinburgh.

His family is shown as follows :-

  • Wife: Winifred (Dolly) Clementina Barclay or Duncan (D.D.Law), died 4 January 1934.
  • Father: Reverend Henry Duncan, born c.1832 at Edinburgh – Church of Scotland Minister.
  • Mother: Ceilia Bertram Baillie or Duncan, born c.1856 at Edinburgh.
  • Brother: Henry C., born c.1877 at Crichton, Midlothian.
  • Sister: Ceilia McA., born c.1878 at Crichton, Midlothian.
  • Brother: John M.B., born c.1880 at Crichton, Midlothian.
  • Brother: Alexander W., born c.1882 at Crichton, Midlothian.
  • Brother: Robert G., born c.1884 at Crichton, Midlothian.
  • Sister: Jane H.K., born c.1885 at Edinburgh.
  • Brother: George Wilson, born c.1895 at Edinburgh.

Addresses

The following addresses have been ascertained for William Duncan from the 1891, 1901 Census and the Scottish Probate Index :-

  • 1891: 17 Merchiston Avenue, Edinburgh.
  • 1901: 22 Blantyre Terrace, Edinburgh.
  • 1916: 23 Gower Street, London. (address of widow)

Medals

William Williamson Kerr Duncan was not awarded any service medals, as he did not serve in a theatre of war.

Memorials

William Williamson Kerr Duncan is honoured and remembered on the following War Memorials.

Remarks

His brother George Wilson Duncan was to become a Captain in the Seaforth Highlanders and was awarded the Military Cross in 1917.

Links to Additional Information

References

  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
  • Scotland National Probate Index – 1916.
  • Morayshire Roll of Honour.
  • Census – 1891.
  • Census – 1901.
  • London Gazette 2 May 1913.
  • London Gazette dated 16 October 1915.
  • Pension Card.
  • Great War Forum.

Groups

Contributors:-

  • Vincent Stuart