James Strachan MacLeod (1878-)
Scottish prison governor's son who served with 8th DLI awarded DSO
James Strachan MacLeod, the son of John and Mary MacLeod, was born in Inverary, Scotland on 16 October 1878 and he had two brothers and two sisters. After going to George Watson’s College in Edinburgh, he studied law at Edinburgh University from 1894 until 1896 and became a solicitor.
James joined the Imperial Yeomanry as a private in March 1900 and went to South Africa, where he fought in operations in Rhodesia, Cape Colony, the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal during the Second Boer War. He was promoted to sergeant and made an honorary lieutenant on 3 June 1901, but on 12 September 1902 he relinquished his commission.
On his return to Scotland, he resumed his law studies and, in September 1903, he married Christina Scott Browne and they had three children. He later became a member of the Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland (S.S.C.).
Following the outbreak of the First World War he joined the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) and was appointed temporary captain in the 10th Battalion. On 18 May 1915 he was seconded for duty with a garrison battalion and on 11 July was transferred to the 8th Battalion Durham Light Infantry (DLI) and appointed temporary major. He landed in France in September but was wounded the following month and repatriated to England. He returned to Europe in April 1917 and, on 14 August, was confirmed in the rank of major. In April 1918 he was transferred to the Lancashire Fusiliers as acting lieutenant-colonel in command of the 1st/8th Battalion and continued in this position until after the end of the war. During the war he was gassed, awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and twice Mentioned in Despatches.
On 14 September 1921 James was transferred to the general list of the Territorial Reserve and returned to Edinburgh to practice as a solicitor, possibly in the firm of Whigham & Macleod, whose partners were George Whigham, the husband of his sister Phoebe, and his brother John Lorne, who was later knighted and became Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
Birth date: 16-Oct-1878
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: County Buildings, Tobermory, Argyllshire, Scotland (1881 census)
Long Island Combination Poorhouse, Lochmaddy, North Uist, Scotland (1891 census)
23 Albany street, Edinburgh, Scotland (Scottish Statutory Marriage Records 1903)
4 Melville Terrace, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland (Edinburgh, Scotland, Electoral Registers, 1914-1915)
67 Belle Vue Road, Edinburgh (Edinburgh Valuation Rolls 1925-1926)
Education: George Watson’s College, Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
Religion: Presbyterian
Employment: Solicitor (Edinburgh Valuation Rolls 1925-1926)
Solicitor before the Supreme Court
Family: Father: John Macleod
Mother: Mary MacLeod (nee McTavish)
Siblings: Wilhelmina Jane, Phoebe Adeline Mary, John Lorne (G.B.E., formerly Lord Provost of Edinburgh) & Duncan McTavish MacLeod
Wife: Christina Scott MacLeod (nee Browne)
Children: Lorne George Duncan, Joan & Hamish David Cullen MacLeod
Military service:
8th Battalion Durham Light Infantry & Lancashire Fusiliers
Lieutenant-Colonel
Medal(s): Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
Queen’s South Africa Medal & 4 Clasps
King’s South Africa Medal & 2 Clasps
1914-1915 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Memorial(s): Glenary & Inverary Boer War Roll of Honour
Edinburgh University Roll of Honour 1914-1919
Gender: Male
Contributed by John Edwards
