Allan, Ramsay (1894 - 1918)

Second Lieutenant, No. 2 Sqdn. Royal Air Force

Buried at Nœux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery Extension

Commemorated at Hillhead High School

Ramsay Allan, only son of Mr. Alex. W. Allan, manager of Kelvindale Paper Mills, was born on 2nd April, 1894. Both his father and his mother were members of families long connected with Maryhill, the managership of the mills being hereditary for several generations in the Allan family, and his brother being a member of the Dawson family, well known to old residenters in the north-western district.

Educated at Hillhead High School and Glasgow Academy, Ramsay served for a time in the Kelvinbridge branch of the Union Bank to learn business methods, and thereafter became assistant manager to his father in the paper mills. There he threw himself most enthusiastically into his work, showing such a grasp of technical details and developing such a power of command that in his father's absence he was left in sole charge. A destructive fire about eight years ago having necessitated the re-erection of the mills and the introduction of modern machinery, Ramsay's organising ability and mechanical skill were further developed, and marked him out as a worthy successor in the ancestral line of management.

On the outbreak of war, though he might have sheltered himself under the badge system on the plea of war work, he applied for and obtained a commissionin the Royal Flying Corps. After a period of training he proceeded to, France.There he did such good work that he was several times commended by his C. O. He was home on leave in the early days of March, 1918, and on his return to the
Front found himself in the midst of the heaviest and most critical fighting of the war. He played a strenuous part in seeking to stem the German advance, and on the 22nd April, 1918, while, out on a bombing expedition, his machine was struck by an anti-aircraft shell and crashed to earth, killing both pilot and observer within our own lines. His commanding officer writes--" I was in the air myselfat the time, and shortly before, had passed close by his machine at the height of about a mile, a cheery wave of the hand assuring me that they were then quite all right. The whole squadron is plunged into gloom at this misfortune, for your son was one of the most steady and reliable of pilots and an officer who could always be relied upon to do his work thoroughly; needless to say, he was as a result popular with everyone." Tall, resolute, manly, Ramsay Allan was regarded by all his friends as a youth with a great future before him. So indeed it proved, but in a very different sphere from any ever dreamed of by them. From first to last he played a gallant part, and though his time was but short, it contained more than "one crowded hour of glorious life." With the parents and sisters in their great
sorrow we desire to express our heartfelt sympathy.